Introducing Mildred’s Fishing Rope Creations

It is just a craft, my pastime.

Mildred Rowsell, a resident of Leading Tickles, Newfoundland/Labrador, practices a craft that is anything but humorous.

Recycling and reusing give new purpose to old materials, helping keep oceans and beaches clean while reducing waste in landfills. This includes repurposing discarded fishing rope.

Mildred collects used fishing rope from fishers throughout her community in Leading Tickles. Many of them leave it on the shed bridge, often without saying who dropped it off. When that happens, she posts a thank-you online, and if she finds out who it was, she will usually give them a mat for their shed as a small token of appreciation.

Fishing is a big part of Mildred’s life—her in-laws fish, her family fish, and so does much of the community—so most of the recyclable rope comes from people she knows. She let folks know online that she is happy to take their old rope, and her husband helps by going around to collect it. She always ask that it not be thrown away or burned. The fishers in her community have been incredibly supportive.

Mildred also received rope from a fisherman in Pleasantview, and her nephew has dropped some off from his in-laws in Fortune Harbour. Along with recycled rope, she sometimes uses new rope purchased locally from the fish plant in Leading Tickles, as well as from Mercer’s in Clarenville and Spartan in St. John’s.

Her recycled fishing rope artwork has really taken off. Pieces like fishing stages, large fish, rope trays, bowls, vases, and even a lighthouse have become a popular product for purchase. She especially enjoys meeting customers at craft fairs—they’re amazed that something so beautiful can be created from materials that would otherwise end up on shorelines, in the ocean, or in landfills.

For Mildred, it’s all about giving new life to something old. There’s an interview on her page with CBC Radio’s Fisheries and Oceans if you’d like to listen, along with a couple of videos made by a wonderful woman from Barrisway Retreat.

Leading Tickles

Leading Tickles is a picturesque coastal community in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Home to 296 residents as of the 2021 census, the town has seen a decline from its 2006 population of 407. Located roughly 25 kilometres northwest of Point Leamington, it sits along the rugged shores of Notre Dame Bay. The area is especially breathtaking in the spring and early summer, when towering icebergs drift past the coastline, adding to the town’s natural beauty and quiet charm.

Leading Tickles had 296 residents occupying 138 of the community’s 189 private homes.

Contact Mildred @ Mildred’s Fishing Rope Creations or Mildred @ Facebook