We Were Crafty in NH

We went to a crafts fair this past Tuesday — not an ordinary fair, but a special one that specifically highlights the handicrafts and talents of many NH artists. 

Suspended in 2020 due to the coronavirus pandemic, the League of NH Craftsmen Fair returned to the grounds of the Mount Sunapee Resort in Newbury, NH, for its 88th annual event.

We spent a couple of hours exploring the many exhibit booths and managed to leave without a single purchase, other than the admission fee. There were countless displays of handmade and beautifully crafted items; however, our apt already has enough stuff.

This nine-day event featured the works of 300 artisans with over 200 booths and exhibits. It draws about 25,000 visitors annually offering work for sale, demonstrations and hands-on workshops. Parking is off-site in several large parking lots and shuttle buses, like the one ↑ above take visitors to and from the fair grounds. These same buses are used during winter months to transport skiers to the slopes of Mount Sunapee.

While masking was not a requirement, we did see some fair visitors wearing masks both when riding the shuttle bus and walking the fair grounds. Th event coordinators stated that distancing protocols were in place, but in the crowded tent booths, these did not seem possible.

Travel time was just under 90 minutes one way from Nashua, NH. We chose mid-week to avoid weekend crowds and because temps would be soaring into the high 90s by the end of the week compared to the mid-80s when we visited.

Mary Coolidge

The League of NH Craftsmen includes over 650 juried members and  is one of the oldest and most recognized craft organizations in the U.S. It started from efforts in two small NH towns, Sandwich and Wolfeboro, to promote craft in the mid-1920s in the midst of the Great Depression. The area in and around these towns had become a a popular summer tourist destination for travelers from all over the Northeast. 

For years, the women of Sandwich had been spending NH winters crafting woven rugs, lace, embroidery and pottery to sell at summer fairs. In 1926, Mary Coolidge, a summer resident, was so impressed with their handiwork that she opened the Sandwich Home Industries Shop to sell locally made handicrafts and support the local economy. The center was a way for local people to show and sell their wares. Visitors could spend a summer in NH, then take home a handmade craft.

Coincidentally, a group working with A. Cooper Ballentine, a silversmith and metalworker, began offering craft classes in Wolfeboro. Like Coolidge, Bally  believed that high-quality products would attract the interest of NH vacationeers. The two met and decided that more should be done to keep crafts alive in NH and to help weather the economic downfalls of the Great Depression.

Coolidge and Ballentine conceived the idea of creating a statewide program of craft instruction and marketing. In 1931, they presented their case to NH Gov. John Winant, who agreed to establish and fund the New Hampshire Commission of Arts and Crafts, making NH the first state to support craft making. In 1932, the NH Legislature appropriated $5,000 to launch the League of NH Arts and Crafts with Mary Coolidge as president, a post she held for the next 10 years, remaining honorary president until her death in 1949. Bally served on its council as secretary and president, beginning in 1950. He died in 1984.

In 1933, the League embarked on the first Craftsman’s Fair held in Crawford Notch, NH. A barn was used for demonstrations of pottery, weaving, vegetable dyeing, basketmaking and woodcarving. A blacksmith shop was used for ironworking. Horse stalls were used for exhibitions and sales, and the lawn was used for entertainment and country dancing. The fair’s success exceeded all expectations with sales totaling $2,698, a hefty sum for back then, which convinced members to make the fair an annual event.

Rebranded as the League of NH Craftsmen in 1968, the League is recognized as one of the country’s foremost fine arts organizations.

The first official League Shop was in Wolfeboro. Today, there are eight league galleries throughout the state in Nashua, Concord, Hanover, Hooksett, Sandwich, Littleton, Meredith, and North Conway. These galleries feature handmade crafts of juried League members plus offer programs including class demos and workshops open to all ages and skill levels.

The photos in this post are a very small representation of the many crafts we saw displayed at the fair. The majority seemed to be in the areas of pottery, woodturning, and jewelry with notably few photography exhibits. Not only are most exhibit booths in tight areas making photo taking more difficult, some craftsmen object to photos. I assured most that my purposes were for illustrative use only.