​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. 
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​The Guests’ Festival admission also includes entry to the Museum exhibits and trails. It’s a fun day out with family and friends.
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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!

Meb: So there we were, my granddaughter Addie and I, at the homestead having a delightful time playing in what we call, “the little house”-- a two-year-old-sized house on stilts-- where every child is entranced because they fit right in.  There is a porch that is open to the woods about three feet up, and suddenly, I found myself on the ground. 

The good news is that I didn’t have bleeding in my head, but the bad news is that my right wrist (yes, I am right-handed), is fractured.  The emergency room said I’ll be four to six weeks in a cast/sling, no driving or typing and certainly no flying pig tail carving. 

Lisa:  I arrived this morning to take Meb to her first radiation treatment, and there she was with her arm in a sling!  Oh dear!  So, now I am the typist. 

Meb: I thought I was done with chemo on March 27th.  Then in May I had the mastectomy.  My hair came back--short, lush and (surprise!) curly.  My finger skin was re-growing, I even tried playing the violin and it worked!  My finger nails were growing back strong, my head was clearing again… and then! 

​In July, I was told that I needed six more months of oral chemo and two months of radiation!!!  What, I’m not done?   It was explained to me then that because I’m what is called “triple negative”, (you can look it up, but essentially the highest rate of recurrence), other treatments including hormones, were not effective on my cancer. 

Lisa: I arrived at the shop to work and Meb told me this news, saying she was shocked to hear the adjective “deadly” used in describing this type of cancer. 

“I guess I have been rather la-la about it” she said.  

Well, I don’t think that she has been “la-la” about it at all, but rather has had an amazingly “keep calm and carry on” spirit in the face of it, and that I think that it has been precisely this in her very positive character that has helped her get through it so well, and I told her so.  Also, always her sense of humor is at the ready and we have enjoyed laughing together often and recently over her special new “swimming boob”.

Today on the radiation table, when the radiologist was tagging her for the new tattoos to mark the specific radiation parameters, Meb said to him, “Ah, a new tat for tit!”… it took him a second or two, and then he and all of us burst out in real laughter together… and it felt good to hear it in that room.  It was a human healing moment.

Meb: I don’t know where I am right now with this new set-back.  I’m very frustrated, a bit depressed and just a little angry at myself.   We just returned from our lovely intense Nantucket show with depleted stock, and Chatham in about two weeks, and I’m in a cast!  Hopefully I will find out tomorrow for how long.    
 
Update: The cast comes off on August 29th! I'm driving myself to radiation every day. Almost ready for Chatham, and it really is raining every day...

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!

Between 4th of July, weddings, graduations, family reunions, and backyard BBQs, we hope you're looking forward to a fun summer season of cooking, serving, and spending time with loved ones.

With all this cooking, do you know the best way to clean and maintain your wooden utensils and serving pieces?

Watch this short video, where Meb will show you the easy, non-toxic way to keep your woodenwares looking beautiful and working perfectly.

Check out the wonderful video profile put together for us by Mary Ruth Shields, Gallery and Shop Manager at Wesleyan Potters. See all of our cool tools and learn how we make sure your piece is unique and beautiful!

​Thank you to Mary Ruth for visiting us and learning about our process.

You can find our pieces in the Wesleyan Potters Gallery/Shop in Middletown, CT.

This summer we plan to offer our elegant, yet tiny (156 SF) cabin (where we lived for 17 years) as an airbnb! Included is our bathouse/writer's cabin, pictured above.
 
Off-grid 156 SF cabin for 2, with tenting space nearby. Includes bathhouse/writer’s cabin, cooking facilities, linens, water and Solar Electricity. Can provide tents, walks with naturalist, photographer. Spoon-making workshops .

Provided:
2-burner cast iron propane stove
Linens and towels
All kitchenware for cooking, eating and serving
Clothes line
Shelves for clothing
Foot pump for 20-gallon cold water tank
Propane heater if needed
DVD player plus some movies
Ceiling fan
Screen door and windows
Campfire and firewood
Stainless propane grill
Outhouse (or indoor sawdust composting toilet if needed)
Solar-powered Electricity
Fold-out futon couch for 2
                Or 2 comfortable cots
                Or tenting
Plenty of reading material
Can do whatever you require--
We can be here or go away if you want privacy
We will even food shop for you          
Local swimming
Hiking
State parks
Shopping - No Malls!!
Antiques
Tag sales

Available for Extra fees - TBD:
Tent for 4
Tent for 2
Somewhat slow Internet access
Walks with naturalist at their cost
Walks with photographer at their cost
Workshop day—make a spoon (rental fees are reduced)
Personal motocross track next door: rental of bikes and equipment

At the homestead, our first finished wall! Painted wood. Ready for charge controller, large inverter and a box for all the house wiring.  Then we’ll hook up the refrigerator and running water!
 
The "Gorgon's Head" that I sculpted 40 years ago for the Opera Company of Boston, now presides.  

We have insulated south "windows", three weeks of firewood stacked in the sun room, and a temporary kitchen with a real draining sink! 

And happily, a finished ceiling and upstairs floor. 

Thanks to you who have placed orders with Meb’s Kitchenwares and then waited patiently for your pieces to arrive. The oncologist asked for a six-month commitment, so till mid April, I’m looking at chemo as my first job. This is frustrating, but made easier since my fingers aren’t working up to capacity.

We are looking toward spring, however:
Bruce Museum in Greenwich, CT will be our first show of 2018.  May 19 to 20.
We hope you will come and see us there.

Hello from Lisa at the Workshop for Meb’s Kitchenwares:

I want to introduce myself to you. I started working with Meb & Tom in October of this year, hand-crafting beautiful New England wooden wares. Under Meb’s guidance, I am learning how to shape blocks of hardwood into finely finished pieces, that invite touch, and seem to nestle into the shape of a hand. I feel privileged to be able to do this creative work, bringing an object of use and beauty out of its raw real material. In today’s throw away world of surface flash with no substance, it is deeply gratifying to produce something of intrinsic and lasting value.

If you are reading this newsletter, you have met Meb. Perhaps it was in her booth at a show, surrounded by gleaming wooden creations. Or you may have become part of the “family” of those who have visited the workshop, or who own a special cutting board, or a curly spoon? You will have perceived a person who is enthusiastic, creative, and warm. I have come to know my friend Meb as
unfailingly positive in the face of difficulties, unbelievably hardworking, and with a hilarious sense of laughter and quickness to joy.

In October, weeks after I started working in the shop, Meb was diagnosed with
breast cancer, and started chemotherapy. We did the 3-day show at St. John the Divine Cathedral in New York city together, me working the booth while Meb snuck off for a nap in the pews from time to time. Two weeks later I went to the shop and found her shaping spoons at the sander with a wool scarf tucked around her head… her hair had fallen out the night before! She made a joke about it and then said “Just keep calm and carry on, right?”, and we both continued working together to get the custom orders out in time for Christmas.

Meb is a trooper, but she is finding her energy and creative thinking are being
severely sapped by the chemotherapy. Together, friends have set up a YouCaring fund raising site, to help her get through this tough time, as the business which relies so much on her hard work and know-how is down.

Please consider taking a look and helping Meb and Tom if you are able.

Many Thanks,
Lisa