Laurie Lausen is an avid rug-hooker who sees her career as a “fiber journey” that has taken many paths over the years. She began designing and hooking rugs in the early 1970s, and she started her business, L. J. Fibers, in the 1980s.

When she took a break from her business for a while, she shared her passion for color and texture with thousands of students teaching spinning, dyeing, knitting, weaving, rug hooking, beadwork and basketry.

In the mid-1990s she picked up her hook again and hasn’t put it down since. In 2002 she launched her website spreading the word about her hand-dyed wool, primitive patterns, and kits. And in the fall of 2003 she moved her studio, classes, commission work, and “all that wool” out of the house to a cozy little storefront a few blocks from home (much to the delight of her family).

Lausen now runs her studio, The Wooly Red Rug, full-time. She is a member of Association of Traditional Hooking Artists, The Green Mountain Rug Hooking Guild, The National Guild of Pearl K. McGowan Hookcrafters and locally the Hopkins Rug Artists. She has been featured in or written for numerous publications including The Wool Street Journal. Create & Decorate, and Hooked Rugs Today.