Holiday Market

Holiday Market was spectacular!  There were gifts galore and wonderful stocking stuffers mostly made by hand from area artisans.  Both soft and hard goods could be had ranging from delicate knits to hand forged iron.  It was a delight to watch folks go from browsing to buying. 

Jerill Vance of Jerill Vance Woodworks brought one of his fine inlaid tilt top tables, a quilt frame and a beautiful hand drawn work of art with one of his wooden frames amongst other goodies of course.  But these caught my eye right off and his work is stunning.

John Kessinger, of Revolutionary Road, is a cooper which is a person highly skilled in crafting wooden buckets, was accompanied by his lovely wife had an inviting display of his water buckets, churns, and her pretty boxes adorned with lace, hand sewn stocking and several other cuties. 

Ervin Jones and his wife Susie displayed Ervin's fine wooden masterpieces.  His hand carved bowls are gorgeous as you can see in the photos but he also crafts ornaments and these little bird houses are adorable! 

Charlie Bradley and his wife Evelyn, loyal demonstrators at Heritage Farm can be seen frequently during various Way Back Weekends. They both continue to earn 'best costume' in my opinion!  Their creative costumes grabs attention no matter what season.  They grace the banner of this blog on the left hand side.   His unique display of implements crafted from iron mixed with other antique wares were most interesting and were sure to attract the history buffs.

 

Quite a contrast from the hardened iron tools to the gifts below which were crafted from delicate strands copper wire into amusing little figures, ornaments and jewelry.  Jimmy Robinson delights customers of all ages with his copper creations. 

Austin Jones of Point Pleasant, WV, committed to the preservation and restoration of antique printing equipment, displayed several examples of letterpress prints some of which were framed.  Old ads and patriotic songs are just a few examples of his gifts that could be purchased.  What a unique idea for the history buff in your family!

River and Rail Bakery offered scrumptious cookies and treats for those who needed a sugar high from the strenuous shopping! :) 

Margaret Reid and her husband of Reid's Appiary in Willow Wood, Ohio were on hand to offer honey bee goods.  A variety of candies and sweets were available, perfect for stocking stuffers!  

Kate McComas, one of the area's most talented spinners had a wonderful table displaying a variety of her textiles.  Kate teaches classes in the spring and fall at Heritage Farm.

Alane Thomas also on hand to dispay her beautiful yarns and had a great display of hand made scarves, hats, and purses.  Her husband specializes in glass baubles that make gorgeous necklaces. 

Yellow Goat Farm displayed such sweet scented soaps and sachets!  I loved the cute little goats on the little pouches.  Perfect stocking stuffers!

Kari Newman of Bead Unique  was in a melting mania since last month when she demonstrated her lampwork beads in November during the last Way Back Weekend Hot Glass celebration.  Snowmen, Christmas trees and all sorts of beautiful beads had to be created for Holiday Market.  She also was busy fulfilling a very special order. This particular request required her to custom craft beads from photos to match beloved family members of her client.  Scroll down to see how accurate she is...

Pretty and Perfect!  The little blue eye is simply adorable and too cute!

Eric Pardue shared his talent as a potter and demonstrated how to 'throw' pottery. 

Dave Osburn's fabulous glasswares are always on display in the new gift shop at Heritage Farm.  You can buy ornaments, jars, glasses, vases, etc. 

Upon exiting Heritage Hall and Holiday Market, one little baby was not pleased with being left behind. 

Holiday Market proved to be a shopping success for those looking for something a bit different, something hand made, something beautiful and certainly something one of a kind!  Most of the artisans have participated in past Way Back Weekend celebrations and some of their goods can be found in the Heritage Farm gift shop.   The Way Back Weekend series will resume next April.  The schedule can be found on the Heritage Farm website or under Events on this blog.  Merry Christmas to you and Happy Holidays!

It is Good to Give, Right?

Christmas season is here at Heritage Farm and it is Gift Time!  For the final Way Back Weekend celebration, a wonderful Holiday Market will be open in Heritage Hall on Saturday from 10-3.  Talented artisans, many who participated in the past Way Back Weekend celebrations will be on hand to sell their creations.  The weather looks promising with a sunny day, so come on out and find some unique gifts for your loved ones.  There is no admission for the Holiday Market however if you choose to tour the award winning museums, the admission is $8 for adults and $6 for kids.  River and Rail will sell their scrumptious pepperoni rolls, coffee, hot cocoa and several sweet items to tease your palette.
There will also be a pottery and spinning demonstration, so bundle up, bring some friends and pop on over to the farm for some wonderful gift shopping.  p.s.  Feel free to print our flyer by right clicking and save to your pictures file.  See you Saturday!

Hot Glass!

November's Way Back Weekend celebration was all about glass.  It was a lovely day with Autumn's hue's still lingering on but nothing matched the beauitful colored creations that I was about to see as I passed thru the heavy wooden door.

A small crowd was hovering around a woman with eye protectors on.  She turned on a small torch that spit out a hot orange flame. With a stainless steel mandrel and a rod of colored glass she began to form a tiny blob that eventually grew into a gorgeous bead.  Kari Newman, a lampwork glass artist, of Bead Unique was kind enough to be one of Heritage Farm's demonstrators.  Her beads are adorable and each one has a personality of its own.  Her beads were not just balls of glass; she creates tiny birds, mushrooms, cute little halloween figures, candy corn, and a skull, were just a few that caught my eye.  At this point several were gathered around, asking questions while others were looking at beads and one happy person had just made a purchase. With not a lot of room to take good pics, I wandered up to the other glass maker.

Dave Osburn traveling all the way from Maryland was busy explaining the steps in making a small jar. A veteran in the glass industry, Dave was employed with Blenko Glass in Milton for 33 years as a glass designer before he bought Gibson Glass renaming it Osburn Modern Glass.  Now located out of state, this artisan and talented glass blower demonstrates annually at Heritage Farm and continues creating beautiful vases, cups, plates, ornaments, etc.  

I cannot imagine working with the intense heat but Dave masterfully shaped the large glass ball into what will be a glass jar.  it seemed as though everyone watching was mesmorized with his skills and it was hard to take your eye off the glistening clear glass. 

As I glanced around, I noticed a georgeous selection featuring some of Dave's creations for sale on top of a display case.  One buyer was attracted to the sparkling Christmas ornaments.  I am sure her tree will be spectacular this year!

Hot Glass proved to be a wonderful celebration for the Heritage Farm Way Back Weekend series.  Wandering back thru hallway and out the door, I noticed even more people learning about the beads...and I met Mr. Bernard Marshall of Lavalette who makes such cute canes!  How perfect for Thanksgiving!

 As I strolled back to the parking lot, I could not resist visiting a few 'things' on display that were the complete opposite of shiny glass although one sported something similar to a perfect blue glass ball!

One final stop was made though I dared not stay too long, River and Rail Bakery located in dowtown Huntington was the food vendor in the Heritage Farm Vittles Shop and oh my, the blueberry scones were way too tasty as was the huge chocolate chip cookie that I pretended to buy for my husband.  They also had pepperoni rolls, coffee, brownies, and various cookies.  Yummo!

The final Way Back Weekend celebration will be the Holiday Market held the first Saturday in December from 10-3.  Artisans of all types will be there for you to browse and buy before the Christmas holiday.  See you then and have a great Thanksgiving!