September at Experienced Goods
By Jennie Reichman
Well, I finally took a vacation. It was actually a stay-cation, a week of sleeping a little later each morning, digging in the garden, working on sewing projects, visiting with friends, practicing music, and the big accomplishment: Cleaning my screened porch, which was beginning to look like a potting shed as opposed to a pleasant place to sit with a book and a cup of coffee and listen to the bird symphony. I could also have worked on writing this article, but I wanted to do a little experiment. What, I wondered, will have transpired at Experienced Goods during my week’s absence? Will all the racks be rearranged? Will there have been drama and intrigue? What will be different and fresh? I knew that while I was gone Karen and Emma were going to start putting out fall clothes, including jackets and long-sleeved shirts, and that warmer, darker colors would begin to supplant the pastels and brights of summer. But what other transformations might have happened that I could write about? I entered the shop on my first day back with excitement and a touch of trepidation, and lo and behold….things looked pretty much the same. What a relief! There is something so grounding about coming back to a workplace that feels familiar and welcoming, co-workers glad that I am back and ready for me to pick up where I left off a week before.
We are in the process of transitioning to fall clothing, filling the racks with cozier tops, a little bit of wool in the form of blazers, pants and skirts, and light fall jackets and fleeces that have been flying out the door with the cooler nights and mornings we’ve been experiencing. Halloween costumes and decorations are slated to make an appearance in the next couple of weeks; start thinking about how you want to dress up! As bittersweet as it is to say goodbye to a Vermont summer, fall and all its brilliant beauty is one of our region's greatest treasures. Stocking the racks with lovely warm clothes makes me look forward to crisp days and a riot of brightly colored trees, fresh apple cider, and a fire in the woodstove.
Fall is always a time of reflection for me, of going inward and slowing down a little, a time to deepen my understanding of myself and my relation to the world. Brattleboro Area Hospice’s new name, Center for Solace, embodies the need many of us feel to reflect and seek comfort in what often seems like a chaotic world. Learning how and where we find a sense of solace means we can draw on it for strength and hope, now and in the future. To that end, Experienced Goods will be creating a display window called Finding Solace that will be part of a town-wide holiday event featuring shop and business windows filled with miniatures. Tiny collages constructed on vintage book covers will hang in the window of our book room, depicting the myriad ways we seek and create solace in our lives. Our own Gemma Champoli is organizing this display, with the able assistance of Joan and Ruth. Together they are creating 3 additional windows filled with Lilliputian scenes of delights and wonders, including an elfin woodland and a circus tent. The World of Miniatures event will open on the Friday after Thanksgiving and continue through December. More about this magical visual feast in upcoming newsletters!
I hope this has been a delightful summer for all of you. As I’ve noticed the first few red and gold leaves appearing on the trees, I’ve had a song by one of my favorite musicians, Cheryl Wheeler, running through my head. Here are a few words from Summer’s Almost Over:
Summer’s almost over and I’m crying but I don’t know why,
Sentimental old fool, weeping for this blue, blue sky.
And the way the cat is sleeping and the way the garden grew,
Wagging dogs who lick my face and the way I feel for you.
Who could help but welcome autumn and the promise of the winter snow?
Still there’s something sweet and wistful as I watch this lovely summer go.
But the sun is sinking sooner and the weeds have won at last,
With the berries on the bushes and the crickets in the grass.
Oh, summer’s almost over and I’m crying but I don’t know why….