Our Fairground Is the Whole Wide, Wonderful World of Crafts
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RHINEBECK acc Our fairground is the whole wide, wonderful world of crafts The American Crafts Council is a nonprofit, for education and research in the crafts educational, cultural organization serving . .. and advising organizations, agencies, a national membership. and individuals on special projects and problems. Founded in 1943 to stimulate interest in and appreciation of the work of American Included as part of every ACC membership craftsmen, the Council has been is a subscription to CRAFT HORIZONS, instrumental in the present resurgence of the world's leading magazine in the field. crafts in this country ... the quantum jump Each issue is read, used, discussed and in the numbers of outstanding exhibitions, referred to by professional craftsmen and such as CRAFT FAIR 11 ... the proliferation craftswomen, dedicated amateurs, and of media and materials, educational collectors everywhere. sources and resources ... and the burgeoning activities of craftsmen and All memberships also include free collectors everywhere. admission to the Museum of Contemporary Crafts in New York City. The Council's activities are many and varied — including sponsorship of We invite your participation, interest, and exhibitions, conferences, seminars, and support. Write today for a brochure and workshops ... encouraging and providing membership application. MEMBERSHIP DEPARTMENT THE AMERICAN CRAFTS COUNCIL 44 WEST 53rd STREET • NEW YORK, N.Y. 10019 craft fairtl NORTHEAST CRAFT FAIR, LTD. BOARD OF DIRECTORS ACC TRUSTEES — Mrs. Vanderbilt Webb, 29 West 53rd Street, New York, New York 10019 R. Leigh Glover, 196 Shonnard Terrace, Yonkers, New York 10701 Mary Nyburg, Box 24, Garrison, Maryland 21055 Contents STATE REPRESENTATIVES — John Heller, 526 Thompson Street, Halifax, Mass. 02338 THE HISTORY OF THE NORTHEAST CRAFT FAIR Wendell Castle, 18 Maple Street, Scottsville, New York Carolyn Kriegman 2 14546 Sansea Sparling, P.O. Box 81, New Haven, Vermont 05472 THE NORTHEAST REGION OF THE MEMBERS-AT-LARGE — Harold Helwig, 225 Highland AMERICAN CRAFT COUNCIL Avenue, Buffalo, New York 14222 Elaine Koretsky, 756 Washington Street, Brookline, Mass. Mary Nyburg 8 02146 Carolyn Kriegman, 18 Lake Shore Drive, Montville. N. J. STATE REPRESENTATIVES 07045 NORTHEAST REGION ASSEMBLY 8 CHAIRMAN — John Heller PRESIDENT — Carol Sedestrom, Northeast Craft Fair, Ltd., A DIRECTORY OF EXHIBITING CRAFTSMEN 12 North Chestnut Street, New Paltz, New York 12561 Alphabetically 9 (914) 255-0039 A DIRECTORY OF EXHIBITING CRAFTSMEN CRAFT FAIR 11 PERSONNEL By Media . 22 GROUNDS LAY OUT: Isabel Parks, Warren Hullow, Eileen and Rick Schlag A DIRECTORY OF EXHIBITING CRAFTSMEN CRAFTSMEN REGISTRATION: Barb and Mike Feno SUPPLIERS SHOW: John Davis By Booth Number 26 SHOP & GALLERY REGISTRATION: Sue Ebendorf A DIRECTORY OF SHOPS & GALLERIES 29 DIRECTORY SALES: Tony Davenport INFORMATION BOOTH: Marliene Froke A DIRECTORY OF CRAFT EQUIPMENT AND CRAFTSMAN'S BANK: Jerry Hovanec 1976 STANDARDS COMMITTEE: Ron Burke, Harriet MATERIAL SUPPLIERS 32 Cohen, John Habbersett, John Heller, Annette Hobbs, Dick Müller, Jim Nadal, Betty Tinlot (Ten Arrow), Rick Synder- man (The Works Craft Gallery) DISPLAY ADVERTISING BOOTH AWARDS COMMITTEE: Carrie Adell, Marylyn Dintenfass-Katz, Raymon Elozua, Elizabeth Gurrier, Allen A MAP OF CRAFT FAIR 11 Littlefield, Emily McLennan CRAFT FAIR 11 OFFICIAL DIRECTORY 1976/Published by The Northeast Craft Fair thanks all personnel the Northeast Craft Fair, Ltd./Additional copies are available listed above for their efforts and extends a through the Northeast Craft Fair office, 12 North Chestnut thank you to all craftsmen who hare contributed Street, New Paltz, New York 12561 (914) 255-0039. Single their time and energy to the growth and de- copies cost $1.50, including first class postage and handling. velopment of the Fair. Checks should be made payable to Northeast Craft Fair, Ltd. The History of Northeast Craft Fair Nor storm nor rain shall stay them from their Thus, the craftsmen who found themselves warm- appointed rounds might well paraphrase the North- ing by the Vermont fireplace were intimately aware east Craft Fair, now celebrating its eleventh anni- of the need for crafts to find new and enlarged versary, despite some hefty interference from Mother marketplaces, and they had come there in the hope Nature. that one could indeed be created. Actually, the Northeast Fair was born as whirl- The middle sixties, when all this drama began ing snow fell and drifted heavily against a ski lodge to unfold, did not enjoy the wealth of crafts activities where a group of craftsmen, wearied by the minimal that the seventies have nourished. Craftsmen were visibility and unplowed roads that conspired to frus- of widely disparate abilities in terms of being able trate their journey, huddled together to trade stories to bring their work to the attention of store owners of their trek from the assorted states that represented or the buying public. So when the Assembly sought home base for each. They had made the trip to in- to research the possibility of having a fair, it was spect the facilities in Stowe, Vermont, as the result in response to a crying need. While they had no of an earlier and rather casual suggestion that they experience of their own in running a fair, they had might get together one fine day and have a craft their seemingly endless energies, fed by unflagging fair. As good ideas have a way of doing, this one enthusiasm, to spur them on. couldn't be laid to rest, so when the Stowe lodge was Thus the first fair held at Stowe in August of suggested as a possible summer site, the sponsoring 1965 was a very homegrown affair, boasting a vol- committee was off and away to look at it. unteer committee that soon became expert in laying These dauntless travelers were none less than out exhibition areas, hand lettering signs, travelling the bulk of the members of the Northeast Assembly the local highways and by-ways to tack up travel of the American Crafts Council. The American Crafts directions, dealing with all sorts of crises, large and Council, a national membership organization, has as small, that seemed to crop up when least expected, its prime goal, the promotion of crafts and crafts- putting on crafts demonstrations and programs de- men, and among its many associated activities, pub- signed to edify or amuse the exhibitors, and through lishes Craft Horizons, a wide-ranging handsome mag- it all to maintain rampant good humor and develop azine, and runs the Museum of Contemporary Crafts a camraderie that has been an abiding element in in New York City. The Council is divided into six every craft fair since. regional divisions, and within each of these there is There were seventy-odd participants that first an elective body of craftsmen called the Assembly, summer who thoroughly enjoyed all the programs and who serve to bring the needs of their fellow crafts- experiences that came their way, and who were no- men to the national group. ticeably flattered by the visits of many crafts notables who came, prompted by their curiosity, and who also stayed to pause readily at each of the booths, en- joying the work presented and the sense of pioneer- ing zeal that seemed to rub off on everyone. Craftspeople dote on such occasions, not just for the hope of financial gain, nor for the inherent advantages of being able to share technical and re- source information at first hand, but also because of the underlying social bonuses. Because the exhibitors came from a diverse geographical spectrum they were quick to realize the promise of renewing old friend- ships and generating many new ones. The Committee, aware of these social instincts, decided to undertake an ox roast, as one of their efforts. While this was an endeavor as new to them as staging a fair, they soon found themselves out digging a huge pit, spitting an enormous ox purchased for the purpose from the Trapp Family Lodge, setting their fire in the newly dug cavern, and beginning a twenty-four hour vigil to keep the flames alive and the beast basted. It was a jolly crew that turned the spit through the night, and a grateful and hungry crowd that partook of the generous sandwiches that were the ultimate bounty of the crew's dedication. In recalling the culinary feat, the volunteer commit- tee estimated it required ten gallons of wine to sauce the ox, and five fifths of whiskey to juice them. The weather that weaves its troublesome way through the Northeast Craft Fair's history began a withering campaign that week, alternating between heat that scorched and dried the area to a turn, and of some of the excellent work available in the booths. rain that soon turned to scudding white caps on the Jurors, as in the prior years, were elected from and sea that had been the parking lot. Mother Nature by the exhibitors by media. Therefore, all the potters, had come prepared to exhibit and amaze with some for example would nominate and vote for the potter of her more creative efforts as well. in their midst whom they most admired who would While the crowds didn't amount to what the then judge their work. Jurors thus recognized, receiv- fondest dreams had hoped they would, there were ed a very special honor from their compatriots, but enough visitors so that most of the craftsmen tallied in those days the jurying was done face to face, so sufficient gain to cover their expenses at the very the jurors were asked to state for all to hear, their least, and so talk quickly turned to the next year's reasons for accepting or rejecting work submitted for fair. With that sort of encouragement, the sponsoring inclusion in the "Court of Honor", as the special committee-members, while momentarily exhausted, presentation was then called.