Third Generation

Thank you to all the people who supported the third generation of Uniques & Antiques contributors by purchasing Maggie Schmidt's first offering to U&A 2010. Maggie sold out of her supply of bubble solution and hand-fashioned pipe-cleaner wands. She decided to spend her profits locally ...with a trip to the Alby!

Thanks, everyone!

Thanks, everyone!

A Hearty Thank You

We offer a hearty thank you to everyone who came to see the show. A beautiful island weekend set the stage for our 7th annual Uniques & Antiques Show. We consider the show a wild success! When you look at your pieces around your home, or wrap your gifts to give to cherished friends, we hope you are as delighted owning them as we are creating them.

People sometimes ask where they can find our things, or if we sell other places. Generally, we do not. Simply, each of us enjoys the playful process of finding & creating unique pieces, and the once a year show is just often enough for us to have fun and feed the habit. Any more than that would be, well....work, not play.

Another question we got this year was, "Don't you hate to part with your things? If I made something so creative, I'd want to keep it for myself!" Our response to that, generally, is that we do...we create things we love and because we love it, we hope you will too. It gives us great pleasure to think that you value it and want it to be part of your home or share it with friends. So never fear, dear show-goers: we are as happy to see you walk away with it as you are to find it!

Meet the Artist: Part Five

Four days and counting till 2010's Uniques & Antiques ...and the paint is still flying at the beautiful big red barn at 1040 Main Road. Mary Jo Purinton's creativity shines forth each year to bring the show together. Mary Jo's sense of whimsy and daring adventure in tackling new projects and new processes result in pieces that often defy description, and must be seen to be appreciated. Mary Jo's creations led us to coin the phrase "furniture with past lives, reincarnated for your delight!" Her "belt chairs" which have amazed visitors for two years running, will again make a stunning appearance. Don't miss your chance to see the rest of Mary Jo's creations for yourself!

Meet the Artist: Part Four

Karen Schwandt's artwork has been found in many island and off island homes through her beautiful woodwork, painting and sewing. Here she sits on one of her offerings for next weekend's event, a bench she built by cutting down her grown son's bedframe. She then chose paint and coordinating fabrics, and sewed cushions to complete the piece. Among the U&A group, Karen is known as the detail painter for her intricate and delicate painting that adds beautiful touches to her finished pieces.

Meet the Artist: Part Three

Kirsten Purinton's quilts have been greeting guests at Uniques and Antiques each year. Kirsten honed her skills at Sievers School of Fiber Arts and her island home features many of her own beautiful heirloom quilts. Her talents extend from the quilting studio to the kitchen and beyond. This year Kirsten's offerings to Uniques & Antiques come in another form: her delicious gift bags of spiced nuts and pretzels. Kirsten's mouthwatering snacks are dressed up in gift bags and make delightful gifts for anyone. We have a sneaking suspicion, however, that many of them never make it quite that far...last year they were snatched up in the first half of the first day of the sale, and hungry shoppers tore open their bags on the spot! Whether a gift for yourself or to share with someone you love, don't miss Kirsten's delicious snack bags...they never last long!

Meet the Artist: Part Two

Sally Schmidt is a Sievers-taught fiber artist. Sally took her first Sievers class 11 years ago, after becoming curious about basket-making materials she found in the attic. This year, as in other years, Sally offers some large and small re-purposed furniture pieces, baskets, polymer clay jewelry--all based in techniques she learned at Sievers and has since adapted in her own style. Sally is currently working on designing a piece that incorporates all her loves: basketweaving, painting, polymer clay, and image transfers.

New to the show this year, Sally brings several unique island images to life in hand-stitched wall hangings inspired by Donna Kallner's Local Color class. For these pieces, Sally transferred her own island photographs, altered them with paints or dyes, embellished with beads and bits, and finished the pieces with hand-stitching. Sally also will feature a collection of hand-dyed scarves, table runners, and other fabrics. She hopes her Uniques & Antiques followers will "make gift lists and check them twice." "It's my hope that people have as much fun choosing and giving my gifts as I have creating them," says Sally.