Sorry to announce that our sweet homestead and Meb’s Kitchenwares will be in slow-down-mode till at least springtime. I’m recently home from the hospital after kidney failure. Instead of continuing to try to accomplish stuff, I’m going to focus on my health and just get better!
I admit that I’m not feeling social and don’t want to answer a lot of questions. Nor do I want visitors or phone calls. Sorry. I’m not being mean; I just need quiet and peace without worrying about other people for a while.
Tom can use help getting house stuff together, (firewood, shower, front room windows, snow removal, money can be helpful) so you could leave him a message via my email: though he is also experiencing overload, so please be easy on him.
I will ask for specific help when I need it. Thank you.  Email works best for me, though I don’t promise a response. I’m experiencing chemo-brain and not functioning well mentally—Don’t worry—My brain WlLL come back!
Here are the only answers I have for now: Until April, I’m on chemo 2 weeks on, 1 week off. NO more immunotherapy. That is what caused the kidney failure.
I know there is so much going on with you all and the world right now and please know I will be thinking of all of you with love.
All my best, Meb

​NOT OPEN ON FRIDAY, NOV. 25!
We’re hoping you can come to our Artists’ Open Studios! We’ll be open on Saturdays and Sundays only this year: Nov. 26 + 27 and December 3 + 4, 10am – 5pm.
Sixty-six artists are showing their work and working methods, all around the Quiet Corner of Connecticut, so check out our website and flyers! This is a fabulous day trip: visit some studios, get a bite to eat, see more studios or a group show…
Open Today Signs will take you from Susan Morisette’s Sober Camel Pottery Studio, #42 (great work, totally worth checking it out!) at 200 Pole Bridge Rd., Woodstock, CT 06282 -- out to our place, Meb’s Kitchenwares, #39.
Park near the workshop, the first building on the right as you drive in.
Indoors: Masks please. We have extras… Meb has cancer, Tom is 81… If you came to the new shop last year, or to our old workshop in earlier times—please visit again. Lots of changes!
Downstairs: You can tour our off-grid systems: the workshop machinery, the inverter system and dust collection/expulsion. We’ll demo how we make our work—and also how Meb teaches spoon-making classes. I sincerely apologize that our space is not handicapped accessible—we’ll try to make it so in 2023. I’ll be happy to bring pieces downstairs or to your car for perusal.
Upstairs:  It’ll look like a working show—drying racks of work, our work displayed for sale or just for air-stirring in preparation for a spoon class! Also, a hangout with chairs and puzzles and stuff for kids to do. And lots of pieces and parts of trees, large and small, cool explorations of wood. Plus I have give-aways-- stuff I just can’t keep around anymore (from file folders to gloves to hankies) and extra flyers for the Open Studios tour. Also I’ll have gift certificates for spoon classes—a new class format is available!
Outside: If you like, you can tour (walk or just drive around) the homestead (Meb may or may not have the energy to guide you). 10 solar panels as you enter on the left, 4 panels in front of the house, SOO many projects underway: a roof over the cistern, a new roof for the original outhouse, the sawmill (maybe in operation!), the house’s south wall heat storage area underway, firewood piles everywhere, a shower (actually inside the house!), pathways through the Mountain Laurel*, a campfire to burn all the sticks that have blown down (depending on the weather). Just remember, this year, nothing is as neat or dust-free as we’d wish!
Hope to see you one of these weekends! Meb and Tom
*come back for an Open House in early June to see the Mountain Laurel in bloom. It’s quite a sight!

First up, 
American Artisan Show, Wilton, Connecticut
We're returning to beautiful Wilton for this wonderful show in their historical buildings, starting with a ticketed Preview Party, Thursday, November 1st. The show is open to the public with $10 admission:

Friday, November 2, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday, November 3, 10:00 am - 4:00 pm

For more details and directions, visit the event page here. 

Next up, we're in our home workshop for
Artists' Open Studios of Northeast Connecticut
Visit us at 134 Bradford Corner Rd, Woodstock Center, CT

Friday, November 23, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Saturday, November 24, 10:00 am - 5:00 pm
Sunday, November 25, 10:00 am- 5:00 pm

For more details and plan your visit to our neck of the woods, visit the event page here.

Our last show this month takes us into December in NYC!
Crafts at the Cathedral, New York City
It's a divine craft show hosted at St. John the Divine on Amsterdam Ave. Architectural details pictured above!

Thursday, November 29 -  preview 6:00 pm – 9:00 pm
Friday, November 30, 11:00 am – 8:00 pm
Saturday, December 1, 11:00 am - 6:00 pm
Sunday, December 2, 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm

For more details and plan your visit to NYC during the holiday season, visit the event page here.

​See the rest of our 2018 Show Schedule here. Can't wait to see you!

 
​This month, we're close to home!
 
The 36th Annual Roseland Cottage Fine Arts and Crafts Festival takes place at the National Historic Landmark home in Woodstock, Connecticut:

Saturday, October 13, 10:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
Sunday, October 14, 10:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

We're joining 175 local artisans on the beautiful grounds of Roseland Cottage.

Bring your holiday gift list!

Enjoy live music, a food court, and first-floor tours of Roseland Cottage, in addition to hand crafted art and design from local makers

Free to Historic New England members and children under 12; $5 nonmembers
Buy tickets ahead of time here.

For more details and directions, visit the event page on the Historic New England website.

See the rest of our 2018 Show Schedule here. Can't wait to see you!

The 8th Annual Craft Festival at Fruitlands takes place in Harvard, Massachusetts:

Saturday, September 22 and Sunday, the 23rd
Daily 10:00 am to 4:00 pm

We're joining 40 New England artisans and craftspeople in this beautiful setting!

Quality juried craft, museum offerings, and stunning views has made the Festival a popular September destination for all. It’s the perfect opportunity to get a jump on your holiday shopping and find that original gift for the hard-to-buy-for!

For your entertainment, there is a food truck, the Café, and live music, courtesy of the Summertime Trio, on both days of the Festival.

The Museum has a spectacular view to the west of Mount Wachusett and, on a clear day, to Mount Monadnock in New Hampshire. The view west overlooks the Oxbow Wildlife Refuge and the Nashua River Valley. There are trails through 210 acres of woodlands and meadows. 
​
​The Guests’ Festival admission also includes entry to the Museum exhibits and trails. It’s a fun day out with family and friends.
​
For more details, visit the event page on the Fruitlands website.

See the rest of our 2018 Show Schedule here. Can't wait to see you!

The 47th Annual Festival of the Arts in Chatham takes place

Friday, Saturday, and Sunday
August 17, 18, 19, 2018
Daily 10:00 am to 5:00 pm

We're joining 120 nationally recognized artisans and craftspeople working in a huge variety of mediums, in Chase Park, Chatham, Cape Cod.

There will be a Children's Tent, food and ice cream trucks to keep the whole family energized. 

Parking is available, with a free shuttle to the park entrance - get details here.

See the rest of our 2018 Show Schedule here. Can't wait to see you!