Our Nautical Story And A Summer Of Transitions

Fair Winds And Following Seas is a nautical salutation for good luck and it has been the theme for our summer window display. Our Whirlybird Gang has set sail in a delightful sailing regatta featuring boats big and small all decorated to their individual tastes and with amusing bird themed names like Puffin’ Along and the Gull-ible Sailor.

We chose this theme because it encapsulated the many transitions of the summer season. Beginning with the end of school, the relaxed summer activities, new places to explore on vacations and then finally the winding down of the season as the light changes, the garden harvests are in full swing and the new school year begins again. All reasons to salute each other with the wish of ‘Fair Winds and Following Seas’.

These kinds of transitions are played out in full form at our end of the Shenandoah Valley. The energy ramps up as students arrive for the new semester at the 3 universities located here in our county. Structured schedules return for local parents along with a predictable rhythm as the kids head back to school. The cool dewy mornings give us a tantalizing hint that Fall is arriving and the tourists visiting our area change from vacationers to day trippers and travelers going from point A to point B.

At the end of August each year there is a community festival in downtown Lexington Virginia which we at Sugar Maple Trading Company happily participate in. The Main Street in town is closed and vendors of all kinds set up booths for the community to shop their art and handmade goods, eat good food, listen to music and get information about local businesses and organizations. All while the local retail shops and restaurants hum along in the background. 

For Sugar Maple the community festival becomes a family day as we all pull together preparing for, setting up/taking down, running for supplies, taking care of kids, manning the booth outside the store and covering inside the store as well. We set up a snack & drink section in the back room, to keep us fed and hydrated. In keeping with the spirit of the event, we focus our product offerings in our outdoor booth on handmade and local products.

This year was definitely a family affair as we featured daughter Aubrey’s handmade bracelets and art, husband Jeff’s plants, our grandkids Penelope & Jackson’s necklaces and earrings and son’s business named Fizdom which offers delicious mixed soda drinks. And we all donned matching shirts to promote the store and Fizdom. It was a fun day.

The weather for the community festival was perfect. Blue skies, cool morning warming to a sunny afternoon - the perfect end of summer day. The festival always signals the fall transition for Sugar Maple Trading Company. Because we focus our themes and displays on seasons we are always excited about the change and freshen the store to reflect those seasonal transitions. So in the store and on our website the fall transition is beginning. The color palette is warming and toning down, with nature at the center of the fall story. The new window will feature the whirlybirds enjoying a delightful autumnal activity with Oakley embarking on an unexpected trip.

So as our favorite time of the year begins I wish you ‘Fair Winds and Following Seas’ throughout the fall season!

Cindy :)