On December 7th, we joined hands to celebrate Red Hook and the holiday season at a new craft fair started by Monica Byrne and Leisah Swenson, the owners of Home/Made. The market was set up inside an intimate and beautifully candlelit space on Commerce Street in Red Hook. In an effort to gain visibility for Find & Seek within the community and to build bridges with local business and artisans who might share an interest in our vision for children, we set up a table to demonstrate a craftier side of our organization and to raise funds. Jewelry and dolls designed by Kristin, little dolls and ornaments created by some of our students and own children, and hand-painted cards made by teachers were for sale. In addition, a collection of images looping on a laptop screen were on display to demonstrate our practice.

The day before the craft fair, on our last Find & Seek day at the Red Hook Library, we had had the privilege of hosting Noah Apple Mayers and his school, Brooklyn Apple Academy, in our Materials Lab.

The adults in the group--Noah and a chaperone/father--really got into the making of painted holiday cards. Here you can see the wide range of our creations.

Images of practice looping on the laptop.

We were lucky to be situated next to Claudia Zoe Bedrick of Enchanted Lion Books, a small children's book publishing company that happens to be located on Van Brunt Street in Red Hook. We were already familiar with the wonderful Emma's Journey, but today got to know many more of the titles Claudia has published, and we are excited to keep in touch with her for years to come. As her website rightly states, "[Our books] evince a fierce belief in the imagination, exploring the inner world as richly as the world around us." We also caught up with Tera Peterson of Lunacy Design and the artist L. Nichols (currently Window Shop resident at Beam Center), and met the lovely Karen Hagopian, a ceramic artist. All in all, we made some great new friends and were inspired by the dreaminess of the space and warmth of the community. So many little lovely surprises await in Red Hook as we continue to put ourselves out into the world and foster genuine relationships with the people here. So much good will!

Magestic ceilings, a skylight and candlelight create a cozy feeling.

Aunt Claire reads one of the lovely Enchanted Lion books to Magnolia, who had quite an enchanted experience exploring Claudia's many amazing picture book offerings.

Magnolia and a friend explore the Find & Seek bead collection.

Kristin made felted acorns in a felted bowl! Fun, natural, colorful. Elisha and her daughter Sophia crafted a felt and yarn headband with braided strands.

A reclaimed doll house, painted blue and gray by Elisha's two children, served as a perfect shelf to display  fairy dolls, cork dolls, and felted treasure. So sweet! — A reclaimed doll house, painted blue and gray by Elisha's two children, served as a perfect shelf to display fairy dolls, cork dolls, and felted treasure. So sweet!

Everywhere Find & Seek goes, mason jars and tree branches seem to follow!

Some of Kristin's jewelry work on display. Her work incorporates hand painted beads, vintage beads and natural seed pod beads. You can seek more of her options for purchase at her Etsy site! Please do, help to support the arts and wear an original p… — Some of Kristin's jewelry work on display. Her work incorporates hand painted beads, vintage beads and natural seed pod beads. You can seek more of her options for purchase at her Etsy site! Please do, help to support the arts and wear an original piece. Kristin also works on commission and has a large collection of paintings and prints to sell.