Wanna Tuft?: Warner Robins woman and best friend open rug tufting, art studio in Macon

MACON – Ever wanted to make your own rug? Wanna Tuft Studios recently opened earlier this month in Macon, bringing the creative hobby closer to home. 

Owners Tonia Williams and Parrisha Simmons are long-time best friends who decided to take the leap into business. 

The studio offers a 22-inch rug for $55 or a 30-inch rug for $78. Custom 30-inch rugs in larger cities cost approximately $150, according to Williams. 

Ages 11 and older are welcome and tufters can create a custom rug every time they visit. The studio also provides commissioned rugs for individuals who are unable to visit the studio. 

The studio also offers fluid art classes featuring bear-shaped figurines. Fluid art involves pouring paint onto a canvas or other item and allowing the paint to flow, Williams mentioned.

Drip bear painting includes both the bear and a keychain. Currently, they have seven-inch bears but are in the process of introducing nine-inch bears. The class starts at $25. 

So far, the business owners have received numerous “What is tufting?” questions. 

Tufting is a method of creating unique rugs using a tufting gun. The gun is held and pushed against a canvas a certain way, but it is not as hard as people think, Williams said. 

In the studio, it typically takes 25 minutes to teach attendees how to use the tufting gun.

“People are a little intimidated and we’re like, ‘trust me, we got you,’” Williams said.

The challenging part of tufting depends on the design, which may be time-consuming.

Williams believes tufting is more than just making a piece of carpet; it’s a trendy and upcoming creative outlet. She enjoys displaying her creations on walls as decorative pieces. 

Williams said they aim to make great memories. When people come into the studio, they will not only learn to tuft, but they leave their mark by signing their name on the wall. Attendees can also get their picture taken. 

Williams and Simmons are former basketball players who met on the Amateur Athletic Union team. They have been best friends for 15 years.

Simmons is a Macon native and played basketball while attending Southwest High School. She also coached basketball for two years after graduating from college. Then, she joined the military and is currently stationed in Columbus. Simmons has been in the military for 12 years and hopes to make a career out of it. 

Williams described herself as a “military brat” and moved to Warner Robins when she was 14 years old. She moved around a lot during her childhood, living in California, Japan, North Dakota, and Delaware. Eventually, she settled down in Warner Robins and attended Houston County High School, where she played for the basketball team. 

Williams and Simmons see each other as family. Williams said that when she first thought of the idea to open a rug tufting business, she had to bring in family. 

“I couldn’t see myself opening a business with anybody else,” Williams said. 

While the friends lived in Atlanta, they experienced a wide range of cool and unique things to do. Williams took another friend to a tufting class, where she fell in love with it. 

It became a new hobby for Williams and she wanted to bring it to her hometown so others could fall in love with it, too. 

Simmons had always seen tufting on TikTok, but she had never attended a class in person. When Williams told her about her idea, Simmons saw how excited she was and started doing research. She was instantly on board with the idea. 

“Even with my first rug [and] trying to learn how to do it to open a business. It’s been a fun experience just being with her [and] doing it together, it’s been an amazing experience,” Simmons said.

Both being basketball stars, Williams said that was all they knew. Growing up, she had a dream of playing in the WNBA and basketball was her life. When basketball was over for Williams, she was depressed and unsure what to do next. 

That is when she discovered tufting, which gave her hope outside of basketball. When Williams saw her first rug, she couldn’t believe she had made it, and it made her feel even more appreciative. 

“Sometimes people need that. People need to find their hobbies outside of what they’re already comfortable in. It saved me a little bit,” she said. 

The owners believe both Macon and Warner Robins have a lot of places to eat and drink, but not enough creative things to do. 

“When I saw [rug tufting] I was like, ‘I have to bring this home’ and I talked to Parrisha about it and she was like, ‘this is a great idea,” Williams said. 

The store opened on Sept. 5, with a successful soft launch in August. Williams believes people are still unsure what tufting is, but they’re eager to promote it. Williams believes when people see rugs as an art form, they will start to participate in tufting. 

“We’re still opening, so it’s still fresh and people are still learning,” Simmons said. 

Williams believes people should visit and learn a new hobby. She said she used to be an introvert and whenever she went out, she would go to her comfort zone. However, tufting helped her expand her horizons. 

Simmons described tufting as therapeutic and it creates an amazing atmosphere. She said they make it fun for attendees.

“We’re going to have fun while creating art,” Simmons said. 

Wanna Tuft Studios is located at 1080 Third Street, Suite 100, in Macon, open from Friday to Sunday. Tufting class starts at 6 p.m., and the drip bear class is at 7 p.m. on Friday.

On Saturday and Sunday, the first tufting class starts at noon, and drip bears are at 1 p.m. A later tufting class is also offered at 5:30 p.m. and a drip bear class is at 6 p.m.

For more on Wanna Tuft Studios, visit their website here.