After retiring from his veterinary practice, John looked for a hobby to pursue, and a vintage postcard in an antique shop caught his eye. It was a man in western North Carolina hooking!
When John realized that he could easily correct mistakes by re-hooking, he was confident that this was his true art form! Rug hooking also appeals to him because he enjoys dyeing wool, recycling wool clothes and making rug hooking patterns.
John took a class in rug hooking at John C. Campbell Folk School in Brasstown, NC, in 2001 which gave him the basics and he became hooked. A year later, his wife, Betsy, joined him for a second class, and ever since they've both been hooked! He and Betsy attend the Caraway Rug School in Asheboro, NC.