The Cotton Mill is an old mill in Brattleboro, Vermont that has been converted into studio space for artist and performers. The first weekend in December the Cotton Mill opens to the public with demonstrations and art for sale, just in time to pick up some great holiday gifts. In this quick video we take a look at some of the artist studios and offerings in the Cotton Mill during the 2009 open studio sale.

From their release:

Where can you go to see potters, glass blowers, circus performers, musicians, painters, candlemakers, jam makers, jewelers, booksellers, dancers and more all under one roof, all while you get your holiday shopping done?

Announcing the 13th Annual Cotton Mill Open Studio and Holiday Sale at the historic Cotton Mill building in Brattleboro,VT.

Admission and parking are free.

2011 Time & Dates:
Friday, December 2 – 10 am to 7 pm
Saturday, December 3 – 10 am to 6 pm
Sunday, December 4 – 10 am to 5 pm

Location:
76 Cotton Mill Hill – Brattleboro, VT

This once-a-year celebration features the work of many artists and artisans and promises something of interest for all ages. Walk away with handmade crafts, candles, candy, handmade jewelry, freshly made Jam, garden sculpture, cool books and so much more. Meet the artisans in their studios as you find beautifully handcrafted gifts for the holiday season.
Explore a diverse array of entertainment and artist demonstrations. There will be trapeze and dance, glassblowing, ceramics, woodworking, painting, film, a free raffle and more.

This once-a-year celebration features the work of many artists and artisans and promises something of interest for all ages. Explore a diverse array of entertainment and craft work, from live music, demos, trapeze and dance to blown glass, ceramics, woodworking, painting, film, bodyworks, toys, a free raffle and more. Meet the artisans in their studios as you find beautifully handcrafted gifts for the holiday season and enjoy live music, entertainment and demonstrations.

Even if you miss the open studio, since the space is not usually open to the public, many of the pieces of art you see in this video can be purchased at the shops downtown including Gallery in the Woods and The Artisan Design.

If you would like to contact the artists in this video directly please find their information below:

Natalie Blake Studios
802-254-9761

T. Breeze Verdant
Marquetry & Inlay
802-258-9820

Solinglass
802-251-0389

If you would like to contact any of the performers in this video please find their information below:

Luminz Dance Studio
802-254-9200

John Hughes Music

And for information on Brattleboro and the surrounding area, please keep an eye on our website InnBrattleboro.com or spend a night with us at our Brattleboro Vermont B&B. Thanks for watching!

Downtown Brattleboro book stores all have their own niche and are still surviving after years of growing competition from larger, bigger budget stores. Thanks to a thriving interest in keeping it local and a large population of book enthusiast and authors, downtown Brattleboro book stores hold their ground. Some hold events, books signings and reading for all ages year round. Although each book store has its own personality, they all have a well read staff. Each store presents an enthusiastic staff, who in many cases (like Mystery on Main), have read almost every book in the store. This is what they do and they love it! These aren’t the people you want to play Trivia with, trust us. But they are the people to recommend the best books for recipes on a dime, DIY home insulating, Joe Gunther’s greatest adventure, social justice or natural birthing in your home. You name it, one of the downtown book stores carry it.

What’s your flavor? Not sure? Check out our book stores just a few blocks from our inn in downtown Brattleboro to find out for yourself.

The Book Cellar
120 Main Street, Brattleboro (802) 254-6810

Everyone’s Books
25 Elliot Street, Brattleboro (802) 254-8160

Brattleboro Books
34-36 Elliot Street, Brattleboro (802) 257-7777

Mystery On Main
119 Main Street, Brattleboro (802) 258-2211

Baskets Bookstore/Paperback Palace
48 Harmony Place, Brattleboro (802) 258-4980

If there are other book stores you think we should include, comment! We’d love the feedback.

1. Great downtown – stroll through our active downtown with all of its big city amenities
2. Live theater – 3 Theaters for live performances downtown (Hooker Dunham Theater, Latchis Theater, New England Youth Theater)
3. Caffeine – 3 Independent Coffee Shops (Mocha Joe’s, Coffee Country & Cafe Lotus)
4. Food – 30+ Restaurants to choose from
5. Pizza – 8 Pizza Shops (what can I say we like pizza around here)
6. Sushi – 3 restaurants to get great Sushi
7. Brattleboro Museum and Art Center
8. Martinis – on the deck at Alici’s Bistro in the summer
9. Vermont Jazz Center
10. Galleries – Gallery in the Woods, Artisan Design, Gallery 215, Artist Loft Gallery…just to name a few
11. Architecture – Beautiful historic architecture
12. Beer – McNeil’s Brewery in the historic fire house
13. More beer – 40 Tap Handles at Flat Street Pub
14. Cheap beer – $2.75 Draft Beer on the Fridays on the roof top deck at the Riverview Cafe in the summer
15. Movies – Check out the Art Deco Latchis Movie Theater
16. Only a 2 hour drive from Boston, MA
17. Only a 3 hour drive from New York City, NY
18. Only a 5 hour drive from Philadelphia, PA
19. The Vermonter - Amtrak service from Washington D.C., Philadelphia and NYC to Brattleboro Vermont!
20. Small town – only 12,000 residents
21. How Tom at Peter Haven\’s Restaurant met me once and remembered my name 2 years later
22. Countless Boutiques – Beadnicks, Altiplano, Blue Moose, Knit or Dye, Distinctive Decor…just to name a few
23. So many books – 5 Book stores downtown (Baskets Paperbacks, Book Cellar, Brattleboro Books, Everyone’s Books, & Mystery on Main)
24. Community Appreciation Day – free lunch served by the Brattleboro Savings and Loan
25. Brattleboro Food Coop – local and fresh food!
26. The Hospital – yes, best experience I ever had at a hospital (kind, courteous and only waited 5 minutes to be seen)
27. Our Local Butcher Shop – North End Butchers
28. Gallery Walk – 1st Friday of every month – over 40 galleries, shops and restaurants displaying local art
29. Local newspaper daily – all the news I need in the Brattleboro Reformer
30. Drive in Movies -  Northfield drive-in theater
31. Wantastiquet – great hike with an odd name
32. Chesterfield Gorge
33. The Retreat Trails – hike them right from our backyard
34. Mount Monadock - sure it’s not in Brattleboro, but it’s close and awesome
35. Picking Berries – love Dutton Farm
36. Road Biking along the West River
37. Strolling of the Heifers (ever seen cows strolling down main street before, well see it here)
38. Spofford Lake
39. Mountain Biking
40. Tubing down the West River
41. Swimming holes on the West River
42. Kayaking on the Connecticut River
43. Hogle Wildlife Sanctuary
44. Canoeing in the Retreat Meadows
45. The Treasured Tree Tour – including our enormous Japanese Maple Tree – you have to see it to believe it!
46. Golfing at the Brattleboro Country Club
47. Hogback Mountain Scenic Overlook
48. Fishing
49. Fall Foliage
50. Corn Mazes – including the Gaines Farms’ giant cow
51. It’s haunted… The Spooky Side of Brattleboro (Madame Sharri\’s Castle and the Retreat Tower)
52. Shelburne Falls – Pot Holes and Bridge of Flowers
53. Picking Apples  – love Scott Farm
54. Cider – Donuts & Fresh Apple Cider from Green Mountain Orchards
55. Snow
56. Ski Jumping – Harris Hill Ski Jump
57. Ice Fishing on the Retreat Meadows (I love watching them from our 2nd Floor Sun Porch, like a Norman Rockwell painting)
58. Snow Shoeing
59. Cross Country Skiing at the Brattleboro Country Club
60. Down Hill Skiing at Mount Snow (just a short 20 minute drive)
61. Diversity
62. The Circus is always in town at the Nimble Arts Circus School
63. School for International Training
64. Protests – who doesn’t dig a good peaceful protest
65. The smelly hippies
66. Bartering – check out Boomerang, Turn it Up, and other shops
67. Vermont Fresh Network – restaurants, growers and producers working together
68. Free Wi-Fi – not just at our inn, but throughout downtown!
69. A Bush and Cheney free zone
70. First Home Depot in the US to close – citing local competition-Brown & Roberts Hardware rules!
71. Supporting local businesses
72. Keeping Walmart out
73. Sustainability – Check out the store called Save the Corporations From Themselves
74. Easy to be Gluten Free
75. Easy to be a Vegetarian
76. Easy to be a Vegan
77. Cheese – Grafton Cheese Company (watch them make cheese, visit their country store or pet the animals at the farm)
78. Weddings – in the apple orchards at Scott Farm
79. Sugaring – see them make the Maple Syrup at Harlow’s Sugar House
80. Candy – Tom and Sally\’s Handmade Chocolates (unfortunately they have moved, but check out the Vermont Shop for some great local candy)
81. The Brattleboro area Farmer\’s Market (year round)
82. Thai food – Anon’s Thia food at the Farmer’s Market and Thai Bamboo – both rock
83. The Awesome 80′s hour on WTSA 96.7 FM (while I iron the sheets)
84. Walking our dog and feeding the ducks in the Retreat Meadow (one for them, one for her)
85. 175 years of history at the Brattleboro Retreat
86. Antiquing on Route 30
87. Irish Sessions on Wednesday nights at JD McCliment’s Pub in nearby Putney
88. Live music at the Weathervane
89. Summer Concerts in the Park
90. Brattstock – local music festival in August
91. Renew Building Supply – plenty of reclaimed parts for your (and our) old house
92. Sam’s Outdoor Outfitters  – the biggest little store you have ever seen!
93. Chelsea Royal Diner – try their ice cream
94. Wine – great local shops (Windham Wines) and producers (Honora)
95. Basketville
96. Our Downtown Waterfall – how many towns have one of those!
97. Fish Market
98. Festivals (Keene Pumpkin Festival, Marlboro Music Festival, Yellow Barn Music Festival, Dummerston Apple Festival, Newfane Heritage Festival, Brattleboro Literary Festival…just to name a few)
99. Newfane Flea Market
100. Covered bridges
101. And of course, Forty Putney Road Bed and Breakfast!

Did we miss anything?  What are your favorite Brattleboro things?  Please share your favorites in the comments!

Our guests often ask where they can go to go see some live music during their stay.  Luckily a local musician, writer and artist keeps a weekly list of offerings and with his permission we are going to start re-posting that here for our guests.  Look forward to each weeks live music listing on Tuesdays.  You can follow us on Twitter or subscribe to our blog to get the updates automatically!

Guide to Local Live Music: October 6 – October 11, 2009:

Courtesy of Derek Gladding

OF NOTE THIS WEEK: The Wailers, Richard Thompson, The Disco Biscuits, & Yonder Mountain String Band!!!

You should probably call the venues to confirm before you make the drive anywhere!

Tuesday, October 6:

Yellow Barn Music School & Festival presents the Parker Quartet, 8pm, Centre Congregational Church, Brattleboro, VT
Open Mic, PK’s Pub, Bellows Falls, VT, FREE!
Open Mic, Bishop’s Lounge, Northampton, MA, FREE!
Mark Hummel’s Blues Harp Blowout, 7pm, Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
Richard Thompson & Loudon Wainwright, 8pm, Calvin Theater, Northampton, MA
Mumiy Troll, World’s Greatest Dad, 8:30pm, Pearl Street, Northampton, MA

Wednesday, October 7:

Open Mic, 7pm, Brattleboro Bowl, Brattleboro, VT, FREE!
Open Mic/Jam Session, Colonel’s Cabin, Dummerston, VT, FREE!
Irish Music, 8pm, JD McCliment’s Pub, Putney, VT, FREE!
Kurt Rosenwinkel Group, Kami Lyle, 7pm, Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
The Fine and Dandy Trio, 9pm, The Basement, Northampton, MA, FREE!
Beau Sasser Trio, 10pm, Bishops Lounge, Northampton, MA
Mihali from Twiddle, 8:30pm, The Perfect Wife, Manchester, VT, FREE!

Thursday, October 8:

Open Mic, 7:30pm, Adagio’s, Brattleboro, VT, FREE!
Live Jazz, 7pm, Rick’s Tavern, Newfane, VT, FREE!
Open Jam, 8pm, Chase Tavern @ EF Lane Hotel, Keene, NH, FREE!
Ameri-MF-Cana, 8pm, The Rendevous, Turners Falls, MA, FREE!
Open Mic, 9pm, Rt 63 Roadhouse, Millers Falls, MA, FREE!
The Original Wailers, The Big Takeover, 9pm, Northampton, MA
Andrew Parker Renga, 8:30pm, The Perfect Wife, Manchester, VT

Friday, October 9:

TBA, 7pm, Adagios, Brattleboro, VT, FREE!
The Guest Who’s, Colonel’s Cabin, Dummerston, VT
Loose End Theory, 8pm, , Chase Tavern @ EF Lane Hotel, Keene, NH, $3
Double Time, 7pm, Fritz, Keene, NH, FREE!
Manhattan Transfer, 8pm, Colonial Theater, Keene, NH
Blanche Moyse Chorale, 8pm, Walpole Unitarian Church, Walpole, NH
DLB Band, 9:30pm, Rt 63 Roadhouse, Millers Falls, MA
Hi8us, 9:30pm, The Perfect Wife, Manchester, VT
Charlie Apicella & Iron City, 8pm, The Basement, Northamton, MA, FREE!
Roots of Creation, 10pm, Bishops Lounge, Northampton, MA
Holly Near, 7pm, Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
Hadoken, The Baltic Sea, 10pm, Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
The Disco Biscuits, Kraak and Smaak DJ Set, 8pm, Calvin Theater, Northampton, MA
Jah-N-I Roots Band, 9:30pm, Harlows Pub, Peterborough, NH

Saturday, October 10:

AIDS Benefit Concert , 7:30pm, Latchis Theater, Brattleboro, VT
TBA, 7pm, Adagios, Brattleboro, VT, FREE!
Helio Alvez Brazilian Jazz Trio, 8pm, VT Jazz Center, Brattleboro, VT
Jim Flynn & Friends, 7pm, Ricks Tavern, Newfane, VT, FREE!
Boogie Men, 7:30pm, Boccelli’s On the Canal, Bellows Falls, VT
Terrapin Island, 6pm, The Sitzmark, Wilmington, VT, FREE!
Turn It Loose, 9:30pm, Rt 63 Roadhouse, Millers Falls, MA
The Nines, Chase Tavern @ EF Lane Hotel, Keene, NH, $7
Replica, McCues, Keene, NH
The Disco Biscuits, 8pm, Calvin Theater, Northampton, MA
TBA, 10pm, Bishops Lounge, Northampton, MA
Asylum Street Spankers, 7pm, Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
The Rural Alberta Advantage, The Lovely Feathers, 10pm, Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
Unfulfilled Desires, 8pm, The Basement, Northampton, MA, FREE!
Brother Josephus and theLove Revival Revolution Orchestra, Red Fox Inn, Bondville, VT
Rick Redington & the Luv, 9:30pm, The Perfect Wife, Manchester, VT
Mawwal, 9:30pm, Harlows Pub, Peterborough, NH

Sunday, October 11:

Open Mic, 9pm, The Weathervane, Brattleboro, VT, FREE!
Blanche Moyse Chorale, 3pm, Marlboro College, Marlboro, VT
Keene Chamber Orchestra, 4pm, Colonial Theater, Keene, NH
Ryan Bingham and the Dead Horses, Jonny Burke, 7pm, Iron Horse, Northampton, MA
Yonder Mountain String Band, Danny Barnes, 8pm, Pearl Street, Northampton, MA