SHARON — Sharon’s Christ Church Episcopal (CCE) building was completed in 1819, almost 200 years ago.More than two years ago some tree work was being done on the property. A worker was high in the air in a lift bucket. While doing his work he noticed there was rot in the almost-200-year-old steeple.Cathy Casey, who is the clerk of the church, recalled that, “Based on what the tree worker saw, we decided it would be wise to take a closer look at the steeple and get some professionals involved.”Two years were spent inspecting the steeple, seeking professional advice, developing a restoration plan and planning fundraising to pay for the repairs. The inspections revealed significant rot on the steeple’s pillars and other significant related deterioration.Joseph Hajek, the senior warden of the church, said it wasn’t easy to decide if it should be replaced or restored.“At the beginning we changed our minds so many times as to how to approach this project,” Hajek said. “Some people wanted the steeple restored. Some wanted it torn down and a new steeple built. In the end we made the right decision: to restore it.” Casey also noted that, “Greg Farmer from the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation was called in to consult on the project. After his evaluation, he said the steeple is so historic and unique, it should be restored.”Once the extent of the damage to the steeple and the roof that surrounds it was ascertained, the church got an estimate of approximately $200,000 to remove the steeple; send it to Heritage Restoration in Providence R.I., which is a company specializing in restoration of historic buildings; bring it back to Sharon; and reinstall it. The church bell was also shipped to Heritage Restoration for refurbishment. The steeple had been removed from the belfry in November 2010. On Jan. 31 and Feb. 1, David Aracil and Justin Boesch of Heritage came down from Rhode Island to clean out debris from the steeple and lower roof of the church and load them on a flatbed truck. Sharon resident Nick Moore, a member of the church, called on his brother, David, to help with the work. “David is an architect who lives in southern Connecticut,” he said. “And David called Leland Torrence, a general contractor specializing in restorations whom he had worked with before.”Torrence was hired as the general contractor for the project; and he called Rob Cagnetta, owner of Heritage Restoration, with whom he had worked on other restoration projects. Moore noted that, “Now that we know the extent of damage to the steeple, we’re very lucky that we discovered the problem and took action to correct it before bad weather tore it down.”Casey and Hajek said the congregation is hopeful the restored steeple will be back in Sharon in June. In the spring a crew from Heritage Restoration will be in Sharon for about a month completing necessary repairs and modifications to the “doghouse” the steeple sits on. To pay for the restoration, the church began a capital campaign to raise $200,000.“To date, we’ve raised about three quarters of the money,” Casey said. “We are very happy the money not only came from church members but also from the general community.”Moore said, “The fundraising committee has done an excellent job. One bit of luck was an anonymous matching fund challenge grant from a foundation, which greatly helped.”Hajek said a general campaign mailing will go out soon to raise the remaining required money.Cased noted the church is in Sharon’s historic district and many residents who are not church members appreciate the historic value and beauty of the building and want to see it properly restored.Anyone wishing to make a contribution can send it to Christ Church Episcopal, Steeple Fund, PO Box 1778, Sharon, CT 06069.
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The organic runway at HVSFW puts sustainable style among the apple trees at Stone Ridge Orchard.
Jay Ballesteros
That’s the question behind Hudson Valley Sustainable Fashion Week[end], a two-day celebration of sustainable style, local makers and the possibilities of keeping clothing in circulation. The weekend lands at Stone Ridge Orchard, a 200-year-old working farm, on Sept. 25 and 26, pairing an evening fashion show with a new all-ages Slow Fashion Fair.
“To me, slow fashion means intentional fashion. Careful, thoughtful, human,” said Joanne Louis-Paul, the event’s communications director. “Slow fashion is the speed at which one person can sew an intricately detailed dress. It’s taking the time to go to a thrift store or clothing swap and sifting through an unknown bounty of possibilities. It’s extending the life of a piece of clothing for as long as possible.”
In everyday terms, she said, “It’s stopping to think before purchasing anything or giving anything away.”
Friday’s fourth annual Organic Runway brings Hudson Valley designers to the farm for a sunset showcase of garments made from repurposed textiles and produced locally. Designers include Clare Bare, ennui, Kacy Coyle, KNUD, la vie après l’amour, Last Night on Earth, So Vicki and Touch Threads. The evening runs from 4 to 8 p.m., giving attendees time to pick apples and sip local cider before settling in for the runway.
“We’re all about the whimsy here at HVSFW,” Louis-Paul said. “The runway is so incredibly dreamy. Being outside makes for an unpredictable, one-of-a-kind backdrop every year, and there’s just nothing like that sunset glow.”
Models walk the organic runway at HVSFW. Ilan Harel
The unlikely pairing of fashion and farming is also part of the point.
“Once you’re sitting amongst the apple trees, you realize how much sense it makes to mend the relationship between fashion and nature,” she said.
Saturday introduces the inaugural Slow Fashion Fair, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., with workshops, mending, fiber art, vendors, music, eco-friendly kids’ crafts and a clothing swap. There will even be sheep.
“We wanted to have a fair so we could invite more people in the eco-friendly ecosystem into the fold,” Louis-Paul said. “We get to highlight not only designers, but makers and artisans of all kinds.”
The organizers hope the fair appeals not only to people already thinking about climate and sustainability but also to those encountering the ideas for the first time. With mending, a clothing swap and hands-on workshops, the emphasis is on showing visitors things they can actually do.
“There are so many things anyone can start doing today,” Louis-Paul said. “From something as simple as sewing a patch onto a stain or tear to hosting a mini clothing swap at your house with friends and family, there are tons of ways to engage with your wardrobe more thoughtfully.”
She speaks from experience. Before becoming involved with the event, she said, secondhand shopping held little appeal.
“As someone who never liked the idea of thrifting, I am now completely sold on circular fashion,” she said. “I recently sewed a broken strap on a dress I got at a clothing swap, and I felt so accomplished! Being in this world has shown me that conscious consumption is attainable and fun.”
But behind the fun is a serious concern about what happens to clothing once consumers decide they no longer want it.
“Just because you throw it away doesn’t mean it goes away,” she said, pointing to discarded clothing accumulating in other parts of the world and the microplastics shed by synthetic fabrics. “The planet and people are suffering because of this throwaway culture we’ve adopted. If an outfit is new but super cheap, believe there’s a high cost to someone else.”
For more information and tickets, visit hvsfw.org
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s in Ashley Falls, in her studio.
She has been creating lampshades for 25 years and has settled in Ashley Falls, where she is renovating a barn behind her house for a larger studio. Her mission: “Changing the view on plain white lampshades, one at a time!”
Besides using marbled paper, she uses papyrus, silk and hand-painted papers for the shades.
Shandell’s on Main Street, offers a large selection of marbled decorative home items on its website — trays, coasters and bookends, to name a few — as well as scarves and belts. Schneider will also customize items and creates custom wallpaper, gifts and favors for weddings and special events. She offers consultations by appointment.
Schneider explained how she began making lampshades.
“I was in business as an antiques and textile dealer, needing lampshades at the time (the early 1990s). I had a dealer who used to make lampshades. She was moving and sold me everything she had in her barn for making them. Arcs, templates for lampshades, and tools.”
Schneider used the marbled paper from the endpapers of old books to make small lampshades.
“I collected those voraciously.”
The papers were too small for the larger lampshades she wanted to make. To get paper in the size she needed, she decided to learn how to marble.
That was 10 years ago. She now has 20 tanks for marbling, including one 10-foot tank that allows her to make 3 yards of fabric at a time.
As she demonstrated the marbling process, making covers for journals, it was easy to see why she “got hooked.”
Susan Schneider, owner of Shandell’s, creates a variety of products with marbleized surfaces in her Ashley Falls studio.L. Tomaino
She explained that marbling takes a couple of days of preparation. She prepares water mixed with carrageenan the night before so that it thickens and becomes a viscous liquid onto which the acrylic paints can be dropped. Paper or fabric must also be prepared with alum, which “makes the paint stick,” she said, a day or two ahead of time.
When she was ready to start, Schneider first used a level to make sure the tank was even. Then she pulled a squeegee across the surface of the carrageenan mixture to break the surface tension, followed by strips of newsprint for the same purpose. She also dipped small pieces of newsprint into the mixture.
“The hardest thing to teach people is to break the surface tension first,” she noted.
Next, she used droppers to place rows of paint onto the mixture.
“It’s a joyful process,” she said as she chose more colors. “It’s totally the pleasure of the colors.”
She explained, “The colors are stopped from spreading by the surface tension.”
Then she added newsprint around the edges of the tank to break the tension again and added another layer of color. Next, she used a marbling comb, slowly dragging it back and forth across the width of the tank to create a feather-like design.
Combs come in many sizes, with teeth spaced at different intervals and in different patterns. She chose another comb to drag through the length of the tank, making the design more intricate before laying two pieces of paper on the surface. After a second or two, she lifted them, perfectly capturing the pattern, and carried them to the sink for a rinse with water.
Once she squeegeed away the paint left in the tank, she was ready to begin the process again.
Next, she created a different type of design, dripping colors in a less ordered array, then twirling them into curving lines and circles with a thin rod.
When the surface was ready, she laid a journal cover on top, then lifted it out, covered in a vibrant pattern of swirling colors.
For observers, the process can seem magical.
Schneider loves to share the delight of marbling by teaching classes at Dewey Hall in Sheffield. Upcoming classes will be held Nov. 20, 21 and 22. Beginning in November, she will also offer private classes in her home studio. Schneider had never pictured herself having a business like Shandell’s, but she discovered a passion for creating, as she says, “things that make you smile.”
For more information about her work and upcoming classes or to contact her for a consultation, visit shandells.com.
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