PUTNEY — Robert Burch and Nancy Gagnon of Brandywine Glassworks are preparing for 1,000 guests at their studio this coming weekend.
They say that's typical traffic - and a delight to see - during the Putney Craft Tour, which has taken place every Thanksgiving weekend for the past 33 years.
This year marks the 34th Annual Putney Craft Tour, scheduled for the weekend of Nov. 23-25. It will feature the works of 28 new and returning artists and craftspeople, including blacksmiths, glass blowers, potters, jewelers, weavers, and woodworkers. This year, the tour adds three fine artists, and even an artisan cheese maker.
And it's all free. Visitors are invited to visit artists' studios, ask questions, sip hot cider, and discover unique gifts.
Burch (www.robertburchglass.com) says he joined the tour in its second year, and is pleased he's been able to guide its evolution and success. He reports the Putney Craft Tour is the oldest and most successful open studio tour in Vermont, and features artisans celebrated in the United States and worldwide.
New to the tour this year is The Putney Inn, at 57 Putney Landing Rd., whose welcome center will provide tour maps and directions, showcase participating artists' work, as well as tourist information about Putney and about the region. Every artisan on the tour will have at least one piece exhibited at the Inn, according to organizers.
“One of the nicest things about the tour is that people can come into the shop and get a sense of our lifestyle. They get a complete picture of what it is to be a craftsperson. Ours can be a wonderful, blessed world. When someone sees what goes into making an object and how the lifestyle interacts with that, it adds a lot to it. When someone buys something, the gift then became reflective of the experiences behind it,” Burch says.
He adds that the benefit of the tour extends to the pieces' creators themselves.
“How we craftspeople work often makes us focus only on our own little world. The tour invites an interaction with other artists in the community.
“All of us on the tour are all small businesses. I also think we all made a conscious choice not to be too big. We don't want to be too production oriented, or too focused on profit. Instead, we are concerned about quality of life rather than relentless working for recognition or money,” he says.
For detailed information on the craftspeople, a map, and links to accommodations and restaurants, visit www.putneycrafts.com.