An Interview with Cathy Frank

What will you be bringing to the Holiday Studio Sale?
Cathy Frank: I am bringing a selection of hand built pottery and jewelry - always one of a kind.

What is your process and /or inspiration?
Cathy Frank: I am inspired by the moment, the surrounding, the textures, the mistakes, the accidents, the whim, whatever comes first to my fingertips.

What else would you like us to know about yourself?
Cathy Frank: I’ve been exploring different art and craft fields for most of my life, screen printing, photography, ceramics, soft sculpture, cooking, batiking, jewelry... there’s so much out there still to be explored. Who knows what’s next before the train stops.

Albany Holiday Studio Sale part of 1st Friday

The Albany Holiday Studio Sale, A Splendid Sale of Art & Craft held in a gracious 1845 mansion near Washington Park to benefit the programs of The Woman's Club is part of Albany's 1st Friday festivities for November 6, 2009. The trolley will be stopping in front of The Woman's Club!
Find the complete schedule at: http://www.1stfridayalbany.org/

Red Thread Confections on News 9

Albany Studio Sale chocolate artist Annika Pfluger of Red Threads Confections was featured on News 9 for her work on donating part of her profit to children in need.

View the video: http://capitalnews9.com/capital-region-news-12-content/top_stories/115896/chocolate-maker-donates-to-needy-kids/

An Interview with Annika Pfluger of Red Thread Confections

web site: http://redthreadconfections.com/

What will you be bringing to the Albany Holiday Studio Sale?
Annika Pfluger: I'll be bringing a selection of my hand painted artisan chocolates as well as my old fashioned peanut brittle, chocolate covered espresso beans and my double chocolate and spicy Aztec hot cocoa mix.

What is your process and/or inspiration?
Annika Pfluger: Red Thread Confections is a unique artisan handcrafted chocolate business. I hand paint each chocolate with organic all naturally colored cocoa butter. I trained at Ecole Chocolat based in Vancouver, Canada and studied artisan chocolates and confections at the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, NY. I got the inspiration for my company from the ancient Chinese Legend of the Red Thread: “At birth, an invisible red thread connects us to everyone in our life who will become important to us. That thread may stretch and shrink over time, but it will never break." As an adoptive parent, the red thread legend is very close to my heart. I believe that my son was connected to me by the invisible red thread at birth and that he will also be forever connected to his birth family and birth country by that same red thread. Red Thread Confections honors the red thread legend by donating a portion of the proceeds from each sale to orphanages in Guatemala, Ethiopia and China. Another part of our mission is to create red thread connections with each of our customers – once you try our chocolates, you’ll be forever connected as well!

What else would you like us to know about yourself?
Annika Pfluger: In addition to owning and operating Red Thread Confections, I'm also a professional classical cellist - my website is http://albanycellolessons.com. I have more than 20 years of performing and teaching experience. I have a Master of Music degree from Boston University, and was a Fulbright grant recipient for study at the Franz Liszt Academy of Music in Budapest, Hungary. I formerly taught chamber music at Harvard University Mather House, competed with the chamber ensemble “Kammerton” in the International Festival Van Flaandern competition in Bruges, Belgium and has recorded for WGBH Boston. In addition to an active private teaching studio, I teach cello at Woodland Hill Montessori School in East Greenbush, NY and at the Bethlehem Children's School in Slingerlands, NY.

An Interview with Kendal McGillycuddy of McGillycuddy's Naturals

Deb and Kendal (left) McGillycuddy

web site:http://www.soapus.com/

What are you bringing to the Albany Holiday Studio Sale?
Kendal McGillycuddy: We have a variety of new molds for our Milk Soaps that we are excited to bring this year. Some of the new soap designs include Sleeping Cat, Dog Bone, "Thank You", as well as several new holiday designs. We will also be bringing a wide variety of natural bath products including Lotion, Lip Balm, Bath Salt, Facial Products, Men's Products, and much more!

To help get everyone in the holiday mood we will have a plenty of holiday gift baskets and gift sets that are perfect for easy and unique gift giving!

What is your process and/or inspiration?
Kendal McGillycuddy: Everything we offer is hand made locally in Sharon Springs, New York using all natural ingredients. Our inspiration for the products we create comes from all over - herbs that are in season, suggestions that our customers make, and most often out of necessity (like something for sunburn relief or chapped skin). We enjoy every aspect of our business, from creating the products, to designing the packaging, and finally knowing that we are able to offer quality hand-made products to our customers!

What else would you like us to know about yourself?
Kendal McGillycuddy: We recently moved our store in beautiful downtown Sharon Springs, New York. We are now located at 209 Main Street. We would love for you to stop by and visit us at our great new location. There are several other wonderful businesses you can also stop by while in the area.

An interview with Cherry Schacher

web site: www.cherryschacherquilts.com

What are you bringing to the Albany Holiday Studio Sale?
Cherry Schacher: I'm currently working on some more hats and scarves to go into the winter with - the Snowball hats are fleece with fabric accents, as are the hat/scarf/glove combination - this is as yet unnamed! But they are warm. I'm also working on some vests and new jackets, branching out from using cotton fabrics into silks, ultrasuedes and anything that seems neat and interesting. Quilt/wallhanging side of things, I'm finally going to do some wall hangings using men's ties - I've been doing them off and on for years as custom orders - it's time to bring them into the booth! And, as usual, I will have several large size bed quilts, including a new Fractured Crystals one in shades of soft beiges and browns. And plenty of placemats, napkins and pot holders for more Christmas gifts.

What is your process and/or inspiration?
Cherry Schacher: Normally I say that my inspiration comes from traveling to Europe - cathedral floors, colors on buildings and in cobblestone streets, the scenery I see, trails I've hiked on, etc., but my most recent inspiration was a jacket I saw at London airport last week - it was made out of a jersey fabric, but by the time my plane was ready to leave, I had redesigned it for a silk fabric I was bringing back from Ireland! You never know where an idea will strike.

Cutting things very, very exactly is the key, and ironing more than I ever want to. The sewing is fairly straightforward - I use an old industrial Singer machine 99% of the time, finishing is always done by hand, usually watching late night tv with a glass of wine, or finishing coffee in the morning - it depends on what colors I'm working with - darker ones need morning light.

What else would you like us to know about yourself?
Cherry Schacher: George and I have been married for 32 years, we have a daughter Darcy, who is 15 and sings beautifully, and I have a son who is in the Navy, a great Spanish daughter-in-law and 3 great grandkids. We also play music in a couple of bands - Aged in the Hills and Coosheen (check out the website www.Agedinthehills.com).
The other big part of our life is the house we inherited from my father in Ireland - it is in a little village called Schull, in West Cork, right on the water facing the harbor. We spend as much time as possible there, but it's getting harder with Darcy's school, plus we rent it out so that it can pay for itself, so that's a problem, too. If you're interested in staying there, speak to me at the show!

Work by Ben Rauch

Albany Holiday Studio Sale artist Ben Rauch