Editor’s note: In Tara Kelly’s “Consider This” column published March 10, titled “Helicopter Mom,” she described her anxiety in seeing her teenage son, Jack, go off with his buddy for a hike on the southern arm of the Appalachian Trail. She promised us that Jack would share his journal with us upon his return, in hopes that her worry would have been for naught. It apparently was, as evidenced below. Here is Jack’s condensed hiking journal, and it is just the tonic to prepare us all for some bracing spring walks, long or short, on the trail. Day One, March 7, 2011Everything is a go! This morning, 7:20 a.m., everything was packed and my uncle, who was driving us to the drop-off point, was downstairs. Said goodbyes to Noah’s parents and headed off. The trip to Front Royal, Va., was pretty straightforward. Things got a bit tricky when it came to the trailhead. Spent an hour to an hour-and-a-half trying to find it. Found two trail heads. About a mile-and-a-half in, we realized we’d passed our first campsite by miles; we’ll stay at Dick’s Dome tonight. The hike was around 8 miles, but didn’t seem that long. Got to the shelter around 5:45 p.m. and met Scott: a drummer in a Christian rock band, a recently quit 30-year smoker and avid hiker. He showed us some topo maps. It looks like the next two days will be rough. Dinner is lentils and rice. Made a little too much, but tasty. Sleep will be easy. There is a funny anti-bear device outside the shelter: a 12-foot metal pole with hooks.Day Two, March 8, 2011A long day. Today would’ve been 9 miles and the next two days would each be 14, or something of that nature. However, in order to break up the “roller coaster,” an arduous section of trail, we decided today would be a 15-mile day. Started hiking at 8 a.m. and ended at 5 p.m., at Sam Moore shelter. Exhausted by the end, but besides that, a great day. Day Three, March 9, 2011Today was hard. Began at the usual 6:30 a.m. Yet another change in plans made today 14 miles, not 10. The last 4 miles, however, felt good. It started raining around 1 p.m. and went on a few hours. When we had hiked 10 miles we had a choice to hike 4 more to a shelter or stay at Black Burn campsite. Although a bit sore, we ate some gorp, peanut butter and Fig Newtons and headed off. It was a relatively flat ridge, which made hiking easy. Getting to the shelter was terrific. Feet hurt a bit, but a fresh pair of socks solved that. Dinner was ramen, lentils and rice with lots of cheese and sausage with a Snickers bar for dessert. Tomorrow will be cold and wet but we should be in Harpers Ferry, W.Va., so it shouldn’t be a worry. Day Four, March 10, 2011Turns out we’re not hiking. Throughout the night it rained continually. Nothing got soaked in the shelter but everything is wet. The plan is to sit around and just enjoy the view for a bit.It’s 2 p.m. and it’s too late to start hiking. At around 8 in the evening it started pouring. Time for sleep, unfortunately in a wet sleeping bag, but I’ll be toasty no matter. Day Five, March 11,2011Had a horrible time getting to sleep because I was so energized, woke up four or five times. At 2 in the morning, the clouds disappeared and the air became fresh and dry. The stars were bright and lights from the cars, cities, town, really whatever was below us, glimmered. Hopped out of bed at 6 a.m. We arrived at the ATC headquarters around noon. The people were all really friendly. Getting into the HQ and seeing lots of photos of thru-hikers only made me want to hike the whole thing, Georgia to Maine, as soon as possible. We hiked around the town of Harpers Ferry, W.Va. Lunch at Cannonball’s was tasty and a refreshing change from lentils and rice. The outfitter is pretty cool, has a natural spring that runs through the solid rock of the first floor. Most of the town is a mixture of oddball museums about John Brown’s raid in the 1850s. It’s all pretty cool but when looking for lip balm it makes life mighty hard. On the side of the town facing Maryland there is a whole slew of pubs and a great, real, general store, where the guy was kind and chatted us up.Heading back to the ATC, that sort of concludes our trip. Noah’s parents came at 7 as expected and we threw our stuff in the dryer that night. Sleep is easy after a great trip, hopefully I’ll get back out soon. Jack Kelly-Willis, a junior in high school, is also known as Sunflower, the trail name given to him by his classmate and hiking buddy, Noah Wertheimer.
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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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