CRAFT SHOW
New England has long been home to makers of beautiful objects for everyday life. Here, Yankee editors share some of their modern-day favorites.
On a chilly New England evening, what could be better than wrapping yourself in light, soft, handwoven wool? Founded in 1992, Swans Island Company made its name with blankets and throws distinguished by their fine weave, subtle colors, and impeccable craftsmanship. Much of the fiber comes from local farms and is custom-spun by New England mills before being hand-dyed and woven by Swans Island artisans into modern-day heirlooms that will last for generations. swansislandcompany.com
go-to for Maine tourmaline, which it transforms into a variety of exquisitely crafted rings, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and more. Our favorite, for maximum Maine flavor: the sterling silver lobster claw pendant with green tourmaline (representing a lobster’s natural color) or pink tourmaline (a nod to its rosy post-steaming hue). crossjewelers.com
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HANDBLOWN GLASSWARE SIMON PEARCE | QUECHEE, VT
Cereal is more fun when an alien spaceship lurks beneath the frosted flakes. At their workshop in southern Maine, Lars and Connie Turin create fine vases, bowls, and other works in clay to suit grownup tastes, but it’s impossible to resist these porcelain bowls with their rollicking designs: aliens, sea adventures, town-andcountry scenes. The colorful sgraffito motifs feel like instant kid classics. turinclayworks.com
You’ll join the ranks of such famous fans as Caroline Kennedy and Sandra Bullock when you bring home Simon Pearce’s sparkling wares, all of it handblown by skilled artisans in company workshops (including Pearce’s original studio, founded in 1981 a historic mill building on the Ottauquechee River). In designing everything from tumblers and pitchers to candlesticks and giftware, Pearce finds inspiration in Vermont’s hills and mountains, countryside, and changing seasons, something that is especially evident in his signature glass evergreens—handblown beauties that are just waiting to reforest your mantel. simonpearce.com
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STORY BOWLS TURIN & TURIN CLAYWORKS | YORK, ME
CAST-IRON COOKWARE NEST HOMEWARE | PROVIDENCE, RI
Rhode Island School of Design alum Matt Cavallaro founded Nest Homeware in 2013 and quickly found fans with his cast-iron creations, which have the rugged good looks of cookware forged by ingenious gnomes. Handles are made to look like tree branches, and burnished surfaces glow like the sun. Cavallaro designs every piece, and while he uses an out-of-state foundry, he and his partner, Rue Sakayama, apply the finishing touch in Rhode Island: seasoning the cast iron with flaxseed oil in his workshop oven. nesthomeware.com
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MAINE TOURMALINE JEWELRY CROSS JEWELERS | PORTLAND, ME
The history of tourmalines in Maine goes back to 1820, the year it joined the Union and the year that this gem was first discovered in Maine’s western mountains. Tourmaline—which ranges in color from black or white to brilliant shades of pink, green, and blue—is today the state’s official mineral, making it the ideal gift for someone looking to have a little piece of Maine to call their own. Founded in 1908, Cross Jewelers is the
48 WEEKENDS WITH YANKEE INSIDERS’ GUIDE
RECYCLED-SAIL TOTES SEA BAGS | PORTLAND, ME
Headquartered on Portland’s historic Custom House Wharf, Sea Bags makes rugged and stylish totes from a surprising material: old sails. As the company likes to describe it: “Our materials retain the essence of what they once were, where they’ve been and what they’ve done. It’s this previous life that makes each bag unique.” Spinnakers, dinghy sails, racing sails—they all find new purpose as totes, bucket bags, duffels, and other handy accessories. Plus, they come with the eco-friendly bonus of cutting down on material going into landfills (more than 700 tons to date). seabags.com
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HANDCRAFTED UTENSILS MEB’S KITCHENWARES | WOODSTOCK, CT
What began as a cabinetmaking business for Meb Boden and her husband, Tom Vaiciulis, became a craftcentered labor of love almost 20 years ago. They shifted to making hand-carved works of art that also stand up to the daily demands of family cooking, including a wealth of ladles, spoons, tongs, salad servers, and other
utensils. As with everything that Meb and Tom design and make, their utensils are carved from sustainably sourced New England hardwood and speak to their love of living simply and in connection with their environment. mebskitchenwares.com
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HANDWOVEN DOORMATS MYSTIC KNOTWORK | MYSTIC, CT
Don’t get your twine in a twist—let Mystic Knotwork do it for you. Matt Beaudoin’s team of artisans follow in the tradition of his grandfather, Alton Beaudoin, whose expert knotwork led to the Smithsonian Institution recognizing him as a master of cord and rope tying. Mystic Knotwork turns out a variety of accessories and decor—sailor’s bracelets, wreaths, lanyards, and so on—but we particularly love the nautical-inspired knotted mats. Made of manila rope dyed in on-trend colors or left natural to silver like cedar shingles, they are built to withstand New England weather and decades of boot-scuffing. mysticknotwork.com
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HANDBLOWN GLASS FLOATS THE GLASS STATION | WAKEFIELD, RI
The project started simply enough—just something to keep glassblower Eben Horton busy during a slow economy. Inspired by a similar project in Oregon, he began using down time at his Wakefield studio to craft glass balls modeled on Japanese fishing floats. But after he started hiding them on Block Island for others to find, the Glass Float Project took on a life of its own. These days, Horton and his small team make 550 floats per year to squirrel away on the island. “The wonderful thing about this project is that there is a certain mystery that revolves around it,” he has said. “People want answers for everything in life, it seems, but even I do not know how many floats are still waiting to be found.” Fortunately for those unable to join in the hunt, Orton also makes glass floats for sale, in both crystal-clear and brilliantly colored versions. theglassstationstudio.com
TUNE IN FOR MORE
Learn about the classic craft of wooden shipbuilding during our visit to Essex, Massachusetts, on Weekends with Yankee season five.
PH OTOS : LO R I P ED R I C K (2, 5); RU E S A K AYA M A (3); A L L OT H ER S CO U R T E S Y O F S O U RC E
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HANDWOVEN BLANKETS SWANS ISLAND COMPANY | NORTHPORT, ME
