AUSTIN, Texas — The "tufting" trend is real. KVUE met up with Hedy Zhang, a University of Texas at Austin student and the co-owner of the Fuzz Lab Tufting Workshop, to see what the buzz is about.
"This is definitely the class that's been most rewarding for me this semester, I would say," Zhang said.
She's the teacher and the student. Zhang had an idea and went for it. When she's not studying, the UT junior is turning yarn into cash in the form of "tufting" – the art of making a rug.
In February, Zhang partnered with a UT grad student to open up the Fuzz Lab Tufting Workshop off 23rd and Rio Grande streets in West Campus.
"When you walk in, hopefully you have sent the design to us ahead of time so we can get it projected and ready to go for you," Zhang said.
Next, you pick your yarn colors. Then you grab your tufting gun, which Zhang will help you thread.
Once you turn the gun on and apply pressure, it shoots yarn through the canvas cloth.
PHOTOS: Tufting at the Fuzz Lab in Austin's West Campus
But before you begin your project, you have to train. Customers can practice making diagonal, vertical and horizontal strokes. It's all trial and error.
"And once you're able to perform those strokes, we will graduate you from the tufting school and you can work on your own rug," Zhang said.
Pricing and timing depends on the size of the rug. We're talking possibly two to four hours, so you need patience.
But Zhang said that extra time "makes the rug all the more rewarding at the end."
Tufting may seem intimidating at first, but Zhang will guide you along the way. She received plenty of guidance herself getting her start-up up and running, thanks to help and mentorship from the Kendra Scott Women's Entrepreneurial Institute at UT, where she was selected as a FoundHer fellow.
Zhang said business has been good. And judging by the looks of it, she's not just spinning a yarn.
If you're interested in visiting the Fuzz Lab, you can book a session on Instagram. The company is still working on its website.