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2020 Events

 The Big E
September 18-October 4

Craft Vermont
November 22-24

30 Year Member

Audry Linn

In 1978 my husband and I, along with our two boys age 6 months and 20 months, moved to Vermont from Chicago. In order to supplement our income we decided to raise sheep. At one time we had a flock of 100 at out small farm. They were sold for meat, fleece was made into yarn and skins tanned.

The skins that I used for sewing needed to be cropped and double faced tanned to be useable for clothing.

In 1980, with no formal education in the arts and crafts, and not having sewn before, I decided to make sheepskin products as a hobby. I developed patterns for slippers and mittens in all sizes for babies and adults. Later I added hats, scarfs, headbands, insoles, toys and quilts. One of my first craft fairs was in the Essex High School gym with the Vermont Craft Workers.

I sew all my items by hand with an awl using a waxed nylon thread for durability. The stitch I use does not leave a perforated edge so it does not tear. Since it is a seasonal product, and I am the only one making it, I do not sell on the Internet. All the products that I make are available at the Artisans Gallery in Waitsfield where I work one day a week. I also sell my wares at fall craft fairs including CVU, Vermont Hand Crafters, Barre Craft Show, Richmond Holiday market and occasionally the Craft Producers shows. This small business keeps me busy and happy in my retirement.

30 Year Member

Gail Canedy

One day in the early seventies I was thumbing through a magazine and saw a picture of a pinecone wreath which was something I had always admired to the point of my actually having most of the necessary materials to make one. That day marked the birth of CONECRAFT.

In 1978 I was juried into Vermont Handcrafters. I did the show at Memorial Auditorium for 2 years. It soon became apparent that working with a craft requiring that degree of labor, intensity and space was not going to work while raising the 7 week old son that Donald and I adopted.

I decided to participate in the other side of the VHC organization. I served on committees, joined the Board of Directors, and chaired or co-chaired at least 5 shows including Memorial, two venues in Stowe, and helped coordinate the first show at the Sheraton.

This organization and those experiences had a profound influence on my personal life. I developed strong relationships with many people in VHC, relationships that would last a lifetime.

I now have thousands upon thousands of sorted and labeled cones in my house, my garage and my barn. To this day, I cannot walk by a cone on the ground without picking it up to admire the incredibly beautiful flowers that nature has created. And, of course, it goes home with me!

What am I going to do with all these cones? My heart wants to begin again, but my head knows better that I am at the wrong end of the age spectrum to try to start up again. What I do know is that I am still and will always be proud to say that I am a member of Vermont Hand Crafters.

30 Year Member

Benjamin Waitt Thurber

I am a native Vermonter, born in Newport and raised in Island Pond and Burlington, I bring an appreciation of Vermont's rugged beauty to my sketches. Named after my great-great-grandfather, Green Mountain Boy General Benjamin Waitt, I especially enjoy sketching the Waitsfield Covered Bridge in the town named after this relative.

After attending college and seminary in California and enjoying a career as a college chaplain and clergyman in Iowa, Ohio and Massachusetts, I returned to Vermont in 1984 and pursued my passion for art. A past president of the Vermont Hand Crafters, I exhibit my work at various shows and shops throughout Vermont and have taught art classes to multi-age students, including one at the Church Street Center.

I publish an annual calendar of Vermont pen and ink sketches and produce my line art on a variety of surfaces, including tree mushrooms, note cards, framed prints, Christmas cards, birthday calendars, This Week note pads, wrapping paper, gift tote bags, coasters and mugs. I credit my Island Pond elementary teacher, Eugenia Roby, for encouraging me as an artist. I would hand in spelling and arithmetic with pictures all over the paper, and instead of scolding me, she would encourage my artwork and even gave me one of her own paintings. I currently reside in Craftsbury with Bev, my wife of thirty-six years.

30 Year Member

Catherine Beliveau

I create functional and decorative pottery. I make unusual dishes and plaques by pressing flowers, leaves, grasses and herbs into clay and painting the impressions.

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