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 Cooper
Ron Rasielis
 Blacksmith
Garry Kalajian
 18th-Century Printer
R.P. Hale
 Shaker Box Maker
Michael French
 Wildfowl Carver
Fred Dolan
 Windsor Chair Maker
Peter Scheffer
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For the artisans who demonstrate their skills at the Heritage Festival, the past is very much present, and there’s nothing they like better than sharing their passion for tradition with festival-goers. “My goal,” says basket maker Robert Gelinas, “is . . . to get people thinking—in the midst of our throw-away society—about the value of making something from start to finish. ‘Hand made’ means more than a higher price. It means value, quality and longevity.”
BLACKSMITH
Garry Kalajian operates Ararat Forge in Bradford, N.H., where he produces functional pieces based on both historic and original designs. The common denominator is the nearly exclusive use of traditional tools and techniques. more
COOPER
Craftsmen who make wooden barrels are called “coopers,” a word probably derived from the Latin word for vat, cupa. In New England, coopers arrived with the first English settlers in the 1620s, and their craft was essential to commerce and daily life. The fishing industry used barrels for shipping pickled and dried fish. Farmers used them for storing grains, butter, and cider. Merchants used them for hardware and dried goods. The whaling industry used barrels to store tools, provisions, and, of course, whale oil. Ron Raiselis, a cooper at Strawbery Banke Musuem in Portsmouth, makes his living demonstrating the traditional art of barrel making. more
18th-CENTURY PRINTER
Wearing period costume, R. P. Hale demonstrates wood engraving and letterpress printing. On his 18th-century printing press, he creates original engravings of some of Newmarket’s historic buildings. more
SHAKER BOX MAKER
Michael French demonstrates Shaker box making at Canterbury Shaker Village. Shakers were well known for the quality of their oval-shaped bentwood boxes, which feature overlapping joinery fastened with copper tacks. Michael is a New Hampshire native and learned his craft from master box maker Barbara Beeler. He enjoys helping people understand the connections between bentwood box making and Native American and Scandinavian traditions. more
WILDFOWL CARVER
Fred Dolan grew up next door to a bird carver. During stints in construction, school teaching and family business, Fred pursued his own passion for carving, eventually turning his hobby into a full-time profession inn 1989. Fred was among the New Hampshire craftspeople featured at the 1999 Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, DC. more
WINDSOR CHAIR MAKER
Windsor chairs are known for their comfort, and durability. The design, methods of construction and materials used in Strawhill Windsor chairs by Peter T. Scheffer are the same as those used in the original antiques. The result is an inherent strength and beauty–an artful creation designed for generations of use. more
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