Category: Arts & Crafts

Meet Our Members ~ Nancy Hansen, Sewing.

11/9/2021

Nancy Hansen, photo by Susan Lirakis

What is your name and the name of your business?
Nancy Jones Hansen, my business name is Sewing. It leaves no question as to what I do!

How did you get to Sandwich, NH?
I met a guy....! I came to Sandwich in 1980, married a local. We lived here for several years and then moved to Bethel, Maine for 15 years, returning in 1999. On our first date, my husband, Carl, looked at the Brick Store and announced he was going to live there some day. So here we are in the Brick Store, running our businesses from one of the most iconic buildings in town.

The Brick Store then. Photo courtesy SHS.

The Brick Store now.

What got you started in this line of work?
My mother was a sewer, and taught me to sew over Easter vacation when I was 12, on my grandmother's treadle sewing machine. (Sounds like I'm really old, but it was a really old machine at the time.) I've been sewing ever since.

Once out of college I realized I could make money sewing. I applied for a job with a small wallpaper/fabric store. I had a basic book on how to sew everything. The owner would ask me if I know how to do... whatever. As long as it was in the book I said yes and got the job. I've been sewing for people in Sandwich for 30 years.

A custom quilt that started out as a 1x1 inch stamp and became a king-sized quilt, 2017.

Tell us about your business. What do you make, do, or offer as a service?
There is no Home Economics any more in schools, so people are not learning sewing as a craft or vocation. I think it's a dying art. I am fortunate that I have sewed for over 50 years and have done just about everything in the field, from simple alterations to designer drapes and swags. I've done prototypes for people with new ideas, and repaired antique quilts.

When/how did you begin your business?
In the 80s Carl worked as a contractor and I became a division of that, Hansen Homes & Interiors/Sewing. Carl has retired from building, mostly, so now he works for me.

What is the most fun/satisfying aspect of your job?
I like to see people happy with something they thought was ruined and now it's good. Weird is fun, repetition is repetitive, but it pays the bills. Quite often I get clothes or ties from someone who has lost a loved one and want a quilt made from them. T-shirt quilts are fun because usually all of the shirts have meaning to those who receive it. If I know the person, even better, then I can add to what I know of their personality. My business is my hobby, so I get to do it everyday.

A memorial T-shirt quilt, 2019

What is the hardest?
The hardest is being sure people are happy. Even after all of these years making things for people, a little voice always wonders, "will they like this?" So far so good.

What has happened to your business in this last Covid year?
I had the best job during Covid. People still needed things fixed. I just did a lot of business out on the porch. Of course I made many, many masks. Both donated and some for sale. It was a good way to use up small pieces of fabric.

The workshop

What are your goals and hopes for the future?
My goal for the future is to retire! This seems impossible as the phone keeps ringing. Two or three seamstresses have closed in the last year for different reasons so there are not as many people sewing. For the near future, I'm still working. I have a new shop space at our house and I hate to give it up.

What else can you tell us about yourself and your life in Sandwich?
In 1980 I married into Sandwich. Coming from Detroit, it was a big change, but a good one. Friends from 1980 are still here and still friends, and now their grandchildren play with mine. All three of our children live in town, which made our Covid bubble very nice. We travel more now, but it's always nice to come home. We live in the most beautiful place.

Sewing4u525@yahoo.com
603-387-4767

Meet Our Members ~ Anne Perkins of Anne Made

10/3/2021

What is your name and the name of your business?
Anne Metcalf Perkins, Anne Made

Anne and John Perkins. Photo by Jude Davis

How did you get to Sandwich, NH?
I am one of the fortunate who was born in Sandwich. I have always known how special that is. My mother’s parents had a camp on Winnepesaukee and they decided to settle in Sandwich at the end of World War II. Lester Lear was from Gallipolis, Ohio. Isadora Schmidt Lear was born in Philadelphia.

My father’s family had a camp on Squam Lake. At the age of 20, my father, Lance Metcalf, decided to settle in Sandwich, after leaving the Marine Corps at the end of the war. My parents met in Sandwich, probably at a Town Hall square-dance. After my mother, Nancy Lear, attended UNH for a year, they were married at Saint Andrews in Tamworth.

Tell us about your work. What do you make, do, or offer as a service?
I am a textile craftsman and have made and sold everything from bed quilts and wallhangings to Christmas ornaments and dolls. Currently I’m working with cashmere and making fingerless gloves.

Portrait of Nigel, 1982

What got you started in this work?
My grandparents were both craftsmen. My grandmother, Isadora Lear, did crewel embroidery and was a weaver. My grandfather, Lester A. Lear, was a silversmith and did enameling on copper. My uncle, Peter C. Lear, was a silversmith. I was surrounded by talented textile people as a child, and l was encouraged from a very young age to work with textiles.

Grandad studied silversmithing in London, England with Robert Stone, a member of the London Silversmith’s Guild while helping to set up Stars and Stripes, the military news magazine. When he came to Sandwich he studied with Karl Drerup and learned enameling. He sold both his work in silver and enameling at the Sandwich Home Industries.

Colonel Lester A. Lear, silversmith

Isadora S. Lear, Embroidery, Rug Hooking, Weaving

Peter C. Lear, silversmith

Grammy's parents lived in Mt Vernon, NY when she was growing up. Her father, Louis Schmidt worked as a medical illustrator, and later as a photographer for illustrations for medical books at the Rockefeller Institute located in Rockefeller center. He also did illuminated manuscripts and produced skilled etchings.

Isadora Studied embroidery at the Royal School of needlework when they were living in London. She and Lester were both juried members of the NH League of Arts and crafts. When spending winters in Mexico both Isadora and Lester studied painting at the Art Institute of San Miguel d’Allende. Isadora taught herself how to do embroidery left handed so she could teach her left handed granddaughter the skills.

Neither of my parents were full-time craftsmen. My mother, Nancy Lear Metcalf, was a skilled tailor and an accomplished knitter. My father, Winslow Harris Metcalf ( known as Lance) was a skilled welder, blacksmith, carpenter and mechanic. He designed many labor saving devices for many different trades in 1950s Sandwich.

Growing up at 12 Main Street gave me endless opportunities to hang out and learn (pester, question) the League craftsmen. (Twelve Main Street was first my grandparent's home when they moved to Sandwich in 1945. They sold the house to my parents, Nancy and Lance, and I lived there until I went to boarding school.) I was within walking distance of the League shop and my grandparent's and my Uncle Peter’s homes during my entire childhood. I took many classes at the League as a child. Classes I took: pottery, silversmithing, drawing and watercolor and whatever was offered. I took classes every year.

Anne at the Nantucket School of Needlery, 1972.

When/how did you start your business?
When I was about 10 years old I was a locally-juried maker of potholders and Christmas ornaments sold at the Sandwich Home Industries. I’ve never stopped making things. I attended an arts-oriented boarding school, Wykeham Rise in Washington, Connecticut, and the Nantucket School of Needlery on Nantucket Island, Massachusetts.

I went to junior college for a year and I went to nursing school at Hartford Hospital and worked as a nurse for three years. Living away from Sandwich from 1964 until 1971 made me so homesick I got a pass to Old Sturbridge Village to remind of home within driving distance. I ran a bookstore in Conway and worked for Jan Burnell cooking and baking food which was delivered to Sandwich town folk by her husband. Many people remember Jan who worked as a chef for Jane and Don at the Corner House.

For many years starting in 1981 I sold my work at the Corner House Inn when it was owned by Jane and Don Brown. Representatives from Better Homes and Gardens saw my work at the Corner House and invited me to design and produce kits for a variety of needlework techniques. I worked as a Better Homes designer for four years while remaining in Sandwich.

Sunflower wallhanging, late 1980s.

What is the most fun/satisfying aspect of your work?
I love the creation of designs, the problem solving in pattern making and color choices. I am never bored. I found it challenging and rewarding to use a sewing machine. I pretty much invented what I was doing so nobody had seen it before.

Fingerless gloves, Anne’s latest project, available at Willow Pond Antiques & Goods.

What is the hardest?
Working at home as a craftsman was a challenge at a time when it was not considered to be work by many. The local banks didn’t recognize craft work as employment so it was almost impossible to get a bank loan. There were a lot of interruptions because I lived in the village and people expected hospitality whether it was a convenient time or not. I was a parent and was trying to keep four employees busy. It is different now. I have more flexibility. My child is an adult. I have no employees. I have earned credibility.

How has this last Covid year affected your work?
Other than not attending markets or fairs, not at all. My work keeps well and I found retail outlets elsewhere.

What are your goals and hopes for the future?
To keep up my standards, abilities and eyesight as long as possible.

Cows, wallhanging, late 1980s.

What else can you tell us about yourself and your life in Sandwich?
There were many craftsmen who settled here in the fifties, sixties and seventies, and I remember some wonderful collaborations.

Bob Wright and Lance Metcalf created metal sculptures from found objects. Peter Lear collaborated with a local potter to make lamps. The INN wallhanging was a collaboration between Elli Ford, artist, Don Brown, artist, Anne Perkins and Judi Dunlap quilters.

Many craftsmen collaborated on a friendship quilt for Daphne Alcock Frentress who lived in Australia for a number of years, including, Louisa Miner, Nancy Metcalf, Anne Perkins, Ellie Dow, Helen Bryant, Bunny Michael, Louise Page, Robing Dustin, Bunty Walsh, Shirley Burns, Dot Harding.

Corner House Inn wallhanging, 1988.

I want to thank Jane and Don Brown, Mark Duffield, Nick Floyd, Crosby and George Bonsall, Betsy Switzer, Denny Taylor, Ferne Tilton, Betsy Leiper, Bruce Montgomery, Catherine Hope, Nancy Papp at Mocha Rising and the League of Arts and Crafts for encouraging my craft business. I want to thank my employees, Judi Dunlap, Elli Ford, Betty Alcock, Priscilla Grant, and John Perkins. My Daughter Ellen Perkins collaborated on a lot of designs with me and was an employee for a long time.

My current work is available for purchase at Willow Pond Antiques & Goods, 22 Main Street, Center Sandwich.

Annual Artisans on the Green Craft Fair ~2021

8/1/2021

Artisans on the Green, 2019. Photo by Martha Nichols

Martha Nichols writes: For one special day during August, over 25 New Hampshire craftspeople will gather together at the beautiful Sandwich, NH town green in front of the League of NH Craftsmen gallery for the annual craft demonstration and sale day, called Artisans on the Green. This year the event will be held on Thursday, August 12, when the Main Street of Center Sandwich will once again become a center of craft celebration and fun for the entire family.

This year’s Artisans on the Green, held during the annual town-wide Sandwich Old Home Week, promises to have something for everyone: craft demonstrations, access to artists, beautiful crafts for sale, animals to pet, and delicious food by the Sandwich Woman’s Club. The Center Sandwich Fine Craft Gallery organizes this remarkable day and is also the sponsor. The entire event is free: there is no admission charge and there is plentiful parking at marked locations in the historic and beautiful town of Center Sandwich. The event is held in rain or shine from 10:00 a.m. – 4:00 p.m.

Marcy Green Canvas Bags, photo my Martha Nichols

There are many favorite artists returning this year, such as Diane Johnson of Soft Touch Farm needle felting, Marion Federspiel digital paintings of landscapes, Zee Hayford sterling silver jewelry, Marcy Greene canvas bags, Dick Devens architectural watercolors, Jennifer Libby soaps and pottery, and Hog Hill Pottery. New this year are Sandwich potters Suzanne Weil and Rachel Bartlett, Anne Richards and Donna Carlucci fiber artists, Martha Spaulding mosaics, and Ralph Watson Fiber art.

Kathryn Field, artist demo with students, photo by Martha Nichols

Always popular demonstrations on the green and hands-on activities will be available for kids. In addition, many artisans will show you examples of pottery making, needle felting, digital painting, and watercolors in their individual tent locations throughout the day. Every craftsperson on the green is eager and ready to answer questions while encouraging visitors to learn about the skills, materials, and production steps necessary to “do it yourself.” Everyone is encouraged to wander on the green, learn, have fun, and find unique crafts to own or gift.

Alison Parsons, Hand-batiked prayer flags, photo by Martha Nichols

A founding member of the League of NH Craftsmen, Center Sandwich Fine Craft Gallery continues to support craftspeople from all regions of New Hampshire and to educate children and adults through its programs. The gallery of fine crafts is open daily from May through October. For a list of craft courses available during the 2021 season, see: https://centersandwich.nhcrafts.org/classesworkshops/

Anne LeBreque fiber arts and woodworking, photo by Martha Nichols

League of NH Craftsmen Center Sandwich Fine Craft Gallery
603-284-6831
centersandwich.nhcrafts.org
Gallery Hours
10-5 Monday - Saturday
12-5 Sunday