News & Views
Photo of Sandwich Village by Joe Janis
What is your name and the name of your business? My name is Molly Simmons and I own and teach yoga at 2 Basket Street Yoga in Sandwich. How did you get to Sandwich, NH? My husband Paul’s family has been here since 1961. Sandwich was one of the first places Paul brought me after we met. That was Fair Weekend of 2010. I remember riding along the Holderness Road heading to Paul’s mom house and marveling at all the beautiful fall leaves. I had never been to Sandwich, NH and didn’t know what to expect. It was lovely. I also met many of Paul’s oldest friends when we went to watch the parade in town. We watched from one of Paul’s friends house. Many of the people I met that day are now dear friends of mine and also a big part of the community at 2 Basket Street Yoga. What got you started in this work? I started practicing yoga 20 years ago at a studio in Cambridge, Mass. I fell in love with the practice of yoga. Not only did it make my body feel stronger, but it also brought so much peace and healing to my mind. As fate would have it I started to work at the studio where I took my first class. I continued on to teach at many different yoga studios in Boston and surrounding suburbs. Tell us about your business. What do you make, do, or offer as a service? The studio is in our barn and offers beautiful views of Mt. Israel and the Sandwich range. This magical healing space was once used as an artist’s studio by the former steward of the property. It seemed fitting to give the studio a renewed look and create 2 Basket Street Yoga. My style of teaching is a Vinyasa Flow, which means you will move from pose to pose. I also offer modifications if something is too challenging or you’re nursing an injury. You can rest also when you need. These are all-level classes; novices and experts alike are encouraged to come. How did your business get started? When my husband and I bought the property at 2 Basket Street here in Sandwich we were so lucky because the beautiful barn had a studio and I knew that I wanted to create a healing space. The setting is so lovely with the views of Mt. Israel and the Sandwich Range. With fine work of Chris Read, a local contractor and friend, we tailored the studio to fit its current need. What is the most fun/satisfying aspect of your work? I love teaching yoga! It is one of my favorite things to do and it doesn’t feel like work. I tell my students all the time that being able to teach yoga and bring yoga into the lives of others is such a gift. I love the community aspect of creating a yoga studio and bringing people together from the community to learn the practice of yoga and all of yoga’s amazing benefits. It is not about being able to touch your toes, it is about being present in the moment, taking care of you physical body and mind though the practice of yoga. The benefits of a yoga practice happen on and off the mat. What is the hardest? Marketing my business is sometimes challenging because of the time it takes and also needing to be creative to spread the word, that is why I am grateful to SBG offering this platform to share. What happened to your business in this last Covid year? Luckily, I was able to keep my things going by offering my yoga classes on Zoom, which was fantastic. I also held some classes outside late summer/fall last year. I am really excited to be offering in-person classes again here at the studio. For now, I am asking all students who attend in person to be vaccinated. I am also still offering classes on Zoom. What are your goals and hopes for the future? My goals and hopes for 2 Basket Street Yoga are to add more classes to the schedule, to continue to create a space for people in the community to come together and practice yoga, feel the healing benefits, and enjoy the beauty of the mountains. What else can you tell us about yourself and your business?
I am also a Reiki partitioner and own powersofhealing.com which I founded in 2007. I provide Reiki healing to clients in my Cambridge office. I also offer Reiki healing sessions here at 2 Basket Street Yoga. I am a twin. I love hiking, biking, skiing and running the trails & the roads with my sweet husband Paul and our dog Penny! Molly Simmons info@2basketstreetyoga.com 617-461-9512 2basketstreetyoga.com Please enjoy the second installment of SBG's Meet Our Members! What is your name and the name of your business? My name is Katie O’Connell, and I am the owner of Dragonfly Yoga Barn Studio & Retreat. How did you get to Sandwich, NH? My family moved to Center Sandwich when I was eleven and in the 6th grade. They had visited locally for years and loved the area, so we moved to Center Sandwich while our home on Wing Rd. was being built. Tell us about your business. What do you make, do, or offer as a service? Dragonfly Yoga Barn is a yoga studio and intimate retreat center offering daily classes, as well as yoga and meditation retreats, yoga teacher training, workshops and series classes, seasonal concerts, and an occasional wedding. How did your business get started? Well, that’s an interesting story. I started practicing yoga 23 years ago, right after my daughter, Bridie, was born. It was love from my very first downward dog. I practiced regularly for about three years before one of my teachers suggested I get certified so I could come and teach yoga at her gym. During that time, my husband, Declan, and I had already disassembled and moved our first of three old barns (which some will remember as Edwin Elliott’s old barn across from the spring in North Sandwich). We put it back up as a barn on Bennett Street, about a mile from its original footings, and then started to look for another barn to move as our house. While the search was on for the second barn, I completed my first yoga training and began teaching weekly yoga classes at the Benz Center, at a local gym, and at Inter-Lakes High School where I was an English teacher—getting my yogi feet wet, so to speak. It was back in 2003 that I named our business “Dragonfly Yoga.” I’d always loved dragonflies and knew the animal spirit of Dragonfly as the energy of transformation, and since I believe yoga has the power to transform us in all capacities: body, mind, and spirit, it became our namesake. The second barn went up as a house in 2003, we moved in during the fall of 2004, and in the summer of 2005, a friend of Declan’s was at a baseball game in Moultonborough and heard a man asking if anyone needed an old barn! Funny thing was, about a week before this, I had told Declan I would love to have a small yoga studio up here near our new “old” home on the edge of the forest… and literally the barn just appeared! We took the third barn down and stored it for almost two years while we started to make plans for building the studio. I completed another yoga training in 2006, completed a final year of teaching English before I gave my notice, and in 2008 jumped into yoga full time! My Benz Center yogis actually came up to practice in the yoga studio when it was just a post and beam frame--they wanted to be a part of it from the very beginning. It was a magical time! We ran our first yoga retreats in 2009, and the rest is, well… a new piece of Sandwich history--all under the eaves of three old barns. What is the most fun/satisfying aspect of your work? I love sharing yoga with my daily yogis, my retreat yogis, and my trainees. It’s hard to pinpoint what the most satisfying thing is, but I would say it’s when a student has that “a-ha” moment and something shifts in their body or mind as a result of the practice. The recognition that yoga can support us where we are in our lives at that moment--as well as in our evolution as beings--is very inspiring to me. What is the hardest? Owning a business on the farthest outskirts of a small town can be pretty challenging. We’ve spent over a decade wondering how many students would make the trek to the Whiteface section of Sandwich for a daily yoga class. I have such an amazing and dedicated crew that have been rolling out the mat together for years--and they love the community we’ve created, but sometimes it’s not easy to complete with frost heaves in the winter and living in a place with so many amazing things to do outside in the summer. What has happened to your business in this last Covid year? Our last retreat at Dragonfly was 14 months ago. Thinking about how many events have been cancelled in the past year is a little overwhelming at times. But Declan has been my greatest help and biggest cheerleader. To give it some perspective, I left for India in early February 2020 to lead an Ayurveda and Yoga retreat--there were 16 of us in the group--and I fully expected to reopen my studio upon arrival home, but when I barely made it back to the States on March 16th after a series of cancelled flights and hold-ups in Mumbai, it hit me that life was changing for all of us. I came home to lockdown and had to pivot to online teaching. As much as it was nerve wracking to be in front of a live camera every day, putting my classes online has been something I’ve wanted to do for years. It has been so successful, I now think I’ll keep the online options even after we reopen to the public. What are your goals for the future? I can’t wait to lead international retreats once again... so stay tuned for adventures in Hawaii, Ireland, Greece, Central America, India, to name a few. It might take time to get back to some of my favorite spots and destinations, but I have faith we will have those wanderlust adventures again soon. What else can you tell us about yourself and your business? I love to garden, cook, spend time with my kids and husband, and perform with my band The Starlight Honeys. I love to paddleboard, snowshoe, walk in the forest, and I could spend days beachcombing for stones and shells. Sunrise and sunset are perhaps the most precious moments of the day for me. I’m definitely a Nature girl. All of these things are woven into who I am as a yoga teacher and what I share with my students every single day here at Dragonfly Yoga Barn. It is a wonderful way of life, this Yoga pathway, and I’m so grateful to be here in beautiful Sandwich. Katie O’Connell, E-RYT, AHP, HBM
Dragonfly Yoga Barn 280 Bennett Street, North Sandwich, NH 03259 (603) 707-7529, dragonflyoga@gmail.com https://dragonflyyogabarn.com Why was Pablo Picasso so inspired by printmaking that he bought his own etching press? Many other artists, including Rembrandt, Matisse, and Winslow Homer, have used printmaking to express their artistic visions. Learn the characteristics of hand-pulled prints and why they have captured the interest of so many famous artists. On March 24th, Peggy Merritt, a Sandwich printmaker, will talk about her craft at the Benz Center in Sandwich. Peggy will describe various printmaking techniques, including etching and lithography, using images from well-known artists and from her own work. The audience will have an opportunity to examine these prints closely, as well the plates and tools used to produce them. She will also talk about current practices and modern materials that reduce hazards in the printmakers’ studio and increase the breadth of artistic expression. “I love to express my imagination in hands-on work,” says Peggy. “The technical details of printmaking also appeal to my background as a chemist.” She hopes that her talk will remove some of the mysteries about her chosen medium. The printmaking talk takes place on Sunday afternoon, March 24th, at 4 o’clock at the Benz Center on Heard Road in Center Sandwich. It is part of a series of free Sunday afternoon seminars offered this winter and spring by the Sandwich Home Industries. The final talk in this series is scheduled for April 14 when Rebecca Goodale will talk about art books, including her “Illuminated Autobiography.”
Sandwich Home Industries Lecture Series What could a fourth century Italian pavement possibly have in common with the New York City subway? Mosaics! Mosaics are everywhere! Explore the past and present of this glittering art with Cindy Stanton, who has studied and practiced mosaic art for many years. Cindy, who lives in Moultonborough, will show how mosaics have evolved, and how they have decorated spectacular churches, elegant homes, and today even subway walls. Some mosaics are used to tell stories. Cindy will demonstrate common mosaic methods, tools, and materials, and show where mosaic collections can be found in New England and elsewhere. After the presentation, participants will be invited to handle some of the materials.
“I’m planning a hands-on mosaic workshop for later this year,” says Cindy. “Participants will work with a variety of materials and create their own 4 inch by 4 inch mosaic.” The mosaics talk takes place on Sunday afternoon, March 3rd, at 4 o’clock at the Benz Center on Heard Road in Center Sandwich. It is part of a series of free Sunday afternoon seminars offered this winter and spring by the Sandwich Home Industries. On March 24th Peggy Merritt will discuss the art of printmaking, and on April 14 Rebecca Goodale will talk about art books, including her “illuminated autobiography.” In September Kathryn Field was an Artist-in-Residence at the Sandwich Central School for two weeks. Each grade got to experience drawing and printmaking every day for a week. The students did a fabulous job learning to transfer their drawings onto foam plates, inking them up and finishing with a 3-color print. Each student produced 3 final prints. The works were then displayed at the Sandwich Fair and are on permanent display at SCS. The opportunity to offer an artist-in-residence program at the Sandwich Central School came about through the efforts of the Association for School and Community—the new PTO. The funding to bring this program to every student was provided by the Yeoman’s Fund for the Arts. Kathryn teaches adult and children's art classes in her Sandwich studio. Her students range in age from 6 – 96 and from beginners to advanced painters. You can find a listing of upcoming classes for April and the summer at her website FieldFineArt.org.
Sandwich Home Industries, the fine crafts gallery of Center Sandwich, NH welcomes local craftsperson, Diane Johnson, who will be teaching two felting workshops at the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen Gallery in Sandwich on August 2, 3 and 11. The first class is for families to create a project together. Wee Felting World - Family Project will be held in two sessions August 2nd and 3rd 10:00 am – 12:00 noon. Tuition is $85 per family of 3 or 4, materials included. At least one adult must accompany children ages 3 and up. Both large and small families are welcome! In Session 1 you will be creating fields, a pond, flowers, a shelter, and paths. Session 2 teaches you how to make a tree, some rocks or bushes, an animal, and a person or two (could also be a fairy, gnome, or mermaid). Everyone works on different parts and then combines everything into one interactive project. On August 11th, from 10 - 12, Diane will teach Simply Sandwich Souvenir - using wool from local sheep, goats, and alpacas to create a unique Sandwich Souvenir. Whether you live here year-round, come here seasonally, or are visiting the area for the first time, this is a chance to make a truly personal souvenir of Sandwich. You may choose to make a sheep, an angora goat, or an alpaca. The core wool will come from one of the sheep at the Sandwich Creamery (after class, you can take your project to the Creamery, eat some ice cream and visit the sheep and cows). The surface fleece will come from an animal that lives here in town. Along with that wool fleece, you will receive a picture with the name of the animal from which the fiber was shorn. Tuition is $40, materials and felting kit included. To find out more about all of our summer and fall classes, go to centersandwich.nhcrafts.org. A founding member of the League of NH Craftsmen, Sandwich Home Industries is located at 32 Main Street, in the historic village of Center Sandwich. To register for classes, contact sandwichcraftgallery@gmail.com or call 603-284-6831. The gallery, representing over 170 juried craftsmen, is open daily during the summer/fall season.
This week: Sandwich Home Industries, the fine crafts gallery of Center Sandwich, NH welcomes beginner to experienced makers and menders to join them for Visible Mending with Juno Lamb on Thursday, July 12, 2018 from 6:00 to 8:00 p.m. in Center Sandwich. Bring clothing you wish to “visibly mend”—ripped blue jeans or button-down shirts are a great place to start. Please give them a ring to register, 603-284-6831. What is visible mending? Using techniques inspired by many cultures and traditions, colorful threads, and diverse fabrics, visible mending offers us a fun and “mendful” way to care for and embellish beloved garments, extending their use and deepening the story they tell. Many of the techniques also translate to invisible mending. Why mend when we can go buy a new t-shirt for five bucks? The global fast fashion that allows us to do that has enormous environmental and human rights costs. You can learn more, if you wish, by watching The True Cost, available free on many streaming services. “It’s not just the damage being done around the globe,” Lamb says. “We pay a personal cost, as well, when we give up our agency and skills to multinationals, and forget that we can create and care for the physical objects in our lives. And we miss out on a lot of fun!” Fun, connection and an opportunity to slow down in a busy world, to work at human speed, rather than digital speed. Repetitive motion activities such as sewing and knitting increase serotonin in the brain and decrease cortisol; they are by their nature soothing (except when your thread gets tangled). And these are wonderful activities to do in community—working with your hands allows plenty of time for chatting and getting to know your neighbors. If you enjoy it, you might consider hosting a regular mending “sewcial”. Juno Lamb is a lifelong maker, mender, textile artist and teacher. She’s constructed and embellished wedding garments, knitted in binary code, painted a farmers’ market worth of vegetables onto silk shoes, made a diversity of dolls, and mended more clothing and textiles than she can remember. One of her motivating desires is to work with secondhand textiles—to repurpose and reuse castoffs. “And scraps!” she says. “Like the threads in my great-grandmother’s box marked ‘string too short to be used.’” Another is to work in community, “to create opportunities for people to realize they can do this too, whatever the ‘this’ is.” Sandwich Home Industries - League of NH Craftsmen Fine Craft Gallery
603-284-6831, sandwichcraftgallery@gmail.com, centersandwich.nhcrafts.org We are very excited about Sara’s many offerings this year! This will be our 5th annual summer weaving class. Each year it gets better and better! Come join the fun! If you are a rank beginner, but have always wanted to learn to weave, this class is for you. You will put on a new small warp every morning and weave it off in the afternoon. By the end of the 5 days you will really know how to set up a loom on your own. Sara Goodman is a textile artist with a studio in Center Harbor, NH. Her work has been featured in Handwoven, Shuttle Spindle and Dyepot, and Upper Valley Life Magazines as well as the Surface Design Journal. Her wearables have been in the Handweavers Guild of America fashion show at Convergence and the Surface Design Association conference. Her one of a kind garments have won awards from Complex Weavers, The New England Weavers Seminar and the Vermont Weaver's Guild. Her work has been featured at Julie's Artisans Gallery in New York, the Cambridge Artists’ Collective in Massachusetts, and Living with Craft at the Sunapee Craft Fair. She is a juried member of the League of NH Craftsmen. In 2012, she designed a collection of handwoven carpets, based on her original shibori designs, for Khawachen Inner Asia in Hanover, New Hampshire. If you have a loom, but haven't woven in years and need a refresher, this class is also for you. If it’s possible for you to transport your loom to class, then you can learn on your own loom. Every loom has its own quirky personality and the class will help you make the best of the equipment you have. If you are an experienced weaver and want to expand your knowledge to include some new weave structures or kinds of yarn, how to use a warping paddle, how to use a computer for creating pattern drafts, how to read block drafts etc. then this class is also for you. More advanced students can spend the 5 days working on one project, with the support of the instructor. You can communicate with the Instructor, prior to class, about your project, so that you come to class ready to begin. Because this is a small class, the instructor will work with students individually at their level. All necessary weaving equipment and yarn will be provided, though students are welcome to use their own yarn as well. 5-Day Summer Weaving Intensive with Sara Goodman - 5 Warps in 5 Days Monday, June 25 – Friday, June 29, 9:00 – 4:00 Cost: $400 per student, plus additional material fees. Visit our website at centersandwich.nhcrafts.org, call 603-284- 6831 or email sandwichcraftgallery@gmail.com for more information.
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News & Views
News of what's happening in Sandwich and other items of interest. Meet Our Members
Please enjoy the Sandwich Business Group's 2021 project called Meet Our Members. Read interviews with fascinating people who live here and run businesses, organizations, and engage in other creative pursuits.
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