Home-Grown and Handmade in the Valley
The crafts tradition has been strong in the upper Connecticut
River Valley since Native Americans fashioned a culture with natural materials
and the first European immigrants carved a life out of the wilderness.
Farmers began with hand tools and became accomplished menders of farm equipment.
Rural communities relied on the skills of the blacksmith, the sawyer, the grist
mill operator, the spinner, the weaver, and many others. The savvy of hundreds
of workbench innovators underwrote the success of the machine tool industry.
Inspired designers created and tuned the factory equipment that produced paper,
textiles, and machine tool parts, with precision and pride.
Artisans, artists and craftspeople maintain the tradition, and today are widely
recognized for their talent in furniture making, glass blowing, weaving, print
making, and other inspired crafts of the hands. The League
of New Hampshire Craftsmen conducts crafts
education and shows throughout the state, and stocks six retail stores, including
one in Hanover. The Vermont
Crafts Council is a cooperative that includes
many galleries in the Byway region. Visit the Vermont State Craft Gallery at
85 Main Street (802-674-6729), in the center of historic Windsor.
New Hampshire Stories provides a guide to an array of New Hampshire products. Scattered throughout the Connecticut River Valley are the studios of Vermont artisans. For more on local crafts and products, visit the Waypoint community pages’ links to area chambers of commerce.
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