It's been about a year since I started taking pottery classes at Something Earthy and it literally…read morehas been a true joy. Though I still feel pretty insanely novice on the wheel, I've pumped out some pieces that I'm pretty proud of... and many pieces that... could use some work lol. Linda is the owner and head teacher at the studio and she is quite literally the best. She is SUPER friendly, always willing to help, and honestly has become someone who I consider a friend. Something Earthy is not just a studio that offers weekly classes though, there is a pottery shop that is filled with her work, students work, and other local artisan's crafts. As if that isn't a enough, Linda also makes homemade jams and jellys and freeze dried candy that she sells in the store portion. There are also small classes for younger children where they can choose a pre-molded ceramic and paint it. Linda even grows produce and sells it during the season. But yeah, it has become one of my favorite little retreats. This is the epitomy of a hidden gem and I could go on blushing about how amazing this place is for pages, but rather than TLDR-ing you, I'll just say that if you're in the area - or even if you're not - you should stop by shop and inquire about classes.

Unfortunately, my experience during the past two months was not a success. As a virtual beginner,…read moreI did not have six classes in the studio. I had six visits to the studio where I was mostly on my own. After some guidance during the first couple of classes, I was usually left to figure out what to do by myself. I didn't see the owner/instructor many times until an hour or hour and a half of my "class" began. Often when I did see you, it was just a casual hello sort of thing. Far from instruction. Overall, I was provided one or two demos of the various steps. I never mastered centering or trimming. I threw away about 1/4 of my clay because pieces flew off the wheel or the base collapsed. During my third or fourth time in the studio, I specifically remember the owner said to me, "You forgot what we talked about before..." It usually takes beginners three or four times to "get it" and incorporate learning into short term memory... The one time (first and only) the owner showed me glazing, she chided me for leaving the piece in too long. Strangely, that is one of the only pieces I actually have kept. Subsequent glazing was a disaster with tong marks and color unevenness. I threw away four finished pieces. I got some glazing assistance from an experienced "student" on my final two pieces. She was kind enough to help me use the bottles of glaze, find and use the brushes and try a different approach without dipping. Sadly, the base of the plate that I glazed by hand doesn't sit evenly on a surface, so I am not sure it will be the 10th anniversary gift that I intended. When I originally found Something Earthy's website, "class time" and "studio time" were advertised and new students were only taken on a particular schedule. I expected six classes of instruction. When I was a graduate school professor, I was in the classroom with my students for the full scheduled time of classes. I was their guide, their instructor and my assignment was to teach them and expand their knowledge of the subject matter. Advertising "class time" is misleading! I did not ask the owner for refund or concessions of any kind. I shared with her that I wanted to express my deep disappointment in what I experienced, as I was SO hopeful that pottery would become a life-long love for me as it was for her. I also encouraged the owner to either reconsider her approach with beginners or just advertise the studio to experienced artisans.

Small but mighty art store - great selection of materials for drawing, sketching, and painting…read moreincluding a wide variety of paints, paper, brushes, and pens. They even have paint for leather, which can be used for shoes, purses and jackets. Lots of materials for framing as well, including canvas that you can use to stretch to a customized size for your creation. Small number of supplies for fabric arts - just the basics to get started or if you're in a pinch. Prices are reasonable for the city and quality of the materials. Lots of cute gifty items up front too. Stop in here with your kids for a fun side trip when visiting Planet Word!

The selection is small and overpriced. Plan ahead and buy online for 1/2 off. This location is…read morethe worst in the chain. Very poorly run, always dirty, cluttered, poor selection. The staff is poorly trained and rude. It's awful service like this killing brick and mortar.

I was invited by a friend to join her for this festival yesterday. I was initially apprehensive…read moreespecially after reading some less than glowing reviews on Facebook but heck, I'm new to the country so I'm going to give almost everything a try (as long as it's within reasonable limits). The drive from Loudon to the festival site was beautiful. I went with low expectations and wanted to check out the food vendors however, the craft exhibitors were pretty interesting too. There were about 18 food trucks and stalls offering a wide variety of festival food. There was BBQ meats, kettle corn, ice cream, Mexican food, Asian food, waffles, espresso-based drinks, pepperoni rolls, butterfly potato, hotdogs, burgers and even an Oktoberfest-themed vendor. I had the Purple Piggy Pulled Pork Sandwich with Purple Mango Slaw, Smoked Mac & Cheese, and Baked Beans (made from scratch and not from a can) from Rolling Smoke Bar-B-Que's food truck. Cooked with wood fire, the tender pulled pork had a lovely smoky flavour. Don't miss the sides at US$4 each for a small portion. Though I've never been a fan of baked beans (scarred for life by canned beans), these were excellently smoky, sweet with maple syrup and was in all, a game changer. There are tons of food samples from dips to chips to slushies to coffee and wine (bring your ID) so you can get an idea of what you're buying. I didn't think I'd wind up buying anything but soon found myself buying quite a few soup kits, herbs, Chai tea, 3 bottles of wine and a handcrafted hardwood coin bank with an antique post office box door. The fair's on this weekend from 10 am to 5 pm. PS: Most of the vendors accept credit cards but bring cash as some only accept cash.

The Mountain Heritage Festival is an outdoor fall craft festival that takes place during three days…read moreeach September near Harper's Ferry. Besides crafts, there are fine arts vendors, music, wine, and food. Craft festivals are NOT my thing but I was invited on an outing and decided to try something new and I was not disappointed. Overview and Vendor Examples: There were close to 200 vendors onsite situated under large tents. Vendors sold items such as art glass, baskets, candles, bath and body products, clothing and accessories, dolls, dried flowers, furniture, jewelry, kitchen accessories, leather, metal, musical instruments, knives, photography, pottery, toys, etc. Some of my favorite non-food vendors were Forest Flower Jewelry which sold beautiful hand pressed flower necklaces, bracelets, etc. I also liked smelling all of the candle scents from the Pennsylvania Soy Candle Company. They went all out and transported a store full of candles to the festival. They had a large variety of scents such as Maple Bacon, Reindeer Poo, Nutty Taffy Apple, etc. There were lots of homemade soaps and lotions to choose from at various vendors as well. I did not intend to purchase anything but I bought a small bud vase, a pearl necklace, and three wine frappes. Food and Drink Samples/Vendors: At the end of the row of tents (or at the beginning if you wanted to start in a different direction), there are some great food and drink samples. I will mention a few favorites. A coffee vendor called Snookie Snookerwitz had vats of coffee and hot chocolate samples with flavors such as cinnamon hot cocoa (delish!), mint cocoa, hazelnut mocha, snickerdoodle latte, etc. Their station was really clean and inviting and the cocoa was great, albeit sugar laden. Meadowcroft Farm displayed a large array of relishes, pickles, salsas, pepper jellies, and jams. Their onion relish was really great. They had interesting items such as cinnamon pickles and cherry pecan jalapeño pepper jelly. One of the most popular vendors was Nectar of the Vine which served samples of mango and pomegranate wine slushies, or frappes as they like to call 'em. The pomegranate slushy was fantastic! I purchased several bags of the mix in various flavors (watermelon, pomegranate, and sangria). The bags were flying off the tables! The other food vendors provided samples of roasted nuts, dips and spreads, jams, syrups and a variety of sauces. You can look up any of these vendors via their website. Good to Know: You can consume wine samples on the grounds, but actual consumption of alcohol is prohibited on the grounds. Parking is attendant-guided, grass parking. Admission cost is $6- $7. The festival is opened daily from 10:00 am - 5:00 pm. I visited on a Friday and it was perfect. It was likely much more crowded on the weekend. I had plenty of space to move about and was not overwhelmed by the crowds except at one clothing station. The vendors were low pressure and did not push their items. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Many of the items are expensive. Plan a budget ahead of time. Even expensive items tend to look less expensive the longer you are browsing. Pack a lunch if you are trying to eat healthy. Food vendors are onsite but they serve items such as ice cream, fries, deep fried vegetables, and burgers. Bring a backpack. Do not try to carry a heavy purse all day. Wear comfortable shoes Bring sunscreen Restrooms are Porta-A-Potties only

Queen Street Gallery is Martinsburg, West Virginia's best kept secret. I lived 250 feet away from…read morethis gem of a place for four years and never stepped inside. If only I could get that time back. I'm making up for it now, though, as I spend a lot of time here. Oh, the wonders to behold! Greg and Janie Henry have cultivated a delightful trove of treasures, something to please and captivate absolutely anyone's imagination and interests. And yes, the shop dog is a very big bonus. Do visit, you will be glad that you did.

Great shop for so many needs or wants. Friendly, professional and very fair staff. The "shop dog"…read moreis and added treat to the small town feel. Any time that I am greeted by a shop dog, cat, snake, parrot, or iguana, My trust-o-meter goes up. Been there twice and anticipate regular visits.

This was my first visit since the second generation took over the business. Still following the…read morewell known patterns that were established by his father and adding some items with different artistic touches. Dirk's father would be pleased.

Foxcross Pottery has NOT closed. Del Martin is still producing some of the finest pieces you will…read morefind anywhere, and at prices that are incredibly reasonable. If you want the best, visit Foxcross any weekend.

Do not take stained glass classes here!…read more Thought this would be a fun thing to do, purchased a class for myself and my wife....wrong! The owner has no teaching ability whatsoever. Instead of an overview of the whole process, she just jumped straight into how to score and cut glass. Would be nice to know what the whole course would cover, what we would do, etc. The cutters we used were designed to be filled with oil (to lubricate the wheel and keep small chips of glass down) but she said but she doesn't do that. She said they can be dipped occasionally in oil, but never offered any advice as to how often, just said "it depends", with no further guidance, nor any oil actually offered. I guess as brand new to this we should know when oil is needed? We did learn how to cut, except it was tedious at times. For example one time she said "don't cut it that way...well you can..some people do...I don't...but you can if you want...it's really up to you"! Often when we asked "why" something was done, she couldn't really answer, and would become vague or argumentative. One time I commented on a piece of glass,mane she said it was "water glass". Not knowing what that means, I asked. She didn't really answer, but said she can just tell by looking at it. (Note going online online later I found that "water glass" is a term used when glass is stretched while being made, giving it the look of rippling water). Very frustrating when trying to learn. We chose a pattern, she then told us to first try to find pieces of glass that might fit from bins of shards from previous classes. Later, she offered some large pieces of glass to chose from, but told us she kept most of the good glass in the back, and to tell us what we wanted, and she would go back to see if she had it. Question...how are we supposed to know what colors and glass patterns we can use when we don't know what she has? Again, very frustrating. We finally said we would just take the patterns home and go online to find some colors and styles we thought might look good, and her comment was "that's cheating"...what? In our second class, we cut glass from cutouts from our patterns. Tough because trying to keep the thin printer paper she gave us from moving while trying to trace around the thin paper with a worn out markers was quite the challenge. Later online search showed lots of easier and better ways to do this. Grinding - this is where it finally got bad. After we had cut out pieces, she directed us to small table top grinders to grind the pieces to fit our patterns, and to take off sharp edges so the foil would stick...what's foil? On my grinder there was a huge amount of glass dust built up around the grinding wheel, which got worse as I ground, coating my hands with glass dust. After about 5 minutes, I overheard her tell my wife "you can spray a little water every now and then"...what...water? I asked her what she meant, and she said she forgot to tell me, and pointed out a spray bottle on the counter, and said to spray a little now and then. THIS IS NOT HOW THIS IS DONE!!! I found out later the grinders are designed to be filled with water, with a sponge that keeps the grinding wheel wet. This keeps the grinding surface cool, makes grinding much easier, keeps the grinding wheel from wearing out, and KEEPS DANGEROUS SILICA DUST FROM FORMING AND BEING BREATHED! There was no water in the grinders, and she gave us no masks or safety glasses. During our second class the AC kicked on, and we were blasted with a very bad, noxious smell. She apologized, said it has been doing this. Note: This is likely caused by never changing the filter, or the coils have severe mold buildup and have never been cleaned. Not good. After our second lesson, I went in and said we were done, didn't want to continue something that kept us frustrated, was taught incorrectly, and not safe. She argued, tried to get us to continue, and tried to justify the incorrect instruction. When she finally accepted we were done, she said she couldn't refund us for the 3 classes we had yet to take because she didn't have the money to refund us. Now it makes sense; her wanting us to try to dig through shards of previous cut glass first, and limiting what glass we actually had to choose from. Same with thin computer paper to try to trace around, worn out markers, no oil for the cutters, etc. The shop is very junky and cluttered, shards of glass everywhere. Note: if you try to contact her on the business number, you will never hear back. We called and left several messages that were never returned. When asked, she said she never checks messages or uses the business phone because of spam...what? She said that maybe we could contact her in her cell phone...but then never gave us the number! DO NOT TAKE STAINED GLASS CLASSES HERE!

I found this place looking for a painted rock to take back to Florida with me. I saw one in the…read morewindow and went in to see if the owner would trade with me for one I had painted. She was so nice and let me switch them out. The store is so amazing, it has blown glass and stained glass. We chatted with the owner and a local patron who takes local pictures. We had a great time. We had fun and purchased five stained glass ornaments and a hand blown bowl. If you are in the area stop by and see the amazing glass in the shop! They also offer classes and studio time to make stained glass pieces. I wish I lived closer!!!

If you have time, absolutely take a class with Veronica here! Spending time in the studio is so…read morewonderful, since it's a full working artist's studio, and you get to see how everything is made and look at some incredible finished works for inspiration. But the best part is working with the materials yourself--Veronica explained everything clearly and showed us how to cut the glass, and her gentle and friendly demeanor made me feel much more confident in trying something new. My finished piece is stunning, and all of my friends are so impressed at what I made in just a single morning!

This past weekend, my aunt treated me to a birthday surprise where we got to create a stained glass…read morepiece; this particular one was called a hanging garden. First off, let me say about how neat it would be to live and work in this neck of the woods & the grounds are super appealing with all its unique decor. Veronica runs the show here and has such a premier craft workshop. If you enjoy crafting and dream of a craft room in your house, then you visit Frog Valley...you will go home to ask your significant other for a craft house like Veronica. It was easy to set up a time for a 2 hour class, pretty easy to make a day trip to Berkeley Springs from an hour away. We got food before & after and the class was full with 3 people and an assistant. I was nervous for one particular part of my design but a.) it's easy if you don't over think and b.) everyone helps to make it come together. Everyone was so nice, down to earth and it was a pretty chill zone. The temp was comfortable and music was on and afterward there is a chance to shop. Highly recommend and will come back. I wish WISHHHHH we had anything remotely close to this in Cumberland.