A native of Manchester, New Hampshire, Micala Sidore earned both her BA in literature, 1974, and her MFA in writing and translation,1978, at Goddard College in Vermont. She completed her first tapestry in 1979.
Between 1984 and 1987, and again in 2002, she interned at the Manufacture Nationale des Gobelins in Paris, obtaining a solid foundation in the techniques and aesthetics of traditional French tapestry. In 1988, at their request, Micala co-represented the studios at the International Tapestry Symposium in Melbourne, Australia. After the visit to Melbourne, Micala established the Hawley Street Tapestry Studio in Northampton, MA.
There she works out her cartoons, weaves tapestries and gives workshops. The studio also serves as a resource center with a rich collection of books, slides, magazines, postcards and catalogues for visitors and students who wish to browse. She also developed the TraveLoom®, a patented portable tapestry frame loom. Micala has continued to take workshops from others in her field, including two monthlong residencies at a weaving centre in Kerala, India, in both 2006 and 2007.
She speaks four languages and travels extensively, giving talks and workshops. She has written more than 45 articles for magazines in several countries.
She has contacts and correspondence with many weavers throughout the world and has written about a number of them. She has also drawn on their help and work to put together her two books, “The Art is the Cloth” (2020) and “Tapestry Talking” (2026).
