As the days grow short and the chilly weather settles in, the best antidote to the gloom of winter is gathering with friends, lighting candles and decorating the house, baking cookies and preparing holiday feasts and — of course — shopping!
Although I generally try to resist the mad rush of consumerism that comes with the territory of the winter holidays, I also love to give gifts, especially when they’re handmade by some of my talented women friends. What follows is a decidedly idiosyncratic list of some of the local woman-run craft businesses that are high on my list for holiday gifts.
The leather bracelets made by Liz Olney are among my perennial favorites — I especially love the rainbow studs, but I know some of my friends will prefer the brass studs, and some of the kids on my list love the leather flowers and butterfly bracelets. It’s amazing how soft, supple and totally feminine a leather bracelet can be! You can try on Liz Olney creations at Lauren Clark Fine Art Gallery on Railroad Street in Great Barrington, where you’re also likely to find other unique high-end gifts for the people on your list who just have everything.
There are a couple of women in southern Berkshire County who procure their beautiful wares from afar. Anni (Crofut) Maliki designs beautiful jewelry out of silver, shell, seeds and stones, and each piece is handcrafted for her business, Anni Maliki, by silversmiths in Bali, Indonesia, where Anni and her husband Mel have a home. My Anni Maliki collection keeps growing, and I always get so many compliments on the rings, earrings and pendants I love to wear.
Then there’s Sue Fish, who owns the Women’s Peace Collection. Sue sources all kinds of jewelry and accessories from women artisans around the world; when you purchase a handcrafted item from the Women’s Peace Collection, you can be sure your dollars will not only bring you a great gift, but also help support a woman and her family.
If pottery is your thing, there are a couple of great women potters spinning their wheels in the Berkshire hills. Ellen Grenadier out in Monterey has been making beautiful tableware for many years from her Monterey studio; I especially love the designs that incorporate ferns and other local flora. Lorimer Burns, with a home-based studio right in the heart of Housatonic, describes her process of working with clay as a “protracted love affair” which, “while intensely personal, is only complete when a pot is in use in someone’s home.” Maybe yours!
For the knitters on my list, I like to stop by Wonderful Things in Great Barrington, or Colorful Stitches in Lenox. Both stores are chockfull of gorgeous yarns and patterns for knitters at every level. Mary McGurn at Colorful Stitches offers classes and knitting circles that I wish I had time to attend; at Wonderful Things you can get not only knitting supplies but also chair caning supplies and all kinds of ready-made craft gifts as well.
A tucked-away gem is the Deb Koffman Art Space on Front Street in Housatonic. First of all, I love the signs that Deb hangs outside her door, with reassuring messages for the over-frazzled shopper, like “It’s OK to pause.” Deb has created a whole line of prints, cards and “soul cards” with different messages. I’d like to have a whole wall of her creations hanging in my home!
At holiday-time I usually try to stock up on soaps, scented sprays and candles handmade by my friend Maria Crespo, who runs Asia Luna together with her husband Paul.
Maria and Paul make the finest soaps and scented products I have ever had the pleasure to use, with all-natural ingredients and lots of TLC. The truth is that although I always tell myself I’m buying gifts to give away, a bunch of Asia Luna products always seem to find their way into my own soap dishes and pockets (try the lip balm, you’ll never look back!).
If you just want to get bowled over with a big selection of all kinds of crafts, check out Evergreen Contemporary Crafts on Main Street in Great Barrington, owned by Barbara Watkins. Evergreen has been in business as long as I can remember (according to the website, it’s been since 1980, practically a lifetime!) and the quality and diversity of crafts in the store is always outstanding.
I can’t end this column without mentioning the newest online merchandise site in town: the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers Store! Our fabulous designer, Anna Myers Sabatini, who grew up in Great Barrington but now lives in New York City, is the genius behind our beautiful Festival graphic design, and she’s applied her magic touch to a series of mugs, travel mugs, water bottles, notebooks and other products that are sure to please the woman writers on your list — and you can feel good knowing that your gifts will support the 2015 Festival, coming along in March to brighten us up out of the winter doldrums.
Have fun shopping and enjoy the bustle of the holidays. Remember: It’s OK to pause!
___________
The weekly EDGE WISE column is curated by Jennifer Browdy, Ph.D., associate professor of comparative literature, gender studies and media studies at Bard College at Simon’s Rock and the Founding Director of the Berkshire Festival of Women Writers. Women writers interested in publishing in EDGE WISE can find writers’ guidelines on the Festival website, or may submit queries or columns to Jennifer@berkshirewomenwriters.org.
