By Kristopher Radder and Bob Audette, Vermont Country Magazine.
BRATTLEBORO — Art, like beauty, is in the eye of the beholder, and the spirit of that observation is on display at Vermont Artisan Designs on Main Street in downtown Brattleboro.
“Brattleboro is a good place to be when it comes to being an artist or a lover of arts,” said Greg Worden, who has owned and operated with his wife, Suzy, Vermont Artisan Designs and Kitchen Sync since 1988.
“We focus on fine art upstairs and American craft here on the street level. Kitchen stuff next door and tuxedos and suits downstairs.”
The Wordens feature art for every eye and every heart, with juried displays of all types of work from more than 300 artists and craftspeople.
“We’re about 90 percent Vermont-made or other parts of New England and about 10 percent from other parts of the country, but it’s all American-made,” said Worden, who said their shop has been able to thrive due to the quality of the art on offer and how each item has its own special appeal.
“There are enough people in Brattleboro who can see art in almost anything and everything,” he said.
Worden said Brattleboro has a quiet reputation as a gallery town, with Vermont Artisan Designs being only one of many that feature the mastery of the artisans who populate the region. He said that reputation draws lots of people to town to feast their eyes on the diversity of crafts here and find something that tolls a bell in their soul.
Vermont Artisan Designs was started on Elliot Street in 1973 by John and Lucy Gratwick Serkin, as LJ Serkin Gallery. They sold the business to Meg Howland, who moved it from Elliot Street to Main Street, where Beadniks is now, and changed the name to Vermont Artisan Designs. After the Wordens took over, they moved across the street to its current location at 106 Main St.
Before their purchase of the store, the Wordens were newspaper people, having worked at the Brattleboro Reformer for more than 15 years. Worden came here from the Midwest more than 50 years ago. His grandfather grew up in Brattleboro but left long ago, and Worden traveled to town to visit with a couple of college friends, meeting Suzy who grew up over the river in Chesterfield, N.H., and settling in.
“Brattleboro is so typically New England,” he said. “We’re happy to be here.”
The gallery can be likened to a one-stop shop of great Vermont art, featuring works by John Dimick, Will Moses, Greg Hentzi, Mary Iselin, Woody Jackson, Claire Payne, H.M. Saffer II and more, including Simon Pearce, Josh Simpson and Wolf Kahn.
Shelves are also stacked with Solmate Socks, Oxo, Cuisinart, Wusthof, Casafina, LeCreuset, cookbooks, blown glass, wooden bowls, games, wrought iron, kaleidoscopes, scarves, sculptures, puzzles and Judaica.
Worden said in addition to the well established artists and crafters, Vermont Artisan Designs also features emerging artists, including art and craftwork from the region’s refugee community.
There is so much on offer for every eye. The Wordens think everyone should have a piece of fine art in their home, so they offer layaway plans for all income levels.
“That makes it possible for anyone to own a piece of valuable art,” he said.
Bob Audette a cranky old white guy, is experiencing the world anew under the tutelage of an 11-year-old forest sprite. He’s been writing for the Brattleboro Reformer for nearly two decades.
Kristopher Radder is a photographer for the Brattleboro Reformer. Often compared to Ed Sheeran in looks, or Prince Harry pending on his hair, he can be often found with a camera in hand ready to capture life in Southern Vermont.
