The Register Citizen (Torrington, CT)
Whiting Mills hosts pop-up event
WINSTED — In a beautifully and meticulously repurposed complex of historic brick buildings nearly in the shadow of Northwestern Connecticut Community College, a recent “Third Sunday Pop-Up” at Whiting Mills showcased the work spaces for master artists and craftspeople, retail shops, studios and vendors-for-the-day.
Jessica Rosario, owner of the quirky little shop Cottage Wicks, offers hard-to-find soy candle scents like pamplemousse and lemon grass, pumpkin and the Betelgeuse Collection has a Tim Burton vibe. She also stocks handmade “lotions and potions” including Faerie Garden bath bombs and New Moon night cream. When it was suggested her space would be perfect for a Mad Hatter’s Tea Party, her immediate response was, “I would love to do that and I have all the props!”
Tina Puckett, who once had a small studio on the second floor of a building overlooking Cobble Court and the Litchfield Green, revels in her newest studio space she describes as “my largest and most beautiful studio” with Oriental rugs on the floor, a large orange cat asleep on her desk, and a sky-high ceiling that allows ample space for her collections of woven art. Resting against several walls are tall pieces of bittersweet vine that she gathers in the local woods, awaiting transformation into colorful baskets, wall sculpture or one-of-akind furniture.
A true celebrity has a workshop on the second floor: Tyler Green, a popular contestant and Season 6 finalist on the TV show “FACE OFF” as well as “All Star” semi-finalist, teaches SFX make-up courses and conducts workshops on “sculpting for beginners.” Bantam art teacher Fran Clem fondly remembers him as one of her former art students, “I’m so proud of his success and that he has become an educator.”
Whiting Mills is at 100 Whiting Street in Winsted and can be contacted at 860-738-2240 or https:// bit.ly/2V4GwLC.