Up North

Hello everyone. First of all, I wanted to mention the GoFundMe site for Billy and Teresa Owens to help after their house fire.  We realize that Gofundme takes 7% for managing the site and collections, but went ahead with it to provide ease of accessing the money as a single lump sum (for paying contractors etc - we felt that might be difficult with individual gift cards).  Several people have sent individual or consolidated guild donations directly to Billy, and that is great too. We encourage everyone to help if you want too, in any way you can.  I think they are approaching $15,000 donated overall so far. To donate, go to www.gofundme.com and search for Billy and Tersea Owens House Fire.  Thanks!

Joni and I are currently up north at the Michigan Basket Convention in The Northern Michigan town of Bellaire. What a beautiful place. It is getting chilly and the leaves are just past peak, but still quite nice. And what a great place for Fall basketweaving!

We were able to stop off at Hartwick Pines State Park on the way, and hiked the trail through one of the last Old Growth White Pine and Hemlock stands in Michigan. I went there as a teenager back in the 70’s and it was nice to see it again.

After this we will be back in North Carolina at our studio, then Aiken, SC, and ending the annual teaching cycle at Deer Creek Guild in Maryland. It has been a fantastic year and we wanted to thank all of the students who joined us in class this year. You make Joni’s basket life so fullfilling!

Take care everybody, what a beautiful day!  Dave....