WELLFLEET — Sewing spans the generations in Paul Townsend’s family. His grandmother, Theresa Townsend, remembers how, as a toddler, he would sit on her lap while she sewed quilts, fascinated […]
Home / Making
Inspiration for the crafty, projects for the practical, spaces for dreamers.
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DEEPLY FELT
A Study Designed for Haiku
In a felt-covered room, a scholar of Japanese literature savors silence
J. Keith Vincent’s Wellfleet study is covered in felt, the ceiling, walls, and floor lined in a soft-to-the-touch oatmeal and gray. He didn’t choose it for himself. He lets his […]
MEET THE MAKER
Lisa Ventre Is Provincetown’s Accidental Hatmaker
Evolving designs in a place for playing with mistakes
“I call myself the accidental hatmaker,” says Lisa Ventre. Ventre is renowned in Provincetown — and beyond — for her original hat designs. But she never meant that to happen. […]
COLLECTIONS
Ken Merrill Has a Surfboard Museum in His Basement
150 vintage boards tell stories of surfing’s heyday
Ken Merrill’s first encounter with a surfboard did not go well. He was at Eastham’s Coast Guard Beach, on a borrowed board. “I got sandbagged a few times,” he says. […]
LIVING SMALL
Fixing Up a ‘Mini,’ the Kitchen Comes First
Three good moves make for a bright and workable space
Her 600-square-foot house is not technically a “tiny house,” says Hannah Oakland. “But it’s a mini. I like to say it’s a house where expectation management comes into play.” The […]
MEET THE MAKERS
How Do You Want Your Kaftan? ‘Flowy’ or ‘Extra Flowy’?
Friends create a design to go from beach to dance floor and home again
Eric Bomyea and Iryna Teixeira, who had met years earlier when they were working at the same marketing agency, were podded together in Quincy during the early months of the […]
MEET THE MAKER
With His Plates, Michael Ceraldi Leaves It to the Materials
For this chef, ‘making ceramics is a lot like cooking’
Before he sends a plate to the dining room, Michael Ceraldi makes sure it looks beautiful. If you have been to his Wellfleet restaurant, Ceraldi, you know his idea of […]
PUSHING THE ENVELOPE
Act Now If You Want a Passive House
How one energy-efficient home in Wellfleet produces more power than it uses
If you haven’t heard the term passive house, Bob Higgins-Steele would like a word with you. As a member of the Truro Climate Action Committee, he is trying to spread […]
RESTOCKING
Swap Shop Finds
Minimalists can now unload, and that means offbeat decorations for the rest of us
The Outer Cape’s swap shops are re-opening, and that’s welcome news for those whose anti-materialist leanings went unsatisfied during these long months of isolation. De-acquisitioning that odd lamp (still working), […]
EARLY SHIFT
A Stop at the Wellfleet Flea Market
Where characters and collectors keep coming back for — or with — more
It’s just after 8 a.m. on Sunday morning and the Wellfleet Flea Market has opened its gates to customers. Vendors are still setting up as a box truck pulls into […]
LATE SHIFT
When a Flea Market Find Is a New Direction
Old friends reflect on second acts, begun on the drive-in blacktop
“I love murdering people,” says Donna Walo Clancy in her Boston accent, letting out a slight giggle, twirling her ponytail with her left hand, wearing an apron. She is taking […]
PLANTCRAFT
Gardening by the Moon
Look to the sky before you dig in the dirt
I’ve been paying attention recently to an old gardening proverb that goes like this: “With the waxing of the Moon, the Earth exhales. With the waning of the Moon, the […]
MORE IS MORE
For Collectors, There Are No Rules About What Brings Joy
Animals’ bones, vintage porn, and anything with octopuses are local objects of desire
PROVINCETOWN — Tiny bottles, dried flowers, and pipe stems. Embroidered handkerchiefs, Pez dispensers, or art exclusively representing snails — the potential collections built from digging in thrift stores, scouring the […]
DOVETAIL JOINT
Step Inside Alex Brewer’s Magical ‘Dunegrass Tavern’
A timeless space for music and friends, built from generations of salvaged wood
The musician and carpenter Alex Brewer has deep family roots in Wellfleet. His great-great-grandmother was Ada Freeman, daughter of Capt. Richard Rich Freeman, the first president of Wellfleet’s Mercantile Wharf. […]
TREAD ON ME
It’s Time to Put Out Your (Repurposed) Welcome Mat
It started with a trip to the transfer station
“We are a family of repurposers,” says Alicia Morgan. That’s how she explains the accidental beginnings of their doormat business. Alicia had studied interior decorating and was working freelance in […]
