Sunday, October 23, 2011
Jobi Pottery is a Truro cottage industry that has been making slip mode pottery for over 50 years.
In 1953 Joe Colliano and Bill Hastings combined their talents and their first names to create a unique brand of handmade and hand painted pottery, which they sold out of a converted hot dog stand located near the Cape Cod Highland Lighthouse. Colliano and Hastings moved their shop to North Truro and eventually sold the business to the Locke family, who ran Truro Crafters until it closed in 2002. This is when current owner Susan Kurtzman, who was the Curator at the Truro Historical Society Museum at that time, thought losing an original Truro cottage industry would be terrible, so she took what she called “a leap of faith” and bought the business. Kurtzman, who has a degree in ceramic design from the University of California at Berkeley, …
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Kerry Mahar's passion for entertaining and drive for perfection has enabled her to "take cupcakes to a whole new level" with Cape Cod Lollicakes.
Lollicakes are defined by Kerry Mahar as a whimsical and delectable handcrafted cake treat, made from fine ingredients, placed on a stick. Mahar, a resident of West Barnstable, started Cape Cod Lollicakes as a business in 2007. But as a consummate entertainer and coordinator of dinner parties, she had been making unique and creative foods and party favors for years. “I am always looking for something new, and when I discovered lollicakes on the internet, I began to make them for my daughters’ school events.” And when parents began asking to buy them, Mahar “saw an opportunity and a niche that wasn’t being met.” Mahar has spent years perfecting her recipes with “practice, practice, practice…and patience” The Lollicakes come in chocolate, …
Sunday, September 25, 2011
Full-time firefighter, Jon Martin, began oyster farming in 2007, which, he says, keeps him grounded and has brought him back to life.
Oyster farming is a trade Jon Martin learned from his friend, Scott Mullin in 2007. Martin spotted Mullin going out on his boat in Barnstable Harbor in the middle of February, and his curiosity finally got the best of him. He spent one day out on Mullin’s oyster farm, and was hooked. Martin apprenticed with Mullin for about a year, and in 2008 secured his own “grant” from the Town of Barnstable. In Barnstable Harbor there are 50 grants--or plots--that are all approximately 2 acres. A grant is hard to come by, but can be transferred or sold by the owner. Martin happened to be at “the right place at the right time” when a family decided to sell theirs when they moved to Maine. Martin’s grant is situated where Slough Point and Scorton Creek …
Sunday, September 4, 2011
Kathleen Quinn-Kortis began knitting at a young age - never thinking it would lead her to eventually own goats, spin yarn, and make soap from beer.
Woodside Woolies, located in West Barnstable, started as a fiber arts business where founder Kathleen Quinn-Kortis knitted clothing and other items. But she had always been attached to the idea of creating an article of clothing from scratch - from fiber in its raw form to finished piece. Several years ago, Quinn-Kortis’ husband, Steve, surprised her with a gift of an antique spinning wheel. She then found the Cape Cod Spinners Guild, where a group of women with similar interests taught her how to spin yarn. Quinn-Kortis realized that she had discovered a passion. “I used to say that I learned to spin to support my knitting habit,” she said, “but I've discovered that the process of spinning and dying the yarn is even more rewarding.” Quinn…
Sunday, August 21, 2011
Artist Marley Okalani incoporates many mediums -glass blowing, painting and sewing - into creating her unique and impressive wool sculptures.
Hyannis resident, Marley Okalani learned how to sew when she was three years old, and has distinct memories of making sock dolls. Over the years she also learned how to paint and blow glass. But she felt that her visions for her creations never matched the finished product. “When I finally found wool, I was able to create exactly what I had pictured in my mind.” Okalani’s introduction to working with wool began four years ago when she took a parent child class at the Waldorf School with her son Zane. She instantly connected with “working with natural materials,“ and continued to create using wisps of wool to make animals and marionettes for Zane. She continued to research wool felting techniques and “taught [herself] how to manipulate …
Sunday, August 14, 2011
As a jewelry designer, Dawn Rosell strives to make one of a kind creations and always challenge herself.
Growing up, Dawn Rosell’s mother taught her how to sew at a young age. “We didn’t have a lot of money, so I would take old clothes and rework them, decorate them with beads…luckily it was the 80s, so you could really do anything," Rosell said. Rosell’s ability to be creative with clothing inspired her to pursue fashion design as a career and she attended the Chamberlin School of Design at Mount Ida College in Newton. Her love of Cape Cod drew her back post graduation, but unfortunately, she found fashion design opportunities quite limited. Instead, she settled into the world of retail and banking. About five years ago Rosell rediscovered her love of design--this time focusing her efforts on designing and creating jewelry. “I didn’t like …
Sunday, July 24, 2011
Made In Barnstable is a column that highlights people in Barnstable who are producing goods right here in our community. Here's why you should be paying attention to it.
With so much focus on the state of the United States economy, many community leaders and policy makers are trying to create more economic development and job opportunities nationally as well as locally. Many times this leads to a discussion about whether products are manufactured abroad, and the implementation of strategies to bring manufacturing jobs back to the U.S.. In fact, the Federal government included a “Buy American” provision in the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act that required “iron, steel and manufactured goods used in the project to be produced in the United States,” in order to ensure that grant monies benefited as many American companies as possible. According to ABC news, who has produced a summer series titled “Made…
Sue and Rich French
12:50 pm on Sunday, September 25, 2011
John and Kate are just great people and he really puts his heart and soul into everything he does. He is very talented,personable and a real credit to the Barnstable aquaculture community. more ›