The Treasure in the Trees event held at the Geauga Park District’s West Woods in Newbury, Ohio, provided me with a lovely morning of meeting new entrepreneurs selling their handmade products, along with other vendors selling antiques, flowers and plants, books, vintage favorites, food and more. Even a few pets made new friendships while enjoying their strolls around the park.
The morning was a hot one; any chance one could get to be in the shade was a definite welcome. In sharing a spot of shade with one gentleman, I received information of a great area within the event to shop. It was on the far west side from where we stood, under a picnic shelter. I figured being in the shade would already be a plus, so I thanked him for his suggestion, our brief chat and new friendship, then continued on my way.
Upon my arrival, I shared a brief, informative conversation with one woman who found a beautiful island painting inside the pavilion that I was headed into. Once inside, I found many shoppers checking out the items for sale, and, yes, I definitely found some gems myself. I came across one vendor in particular which sparked great interest. They called themselves Our Girl Time, a new business started by Mari Beth Kirkland and Jo Anne Tressler. Their business is designed for women’s friendships. Our Girl Time helps women celebrate those special bonds that we older women have for each other through shopping, traveling, and laughing together. I plan to check them out further, and you can too, at their website.
Who doesn’t love a comfortable seat to sit in while watching a great game of corn hole? One vendor, Ryan Zusy, carpenter by trade, would love to help you do just that. Ryan’s specialty is outdoor games and furniture. All of the products are handmade by Ryan himself, top notch, high quality wood, but not high priced. I was especially impressed with the Adirondack chairs, which Ryan willingly offered great info about as to their creation along with their design history. If Adirondack chairs are not your style, trust me when I say he will do his very best to create what you need. He is that good! To find out more about Ryan Zusy, visit his Facebook page.
Among my many stops and conversations, I was able to visit here and there with my brother Roger and Sylvia who came out from Macedonia for the event. They, like many others in attendance, were searching for that diamond in the rough, looking for an item that reminded them of their childhood, or were out enjoying the day and looking for nothing special in particular – or as many put it, ‘whatever catches my fancy.’
For the stomach grumbles, Ninny’s was the place everyone was planning to grab a quick bite to eat at before continuing their shopping, so of course I had to check them out. Kathleen Belville is the owner, and her specialty is the great Chicago Style hotdog with all the toppings, great prices, and, yes, so good! Kathleen’s business serves up a quarter pound pure beef hotdog. This mother/daughter team does it right. Definitely worth following her portable business around for. Ninny’s makes appearances at a local Middlefield auction each month at the corner of Routes 87 and 528. Check out Ninny’s website for all appearances, showing times and dates which can be subject to change.
Perennial Gardens of Chesterland were on hand to offer the gardener many choices of plants or to answer any questions you might have about perennials, like what to plant when, hardiness, resistance to disease, and what soil different plants prefer. I found everyone at Perennial Gardens to be very knowledgeable in their field of perennial plants.
I was very impressed with the Ohio Horseman’s Council, Inc. booth, all of their proceeds from their sales were going back to the Geauga Park System to help pay for any of the maintenance or construction of new and existing horse trails. The Geauga Park System does have some beautiful, well maintained horse trails to ride on and offer specialty parking areas making it easier to do so.
My last stop of the morning ended with Martin Metalwork’s. Angel and Todd Martin of Novelty, Ohio are the owners of this business which specializes in metal lawn art. Their products are a very unique, one of a kind, handmade specialty. I loved their whimsical art bugs made of large bolts, screws, and springs that were made to resemble a bumble bee, butterfly, and dragon fly. If I have to have bugs in the garden, I would prefer theirs. If you would like to find out what event they will be attending next, you can reach them by phone at: 440-602-2571.
There were many who set up booths for this event including The ReStore, and The Cleveland Performing Arts Ministries (Tete’lestat). There was something for everyone, and that included me. My favorite find of the day? Friendship!
