Our Heritage and History

It all started when…

Six of us started at the “Village Boutique” in Glen Ellen, in October of 1993. It was a very small operation, in conjunction with "The Spinner’s Web,” located in the same complex. It was a long drive for 4 of us, and the rent kept going up, so in April of 1996, Michael O’Brien and Edgar Furlong found a place to rent in Bodega, where they lived. They had many artistic friends who were interested in joining the effort, and it was decided to call it a co-op, not a boutique. We did operate both businesses simultaneously for a few months, but the Glen Ellen location was closed in July of 1996 for lack of interest.

We eventually numbered around 50 members, and were in the same building in Bodega for nearly 20 years, moving to our present location, a few feet away, in November of 2015. At first we were mostly fiber artists, as Edgar and Michael and Pat Warner and Kathy Snyder and I worked in that medium, but over the years, many many other artists have come and gone from our roster. We have had a glass blower and a cane carver and a broom maker and a quilter and a doll maker among the more exotic craftsmen. Pottery, glass, jewelry, fiberwork, and painting and photography make up the bulk of the categories now.
Fiber Artist and Original Member Martha Cant