Last month I headed out to Hawthorne Hill Farm where throughout the season you will find a variety of hand crafters selling their wares. Hawthorne Hill Farm is located in southeast Wisconsin, not far from Milwaukee in the town of New Berlin. It’s a neat story actually. Wisconsin artist Bonnie Lynn turned an old barn that once housed horses and cows into a thriving shopping market and venue for art workshops and women’s retreats.
Each shopping market centers around a theme as do the art workshops. For example, the market I attended in May was called “Farmhouse Chic” while the market scheduled for this weekend is named “Rust, Ruffles, Restore” and I think I better carve out some time to attend that!
[I have to apologize ahead of time here. I had business cards for all of the artists I am featuring and cannot for the life of me find them anywhere. :-/ Most of the vendors I spoke with didn’t have an internet presence but did state that they attend many of the local shows and usually return to Hawthorne as often as they can. If there’s something in particular that interests you, let me know and I will see if I can contact the venue for more information.]
Click each photo to view larger.
There’s quite an array of different artists showcased, including this talented painter who turns bowling balls into beautiful lawn ornaments and boxes into works of art. See that watermelon? She told me that when someone cuts down a tree and does that initial V-cut into the trunk it creates a wedge of wood. She takes those wedges and paints them to look like watermelons.
Artists and crafters aren’t the only vendors, there are also pickers. This particular gentleman not only had a great eye, he also was very good at staging his area. The Union Jack trunk was fabulous!
I think this sign hanging in his booth was my favorite of the day.
You’ll find pretty crafts such as these lacey fabric flowers…
and beautiful oil paintings like this plow horse picture I knew I should have bought!
Felting and needlepoint were on hand as well, the craftsmanship was beautiful.
This jewelry booth was so busy it was hard to actually get in and take pictures!
I really enjoyed my visit to Hawthorne Hill Farm, but I did notice that quite a few of the vendors were not the actual artists. Everything pictured above is handmade (besides the picker’s booth), but there were a lot of buy/sell type vendors in attendance. So if it’s truly handmade you are looking for, ask first.
Definitely worth a look, so if you’re in the neighborhood! 😉
To find out more about Hawthorne Hill Farm go to their website.
