Sugar Loaf Spring Festival in Sugar Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
SUGAR LOAF—The Sugar Loaf Art and Craft Village Spring Festival brought a light crowd on a somewhat humid Memorial Day.
Those who came could find handcrafted items like unique stationery,
herbal soaps and remedies, original jewelry, and gourd birdhouses.
As the day went on, the yard in front of Alicia Frosini’s herbal
store, Sugar Loaf Mountain Herbs, drew visitors who interested in the
many potted herbs.
Entrance
to Sugar Loaf Mountain Herbs at the Sugar Loaf Spring Festival in Sugar
Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
Frosini says she grows all her herbs in Sugar Loaf.
“I have a very big following and they come because they know that we
grow them without a lot of chemicals. They are very strong plants. We
harden them off.”
Potted
herbs at Sugar Loaf Mountain Herbs at the Sugar Loaf Spring Festival in
Sugar Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
Her shop sells potpourris, blended teas, and at this time of year,
organic bug sprays made of essential oils. She adds geranium to ward off
ticks. Her customers like her natural blends.
“They like the fact that they are safe for children and are good for people with a lot of sensitivities.”
Storefront
of merrily paper boutique at the Sugar Loaf Spring Festival in Sugar
Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
Kat Parrella’s designs and those of other independent designers are
on display at Merrily Paper, situated in a 200-year-old cottage in the
middle of the hamlet. Parrella says her paper products are not sold
anywhere else.
Kat
Parrella, proprietor of Merrily Paper Boutique at the Sugar Loaf Spring
Festival in Sugar Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
She hand-picks the invitations, gifts, and stationery sold in the
store. A consultation room in the back of the store is set up to plan
celebrations such as weddings or anniversaries.
Consultation
room at Merrily Paper Boutique at the Sugar Loaf Spring Festival in
Sugar Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
At Rosner Soap, Keren Rosner was busily packaging her lemon grass
soap in bright yellow paper. She said all the herbal bars are made with
olive oil. “It’s wonderful because it both balances and moisturizes skin
which no other oil can really say.” The soap exfoliates and also repels
insects, she said.
Keren
Rosner packages lemon grass soap at her shop at the Sugar Loaf Spring
Festival in Sugar Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
Handcrafted
soap dishes at Rosner Soap at the Sugar Loaf Spring Festival in Sugar
Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
At his store Collage, Bruce Roberts displays handcrafted silver,
copper, and brass jewelry. A jewelry designer since 1975, Roberts says
he creates jewelry for major retailers throughout the U.S.: Macy’s,
Chico’s, Coldwater Creek, “and probably a few hundred other stores.”
Bruce Roberts at his shop Collage at the Sugar Loaf Spring Festival in Sugar Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
Large gourds have been crafted into birdhouses at Luft Gardens, Aaron
Luft’s store. Luft said he also makes lanterns and jack o’ lanterns.
For indoor use, the gourds are sealed with a clear acrylic and the
birdhouses are finished with an outdoor wood finish. “It’s just like
working with a piece of wood. The Lufts grow about two acres of gourds
of all sizes.
Birdhouse gourds at Luft Gardens at the Sugar Loaf Spring Festival in Sugar Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
Independent Artisans
The hamlet of Sugar Loaf is a community of artisans and boutique
shops in Warwick Valley. The village was transformed into a thriving
crafts center in the 1970s, according to the hamlet’s website.
Vendors at the Sugar Loaf Spring Festival in Sugar Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
Vendors and businesses at the Sugar Loaf Spring Festival in Sugar Loaf on May 30, 2016. (Yvonne Marcotte/Epoch Times)
“Many of these artisans live and work in the original barns and buildings which date back to the 1700’s.
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