MAR GEE FARR, President from 2011 to 2012
Mar Gee’s artistic talents span a broad range of mediums: from knitting and other creative projects; professional event planning; to condiment recipe development, product marketing, and gardening.
Born and raised in Hinsdale, Illinois (a Chicago suburb), Mar Gee grew up in a large creative family. From a young age, she was involved in philanthropy in her local community and even developed a Class of ’72 website for her high school.
Mar Gee’s career in travel gave her the opportunity to experience most of Europe and Asia before she was 30 years old. She then created a unique boutique, The Garden Collection, and managed it for 16 years before moving to California with her husband, Jim, in 2002. She commuted back and forth to Chicago until she sold the boutique in 2004.
Mar Gee has collaborated with Mary Engelbreit and her work has been featured in Home Companion and Mary’s magazine as well as on HGTV’S Mary Emmerling’s Country Home Program. She has participated in several showcase house gardens in her Illinois hometown and neighboring communities. A project close to her heart was the design and implementation of Marguerite’s Garden, a public garden in Harvester Park near her hometown. It is a tribute to her late mother, who served on the Park Districts’ Board of Directors.
Mar Gee first learned to knit as a Girl Scout. Years later, she came across a felted purse pattern and (with the help of YouTube) regained the basic skills – then taught herself to Norwegian purl. Mar Gee’s renewed interest in knitting has led her to making shawls, cowls, holiday stockings, felted purses, and unique embellishments. She joined our Guild in 2007 and has been an active member ever since.
As Guild President, she worked with the Board to transition from a paper newsletter to our current electronic format. She not only chaired the Guild’s Holiday Luncheon for 10 years, she also knitted accessories for and assembled / finished the coveted giant sock monkey. After many years, she has turned over the making of this iconic Guild mascot to Betty Gregory, Phyllis Bates, and Barbara Levin..
Over the years, Mar Gee assisted with many other Guild programs including the Stash Sale, an embellishing workshop, quarterly help sessions, Members Teaching Members workshops, and the Guild’s famous potlucks. Linda Erlich and Mar Gee created the first Guild website. She is currently our Membership Directory Chair.
Personally and professionally, Mar Gee remains active in finishing needlepoint projects. She has become an expert machine embroiderer and is a master at putting threads, yarns, fabrics, and accessories together into unique items – including several freestanding mosaic globes for her garden. For decades, Mar Gee has pursued a wide variety of arts and crafts yet she feels her interactions with the Guild and those of her family are the most rewarding.
— Tania Marshall