77th Annual League of NH Craftsmen's Fair

Here's the loot I picked-up at the 77th Annual League of NH Craftsmen's Fair at Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury, NH.  I don't remember ever having gone to this fair before, but I will never miss a year now if I can help it.  Had I not just taken out all those school loans for my year at Parsons, I would have brought as much cash as I could have and bought all my birthday and Christmas gifts for family and friends for the next year.  But as it was, I had to extremely limit myself to three vendors that I just couldn't walk away without something in hand (and which I could actually afford!)!

My first purchase was from the Cheryl Kumiski Glass Studio in Booth 307 - 13 hand-made buttons!  (I might make a bib-like necklace which I am seeing everywhere now!!!)

(I love the circuit board, square button!)  Cheryl was unbelievably nice and super-talented.  My mother also purchased a few things from her - namely a new necklace that she wore for the rest of the day (and we stayed for 6 or more hours!)  [Please note: I tried to link to her website, which you can try to google, but I got a malware warning, so I can't recommend it to you.  However, she will be at the Newport Arts Festival on August 28 & 29, 2010 with her glorious stained glass and ephemera.]

Just a few tents away, I found Bar Harbor Classics in Booth 107 and purchased this amazing embossed, calf-skin bag:

I love the unusual shape (plus, it folds flat!) and John Milligan was so kind to me.  I truly hope I get to work with him in the future, he seems like a genius!  Check out these two photos I took in his booth:

I loved the yellow stingray leather in the middle - what a great eye for color!  And my last purchase of the day was the photo cards from Seacoast Impressions by Neil Troost in Booth 208:

They have unbelievable depth and the color is truly wonderful.  I can't wait to either frame these or send them to family in England (wish they could be here to enjoy Lake Sunapee!).  I also got to try out a few techniques since there were wonderful craftsmen (and craftswomen) there to teach!

Here I am learning how to weave a pattern with the NH Weavers Guild in Tent Z (thank you for being so kind to me!):

I love how you can see where people have stopped and started - this piece will certainly tell a story!  I also spoke to Beth Lux in Tent U about pleating, smocking, embroidery and our favorite Fabric Manipulation book (on Amazon HERE):

That second photo is this fantastic, little pleating machine that looks incredibly hard to set-up!  Look at Beth's amazing smocking in the last photo - beautiful!  And lastly, but one that absolutely blew me away, was Faith Fellows fine hand-beaded designs in leather, basketry & fiber in Booth 413:

Here are some closer images:

(Aren't those belts stunning?!)  I unfortunately could not afford any of these items at this time, but she had low prices considering the time and effort in each piece.  I almost imagined little faeries running around helping her pick-out beads for each design.

Whew!  That was a long post, with lots of images that I hope will load quickly and show their work well.  It truly is the most amazing experience and I highly recommend it if you are in the area.

Happy hunting!

Yours Truly,

Alex