Les Trois Pignons – Revival of the Chéticamp Hooked Rug

La Société Saint-Pierre is a cornerstone of Acadian culture and community life in Chéticamp. Founded in 1947, the organization has long been dedicated to the preservation, promotion, and celebration of Acadian heritage and the French language in the region. Over the decades, La Société Saint-Pierre has played a vital role in fostering cultural pride, supporting education, and organizing social and artistic activities that strengthen the Acadian identity on Cape Breton Island. Today, the organization continues to act as a unifying force for the community, offering programs and events that highlight the richness of Acadian traditions while embracing new forms of cultural expression. Whether through historical preservation, youth engagement, or partnerships with other Francophone and cultural organizations, La Société Saint-Pierre remains deeply committed to ensuring that Acadian culture thrives for generations to come.

Les Trois Pignons is home to the Museum of the Hooked Rug and Home Life (“Musée des Trois Pignons”), which showcases the artistry of traditional Chéticamp hooked rugs—a world-renowned craft—and explores the daily lives of Acadian families through historical artifacts, photographs, and exhibits. The centre also houses the offices of La Société Saint-Pierre, the organization that manages and operates the site. In addition to the museum, Les Trois Pignons includes a visitor information centre, art gallery, genealogical research library, and exhibit spaces that highlight local artists and cultural projects. Proud owners of the cultural centre, Les Trois Pignons, this building is more than a museum—it’s a living testament to Acadian resilience and creativity. It plays a key role in preserving and promoting:

• The art of hooked rugs, made famous by artists such as Elizabeth LeFort;
• Acadian language and traditions, through workshops, events, and educational programs and summer programming;
• Community identity, by serving as a meeting place for cultural exchange and celebration.

We realized that our rug hookers were aging and we were in a very fragile position of losing this important craft that is so important to our identity. We needed to find ways to shake things up and find ways to revive this craft. Rug hooking is a part of Chéticamp’s cultural identity. Several factors created a decline in preserving craft and identity: societal changes, knowledge transmission gaps, barriers to practice, and understanding of cultural heritage. We knew education would be key to preservation and skills transmission for the sector and its heritage. There is a growing interest in learning more about the history of rug hooking with the younger generation. With these points in mind, we needed to get organized and set up some sort of plan. Chéticamp Rug Hooking is a fundamental part of Unama’ki Cape Breton’s art, culture, and heritage. It has allowed people, particularly Acadian women, to contribute to family income. Chéticamp Rug Hooking sector has experienced a significant decline in recent years. The number of craft artists and suppliers has dwindled, posing a severe challenge to the transmission of skills to future generations. To preserve this craft and revitalize the Chéticamp Rug Hooking sector, the community of Chéticamp and Cape Breton Centre for Craft & Design recognized the necessity for a strategic plan. This plan identifies the key issues, the sector’s main priorities and future actions.

Once the plan was in place, we went about finding the funds to rent our own space. Les Trois Pignons being at full capacity, we needed to look elsewhere. Our Arts Council had the perfect space for us, but we needed to raise $10,800 a year for rent. This is where our dedicated volunteers sprang into action. They personally contacted business owners and associations who had a parent who was a rug hooker or an interest to preserve this craft. In no time, we were able to secure the space for the year. We open up the space every Tuesday and Thursdays and one Saturday morning a month for anyone wanting to come to this safe and warm space to hook, to learn, to have a cup of tea. We have heard so many positive comments about these informal gatherings. Imagine frames set up in a wide circle and everyone sharing a story, a good laugh. but also their knowledge. We have offered a first round of training on stamping, dying the wool, making the hooks and the hooking itself. Another block of training sessions is about to start.

Many of our regulars are seniors. Others who had not touched the craft for many years are coming back, wanting to take it up again. A gentleman who was teaching in Dubai moved back home and now his own frame is set up in his home and he visits our space regularly. Aside from our training sessions, we have a senior/student program happening now where students at our local school registered to participate in classes mentored by two seniors. One student in particular was touched to discover that the frame she was hooking on was actually the frame donated by her great grandmother. The students enjoy learning and find it soothing and relaxing. 

We are in year 3 of this initiative and we have many requests for workshops. We hope to be able to offer enough to collect rent money to keep our space. We had a full class last October of students from other provinces and the US who participated in a one week session and profits from this session are helping us cover rent. Based on the interest this program has generated, we want to pursue some funding opportunities to hire a person to manage this project as it keeps getting bigger and the requests are too much for us to handle. We are presently working on this. 

My advice to other museums is to think outside the box! We have a wonderful museum of artifacts and hooked rugs and it is well appreciated by our visitors, but it was not helping us save the art of rug hooking. By providing this new space outside Les Trois Pignons, we attracted a local audience, peaked the curiosity of many, and created a safe space, a knowledge sharing space between generations.

We are very excited with the buzz this has created. We at Les Trois Pignons are now buying lots more wool that locals can come buy to work on their craft over the winter. We have 6 new frames being constructed again paid by generous donations. 

We see so much potential moving forward!

Cheers,
Lisette