The Nugget Newspaper - News and Opinion from Sisters, Oregon

Creating a little tent city at Sisters' Village Green, the annual Sisters Summer Faire was populated by more than 30 vendors offering an array of hand-made crafts, artisan jewelry, folk art and custom furniture.

Summer has had a slow start this year, but guests and residents flocked to the sunny lawns last weekend to shop for unique artwork and interesting gifts. Booths beneath the white awnings sold stained-glass table lamps, stone flower vases, birch porch rockers, goat's-milk soaps, steel garden bells and crazy summer bonnets.

Eli Sanders, of Portland's Over The Top clothing company, sported a wild and colorful hat of her own creation and urged visitors to try on one of her many blossom-like bonnets.

"I make wild hats for special occasions like weddings, tea parties and especially the Kentucky Derby," she said. "They're fun. My son David came up with the name for the business after he saw one of my latest designs and a brand-new venture was born. I had two hats at the Derby this year, I was so proud."

Bend Soap Company laid out a fragrant display of hand-crafted goat's-milk soaps and explained the process to interested buyers. Each custom bar was offered in 17 different scents, including "Citrus Mint" and "Warm Vanilla Sugar."

"This is our first time being out at some of the fairs and farmers' markets. The response has been great for the introductory year of selling and interacting with the public, and we're really pleased," said partner Wayne Muilenburg. "It's a healthy, natural local product and something everybody uses and needs. It's fun to meet new customers and market these soaps and educate people. It's a locally owned and made product. We raise and milk our own goats and even pick the lavender from the farm to scent the soaps."

A favorite stop on Sunday afternoon was the Fried Pies wagon by Marlene Eccles' La Bella Risa Catering. The little fried pies were a huge hit, in flavors like lemon, apple, cherry, peach and Marionberry.

"Everything is home-made, we don't even have a can opener," said Eccles, passing out another savory hand-pie. "It's a tradition from our childhood. Our mothers and grandmothers all made them and now we're sharing them with the community. We do this together as a family on our weekends. People love them and always come back for more after sampling our crust."