I will have a booth at the Shaker Heritage Society’s craft fair on June 8th and 9th in Albany, NY. It’s been busy in my sewing room as I build up my inventory. This will be my first craft fair, and I’m excited to see what the interest will be in our pieces. I’m also looking forward to seeing all of the other crafts! If their Holiday Market is any indication of the quality that will be on offer, it will be a fantastic fair.

The Shaker Center is located near the Albany Airport and the Craft Fair hours are 10-4 each day. Albany was the first Shaker settlement in the US. There are several preserved buildings, a small farm on the site, and more preservation efforts are ongoing. They offer many educational programs with workshops, seminars and lectures. It’s a gem in the capital region.

Yes, I do use the products that I make and sell. Well, almost everything – there aren’t any babies in my life to use the bibs, and J and I haven’t gotten to the point where we need one. 😄

Today I am filling in time between medical appointments at a nice coffee shop in Albany. I don’t order drinks to-go very often, but I have gotten into the habit of carrying a cup sleeve in my coat pocket. So, here I am with my hot tea and muffin, writing blog posts for here and our travel blog.

At home, we have coasters scattered around in various rooms of the house, and there’s almost always a tea cup on at least one of them.

My business notebook now resides happily in a quilted cover (this was my first prototype, before adding the pen slots), and I will be choosing another for my day-to-day notebook. Lists are my friend, and I still like pen and paper over digital note-taking. My brain is full of lists right now as we plan for a cross-country camping trip this spring – that notebook will fill up fast! And thinking of that trip, some zippered pouches will come in handy.

Before the holidays, we visited a few local craft fairs and I stumbled upon the Shaker Heritage Society of Albany’s Holiday Market. Wow! The place was jam-packed with lovely handcrafts of all sorts. They have close to 100 vendors and the quality of products is outstanding. I immediately knew that this was the kind of fair for me. The best part is that the market is open from mid-October ’til mid-December, and the Shaker Society mans the shop and handles all sales. Vendors just need to keep their booths well stocked, and a percentage of sales goes to the Shaker Society – a win for all involved. The society also holds 2 weekend fairs in the summer and fall. Applications for this year opened a few weeks ago and I have submitted mine for the summer fair and holiday market. I have my fingers crossed that I get chosen to participate.

In the meantime (and being optimistic) I have been busy in my little factory, working on building up my inventory. I’ve acquired a few more quilts and have increased my product offerings. I now have quilted notebook covers and baby bibs. The notebook covers fit small spiral books (included), have pen slots, and close with coordinating elastic. The bibs are lined with soft flannel or whimsical cotton prints, and have a velcro closure for easy on and off.

Since I started writing this post, I have been notified that I have been accepted for the Shaker Society’s Summer Craft Fair. It will be held June 8th and 9th at the Shaker Center near – 25 Meeting House Rd., Albany, NY – more info here. Back to my sewing machine!