Visiting Kingfield & Farmington, Maine During the Holiday Season

Over the weekend, we wanted to get out and finish some last minute Christmas shopping, locally. For these types of shopping trips, our go-to place always seems to be Kingfield, Maine. We feel right at home in Kingfield and we can usually accomplish whatever task we have at hand. Perhaps this is because Kingfield reminds us of so many small towns that we have visited during our past travels. The town usually has all sorts of activities scheduled for every season and these have become annual traditions. Kingfield is also in close proximity to many of the places we frequent quite often such as Sugarloaf and Maine Huts & Trails. During our outing, we visited the High Peaks Art Guild, Gallery & Antiques in Kingfield and then made our way south to Farmington to grab a few more things. I hope you are ready for the tour.

The town of Kingfield, Maine.

The town of Kingfield during the holidays.

We have been to the High Peaks Artisan Guild several times now. The High Peaks Artisan Guild is a local Maine artisan and craftsman gallery located on 245 Main Street. The gallery is a co-op that includes painters, photographers, textile & fiber arts, clothing, glass, wood works, knitted items, cards, prints, jewelry, soaps & lotions, quilts along with antiques and collectables. The gallery is usually open Friday thru Sunday, 11-5 pm. They may be open at different times by chance, but it is best to call to make an appointment. High Peaks Artisan Guild is also part of ArtWalk Maine. Every year in Maine, communities host self-guided tours that allow participants to enjoy Maine’s world-class art museums, galleries, artist studios, local businesses and cafés exhibiting the works of local artists. ArtWalk evenings can also include opening receptions, street performances and visits to studios. Participants may also have the chance to participate in hands-on workshops. Artwalks are traditionally held monthly on Friday evenings between 5-9 pm. The 2018-2019 Kingfield Artwalk is 5-7:30 pm throughout the village of Kingfield. Dates include Nov. 2, Dec. 7, Jan. 4, Feb. 1, March 1 and June 28, featuring the Kingfield POPS. The mission of the Kingfield POPS is to provide music and arts programming for regional residents, youth and schools, as well as visitors to the area, while inspiring economic growth through a vibrant arts environment.

The gallery usually has a variety of different works during the holidays and we wanted to see if there was something we would be interested in. I also had a different kind of motive in mind as well. I will get to that in a little bit.

The High Peaks Artisan Guild located on 245 Main Street in Kingfield, Maine.

The front of the gallery.

The antique section of the gallery located in the back.

As a member of the co-op, it is required that all members work at the gallery two days a month. My point in telling you this is, you never know which one of the artists will be there when you visit. I was hoping Nora West would be there. We had met her a while back and we have had great conversations about things pertaining to the Kingfield area, the great state of Maine, etc. Nora is a local artist, who takes advantage of the wonderful Maine landscape, farms, mountains, local landmarks, places with a past, landscapes and changing seascapes. Nora works primarily in watercolors and oil. As many of you know, I have interviewed several photographers on my blog. I wanted to hopefully switch gears in the new year and begin to include a variety of artists as well. I enjoy Nora’s work and I wanted to ask her if she would be interested in doing an interview for the blog as well.

A watercolor by Nora West.

A variety of work by Nora West.

Well, I was lucky during our visit because Nora was indeed at the gallery. We talked for a bit and she agreed to do an interview. I hope you will keep an eye out for her interview in the future. After our talk, I took quite a few photographs in the gallery. I hope you enjoy and get an idea of the types of unique items the gallery has to offer.

The works of RJ Gray Jr.

A gallery wall filled with the work of RJ Gray Jr.

A birch wood table with a glass top.

A few items you can expect to see for sale at the gallery.

A variety of handmade soaps.

A variety of pottery.

A decorative plate.

Items for sale set up on an antique desk.

Photography by Betsy Bass.

Items included in the red dot sale.

A table filled with handmade wool items.

A few paintings at the gallery.

The back of the gallery.

Wooden antiques and other items for sale.

A variety of packaged soaps.

Sugarloaf-themed pottery.

Another section of the gallery.

The glass work of Susan Hudson

We had purchased one of Susan Hudson’s bird glass ornaments last Christmas. I like it so much that I have it hanging all year long in the bedroom.

Glass ornaments for the Christmas tree.

Sugarloaf glass ornament.

The Grinch ornament.

A variety of glass winter ornaments.

A blue glass ornament.

Bear-themed in nature glass work.

A black dragon glass work.

A stained glass bird.

A hanging glass Christmas tree.

After we visited the gallery, we decided to get a cup of coffee at Anni’s Market on the corner. We have given up consuming caffeine on a regular basis, but every once in a while we like to indulge in a nice “cup of joe.”

Anni’s Market located on 253 Main St in Kingfield.

Anni’s Market decorated for the holidays.

The front of Anni’s Market.

Before going home, we decided to make our way to Reny’s in Farmington. We usually visit the Reny’s in Madison, but this store was on our way. If you ever make a visit to Maine, you have to visit a Reny’s. It is a department store that carries a wide variety of merchandise. They are located in different areas around the state of Maine and a visit these stores is a real adventure!

Farmington during the holidays.

Reny’s on Broadway in Farmington.

Reny’s was filled from top to bottom with people doing their holiday shopping. We picked up a few of our usual items and some holiday extras. One can never have enough wrapping paper and scotch tape at this time of year. Well, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoy your holiday.