A note about the featured images. Sally Stetson fell in love with a set of Maddy B-G Clay’s hand built napkin rings at the Vermont Spring Open Studio. Maddy’s colors, patterns and textures inspired Sally to create a custom repeat design to print on fabric with Spoonflower (an on demand fabric printer in the US) specifically to go with Maddy’s creations. Here’s to more artist/designer collaborations in 2026!
This time of year always brings its own kind of replay for me—a reel of innings, moments, and tiny snapshots looping in my head. The stress, the joys, the pause, the reset… then we do it all over again. It’s funny how the rhythm of a year can feel so familiar and still so surprising.
I’ve been thinking a lot about what we make with our hands. The lumpy sweaters I tried to finish in high school. My kids’ wonderfully crooked pottery that somehow means more than anything perfect. And then the pieces of masterful craft and art we get to appreciate here in Vermont—work sparked by passion, shaped by talent, and forged with a little frustration and a lot of heart. We’re surrounded by beauty that is unmistakably human-made.
As we step into the new year, I find myself craving some of the things the corporate world talks about, but in a way that feels authentic to us—collaboration, partnership, finding new ways to lift one another up. I want to lean into that. To work together, share opportunities, open doors for each other, and create more paths for our collective success.
Here’s to a year built like our favorite handmade things: imperfect, heartfelt, and better when made together.
Sally Stetson
Stowe VT