The Brookfield Craft Center at the corner of Route 25 and Federal Road is a hopping place these days with its 38th annual holiday sale that volunteers and a new board hope will rejuvenate the center so that it can again be an anchor business and artistic commnity in the Four Corners.
One step toward its renaissance is the holiday craft sale that started with a grand opening in the gallery on Nov. 22 and will last through Jan. 5.
And I assure you, this is one sale of local artisan’ crafts you will not want to miss.
Where else will you find a blown-glass ornament of a camel with dangling holiday feet, or a minature blown-glass vase with a fire-breathing dragon on top? Beyond that, you can find other assortments of must-have artwork either for your own pleasure, or to give as a gift: silk and weaved scarves, knitted gloves, baby bonnets and felt hats; pottery cookware, blown-glass vases and figurines and jewelry _ my favorite piece is a three-dimensional silver snowflake necklace for $32. Add to that the origami sculpures, wooden toys a wheeled box of blocks is selling for just $130 _ and multi-colored ceramic trivets and bowls. For the men in your life, there are hand-dyed silk ties and a wide assortment of wood implements, including a wood-handled shaving brush. If you can’t spend much, but want to support the center, there are gift cards, ornaments, and book marks that are priced from $2.50 to $10.
The hand-crafted jewelry ranges in price from earrings that cost just $15 to a precious-stone necklace selling for $295. There are decorative pieces that sell for as much as $800, but a simpler, smaller glass vase with a bright red and gold design sells for just $10.
Volunteer Fleuri MacIntyre said there is much to offer for anyone at the sale, and the profits from the sale will go to help the center to rebuild so that it can once again be an “anchor” business for a revitalized Four Corners.
“It’s a great place to be and we want to see it survive,” said MacIntyre who was first introduced to the center as a student. The center closed operations in the summer; a new board has been charged with reenergizing and rethinking the center’s operations so it can once again be a profitable enterprise.
The center is open daily from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. with extended hours on Thursdays till 8 p.m. and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information about the sale, visit the website: www.brookfieldcraft.org