East Haddam Heritage Market wraps up a successful season
By David DeLucia
They say that all good things must come to an end. The last installment of the East Haddam Heritage Market took place on Sept. 30 at the East Haddam Grange. After days of dreary weather, the sun finally came out and attendance was brisk.
Along with the stalwart vendors who have attended every session were some newer faces. For example, Heather and Dayton Hindle gave us two businesses for the price of one. Heather is the manager of the Entangled Knot Boutique, which she created from scratch a few years ago.
She crochets unique pieces ranging from pumpkins and hats to scarves and flowers. Each item takes a couple of hours to create and is truly exquisite. At the same booth is Dayton's 3D Prints. Heather's enterprising 12-year-old son makes three-dimensional creations ranging from dragons to crocodiles and cone spinners. The last term refers to two-piece gadgets that look like Harry Potter's hat! Business was brisk, and this mother/son effort is sure to succeed.
Corinna Palarino came all the way from New Britain to present her 10-month-old business, Between The Pages. This is best described as a book accessory source, and many of the items were Corinna's own inventions. For example, she offered an "annotation kit" which consists of tabs to mark your place in a book as well as a highlighter. There were also colorful handmade bookmarks, key chains, and the lesser known but beautiful kindle chains. In addition, Corinna offers mugs that are tastefully designed.
Another enterprising seller was Simply Boho, the brainchild of Diana Zuckerman. This three-year-old business features a fascinating variety of crocheted items, ranging from scarves and sweaters to handbags and a unique offering, Mabel chickens. Diana reported the most popular item is the teddy bear baby hats. She also sells a vibrant selection of jewelry, colorful pins, bracelets and necklaces.
The very talented Julie Yarsawich and her son Alex have a unique local business known as Farmgurl. For the last 18 months, Julie has been creating one-of-a-kind mugs and children and adult clothing with punny sayings and cute pictures, always with a farm-based theme. There were beautiful towels and potholders, each a precious and special piece!
Last but very much not least was Ye Olde Crow, a new business this year with Julie Cook as the proprietor. She designs gorgeous as well as useful cutting boards, signs, coasters, wall plaques, and seasonal items. The seashell decoupage was particularly appealing. Anything Julie touches turns to gold, and one could spend hours marveling at her creativity and expertise.
As if the magnificent vendors weren't enough, the sole food truck Fresh Fire deserves mention. If you like your food hot and spicy, you will enjoy the smoky mac and cheese, fire burger, and many other culinary delights. I could not finish the enormous cheeseburger and the French fries were exceptional.
A huge shout out to Lauren Pszczolkowski for coordinating the hugely successful Heritage Market series. Next major event will be Halloween in the Village on Oct. 17 from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. at various locations in the East Haddam Village. This is always a very popular event for children and adults, so don't miss it!
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