Now I wish I had taken a lot (back in the old days, we would have said "a few rolls") of pictures. Of course, back then, there was no Pinterest.
If you are ever in the Finger Lakes region of Upstate NY, do visit MacKenzie-Childs. Much of what they sell are artisan made pieces and the prices are not for the timid. They do have affordable knobs and some other small items.
The landscaped grounds are free, and if you enjoy the combination of fine crafts and chickens, this is the place for you. During the growing season, you will see some flower gardens, again free.
If their merchandise hadn't been so far out of reach for a lot of us, I may have featured this on one of my "sustainable Saturdays" - not because of the materials, but because of their support for artisans. I wish I had the money to buy some of their merchandise.
If you are on Pinterest, feel free to pin these or other pictures on my blog. Blogger does not have a good "pin" button, but hopefully one day they will. Also, if you are more interested in this style, do visit the MacKenzie-Childs Pinterest boards.
MacKenzie-Childs: Not for the Timid
Almost three years ago we visted Aurora, NY (in the Finger Lakes) for the annual MacKenzie-Childs barn sale. MacKenzie-Childs
is an upscale artisan crafts destination.. Their pottery, furniture, and other decorative
items are...shall we say, quite bold. If you love checkerboard
patterns, this is your place.
These are examples of some of their furniture.
Unfortunately, photography was not permitted inside their "farmhouse" which was decorated in this style: but this will give you some flavor of the kind of merchandise they offer.
Unfortunately, photography was not permitted inside their "farmhouse" which was decorated in this style: but this will give you some flavor of the kind of merchandise they offer.
Inside their farmhouse were even more examples of this art. My favorite room was the bathroom, which was done in checkerboard tile. Even the sinks were decorated.
Outside, there is a "chicken palace" where normally there is a nice collection of rare chickens - to my disappointment the chickens were removed for the occasion. They did leave some geese, who ran up to everyone who came close, waiting for a handout:
Here is a garden gate. This shows the detail put into
their garden gates plus offers a little peak into one of their gardens:
Finally, here is a view of one of their gardens.
Finally, here is a view of one of their gardens.
Wow. Would love to visit this place. Guess I'll have to settle for your pictures!
ReplyDeleteI don't know if they have their open house this year, and we may not be able to make it up - but if I do I will try to take more pictures in the areas where they allow picture taking. At least you can visit electronically!
DeleteWhat a cool intro to a cool place (ps. the first link to M-C didn't work for me; second one did)...
ReplyDeleteI love that this got renewed interest because of PInterest..something for me to think about.
Thank you for telling me about the broken link - I have fixed it. I didn't test the links in this post - I wasn't feeling well when I wrote it - I apologize!
DeleteWhat a great example of the power of photos in our blog posts! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteJennifer
www.bloggingboutboys.com
Fellow Blogathon2012 participant
Thank you for stopping by, Jennifer.
DeleteSounds like a really interesting place that would be fun to visit. I love finding those spots that support local artists, although I, too, struggle sometimes with the price tags associated. I try and head to these kinds of spots when a wedding is on the calendar as it gives me a good excuse to really spend some time and finally buy.
ReplyDeleteCongratulations, too, on getting so much interest via Pintarest. I was just discussing it this morning with my husband for a Business English class he teaches. You've inspired me to look into it!