...to Stanardsville, Virginia!
Granny, Hannah, Sarah, and I headed out yesterday morning for a destination that not only had we never ventured to before, but I'd never heard of before! Stanardsville? After checking mapquest, I found that it was a little spot in the road only an hour and a half away and just north of Charlottesville, west of Ruckersville.
Our goal was to reach Noon Whistle Pottery...quite the delightful little shop located on Main Street in a 1930's era gas station. Just priceless!
And why was this our destination? Well....the owner Holly had visited Appalachian Piecework which I've written about before and purchased one of Hannah's soaps displayed there.
She contacted Hannah and wanted to start carrying some of her soaps at Noon Whistle and invited her to bring 100 bars to her shop. Here's Holly and Hannah after their business transaction:
I loved the old Whistle sign in the background in the photo above. It says "Just Whistle, Morning, Noon, Night." If you follow these links, you'll read why some towns still blow a whistle at noon. Very interesting.
Here's another shot of the checkout area complete with antique cash register and a calendar with a date of 1956!
Here's a closer view of the register. This is really a blast from the past:
Come on! Let's climb these steps and go look at the next two floors of treasures. The shop has three floors filled with the artwork of over one hundred American artisans, potters, and crafters:
Some pottery pieces were creatively displayed from the ceiling:
Here are other pieces. I loved the rainbow prisms hanging from the window and almost made a purchase:
And another display that I loved because I love watering cans!:
Holly, the owner, wanted to take a photo of Hannah with her soap in this rocker which was for sale for $2500. Holly said the man who makes the rockers sells about one a month. It was gorgeous and the wood sooo smooth! The soap photo will soon be on the Noon Whistle facebook page:
Well, it was soon time to leave for home after browsing in the shop. We could have brought so many things home with us, but we were good girls. Here's Granny headed to the car as we're leaving:
Did I entice you to visit Noon Whistle? We all loved our day trip adventure and look forward to going again!
~Deb
What a lovely day trip! You just never know what you might find in a shop like that one. Love the pottery items.
Big congrats to Hannah on the shop carrying her soaps! If we're ever up that way I'll be sure and have a look at them. :)
Posted by: Toni | Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 12:39 PM
I want to go! Let's put it on the list of places to visit when I come.
Posted by: Bet | Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 04:05 PM
Hello Deb,
Well done Hannah, your soaps will be right at home in that shop. I remember listening to a local historian talking about Calendars, people throw them away and they actually tell us a lot about our times. So I have since kept mine, though most likely my children will wonder why. It has been handy looking back to see what day I went to appointments though.
Have a lovely day Deb.
Posted by: Bev C | Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 06:41 PM
What a neat shop. So glad for Hannah that she has another customer!! Isn't it neat to find new little places to visit and enjoy and so close to home!
Posted by: Chris | Thursday, October 10, 2013 at 09:12 PM
Well done Hannah! This will be especially good when your winter comes and your farmer's markets have finished. I expect you've thought of it already but have you and Holly considered Christmas presentation? Glad all you girls had a great day.
Posted by: Rose | Friday, October 11, 2013 at 05:41 AM
Hi all, I'm excited about my soaps being include in this charming new shop. Rose, yes, stores are great to have as customers for year-round business. I sent some of my seasonal soaps with the batch Holly ordered, so hopefully they will do well these upcoming months.
Posted by: Hannah | Friday, October 11, 2013 at 06:36 PM
Love this post! Yes, I want to visit Noon Whistle Pottery -- bit of a drive though. Looked through her Facebook page. Very nice to see so many independent crafters featured. Love the rocker! Great opportunity for Hannah. --1956, a good year in my book-- and the Noon Whistle, you keep hitting the New England things, Deb. The link to Woodstock, VT is close to where I grew up, and the name of Doten is a familiar one. I grew up with a noon whistle and the fire whistle before the days of cell phones and such. I'm one for carrying on such traditions. Few enough are remembered. Thanks for including me in your little trip. Quite enjoyable!
Posted by: Joyce | Friday, October 11, 2013 at 10:56 PM