Northern New England Craft Fair

To segue from New York City to rural New England where I live, I will begin with my latest peak at the Sartorialist, who posted some racerback dresses he had spotted on the city streets probably during the last August heat wave.

From the Sartorialist.com

I myself am a big fan of the racerback style, and wish I could have found something in that shape when I was last in the City. Alas, I didn't find anything that I liked. But that really doesn't matter. I know that I have plenty of clothes. Life goes on.

Meanwhile the summer in New Hampshire has been very pleasant, and I lucked out with another lovely, sunny, breezy day when I headed  to the Sunapee Craft Fair with my friend Deb.  She is the manager of the local crafts store that sells only regionally made pottery, glass, wood objects and furniture, jewelry and clothing.
The Sunapee crafts fair, which takes place annually at the Sunapee ski area in Central New Hampshire, is a great place to fashion watch, but also to look at and for things for the home that have been made locally and (we hope) create a sustainable living for the craftspeople.

 I love the two toned Birkenstock.

 It was a good place to show off your stored away hat that you never dare wear anywhere else.

I wish I could have a bathroom accented with some of these tiles...

 I ended up buying a scarf from this weaver, I couldn't resist...

 Love the purple paired with the red worn by the woman on the right. 

Oh how nicely everything flows...

Gold wire, all hand made

Lest we forget where fabric comes from (when it isn't made in a laboratory or a factory).

Other than the scarf, and a vase that I bought from a potter who specializes in Raku, I really couldn't justify another purchase. I am in the process of cleaning out the contents of my home, and I already have an accumulation of lovely pots, plates, mugs, vases, glasses, wood furniture, and plenty of jewelry.  At the recycling center in town where we have a "swap shop," my friend Colleen showed me what she had found there. I told her that I was currently in an "output" mode, as in needing to get rid of things, rather than bring more things in. I sense that many of us who have lived in the same house for several decades are in the same boat. At the next house warming, I will offer something from my home, after cleaning it up of course, and trying my best to make look new. I will be honest with the person to whom I plan to give the hand me down gift, and I hope that he won't mind. Now, where did I put that Alice in Wonderland mirror?