Local Artisans' Work Accepted For Vermont Handcrafters Show
By Mary Anderson

Ten local artisans have been accepted into the Vermont Handcrafters Fine Crafts and Art Show. This show, listed as a "top ten" winter event by the Vermont Chamber of Commerce, is comprised only of Vermont artists who have passed a rigorous jury process. It will take place at the Sheraton Hotel in Burlington November 15-18. It runs from 12-8 p.m. on Thursday, 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Friday, and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.  

Local artists include Brookfield resident Mindy Jackson-Jefferys, a native of the area, who is known by many through her work starting and running the Chandler Gallery Holiday Bazaar. Her business, Stray Cat, has gone through a number of changes over the years. Ten years ago she sold her photo cards at Cover to Cover books. Four years ago she discovered polymer clay and has "slowly but surely replaced the decorative painting with making polymer clay jewelry." With the help of her husband, Alan, she does about 24 craft shows a year selling her nature-inspired jewelry.

Susan Cobb is another Brookfield resident who has been making wire-wrapped jewelry for 10 years. She fell in love with stones when her husband took her to a gem show in Tucson, and says, "I learned to wire wrap to give me an excuse to buy the stones." Many of the stones she buys are from people with small mines worked with hand tools.

"I select each stone I set individually, and make my setting to allow the stone to shine," says Cobb, who teaches full time in the Vermont College Undergraduate Program. She considers her business, Laughing Dog Wirewrap, to be a hobby. However, it is an important hobby as it is helping to pay off her student loans and provides "a creative and fun part" of her life.

Vermont Handcrafters member Marcia Hammond has been designing clothing for more than 40 years. A fourth generation clothing designer who is recognized for the subtlety of color in her handwoven chenille garments and accessories, she has won many awards and has exhibited at the prestigious Smithsonian Craft Show in Washington, D.C. She is currently painting canvases in oils and watercolors, as well as exploring color on silk fabric for detailing of her garments. Hammond is the founding member of a newly-formed cooperatively-run craft gallery, "Collective- the Art of Craft" in Woodstock.

Mary Anderson from Bethel learned to weave in Appalachian Kentucky over 30 years ago. After suffering debilitating injuries from a fire, she used weaving and knitting as physical therapy. This has evolved into her current business, Loominations of VT. She works primarily with natural fibers, including organic cotton when she can obtain it. She carries a wide array of items including table linens, towels, scarves and blankets. She also knits and felts and makes felted hats in many shapes and colors. Anderson has a new line of baby items, including felted booties, mittens and blankets.

Anderson contributed a Christmas ornament (a felted ball made completely from Vermont wool, depicting the state bird, the hermit thrush), to the Capitol this year through the Vermont Handcrafters ornament project. Replicas of her ornament as well as her other works and the work of many talented artists will be available at the Chandler Gallery's Holiday Bazaar which will run from November 24 through December 30.

Artists from Chelsea, East Thetford, Randolph and Rochester will also be at the Vermont Handcrafter's Show. Their crafts include aromatherapy bath and body care products, specialty food items, jewelry and painted floor coverings. This show in Burlington is an opportunity for community members to buy local and help the local economy. It is estimated that half a million dollars will change hands at this event, going to support the work of Vermont artists such as these who have become an important part of Vermont culture.

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