Pour Yourself a Glass…

One of my favorite times of year is fall festival season. There is nothing quite like packing up the jewelry, setting up my booth on a beautiful New England day, arranging all my latest creations and waiting to see who will wander in.

After spending so many quiet hours designing and creating, festivals give me something I can't get at my workbench—the chance to meet you. I reconnect with old friends, make new ones, hear which designs catch someone's eye and, inevitably, find myself talking about two subjects I never seem to tire of: gemstones and wine.

That feedback is an important part of my creative process. A comment, a color someone loves, or even a conversation can send me home thinking about a completely new design.

So if you're ever at a festival and see the Tangled Vine Jewelry booth, please stop in and say hello. Talking with you is one of the best parts of what I do.

A Winery with a Story to Tell

Part of what makes visiting New England wineries so interesting is discovering the history behind them, and Hardwick Vineyard & Winery has quite a story.

For years, the Samek family drove past the abandoned Giles E. Warner mansion on a quiet country road near the Quabbin Reservoir. Built in 1795, the once-grand home was slowly deteriorating—but where others might have seen an old building, the Sameks imagined a vineyard and winery.

In 1997, they purchased the historic house and 150 acres and began an extraordinary restoration that would take nearly five years. They preserved the character of the original home while adding new spaces using traditional building methods, including a 5,000-square-foot timber-frame barn constructed with oak harvested from the property.

Even the community became part of the restoration story. Neighbors shared old photographs and returned pieces that had disappeared from the property over the years.

Today, the restored buildings provide a beautiful backdrop for wine, music, festivals and gatherings—proof that sometimes preserving the past can create a wonderful place for making new memories.

More Than a Tasting Room

What I enjoyed about Hardwick is that it feels like a place meant for gathering.

On a beautiful day, the lawn fills with people enjoying wine, conversation and live music, while the historic buildings create a backdrop that feels distinctly New England.

During festival weekends, there is even more to discover as local makers and vendors join the mix. It's the kind of winery where you don't necessarily want to taste and leave. You find a table, choose something to sip, listen to the music and stay awhile.

That, to me, is part of the pleasure of wine country.

Gemstones on Display

There is something wonderful about seeing a collection come together after working on individual pieces one at a time.

Across my tables at Hardwick were the colors I've been drawn to throughout the season—cool turquoise and blue, touches of coral, earthy neutrals, silver, gold and the natural variations found only in gemstones.

Individually, each stone has its own personality. Put them all together and they create a palette much like the vineyard itself—nature never seems particularly concerned about whether her colors match. Somehow, they simply belong together.