Meet Our Instructors:

Farm Pickings

News and Updates from Sanborn Mills Farm

— June 21, 2023 —

A Glorious

Open Farm Day!

In beautiful weather and with Sanborn Mills Farm in full late spring bloom, nearly 300 people joined us on Sunday, June 18, for our annual Open Farm Day celebration. While the Farm is open to the public by appointment or prior arrangement, Open Farm Day is an opportunity for people to explore the entirety of the Farm: seeing the Sawmill and Grist Mill in action, watching draft-animal demonstrations, meeting some of our workshop instructors, touring the various gardens, and learning about the history and rehabilitation of this remarkable place while enjoying delicious food and seeing craft demonstrations. If you missed this year’s Open Farm Day, keep an eye out for next year’s date, always around this time of year. And if you did join us last Sunday, thank you! We love hosting our friends and neighbors on this special day.

Garden Tour This Friday, June 23

Take a tour this Friday of the Farm’s beautiful gardens with our Head Gardener Helen Westergren, who will provide details about the extensive plantings and will be happy to answer questions.

The tour begins at 11:30 a.m. See you there!

Meet Our Instructors:

Ashley Saville,

Maggie Pate,

Meg Kupiec

A self-taught sewist, Ashley Saville is the founder and owner of ANEMONE, where she transforms quilts into wearable art. Passionate about slow and sustainable fashion, Ashley lives for opportunities to create something beautiful yet functional from items that have had a previous life so that these items can be loved in new and perhaps unexpected ways. Her goal, she says, is to “highlight the beauty in handmade quilts.” Her workshop, “Sew Your Own Quilt Coat,” is scheduled for August 5-6 at the Farm. Click here for more information and to register.



Maggie Pate is the designer + artist behind Nåde Studio. She began her career in fashion modeling internationally then retired to work for a label in New York City. For the past decade, her work in textiles explores the cross-section of natural textures + shapes with botanical hues. Her completely sustainable textile studio is in Hudson Valley, NY and the Berkshires. Her workshop, “Botanical Printing on Cellulose and Protein Fibers,” will be held at the Farm from August 9 through 13. Click here for more information and to register.



Largely a self-taught basket weaver, Meg Kupiec is greatly influenced by the Shakers and Shaker basket-weaving, which is well-known for its combination of function and beauty. With their clean lines and sturdy construction, Meg says Shaker baskets are a joy to weave. She has taught classes since the early 1990s to groups of all ages in many different venues, including Road Scholar programs at Pilgrim Pines, Keene Community Education, and CALL at Keene State College. A member of the Northeast Basket Makers Guild she has taken and taught classes at their annual gatherings. Her workshop, “Totes Times Two,” will be held August 12-13. Click here for more information and to register.

Photo Credits

Instructor photos courtesy the instructors.

All other photography by Dominica Pechan.