November 2nd was the fifth anniversary of Kathy Forrest’s bowerbird & friends shop in Depot Square, Peterborough. Kathy fell in love the Schwedenfakel and wanted some for her open house. We produced ten; six ready to burn in various sizes and wood-types, and four pieces of furniture. The day of the event, Wilson got a small, black cherry log fired up. The smoke was a bit tough to deal with in the beginning; however, it leant a lovely scent to the warm fall day and attracted customers seeking the source.
Grisel and Wilson get the Swedish Torch started
bowerbird is an amazingly eclectic store, featuring home furnishings that range from “Shabby Chic” to fine antiques and even a grand piano. Three customers stopped by and played for an hour each, adding to the celebratory atmosphere. More photos are on bowerbird’s Facebook page. She also offers gorgeous, healthy plants and creative potting solutions.
Kathy Forrest and her fabulous bowerbird & friends
Once the torch was going, we heated up spiced cider and sat back to enjoy the crowd. Though it was disheartening to hear folks repeatedly say, “Oh I can make one of those!” I reminded myself that connecting with new people and introducing them to “green” alternatives, is as lofty a goal as sales of the products. Everyone we spoke with was fascinated by the history of the Schwedenfakels and the simplicity of the design.
A lovely day spent in town, meeting new folks and feeling part of the community!
Therapeutic Misadventures 
I used to make custom planters and I did about 30 craft shows a year. It is disheartening to hear that they can make one themselves, but it is I got a lot of satisfaction of knowing that they probably never will. Even if they try, the expense of the materials and the tools (not everyone has a drill press in their shop) will be enough to make them wish they had bought one from me. Congrats to Kathy for 5 years!
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Thanks Laura. I bet not one guy went home and fired up his chain saw after seeing the torches on Saturday. It was a fun day overall and worth the time and effort. Love bowerbird and her eye for the unique and unusual.
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Your right on,my wife fired up the husqvarna 359 and i lit the match.
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Hey thanks for stopping by Scott & Rubina! I didn’t get your names but it was so nice to meet you. Hope the rest of your day was fun.
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can you add a photo of the torch for those of us who have no idea what you are talking about? !!
Ah, to wander in that shop! Sounds like trouble to me!
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Hi Steph, thanks for stopping by. The torches (schwedenfakels) are the logs, used by the Swedish army for warmth and cooking as they moved through the forests. There are several other posts about how to make them. In this post, they are the logs, burning and already burned that then become furniture.
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What a charming little shop and what I shame I live in Old Hampshire so can’t pay a visit. It makes me smile to see familiar place names like Peterborough and then relies I’m reading about the United States and not my own little corner of England. 🙂
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OK Mariekeates, here’s the challenge. Peterborough England/Peterborough, NH we do a photo blog of the two??? Yes???
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Unfortunately Peterborough isn’t actually in Hampshire in the UK, but a little further north in Cambridgeshire. I live in Southampton, Hampshire right on the Southern coast. You do have so many place names there that echo ours though, I guess the pilgrims who sailed on the Mayflower from my home town named the places they stayed after the places they came from. If you want to see where they did come from though there are plenty of photos on my blog, even a few of the spot the Mayflower departed from and the memorial there. Maybe I’ll take a walk down there at lunch time today 🙂
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The tailor, the dry cleaner, the gas station, the auto mechanic, the little theater, the diner, the book store, the historic buildings…come on!
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Why users still use to read news papers when in this technological globe
all is available on web?
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