Nurturing and featuring new artisans is core to our mission at Sandwich Home Industries. Learn how the mentorship of the late gallery manager, Ralph Watson, guided Joe to bring his artistry to our community and to become a new member of the League of NH Craftsmen. "Ralph's confidence right off the bat stuck with me. He advised me on which pieces he thought would do well in New England. He encouraged me to apply to the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen, which since his passing

An excerpt from Nancy Starmer’s address at the Annual Excursion, Sandwidh Old Home Week, August 9th, 2026.

We sat down with Jack Dokus — a talented jewelry artisan, who first exhibited at Sandwich Home Industries in 1976 and hasn't looked back—to hear his story and how he's been a big proponent of The League of NH Craftsmen. Jack Dokus displays his jewelry at the Annual Craftsman Fair. "Back in 1926 when the founding mothers got together and said, “It would be a good idea to show off our handiwork and make some much-needed money”. It worked so successfully, giving birth to The San

One hundred years ago, Mary Coolidge founded Sandwich Home Industries with a vision of celebrating and supporting the talented artists and craftspeople of Center Sandwich. She recognized that the community was rich with creativity and believed local artisans deserved a place to showcase and sell their handcrafted work. That vision continues to inspire us today. To celebrate this remarkable milestone, Sandwich Home Industries hosted Family Arts Day on the Green on July 25, 202

Lauren Hansen and Franz Nicolay share how community treasures, archival discoveries, and 100 years of craftsmanship came together in the centennial exhibition. Opening Day of "Beauty and Utility: A Century of Sandwich Home Industries at the Sandwich Historical Society "The start of the Home Industries was an inspiration for a number of other organizations. People from other states and other countries came to see what Mary Coolidge was doing and said, 'We want to do something

New classroom studios honor SHI’s educational mission and artistic legacy Illustrations by Kate Brewer As part of its 100th anniversary celebration, Sandwich Home Industries is undertaking a major renovation of the lower level of its historic Main Street building, transforming a longtime classroom area into an updated educational space for the community. The renovated lower level will feature dedicated ceramics and printmaking studios, improved work areas, expanded classroom

A Community Gathering to Celebrate the Creative Process Wood-firing is a traditional way of firing pottery using wood as the sole fuel source. Suzanne Weil's kiln is the only wood-firing kiln in the area and an amazing community resource. At this event, local potters explained the process, including Suzanne, Franz Nicolay, Jack Mauch, and others. Part of the year-long celebration for the Sandwich Home Industries centennial, community members absorbed the warmth of the kiln a

A Talk by Rich Benton and Josh Jackson, April 2026 Members of our community were treated to an entertaining and engaging presentation on both the restoration of the Oakwood Farm Barn and Notre Dame cathedral in Paris. In 2025, Rich Benton, a longtime Sandwich resident and building contractor specializing in timber framing, who’d been hired to move and restore the 200 year old Oakwood Farm Barn in Moultonborough, collaborated with Josh Jackson to construct and install the timb

A Talk by Martha Nichols on the Occasion of the Centennial, March 2026 Sandwich Home Industries, founded in 1926 in Sandwich, New Hampshire, has been a cornerstone of the town’s creative and economic life for a century. What began as a modest rug exhibition organized by a few dedicated women grew into a cooperative craft enterprise that helped shape the League of New Hampshire Craftsmen — the first state-supported craft organization in the United States. From its origins in a