Two artists weave rugs using line from former cannery

Port Bailey. (Photo courtesy of Anita Shane)

Kayla Desroches/KMXT

Two artists operate from the site of a decommissioned cannery on Kodiak Island.

Anita Shane says she’s been at Port Bailey on the northwest side since 2004, and it’s a massive estate, roughly 29 acres.

“There’s three huge warehouses that go out onto the water and then there’s probably another 20 buildings outside of the warehouses throughout the property. There’s bunk houses, watchmen’s houses, guest houses, the laundry room. There’s just tons of big buildings.”

Her husband originally bought the place to turn it back into a processing plant.

“That ended up not happening, which is fine by me. So, we’re on the mail route. We’re on the mail service route and Island Air [Service], and so that’s great. It provides us a way to live there and be remote and have our business and operate our business online.”

A rug by Alaska Rug Company. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Rug Company)

That business is Alaska Rug Company.

Shane and her husband take old and new fishing line and rope and turn it into rugs, bowls, and other nautical-themed décor.

And the company started at Port Bailey.

“We quit smoking one winter and needed to just kinda keep our hands busy, and there was tons of fishing gear there. We went through some of the web loft and some of the lockers and grabbed some line and started tying knots and learning different ones and put a few of our first items up online, and they sold, so we were pretty shocked.”

Shane says they work on their products inside their home, a restored bunk house, and they do get visitors – they invite guests to stay on the property during the summer.

Their pieces are common sights around town. Monk’s Rock and Java Flats sells them, and Harborside Fly By will display their art for First Friday tonight from 5 to 7 p.m.

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