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Farmers market returns to the Wild Center

TUPPER LAKE – If you took time to stop by one of the Adirondack Farmers’ Market Cooperative’s eight regional markets, you may notice the North Country produces some ingenuitive crafters. We took a tour of their Tupper Lake branch, held at the Wild Center every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. to see how locals are turning their surroundings into a living.

The market’s manager, Ellen Beberman of Sunwarm Gardens, said the growth of vendors and customers over the past six years has been substantial. A great variety of products surrounded Beberman, some of them first time vendors in a new craft and others lifelong laborers of unique trades. Here are a few vendors that piqued our interest.

Waterman Hill Soap Company

Fernando Pantoja’s homemade soaps apply creativity to a product that is bland in nature. His bars of soap, made in Canton with organic oils and fragments, have an impressive artistic flare and diversity. The “swirled kale”, for instance, is a semi-translucent red block with swirling red shapes floating inside, made of ground oatmeal, organic kale, geranium, peppermint and rosemary. Some of his work looks like colorful mixtures of candy, but don’t chow down. The gylcerin-based bars don’t taste good, but they smell great. Pantoja, a native of Ecuador, began selling his bars online two years ago and made his first farmers market appearance in Tupper Lake this year.

Hid-In-Pines Vineyard

Richard Lamoy was at the market offering taste tests for the various wines made mostly from the grapes he grows on his 7-acre vineyard in Morrisonville. Lamoy harvests a variety of grapes through harsh Upstate winters, and you’re free to try any of the wines that come from them, from the dry reds to the sweet greens and beyond. He even offers a variety of less common fruit wines, made from raspberries, pears, plums or peaches. Lamoy is a regular at the Tupper Lake market and several regional markets.

Nottingham Hollow Specialty Foods

Here’s a booth to stop by if you have a sweet tooth. Based out of Long Lake, behind Hoss’s Country Corner store, Ron and Ryan Morris run this business making handmade confections. The fudges go beyond basic flavors, with a range of colors and tastes such as orange creamsicle, banana chocolate chip and cookies and cream to name a few. You’ll want to sample the treat so good they branded it with a unique name, “Lumberjack Brittle”. This crunchy snack looks and feels like toffee with the addition of maple syrup, bacon and pecans.

Bear Pond Woodworking

Russ Palubniak has seemingly mastered his craft in a unique way during the 55 years he’s spent woodworking out of Chestertown. His table was loaded with eye-catching wooden creations, including a large set of wooden pens that fetch a high price. Palubniak experiments with a powder-based dye on different wood grains to create an assortment of patterns for the barrels of the pens. He outfits the pens with metal parts, some made from gold and titanium, to give them a luxurious touch.

Topo Tees

Autumn Blanchard turned her father’s collection of antique topographic maps into a line of t-shirts, tote bags and other items. She took the maps – which cover large, local regions such as the 46 high peaks, and shorter distances such as individual towns – and digitally enhanced them to be pressed onto various fabrics. It’s a great way to proudly “wear the threads of where you’ve tread.”

My Body Utopia

Candice Garcia is quite proud of the minimalistic and natural hygiene products she makes out of Nicholville. Her chemical-free deodorants come in a variety of scents ranging from fresh cotton to zesty lemongrass. Other products are a bit more niche, such as the “Dirty Hound” dog shampoo bar, or the “Dude Degreaser” specialty soap with exfoliating beads to wash grime away and melaleuca oils to heal cuts and scrapes. It’s a stand to visit if you’re into the au naturel side of washing up and smelling good.

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