West Chester and Chadds Ford Life Fall/Winter 2019

Fall/Winter 2019

West Chester & Chadds Ford

LIFE

Magazine

Melanie Bailey of Indwell Designs: The visionary furniture maker

Inside • Reflections on Thomas M. Baldwin, Sr. • A giraffe collection reaches new heights • Sparking memories through the arts Complimentary Copy

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Fall/Winter 2019

West Chester & Chadds Ford Life Table of Contents

6

8 18 26

Showcasing Marshallton’s history

34 46

The keeper of the kingdom

52

Photo essay: Melanie Bailey of Indwell Designs

60

Creep Records: Keeping the records spinning

66

A life on the road, playing the blues

The art of sparking memories A commitment to helping people connect 34

A giraffe collection reaches new heights

West Chester & Chadds Ford Life | Fall/Winter 2019 | www.chestercounty.com

60

46

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West Chester & Chadds Ford Life Fall/Winter 2019 Letter from the Editor:

8

Welcome to the fall/winter issue of West Chester & Chadds Ford Life.

This issue’s cover story profiles furniture maker Melanie Bailey of Chadds Ford.

For the past several years, her Indwell Designs has used Bailey’s visionary skills that help fashion discarded wood and found materials into a wide variety of sustainable furniture and household items.

In this issue, we also meet Vanessa Collier, whose longtime love of the blues has led to critical accolades, large audiences here and abroad, and a commitment to teaching younger people about the roots of the distinctly American musical style.

For his story “The keeper of the kingdom,” writer Richard Gaw spoke to some of the people who knew Thomas M. Baldwin, Sr. the longtime owner of Baldwin’s Books, who passed away in June. Baldwin is remembered as being as endearing as the hundreds of bookshelves that line the beloved institution in West Chester.

This issue features a story about Unionville resident Wendy Harris, whose giraffe collection has reached new heights.

West Chester & Chadds Ford Life was there when the history of Marshallton was showcased during the Town Tours & Village Walks event. We also explore how the Brandywine River Museum of Art hosts a program for people with dementia, as well as their caregivers, to help them unlock their memories through art.

We hope you enjoy the stories in this issue of West Chester & Chadds Ford Life as much as we enjoyed working on them. We always welcome your comments and suggestions for stories to pursue for upcoming issues of the magazine. The next issue of West Chester & Chadds Ford Life will arrive in the spring of 2020.

Sincerely, Randy Lieberman, Publisher randyl@chestercounty.com, 610-869-5553 Steve Hoffman, Editor editor@chestercounty.com, 610-869-5553, ext. 13

66 Cover design: Tricia Hoadley Cover photo: Jie Deng www.chestercounty.com | Fall/Winter 2019 | West Chester & Chadds Ford Life

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|Marshallton history|

Marshallton’s history showcased during Town Tours & Village Walks

Photos by Steven Hoffman

The picturesque village of Marshallton retains a lot of its character and charm as a result of preservation efforts.

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West Chester & Chadds Ford Life | Fall/Winter 2019 | www.chestercounty.com

By Steven Hoffman Staff Writer

C

hester County went back to its roots for the 25th anniversary of the Town Tours & Village Walks, shining a spotlight on a few of its most historic villages—including the unique and charming village of Marshallton.

Marshallton is steeped in history, and the Town Tours & Village Walks event offered an opportunity for visitors to learn about how it developed into a thriving village, and how it retains the historic character today. The West Bradford Historical Commission was the sponsor of the town tour.

As is so often the case, the development of Marshallton village was impacted significantly by its geographic location. The village of Marshallton had the good fortune of being situated along Strasburg Road, which was a popular freight road connecting Lancaster and Philadelphia. The road was heavily traveled, in part because it was without tolls and was cheaper for trucks hauling freight.

Marshallton is located about halfway between the two Pennsylvania cities, and represented a nice stopping point for travelers heading between Lancaster and Philadelphia. As early as 1765, there were two hotels in the village and another one that was nearby. Businesses opened up to provide services to local residents and to the travelers.

“It was a thriving village. So much so that it required not one, but two taverns,” explained Linda Kaat, one of the tour guides during Town Tours & Village Walks.

The village was home to a lot of tradespeople, and residents ran businesses out of their homes. It was quite a self-sufficient little village from a very early date.

Marshallton has been referred to as a “working man’s village,” and evidence of that can still be found everywhere throughout the village. Strolling through Marshallton is like stepping back in time, and a visitor can still learn a lot about its long history.

Continued on Page 10

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Marshallton’s history Continued from Page 9

Marshallton is named after Humphry Marshall, a well-respected botanist who lived from 1722 to 1801. Marshall was born in the area that eventually became the Marshallton village, and grew to have tremendous influence on the area.

Marshall was the cousin of two botanists, John Bartram and William Bartram, but he did not focus exclusively on that field. He served as an apprentice stonemason before taking charge of his father’s farm. He also had an interest in astronomy and natural history that he nurtured. His interest in botany grew over time, and in 1773 he created a botanical garden at Marshallton with both native and exotic plants. It was one of the early botanical gardens in the United States.

Continued on Page 12

The Four Dogs Tavern is one of the distinctive businesses in the village.

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West Chester & Chadds Ford Life | Fall/Winter 2019 | www.chestercounty.com

The Marshallton United Methodist Church is located in the heart of the village.

The blacksmith shop in the village dates back to around 1750. www.chestercounty.com | Fall/Winter 2019 | West Chester & Chadds Ford Life

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Marshallton’s history Continued from Page 10

In 1785, Marshall published “Arbustrum Americanum: The American Grove, an Alphabetical Catalogue of Forest Trees and Shrubs, Natives of the American United States.” His contributions to botany were significant, and the Borough of West Chester would eventually name the public square “Marshall Square” in his honor.

Humphry Marshall was a Quaker, and is believed to have built the Bradford Friends Meeting that is still located in the heart of Marshallton.

The village had a Quaker Meeting as early as 1722, and the present building was constructed around 1765, and it has remained as one Continued on Page 14

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Marshallton’s history Continued from Page 12

of Marshallton’s treasures in the ever-changing world of Chester County. The Bradford Friends Meeting still operates today, although its membership is smaller than during previous times.

The Bradford Friends Meeting is an important link to the village’s past. The village has always been very much in the middle of things.

There was also a cradle factory that made grain cradles and scythes, a blacksmith shop, a pump maker, a cigar factory, ironsmith shop, clothing store, bakery, and the beautiful Marshallton United Methodist Church, all along or near Strasburg Road.

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West Chester & Chadds Ford Life | Fall/Winter 2019 | www.chestercounty.com

For travelers heading through the village today, there are still attractions like the Marshalton Inn, Four Dogs Tavern, and the Merchant of Menace art gallery, which is located in a building that once served as the town hall.

In the digital age, no small village is going to be quite so self-sufficient, but Marshallton still offers a charming and charmed existence for local residents.

Tom Walsh, one of the tour guides for the Town Tours & Village Walks event, shared some of his memories of growing up in Marshallton. He talked about a peaceful life at a time when two scoops of ice cream cost a dime, ice trucks still made deliveries to homes, and children in the area could play in the yard of the blacksmith shop or wander the fields that were still mostly undeveloped back then.

Continued on Page 16

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Marshallton’s history Continued from Page 15

A lot has changed about Marshallton since then but, thankfully, some important elements of the village’s long history also remain.

To contact Staff Writer Steven Hoffman, email editor@ chestercounty.com.

Take a self-guided tour of the Village of Marshallton The West Bradford Historical Commission, with the assistance of Verne Weidman, have developed a self-guided tour of the Village of Marshallton using the izi.travel app.

There are 34 points of interest on this one-hour tour and you can start the tour at any point.

Weidman produced the app for the West Bradford Historical Commission using the materials researched by the Commission for its brochure of Marshallton Village.

To use the app, download the free izi.travel app to your smartphone from the Apple App Store for iPhone or the Google Playstore for Android phones. Then search under audio guides for “Marshallton Village.”

You can also view the tour from the Internet by going to https//izi.travel/en, then click on “audio guides’ and search for Marshallton.

As you walk through the village, selecting a point will give you historical information about it.

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West Chester & Chadds Ford Life | Fall/Winter 2019 | www.chestercounty.com

|West Chester & Chadds Ford Arts|

The art of sparking memories At the Brandywine, people with dementia, and their caregivers, gather to discuss art

By John Chambless Staff Writer

O

n a quiet Tuesday morning, a group of about a dozen men and women gather in an upstairs gallery at the Brandywine River Museum of Art and take their seats. They are only a few feet away from Jamie Wyeth’s iconic “Portrait of Pig,” a painting that has gained generations of admirers since it was painted in 1970. But this group is paying particularly close attention as Justine Stehle, smiling broadly, welcomes them and asks, “So, what do you think of this pig?”

Continued on Page 20 Participants in the ARTZ programs get to express ideas and share experiences as they interact with each other.

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ARTZ Philadelphia Continued from Page 18

An elderly woman, Joan, can’t resist. “Ooooh, it’s such a big … shnookie!” she exclaims, bringing her hands together as if she’s hugging the huge animal.

The others laugh, Stehle nods and beams, and the day’s discussion is off and running.

Stehle is a program facilitator for ARTZ Philadelphia, an organization that brings people suffering from dementia, and their caregivers, to museums in the region to enjoy what art is supposed to do – spark conversations, bring back hazy memories, encourage interaction with others, and to make people smile.

The hour-long programs are offered once a month at the Brandywine and other art institutions in the region, and there’s never an agenda. People who may not ordinarily communicate well are asked to share how they feel about a piece of art, without pretense and without judgment.

Stehle gently prods the group, but allows everyone to

take whatever path they want. There’s no critical element – the name of the artist isn’t even mentioned. The important thing is to get everyone to formulate how they feel and express it however they want.

“What’s making this pig look so happy, do you think?”

Stehle asks. Several people point out the animal’s upturned smile, her perky ears and curly tail.

Someone in the audience notices the corn cobs at the pig’s feet. “It looks like there’s something to eat,” she says.

Another woman says, “I’m from Iowa and I notice …” she fights to remember the word as her caregiver leans over and whispers it to her. “Corn,” the woman concludes, pointing to the painting.

The conversation continues, with Stehle making sure to include everyone. For over half an hour, the audience’s attention never wanders. Deliberately keeping the pace slow, and returning to reinforce elements already

Justine Stehle of ARTZ Philadelphia leads a discussion of Jamie Wyeth’s ‘Portrait of Pig.’ 20

West Chester & Chadds Ford Life | Fall/Winter 2019 | www.chestercounty.com

discussed, she enthusiastically builds on each comment, whether or not it’s been mentioned before.

“What do you think this pig’s life must be like?” Stehle asks.

“She likes having visitors like us every day,” someone answers, as the group laughs.

Continued on Page 22

Justine Stehle points out Jamie Wyeth’s ‘The Raven’ at the Brandywine River Museum of Art.

www.chestercounty.com | Fall/Winter 2019 | West Chester & Chadds Ford Life

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ARTZ Philadelphia Continued from Page 21

Joan, who proudly states that she grew up in South Africa and had pigs in her yard, says, “Some of them were fun, and some of them were,” she thinks for a moment. “Grrrr!” she adds.

Even small details are picked up on. “The hair almost looks like it’s been combed,” a man says. “She might be a mommy,” someone else points out.

Bill, sitting in the front row, says, “This is as close as I’ve ever been to a pig,” sparking a discussion of whether “Portrait of Pig” is life-size or not.

Eventually, Stehle wraps up the discussion and suggests moving to the painting next to it, Jamie Wyeth’s “The Raven,” showing a huge bird with an aggressive stance and a piercing gaze.

“What do you call that?” Stehle asks, pointing to the bird.

“That’s a handsome bird,” Bill says. “It would look majestic flying in the air.”

Dan, looking back at the previous painting, adds, “It would take him a long time to eat that pig.”

The group laughs wholeheartedly as the discussion turns to how big a raven really is.

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West Chester & Chadds Ford Life | Fall/Winter 2019 | www.chestercounty.com

Bertha, a woman in the front row, remarks, “He’s foreseeing.” Pressed for details, she adds, “Those eyes can look a long, long way.”

“That bird looks powerful,” Bill adds. “Like a bird you would respect.”

And so it goes for another half an hour, with the audience truly seeing every aspect of the painting – from the light source to the layering of the feathers, to whether the bird is taking off or landing. Attention never strays.

At the back of the group, Joan is among the most enthusiastic visitors, stating again and again how “wonderful” South Africa was when she was young.

Stehle, picking up on her comments, asks the group, “Has anyone else been to South Africa?”

Getting no response, she smiles as Joan stands up, exclaiming, “What? What are you waiting for? Let’s go!”

After the hour is up and goodbyes are said – along with some hugs -- Stehle said that the rapt attention of the group is typical. She doesn’t move too quickly for the participants, who enjoy discovering the tiniest details in a given artwork.

Continued on Page 24

ARTZ Philadelphia Continued from Page 22

While the choice of art varies, Stehle said she usually has a chance to prepare some thoughts about each painting before she starts. She presents similar programs at the Main Line Art Center and Woodmere Art Museum, as well as at the Brandywine. She also takes reproductions of artworks into nursing homes for residents who cannot get out to the museums.

“We sit with laminated images and talk about the art,” Stehle said, adding that getting people in front of the originals is not only a welcome day out, “but it also gives you a good sense of scale.”

The goal of the ARTZ programs “is to get people to interact with each other as much as possible,” she said, acknowledging with a laugh that the day’s program had a lot of comments about South Africa. “It’s a little like improvisation sometimes,” she said. “I just have to be present and go with the flow.”

For Laura Westmoreland, the Associate Educator for Adult and Community Programs at the Brandywine, the ARTZ days are special. “The ARTZ programs seemed like a natural fit,” she said. “They provide the facilitators, and

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West Chester & Chadds Ford Life | Fall/Winter 2019 | www.chestercounty.com

the programs are ideal for an aging audience.”

The museum also has sensory-friendly programs for families that were started after extensive input from community members and those who have autism spectrum disorders.

Certain places, such as the open lobby area, were sometimes problematic, Westmoreland said. “We got such valuable feedback from adults with autism, who were able to tell us, ‘This is what it’s like,’” she said.

Sensory-friendly programs are held before the museum officially opens, to minimize noise and distractions from other visitors. “Stations are set up for people to focus on an object, or create art,” Westmoreland said. “During the holidays, we have a special day to tour the model trains exhibit. The lights are a bit lower, it’s quieter.

“We need to be accessible all the time,” she said of the museum, “but for these special programs, families appreciate being with others who understand.”

Registration is available through www.ARTZphilly.org.

The program is free.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchambless@chestercounty.com.

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|West Chester & Chadds Ford Arts|

A commitment to helping people connect ARTZ founder Susan Shifrin talks about the organization

Susan Shifrin leads one of the early sessions at the Brandywine River Museum of Art. 26

West Chester & Chadds Ford Life | Fall/Winter 2019 | www.chestercounty.com

Susan Shifrin, founder and executive director of ARTZ Philadelphia.

By John Chambless Staff Writer Susan Shifrin is the founder and executive director of ARTZ Philadelphia. She started the organization in 2013 and has seen how allowing those with dementia to interact with artworks, either in a gallery setting, or in residential care facilities, helps people. The program comes to the Brandywine River Museum every month. Here, Shifrin discusses the roots of ARTZ Philadelphia.

Q.: Before you started the ARTZ Philadelphia outreach to those with dementia, were there similar programs in museums? Or was this an original concept?

A.: ARTZ Philadelphia was originally the first midAtlantic affiliate of a Boston-based organization called Artists for Alzheimers (acronym ARTZ), co-founded by Sean Caulfield and John Zeisel around 2002. It was this organization that really developed the prototype for museum-based programs for people living with dementia.

The well-known program at the Museum of Modern Art – “Meet Me at MoMA” -- was, in fact, co-developed with Sean Caulfield on behalf of ARTZ. At one time, there were four or five ARTZ affiliates across the country as well as one in Paris. I’m sorry to say that the original ARTZ is no more, and that most of the affiliates have gone their own Continued on Page 28

www.chestercounty.com | Fall/Winter 2019 | West Chester & Chadds Ford Life

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Susan Shifrin Continued from Page 27

way, so ARTZ Philadelphia is really the only former affiliate left standing.

However, even from the first days of ARTZ Philadelphia, Sean Caulfield encouraged me to develop the organization and our programs in ways that were most appropriate to our Philadelphia-area communities; and as a long-time museum educator, I had my own ways of envisioning the connections that were possible and necessary. So for instance, because the Greater Philadelphia area is so heavily populated with continuing care retirement communities, I knew that if we were to truly serve our constituents, we would need to develop programs that directly addressed the desires and needs of those living in such communities, particularly those living in memory care facilities for whom trips to museums might not always be possible or even comfortable. “ARTZ on the Road” and “ARTZ in the Making” are both flagship programs that were born out of that sense of what we owed our community. We became a stand-alone 501c3 charitable organization in 2015 and have never looked back.

T L

What inspired you to reach out to this group? Did you know someone who suffered from dementia?

My mother lived with dementia for nearly 20 years.

She just died last November. But while my experiences as a family care partner have informed my practice in other ways, she was actually not the direct inspiration for my founding of this organization. It was the determination and persistence of a wonderful social worker -- Debby Davis -- that really propelled me forward.

When I was still museum educator at a local college museum, she came to me to plead for our developing programs that would serve her clients living with dementia in a nearby care community. She handed me John Zeisel’s now famous book, I’m Still Here: A New Philosophy of Alzheimer’s Care, and urged me to read it. That book led me to ARTZ Boston and to Sean Caulfield, who at my request came to our museum to lead workshops and trainings for me and for my student staff.

Continued on Page 30

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Susan Shifrin Continued from Page 28

As an art historian and someone who clearly loves art, were you surprised by the depth of reactions you got when you showed people these artworks?

I was astounded. And moved. As I always say, I was inspired to found ARTZ Philadelphia because I was profoundly affected as I watched visitors, many in the later stages of dementia, come to life in the museum galleries as they looked at and talked about art with each other, with me, their professional caregivers, and the college students who worked at the museum. It was so moving to watch this transformation in people who, in some cases, had rarely spoken about or shared their lives with others. Art was their vehicle for expression, interaction, creativity, and mutual respect. And for laughter – plenty of laughter.

Why is it important to bring people to the museum, rather than just showing them artworks where they live?

What is it about being in the museum environment that gets a better reaction?

For those program participants (both people with dementia and care partners) who are able to travel without too much agitation or dislocation, the advantages of

seeing works of art in the museum are numerous. First and foremost, if we think of these programs as community-building efforts first and foremost that dispel isolation and depression by using art of all kinds as the vehicle for conversation and community, then being in the museum setting is quite helpful. Of course, how people are received by the museum is critical -- are they made to feel welcome, valued, honored, respected? If the answer is “yes to all of the above,” then coming to a place of culture that values each individual can build esteem as well as providing rich opportunities to have a voice and be heard. There is something about being “in the presence” of the art, too, that is incomparable. … That is why above all, we and our museum partners -- and Brandywine is exemplary in this -- do all that we can to create a space that is welcoming, respectful, jovial, and full of caring.

How do you find people to facilitate these programs?

Not everyone is comfortable with handling discussions with those suffering from dementia It is absolutely the case that not everyone can, or should, do this work. We are extremely careful and systematic in hiring program facilitators; they go through multiple

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doing all the necessary things to reorganize their futures.

His desire is to just live his life. At support group she hears about a program called ARTZ. She is an artist and art educator so this sounds interesting! He’s a math and physics fellow, but he has indulged his wife’s love of art for many years and come to enjoy it as well. So he’s basically OK with the idea of heading to the Woodmere Art Museum one Friday, if not exactly gung-ho.

“The day dawns, and Carl is feeling uncertain. He’s not so sure about going. … We arrive just on time, both of us upset and out of sorts, barely speaking. We are greeted with smiles and name tags. We are ushered into a large gallery, and seated with others in front of an enormous, black and white, trompe l’oeil painting which looks like nothing more than crumpled paper.

“Susan Shifrin steps up and asks ‘Is this piece flat?’ Carl’s hand shoots into the air. ‘May I get up?’ ‘Of course!’ He leaps from his chair, and goes to look at the painting from the side, then declares with a big smile ‘YES, it’s flat!’

“As any of you who have ever attended one of these events knows, a lively discussion ensued, in which Carl’s

interviews and part of the interview process involves meeting and facilitating a mini-session with some of our program participants (some with dementia, some who are care partners), who are official members of our searches.

We believe very deeply in the slogan “nothing about us without us,” and in order to fulfill our requirements, every program facilitator we hire has to first and foremost fulfill the expectations of our constituents and interact with them in ways that demonstrate empathy, creativity, humor, flexibility, and above all, deep caring that comes from a place of authentic respect.

Can you relate some of the more memorable reactions you’ve seen?

I can share an extraordinary testimonial from one of our longtime participants, an artist and long-time high school teacher who has been coming to our programs with her husband -- a physicist and teacher -- since shortly after his diagnosis in 2015. They were until recently regulars at all of our museum programs, including Brandywine.

Susan writes: “Try to imagine this scene: a husband and wife and a relatively new diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease. They are

Continued on Page 32

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Susan Shifrin Continued from Page 31

claim was discussed up, down, and sideways, with much humor, plenty of laughter, and total engagement by everyone present. At the end of the hour, Carl turned to me, eyes sparkling and said, ‘That was FUN!’ “That day changed our lives. A door opened where before it seemed that doors were only shutting. Here was a place where no one was defined by his or her limitations.

Here was a place of laughter, joy, beauty and fun. The ARTZ Philly programs are potent medicine, like a highly effective and empowering tonic, healing and enriching our lives in ways we could never have imagined.”

How does the program help caregivers in their interactions with loved ones?

We encourage family care partners to come as often as they can with the people they love who are living with dementia because we want them to experience the joy and privilege of seeing them return to themselves, to become more lively, more expressive, more happy to speak and listen and speculate with others, including their family members who in some cases have become mired in a profound sense of loss that won’t allow them to contemplate the possibility of joy or hope. In other words,

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our programs are as much for care partners as they are for people living with dementia.

How did the Brandywine reach out to you to initiate the program?

After learning about our ARTZ @ The Museum program at Woodmere Art Museum, having come to observe it in action, and having met separately with me and with the Curator of Education at Woodmere to learn more about the program, Laura Westmoreland, Associate Educator for Adult and Community Programs at Brandywine -- very shortly after joining the staff there -- reached out to invite us to do a pilot program at Brandywine. We had agreed to a three-month pilot program, but the museum’s director sat in on that first pilot program and decided that there was no need for any additional pilots. We forged our partnership then and there, and we at ARTZ are so tremendously grateful to Laura, to Mary Cronin, Dean of Education and Public Programs, who gave us her seal of approval very early on, and to Brandywine’s director Thomas Padon, who made that fateful decision to dispense with the pilot process and just launch a lasting partnership between his museum and our organization.

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|West Chester & Chadds Ford History| Following the passing of Thomas M. Baldwin, Sr. in June, a writer spoke with some of the people who knew him best, and found that the longtime owner of Baldwin’s Book Barn in West Chester was as endearing as the hundreds of bookshelves that line this beloved institution

By Richard L. Gaw Staff Writer

T

here are, living among us, a coalition of citizens commonly known as Country Gentlemen.

From Monday through Friday, they are likely sequestered in the cornfield maze of corporate life, but you see them mostly on the weekends, whether on Saturday morning errand chases to hardware stores, or at Sunday morning faith service, where they are content to inhale the rich brine of tranquility that their faith brings them.

They are often seen driving along the interlock of Chester County’s most beautiful roadways, to old places that date back in our county’s history like precious heirlooms.

They are well traveled, well informed and well educated, and they hold these blessings the way a farmer holds the reigns of a plough, softly, row upon row.

Though seen mostly in the company of men, they display every lost manner of kindness and respect when speaking to women.

They own their politics but keep them tucked in a side pocket of their pants, rather than on their sleeve.

They are fine dressers but are happiest when a formal weekday shirt is fashioned into a casual weekend look.

By choice, they reveal little of their interior book, preferring instead to give the light of attention – and time -- to others.

The roadmap of their countenance remains permanently fixed at slight amusement, as if waiting for the punchline of a joke.

They do not run. They glide.

Continued on Page 36

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The ke of the kingdo kingdom

Photo courtesy of Gene Pisasale

Thomas Baldwin, Sr. was the long-time owner of Baldwin’s Book Barn in West Chester.

keeper e om

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Thomas M. Baldwin, Sr. Continued from Page 34

These men, all north of a certain age, are a part of a vanishing generation still drawn to the tactile feel of simplicity – the steely contours of a garden tool; the feel and the smell of cut wood; the sweet pungency of an occasional whiskey; and the earthy perfume soil scent that rises from the pages of a book – a bound one, not an electronic one – that they love to lift up and breathe in.

In many ways, Thomas M. Baldwin, Sr., who died on June 8 at the age of 80, was one of these country gentlemen.

As the long-time owner of Baldwin’s Book Barn in West Chester, his business served as the big top of conversation,

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and a curiosity shop of endless nooks and crannies that are not always easy to get to, but once there, reveal themselves like gently turned pages. Essentially, Baldwin was the keeper of the kingdom, the man with the keys that unlocked the doors to a five-floor, endless bounty of discovery.

The first time I met Tom Baldwin in the early 1990s, he was sitting beside the bookstore’s famous pot-bellied stove, and wearing winter wear that seemed like it had been ripped from the pages of a famous clothing outlet in Freeport, Maine.

It was my first visit to Baldwin’s Book Barn, and by the

time I had entered the main room at the bookstore’s entry, my legs were exhausted from maneuvering my way up and down narrow steps, and my head was spinning from book overload.

Baldwin was involved in conversation with a few other men that could best be described as desultory, and the stove was emitting enough heat to warm the stone walls of a room on a winter’s day. Noticing me, Baldwin introduced himself to me by way of a firm handshake and a look at the spines of the books I was about to take home. I placed the books I was purchasing on the front counter.

Although the names of the authors whose books I was buying now escape me, Baldwin seemed to know a bit about each one. A few months later, I arrived at the store to find a piglet wandering happily around the main room, and in nearly every subsequent visit I made, I was introduced to dogs whose names, curiously, all began with the letter ‘B.’ Often, I was joined in my book search by curious and quiet cats, who skeptically looked down the aisles of bookshelves at me, as if to say, “The novel you have in your hands right now is entirely overrated. Save your money.”

Continued on Page 38

All photos by Richard L. Gaw unless noted

Fred Dannaway and Carol Rausch of Baldwin’s Book Barn. www.chestercounty.com | Fall/Winter 2019 | West Chester & Chadds Ford Life

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Thomas M. Baldwin, Sr. Continued from Page 37

Although it was my intention to do so on every visit I made to the bookstore, I never got to know Tom Baldwin, largely due to the fact that towards the latter part of his life, he and his wife Kathy spent most of the year at their home in Florida. My curiosity about the bespectacled and well-dressed man, however, has never waned, and in reading about him and speaking with those who knew him best, I began to cobble together a portrait of the man and his bookstore.

Baldwin’s father William founded the business in 1946, and for the next several years, he and his wife ran the bookselling business, first at Stroud’s Mill and later at the 1820s barn. When William became ill, Tom’s mother asked her son if Tom would be interested in taking over the business. He did so, and never left.

“Tom adored people,” Kathy said from her home in Continued on Page 40 38

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Thomas M. Baldwin, Sr. Continued from Page 38

Florida. “Selling books is a rewarding business for someone who enjoys people, because those who have a passion for books are generally kind and loving individuals. Tom was totally passionate about whatever he was involved in for his entire life, and I think his passion for the Book Barn stems from the fact that he inherited it from his mother and father.

He truly wanted to see Baldwin’s Book Barn become and remain a part of Chester County history.”

Fred Dannaway began working at the bookstore since 2001, soon after he retired from a 35-year career as a teacher in Delaware.

“Tom had a manner about him, and a way of speaking and carrying himself, that people liked,” he said. “He was always well-dressed and well-mannered. He would introduce himself to customers, and I can remember numerous occasions when that introduction and initial conversation would last for the next three hours in his office.”

Carol Rausch began at Baldwin’s Book Barn on April 29, 2010 – her birthday.

“Tom Baldwin saved my life,” she said. “When I came here to ask if I could volunteer, I had been diagnosed with Stage Three colon cancer. Tom asked an employee, ‘Can

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she walk up and down those steps?’ When he was told that I looked like the kind of person who could do that, he said, ‘Well, I’ll hire her then.’

“For me, Baldwin’s Book Barn has been about good health and happiness.”

Continued on Page 42

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Thomas M. Baldwin, Sr. Continued from Page 40

In 2010, Baldwin briefly put the business up for sale, but eventually balked at the idea.

Dannaway remembered a ‘For Sale’ sign that was placed at the end of the driveway. It remained there for three days, he said.

“Tom would always say to me that it was his duty to keep going what his father started,” Dannaway said. “He told me that it would take something drastic to make him give this up, given all that Tom knew about what his father put into it.”

Since then, Baldwin’s Book Barn has outlasted numerous chain bookstores, and it remains competitive with nationally-known stores that have become more known for their ability to whip up a mocha latte than for tracking down a limited edition novel by a first-time author.

“Tom used to tell me that when all of the other bookstores are long gone, that he would remain the last man standing,” Rausch said.

For many who visit Baldwin’s Book Barn, they arrive simply to experience the sensation of discovery, or inhale the

intoxicating scent of an old book pressed up against one’s face during a browsing jag, and an hour later, discover that their browsing has led to the purchase of books that introduce them to the Revolutionary War, or everything there is to know about falconry, or the Wyeths or the history of

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Sometimes, it takes them back to their childhood.

In the early fall of 1997, I took my parents to Baldwin’s Book Barn, and while my father spent his time in a section of the bookstore devoted entirely to “Military,” I searched for my mother among the dozens of stacks and shelves.

Eventually, I found her in the children’s book room – first floor, first right – running her fingers over the spines of hundreds of books.

“These books remind me of my childhood,” she told me.

“It’s almost like I’m seven again. What a beautiful bookstore this is.”

She died the following February.

The visit to Baldwin’s Book Barn with my parents that day was not the last time I was in the presence of my mother, but rather than remember my visits to a cold and sterile hospital room, I have chosen that day at Baldwin’s Book Barn as my lasting image of her.

“In many ways, I’ve spent my entire life there,” Kathy said. “When I think of the Book Barn, I think of feeling very safe. I think about the many fascinating people we met who visited frequently. It was just a beautiful way of life. I am very blessed to have experienced that, because it is a very unique place.”

“What this place does is activate your senses,” Rausch said. “You see the books. You smell the stove, and you are taken back in time. Twenty-five thousand square feet.

Three hundred thousand books. Nobody else has a bookstore like this in the entire world.”

Whatever the purpose of our visits have been over the years to this stone building, there is a unified understanding among all of us that believes Baldwin’s Book Barn

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Thomas M. Baldwin, Sr. Continued from Page 43

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is a swirling and dizzying puzzle of chaotic alchemy, intentionally created by William and Tom Baldwin and modeled for people, like them, who wish to spend time with their curiosity and honor the slow burn of what great writing can do.

It is for this general reason that we do not often find country gentlemen browsing through books at national chain stores, just as we do not often see them turning the pages of a novel by a tap of the finger.

Tom Baldwin – the Country Gentleman -- believed that books were meant to be the conduits to our life’s compelling story, and to serve as companions to our restless desire to know more and accept more. In the space of that journey, he also believed that we need to use that time to browse about and treasure what we may find.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email rgaw@ chestercounty.com.

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|West Chester & Chadds Ford People|

By Ken Mammarella Staff Writer

W Unionville resident Wendy Harris holds the first giraffe in her collection, which includes the giraffe blouse she’s wearing, the giraffe chair she’s sitting on, multiple decorative giraffe items on the shelf above and a plush giraffe and one of her three giraffe rockers by her side.

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endy Harris’ giraffes are in every color of the rainbow – and then some. They adorn almost every room of her home – but not the powder room, back hallway and upstairs bath (“Just because I’ve haven’t put any there,” she said). They’re made of a wealth of media – but not real giraffe parts (“That would pretty much be illegal. Plus I personally don’t want animal carcasses here. That creeps me out”).

Continued on Page 48

Some mugs accompany the giraffe gira motif with aphorisms, aphori s, like ‘It’s lonely at a the he top top.’

A herd d of plush giraffes in a basket. ket

llow labeled ed ‘dream.’

Giraffes inspire her. So does a pillow

fes often oft n sit atop pieces pie Echoing their impressive heights, giraffes of furniture. This is the kitchen.

be m displays hundreds of giraffes.

A cabinet in her bedroom

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Wendy Harris Continued from Page 46

She has 1,400 so far listed in her hand-written inventory and estimates the figure will hit 2,000 once she empties, cleans and counts what’s in every display case of her 2,400-square-foot Unionville Colonial home – plus one more for the giraffe head in the backyard garden.

“They’re fun. They’re funky,” she said. “I can’t own one.

That’s why I collect them.”

Some are miniature versions of the world’s tallest animals. Others feature just part of their body, such as their heads, with or without the oh-so-long neck, or their equally long legs. A few sport just their characteristic silhouette or spotted patterns of their coats. There are some antiques, but almost all are contemporary interpretations, created by artisans from around the world.

The collection began with a gift from her father. Harris was four or five months old when he came back to North Jersey from Germany with a Steiff plush giraffe. “I don’t know why,” she said. “But I still have it, slightly wounded

after my sister cut off its mane after I had smacked her.”

A visit to the Bronx Zoo at age 7 still resonates. “I remember standing in awe at the giraffe enclosure,” Harris said.

“They’re the most beautiful, unique, astounding animals.

I like the way they walk, move and use their necks – it’s graceful, like a ballet when they’re moving together. Baby giraffes are very curious things. They come to the edge of the pen and stare back at you. They’re as curious about us as we are curious about them.”

She is also fascinated with their biology. “Did you know there are six species? The markings indicate different species. They have purple tongues, which they can unroll, like frogs,” she said. “They are verbal, but we can’t hear them because it’s below our vocal range.”

By 9 or so, she started to collect them. “Whenever I was anywhere, I would look for a giraffe,” she said. Friends have said, “I should like giraffes because I’m spotted,” she said, referring to her freckles, and tall, like a giraffe.

Giraffes are all over the guest room.

Giraffes, books and family photos fill these family room shelves.

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Grandson Lucas gets this room with all of its giraffe whimsy.

The giraffes have moved with her, first to Muhlenberg College in Allentown, where she studied history and anthropology, then to Rochester, N.Y.; Lansdowne; West Chester; and finally Unionville as she and her husband Steve moved around.

“I took my first and my favorite giraffe to college. You take your comforting things with you,” Harris said. “I was sheltered, barely 18. My love for giraffes was part of the conversation, and through the giraffes new friends ‘got’ me.”

And so, over the decades, the collection has grown. Birthday and Christmas presents. Hostess gifts. Additions just because friends and family members were thinking of her (“My friends aid and abet my collecting”). Souvenirs – but not every giraffe she sees, particularly not “ugly representations.”

Over their 25-year friendship, Pat White has given Harris more than 100 giraffes.

“Anything goofy is probably from me,” she said. “I get a kick out of trying to find different ones, cute ones. It’s cool and it’s funny.

I want to see her smile. Wendy is one of the few people I could give a sippy cup to and not feel weird.”

Steve, who met Wendy at Muhlenberg, has given her a few, primarily promotional items from Clariant AG that he picked up during his career in industrial chemicals and solvents. “Collections can often explode into great volumes of stuff,” he said. “Be careful what you collect. Who could think there could be this many giraffes?”

With each new arrival, Wendy generally finds the right spot, and there it remains for display – unless it can be used, like mugs, glasses, dishes, cutlery, pieces of clothing and jewelry holders. Over the years, a few have broken, and she has sold a few duplicates at garage sales, but she has never regifted a giraffe.

She has not passed along a love of giraffes to her children, Abigail and Matthew, although Matthew for one recent birthday sponsored care for a giraffe in the Continued on Page 50

A dozen giraffes in a dozen styles in the family room.

Giraffes fit into the Unionville home’s décor, which Harris says includes arts and crafts, Shaker and eclectic pieces.

A set of plates and a stylized candy dish. www.chestercounty.com | Fall/Winter 2019 | West Chester & Chadds Ford Life

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Wendy Harris Continued from Page 49

Philadelphia Zoo. Wendy makes annual donations to the Philadelphia Zoo and Cape May County Park & Zoo in New Jersey, which is where she fondly remembered first seeing giraffes out in the re-creation of their savannah habitat.

That said, she is unhappy about giraffes confined in zoos and is worried about their future on their own competing for the planet’s resources. “I’m terrified they won’t be here for much longer,” she said. “Can you believe they’re slaughtered just for their tails, which are turned into flyswatters for businessmen with more money than sense? That’s pretty disgusting.”

Although she enjoys the giraffes around her every day and has witnessed giraffes in several zoos, she has surprisingly never seen them in the wild in their African homeland. But such a safari – she also wants to include breakfast with giraffes – might be in the offing. She got her first passport in 2018, just after Steve retired, and they’ve been talking about travel destinations. “It’s on my bucket list,” she said.

Giraffe art enlivens upstairs hallway.

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This giraffe makes sounds people can hear -- two dozen tongue twisters.

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|West Chester & Chadds Ford Life Photo Essay|

The visionary furniture maker

Photos by Jie Deng

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For Melanie Bailey of Indwell Designs, her fascination with structure, architecture and being able to find beauty in discarded items has translated into her career as a maker of sustainable furniture that is both functional and stunning Text by Richard L. Gaw Six months ago, in the middle of the night, Melanie Bailey and her husband David Bernard were asleep in their Chadds Ford home, having only been awakened by their dogs, whose occasional whining noises seemed to detect that something was wrong outside the home.

At about 4 a.m., Bailey and Bernard heard a colossal crashing sound that shook the entire home. Bailey immediately rushed outside to inspect the extent of the damage, and there it was – a 40-foot-tall wild black cherry tree had fallen on the house.

Thankfully for Bailey and Bernard, the home suffered minimal damage, but rather than look at the fallen tree and its tendrils of branches as a mere nuisance that needed to removed immediately in order to restore normalcy, Bailey saw the tree as a gift, as future working material. Today, some portions of the tree lay drying in her basement studio beside power tools, waiting to be transformed into function and form.

For the past several years, Bailey’s Indwell Designs has been turning both fallen trees and discarded salvage materials into sustainable furniture that fits not only her own home but also the homes of her clients. A quick look around her studio reveals the artist, her tools and piles of reclaimed wood planks, beams and discarded items that will be fashioned into bookshelves, sliding doors, dining room and coffee tables, mirrors, plant stands, benches and candle holders.

“Sometimes I see things immediately, such as a fallen tree I come across when walking the dogs, and I’ll think that it could become something very cool,” Bailey said, pointing to a narrow table in her home that was made from discarded joists taken from a historic Philadelphia home. “Other times, it takes a while. After I received the joists, they sat for a bit, but then I looked at my sofa and thought that it would be convenient to fashion a slender table using these joists, and place it behind the sofa.”

Dating back to her childhood in Townsend, Del., the trajectory of Bailey’s life as a furniture maker is measured by a connect-the-dots matrix of experience and interests.

She grew up loving the outdoors, playing on her family’s

two-acre property, fishing in nearby lakes and streams and helping her father in his workshop, where she learned the intricacies of usefulness of power tools.

Like most future architects, Bailey developed an early fascination for building structures with the assistance of her Lego collection, which ultimately led to her obtaining a degree in architecture, and later, a Master’s degree in sustainable design.

Following several years in the architectural field with a focus on sustainable design, Bailey taught classes in sustainability and building science as an adjunct professor at Harcum College, Salem Community College and the Community College of Philadelphia. It was at her home on the Main Line when her interests and study dovetailed with need.

“David and I had been living in Ardmore for ten years, and eventually, we really needed a new dining room table,” she said. “We were finding that new dining room tables were incredibly expensive, so I convinced myself that I knew enough about design and power tools to just build my own table. I bought lumber, ran chords from the house to a little shed out back for my circular saw and my sander, and built the table.”

Slowly, Bailey began to create other household furniture for her home, and after moving to Chadds Ford two years ago, word of her talent spread, and what had once served as a passion eventually turned into Indwell Designs.

“When David and I first moved to Chadds Ford, I didn’t have stumps in my studio and I didn’t have a chain saw,” she said. “Yet, slowly, being surrounded constantly by nature began to have an artistic effect on me, and over the past two years, my designs have become more organic, and if you look at my work history, you’ll begin to see that transformation.”

If Indwell Designs were to someday have a middle name, it would very likely be “Sustainable.” Bailey is committed to recovering downed trees, salvaging architectural elements, and reclaiming wood to create furniture and décor.

Materials are sourced locally, milled or disassembled Continued on Page 54

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Melanie Bailey Continued from Page 53

in-house, and treated with environmentally conscious finishes.

In working with clients, Bailey said the process of creating furniture from concept to delivery is dependent on the client. Some purchase finished items, while others request custom-made pieces from Bailey that will fit a particular space in their home. If it’s a piece that will be made from scratch, Bailey will develop its design using AutoCAD software, or from hand sketches.

Sometimes, a conversation with a client will send Bailey out on a scavenger hunt to find the perfect starting point.

“A client of mine asked if I could create a sliding door for her,” Bailey said. “I went to an antique store the following weekend, where I began texting her photos of what I was finding. First, I came across a few rustic barn doors, but then I found an old glass door. She loved it, so I took it home, distressed it and frosted it, and it turned out very nice.”

Across the sawdust-strewn floors of Bailey’s studio, reclaimed wood of all kinds protrude from stacks and bins, revealing the red and brown hues of their contours and texture – and no two pieces of wood are the same.

On one wall, the tools of past generations hang in tribute to those who loved the symmetry and balance of hands, wood and machinery. Bailey guides a wide plank of wood through her planer repeatedly, and over time, the surface has gone from the consistency of sandpaper to that of glass.

“Without my architectural background and my childhood experience in helping my father in his shed, I don’t think I would be able to build furniture, but for many reasons, I seem to thrive in the company of wood,” Bailey said. “On some days after a full day in the studio, my hands will be sore and I’ll have to ice my back, and I’ll ask myself ‘What do I have to show for all of this?’ Then I’ll come to the studio the next day and see what I have created.”

And as for the wild black cherry wood that fell in her front yard six months ago, that now dries in her studio?

“I really don’t know yet,” Bailey said. “I suppose I’ll just keep looking at the pile, and eventually, an idea will come to me.”

To learn more about Melanie Bailey and her work, visit www.indwell-designs.com.

To contact Staff Writer Richard L. Gaw, email rgaw@ chestercounty.com.

Continued on Page 56

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Melanie Bailey Continued from Page 55

Piles of reclaimed wood planks, beams and discarded items Bailey finds are fashioned into household furniture.

Bailey’s Indwell Designs has been turning both fallen trees and discarded items into sustainable furniture.

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Melanie Bailey Continued from Page 57

Bailey combines her background as an architect with her love of found materials to form her finished work.

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Indwell Designs is becoming known for Bailey’s creation of bookshelves, sliding doors, dining room and coffee tables, mirrors, plant stands and candle holders.

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|West Chester & Chadds Ford Business|

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Creep Records attracts fans, collectors and sellers

By Natalie Smith Correspondent

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here was a time when just purchasing a record was buying an entrée into the world of a singer or band. Everything about it – from the art on the 12-inch sleeve to the revealing liner notes on the inside to the music itself – invited the listener to interpret, discuss, imitate and enjoy.

Despite the many transformations that music production has gone through the past few decades, there is still a demand for LPs, by both collectors and newer listeners.

Creep Records in West Chester is nourishing that continuing appetite. Although its stock spans a wide variety of music genres, including metal, punk, indie, hip-hop and jazz, “we try to keep everybody happy,” said store manager Rob Perna Jr. Most popular among patrons are rock albums that many fans might have purchased years ago.

“I’m finding that the classics fly off the shelves,” Perna said. “Your Pink Floyd, your Led Zeppelin, your Hendrix … stuff like that.”

Not unlike its inventory, Creep’s pedigree is a mix of old and new. What Arik Victor started more than 25 years ago as a punk-rock band led to a record label in Downingtown, and later included a studio and retail spaces. Victor was joined by Mark Tawney and they opened a Creep Records location in The Piazza, a residential and retail development community in the Northern Liberties section of Philadelphia.

When West Chester’s popular record and CD store The Mad Platter -- a place that many associated with Creep had often frequented – closed in July 2018 after more than 40 years, Creep partner Jamie Godfrey saw an opportunity. Last August, Creep Continued on Page 62

All photos by Natalie Smith

Rob Perna, Jr., is the manager of Creep Records. www.chestercounty.com | Fall/Winter 2019 | West Chester & Chadds Ford Life

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Records opened on West Gay Street, coincidentally a few storefronts down from the former Platter.

Like its sister store in Philly, Creep sells new and used vinyl, glass smoking supplies and CBD products.

Specialty apparel is available, as are turntables. Creep also sells CDs. Much of Creep’s initial music inventory included a mix of stock from the Philly store and items from The Platter.

“I’d say like it took us that first six months to really kind of get a grip on what kind of stuff would really flow in this store,” said Perna who, like Victor and the partners, grew up in the West Chester area. “It’s a little bit of a different clientele than the city shop.”

Perna noted that the popularity of classic rock albums hasn’t gone unnoticed by the record companies. “It’s interesting the amount of stuff they reissue year-round from back then,” he said. “So you might get a Jimi Hendrix reissue record that comes out now that would be around $19 to $25. If you find an original pressing of one of those same albums, it could be in that $50 to $100 range. If you have certain clientele that are definitely not going to buy $100 copy of ‘Are You Experienced,’ they could buy a $19 copy.

“But with vinyl, you still have a really large base of collectors that do want the original records. They don’t mind paying a little extra for that.”

If you’ve got a record collection that’s gathering dust in your attic, Perna might be willing to make a deal.

“We buy collections from people, large and small, to help stock our used records,” he said. “Our used records do very well for us in here. And I keep that stock rotating pretty regularly. I see some of the same people many times throughout the week, coming in to see what’s changed and what we have.”

But just because a record is old, don’t assume it’s rare or even particularly valuable, Perna said. Condition and demand do count.

“They can stop in the shop with a crate of records and I’ll go through them and work up a value and pay them fairly,” he said. While Perna doesn’t listen to them all, “I’ve gotten pretty good at looking just by eye as far as the quality of the record. And usually between that and the internet, I can find a value for that record.

But if something is beat up, there’s really no way I’m going to be able to ever sell it for more than a dollar.

So we just put it in the dollar bin.

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Creep Records is selling this remastered copy of Bruce Springsteen’s “Darkness on the Edge of Town” for $26.99. The album was originally released in 1978.

This Bobby Sherman LP from 1970, “Here Comes Bobby,” is awaiting purchase in a $1 bin at Creep Records.

CJ Ramone’s “The Holy Spell,” sold at Creep Records, is among the vinyl records including access to a digital download.

West Chester & Chadds Ford Life | Fall/Winter 2019 | www.chestercounty.com

Some of the merchandise sold at Creep Records.

“And if you bring in like a whole stack of Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass and it’s in crappy shape, I’m really not interested,” he said with a laugh.

What also drives up the value of an LP is the way it looks.

“Definitely the presentation,” Perna said. “I have customers that buy records who don’t even have a turntable yet. The original artwork designed for 12-inch-by-12-inch album covers is really meant to be seen on that full-size LP, and a lot of times on the gatefold.”

Perna said current performers are releasing their works on

“G.I. Blues,” a 1960 soundtrack album from the Elvis Presley movie by the same name, is among the LPs sold at Creep Records.

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vinyl. “I would say most of our clientele coming in here and buying those new releases on vinyl are between the ages of l6 and 25. There are bands that only release either vinyl or they’ll have it as a digital download card with the record.

“So when you buy the record, you get the vinyl and then if you don’t want to listen to the vinyl or if you want to listen to it in your car or on the computer, you can download the music on there. People are ignoring CDs altogether, but only a very select group of people are even using CDs.” Perna said he’s been only slightly surprised by vinyl’s popularity, but as a record collector himself who prefers the sound captured on LPs, it makes sense. Also a musician and private guitar teacher, Perna is leader of The New Kings of Rhythm, an 11-member “funk, reggae, rhythm and blues” band he founded in 1995.

“I’m currently a co-host of the local WCHE-AM radio station for their Sound Stage program, which highlights local

A corner in Creep Records displays vinyl releases from punk bands.

music. So that airs every Thursday at 5 p.m.,” he said. “I like the idea of tying that in with my role here at the shop. After so many years of teaching music, I like helping younger musicians by showing them the ropes.”

He said he finds managing Creep Records in West Chester holds a particular kind of satisfaction.

“Seeing the joy on somebody’s face when they find a certain record is priceless, whether it’s something that they’re replacing from a collection they used to have or they’re new at it,” he said. “Maybe it’s something their parents turned them on to when they were young. I just love that.”

Natalie Smith may be contacted at natalie@DoubleS Media.com.

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|West Chester & Chadds Ford Arts|

A life on the road, playing the blues Vanessa Collier is leading the way with more than 200 shows this year

By John Chambless Staff Writer

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or a few days in late September, Vanessa Collier was at the Chadds Ford area home of her parents, but only for a moment. Pausing between a string of concerts across the United States and a trip to play another series of gigs in Europe, Collier brightly discussed what it’s like to lead her own blues band, and how she manages to be seemingly everywhere at once.

At 28, she has the kind of critical buzz – and touring schedule – that countless blues musicians would envy. A multi-instrumentalist, she contributes stinging saxophone to 66

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A photo from the stage shows Collier’s audience in Lugano, Switzerland.

Collier on stage at a festival in Wheeling, WV.

shows with her five-piece band. Her rich, confident vocals have the pleasant raw edge of Bonnie Raitt, an artist she greatly admires. She has written three CDs of original material since 2014, including the latest, Honey Up. From third grade through her first year at the Berklee College of Music in Boston, Collier’s family lived in Maryland. “We’ve been here for eight years or so,” she said. She has three younger sisters. Her parents are professors at the University of Delaware.

“Nobody else plays music,” she said, “but my mom’s always been super creative, and I’ve always marveled at her ability to help me with school projects, crafts and stuff. She’s always been artsy.”

The music in the Collier household when Vanessa was growing up was an eclectic mix – Etta James, Aretha Franklin and Ray Charles, Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles. She started learning the saxophone at the age of 8, working her way with surprising ease through the lessons and clearly showing a gift. “You have to get past that first cuteness,” she said, laughing. “It wasn’t until sixth grade that I played a 12-bar blues. I started singing jazz in late high school. I was so nervous the first time I sang in front of people at a senior recital in high school. I could not look people in the eye at that point because I was such an introverted person.

I stared at the floor, but it was still a good concert.”

Having learned to play classical selections but drawn to the grit and soul of the blues, Collier worked on recreating the work of blues greats, learning by ear since any written scores for the compositions barely scratch the surface of the music and are, she noted, “frequently wrong. I read music quite well. I grew up playing classical saxophone and sight reading everything. But a lot of blues music, you can’t really read it. There’s so much that you can’t write down, and inflections. You have to listen.”

Primarily a saxophone player, she can also play clarinet, flute, organ and percussion. In the many videos on YouTube of Collier leading her band, she is unfailingly a magnetic stage presence, belting out her originals and classics such as a reinterpreted

Collier plays live at the Ann Arbor Blues Festival this summer.

“When Loves Come to Town” by U2 with arenafilling energy. As one of very few women blues band leaders, though, Collier is accustomed to being “the girl saxophone player.”

“Yeah,” she said, sighing. “I do have my moments. I try to have a lot of patience. There’s me and a couple of other younger women that are coming to the forefront and bringing a powerful, different presence to what the blues is.”

There have been awards and critical accolades all along the way, with Collier’s name frequently cropping up on “best of” lists and on blues sales charts.

And she earns every one.

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Vanessa Collier Continued from Page 67

“We played something like 110 dates last year, and this year’s like 200,” she said. “So, I’m feeling the difference, for sure. I love to be out, though. It’s wonderful to go from five years ago, playing 10 little gigs, to 200. And doing what I love.”

Collier’s Ford van, parked at the family’s house for a very few days a year, has clocked something like 125,000 miles in three years. “It’s something ridiculous, for not being my main vehicle,” she said. “We do some crazy drives – six hours between places. We’ve done two overnight drives from Virginia to Canada to West Virginia in one weekend. That was insane, but it comes with the territory.

“My goal now is to get seven hours of sleep. It can be broken, but with seven or eight hours, the voice is OK and I can muster up the energy to do anything.”

Having played to audiences in some 14 countries, Collier is eager to return to Europe. “With my second record, I did a deal with a German label, and as part of that was promised 60 to 80 dates overseas for the year. We ended up doing 51, I believe, in eight or nine different countries.”

That has continued, with Collier and her band playing everything from tiny clubs to huge festivals.

“In the U.S., it’s mostly people in their 50s and 60s who come to the shows,” she said. “But in Brazil, for instance, it’s mostly people in their 20s. Everywhere else loves American music, whether it’s pop or old blues, jazz – they love the spirit of the music. I think sometimes Americans take it for granted.

“Sometimes people won’t speak English, but they’ve heard the song enough that they know what the sounds are. If it’s a really well-known blues song, they’ll sing along. And when you talk to them afterwards, they say, ‘Oh, we can’t really converse. We just know the lyrics.’ But music is super universal. No matter where I go, people can understand my feeling and energy, regardless of whether they understand the exact words.”

European blues bands work hard to emulate their American inspirations, and Collier gets to see as many as she can when she’s in a festival setting and not yet performing.

Collier, who can be in front of thousands of people one day and performing on a stage six feet wide the next, has learned to adapt her performances for both size venues.

“When it’s a bigger stage, I feel I can really come out of my shell a bit and move around. But it’s great to play the 68

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smaller places, because you can actually converse and look people in the eye and really connect on a more intimate level,” she said.

She’s also learned to control her singing so that the distinctive edge doesn’t get too ragged. “One of my biggest influences is Bonnie Raitt, and I love her voice when she’s like 16, and I love her voice now when she’s in her 60s. I hope to have that longevity,” she said. “I’m constantly trying to place my singing correctly and not end up hoarse at the end of the night. But if I take more than a week off, I feel out of shape.”

Collier’s CDs are released on her own label, and her last one was crowd-funded through donations from fans. “We raised between $20,000 and $25,000 for the most recent one, and the promotion. It’s lovely to be able to have a fan base that wants to hear the music and support me as an artist,” she said. “There are a lot of people, especially in the Pennsylvania area, that have helped. And there’s a fan page on Facebook as well.”

She maintains a private saxophone studio, teaching around 30 students per week; serves as an adjudicating judge at solo and ensemble festivals; and offers jazz, blues, and saxophone clinics throughout the United States. And Collier remains dedicated to spreading the word about the blues, especially to younger people. She takes part in the “Blues in Schools” program as often as she can, speaking to elementary through high school students about the roots of the music and following their aspirations. She appears by herself, or with her band.

“We play a 15-minute set for them, and then talk about following their passions,” Collier said. “At the last one, we talked about blues history and how it influences everything.

We wouldn’t have rock and roll if not for Sister Rosetta Tharpe. If they’re listening to Bruno Mars, well, that came from James Brown. I try to spark the interest …. Some of the kids don’t know Prince, which blows my mind,” she added, laughing.

“I try to give them the same advice I got when I was their age, which was to follow your passion. You can always make money somehow, so you might as well shoot for your dream. The side road will lead you to something you love.

Go after it and see what happens.”

For more information, visit www.vanessacollier.com.

To contact Staff Writer John Chambless, email jchambless@chestercounty.com.

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