Longtime organizer Carol Prest Barr said this year’s Francestown Labor Day celebration arts and crafts fair includes a mix of highly skilled local professional artisans, including juried glassblowers, woodworkers, a textile artist, painters and jewelry-makers. 

The fair returns to the town’s 106th Labor Day celebration Monday, Sept. 2, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on the lawn in front of the Francestown Town Offices on Main Street in Francestown. 

Three of the 18 artisans taking part in this year’s juried arts event are from Francestown: painter and maker EllienLaramee-Byers, stained glass artist Susana Miles and fiber artist and quilter Trazy Szanto. Other local participants include woodworker Ian Johnson and glassblower Alex Kalish, both of Antrim; painter Paula Kerouac of Bennington; and crafter and sewer Allison Randall of Temple.

“It is just a sheer joy to have so many juried artisans at our event and to promote them as artists and craftspeople,” Barr said.

Francestown’s Labor Day celebration is one of the longest-running community celebrations in New Hampshire. The event was founded in 1918 as a fundraiser for the American Red Cross during World War I, and has never missed a year. Activities begin with a tennis tournament Saturday, Aug. 31, and a mud volleyball tournament and vespers Sept. 1 before the activities on Labor Day itself, which include the “Olympic Dreams” parade at 2 p.m. For a full schedule, see francestownhistory.info/labor-day-2012.html.

“Labor Day has never been canceled, for bad weather or any other reason,” Barr said.  “The show must go on, rain or shine. The spirit of people in our Francestown community is amazing.”

Randall has been part of the Francestown Labor Day celebration for over 30 years.

“Now I have people who bought my toys when they were little coming back with their children or grandchildren,” Randall said. “That is a really wonderful feeling.”

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Randall’s business, Friendly Goods, is named for her Quaker faith, as Quakers are also known as the Society of Friends. Randall, who is 80, taught herself to sew as a newlywed 60 years ago, making her own clothing. After her children were born, she began to make toys and stuffed animals for her own children and for birthday presents and gifts.

“Then the other mothers began to ask if I sold my toys and stuffed animals, so I began to sell them,” Randall said. 

Randall said her toys are popular with therapists, chaplains and parents of children with diverse needs, as they are designed to have a calming sensory effect.

“Most of my designs have velour on one side, and they are all stuffed with millet, which has weight and a calming, soothing feel,” Randall said. “I had an elementary school principal who kept a basket in her office, and any child she needed to have a little talk with would get to choose a star or a heart  to hold on to while they were there.” 

Randall’s designs are available in local shops, including the Mariposa Museum and Joseph’s Coat in Peterborough, and Local Share in Wilton. 

Laramee-Byers of Frogton Pond Farm in Francestown will be selling small acrylic paintings, animal portraits, whimsical stickers and homemade watercolor paint kits. A lifelong painter who “always carries a watercolor set,” Laramee-Byers became curious about how she could create a watercolor set with colors of her own design, and learned that she could create her own paints using pigment and simple ingredients. 

“I found a pigment store in New York City, and it was like a mad scientist’s laboratory! For me, it was heaven, because I love color so much,” Laramee-Byers said.

Laramee-Byers uses honey from a neighbor’s farm as a binding agent to create paint, along with raw pigment, clove oil and gum arabic.  

“This way, I can create the exact colors and textures I want,” she said. 

Kerouac, who is a part-owner of a Hillsborough’s Village Arts Cafe, is a lifelong artist who most recently has fallen in love with teaching art.  Kerouac has displayed her work throughout the region, including in Peterborough and Greenfield. 

“My art is always evolving. Right now I’m doing landscapes on birch bark,” Kerouac said.  “I absolutely love the Francestown Labor Day craft fair. It’s always a great event.” 

Kerouac has had her studio in Hillsborough for three years and teaches classes at various locations in the area. For information, go to thevillagecommunity.co/member-dancing-wind-studio . 

Szanto also has a studio in Hillsborough, where she teaches classes  and workshops and provides long-arm quilting services. Szanto creates “just anything you can make from fabric,” including upcycled grain feed tote bags, “selvage” bags made from leftover quilting materials, custom quilts and table runners, as well as paintings on fabric. An award-winning quilter, Szanto will bring a selection of her fiber arts to Labor Day. Her work is available at dreamlandfiberart.com. 

Kalish, whose studio is on Old Carr Road in Antrim, has also been coming to the Francestown Labor Day craft fair for nearly 30 years. Kalish, who began blowing glass as a student at Franklin Pierce University, said he fell in love with glassblowing as a student and has been doing it ever since. 

“I’m really happy with that people have an appreciation for my aesthetic and are willing to go home with my work sometimes,” Kalish said. “A big part of my art is functionality. I like making stuff that people can use. I don’t like the idea of my work sitting on a shelf collecting dust. The cool thing about glass is, it could last or eons, or not.”

Kalish’s work is available at kalishglassdesign.com. 

Miles, who moved to Francestown in 2022 from Southern California with her family, said that “moving here is one of the best things that has happened to me.” In March 2023, Kerouac, after learning that Miles had worked in stained glass briefly in the past,  convinced her  to make a few pieces for the Francestown Arts Fest, and Miles was hooked. 

“I have been making stained glass full time since then,” Miles said. “I do art and craft fairs, and I have my glass at The Village Art Cafe in Hillsborough. I love seeing the look on people’s faces when they find that perfect piece for themselves or for a gift.”

Miles also teaches classes on stained glass and pastel painting and does commission work, including for pastel paintings of pets. Her work can be found at facebook.com/smilesglassart.

Johnson, who works out one of Antrim’s historic brick mills, is known locally for his woodworking. A longtime member of the League of NH Craftsmen, Johnson will be selling clocks, bookmarks, cheeseboards, cutting boards, nesting trays, jewelry boxes and cribbage boards at the fair. 

Twenty-five years ago, Johnson started by making cog gears for toys. He now creates intricate “cogworks”  for children and adults,  as well as for museums and schools. All of his works are produced in a 1895 brick mill building in Antrim.