• Tia creates brooms from driftwood and broomcorn grown in her backyard
• Her practice aims to reinvent and innovate within the American tradition
• She uses her craft to highlight environmentally-conscious living

Tia Tumminello had always been interested in traditional crafts. When a friend showed her a handcrafted broom purchased from the Shaker community, she knew where her future lay. "I remember marvelling at the simplicity and artistry of the form,” she says. Tia decided to enroll in a virtual class on broom making, and became infatuated with the craft. In 2023, she launched Husk Brooms, crafting a variety of styles of broom while also repurposing driftwood she collected from the shores of Lake Erie. To cultivate broomcorn, a crop that once flourished in the USA but is now grown mostly in Mexico, Tia partnered with multiple Pittsburgh farmers and has planted a nursery in her own backyard. “Ultimately, my foray into agriculture has connected me more closely to my community and helped cement my respect for the craft,” she says.