October 18, 2007 Issue                                       

©2007 The Chestnut Hill Local

Trunk show Oct. 21
Three Wyndmoor generations all skilled craftswomen
by PAULA M. RILEY

Granddaughters, Hadlui Hall, 13, Amanda Fleming, 13, and Cooper Hall, 12, all of Wyndmoor, will be selling their handmade colored ribbon headbands at the trunk sale on Sunday. The girls handle every aspect of production from design to sale.

Some things are genetic; others are learned. For the extended Otter family in Wyndmoor, it is a little bit of both. Three sisters — Betsy Otter Thompson, 71, Lynn Otter Fleming, 73, and Nonnie Otter Barnes, 68 — all of whom attended Spingside School, along with Betsy’s daughter, Liz Dehaven Glass, 46, and Lynn’s five young granddaughters, are all accomplished craftswomen.

Though they each have chosen a different medium, they share an artistic energy and passion to create. Together they are hosting the “3 Sisters Open House Trunk Show” on Sunday, Oct. 21, from 12 – 5 p.m. at Betsy’s home on 7800 Linden Ave. in Wyndmoor. The three generations of craftswomen will be selling their original works. The eldest sister, Lynn Fleming of Chestnut Hill, will be featuring children’s clothing with matching dolls’ clothes. Betsy is displaying her KEO Handknit Originals that include hand-knit sweaters for adults and children, many with original stitches. Her daughter, Liz Dehaven Glass of upstate New York, plans to sell her crafts. Offering watercolors and hand-painted tiles is the youngest sister, Nonnie Barnes of Berks County. In addition, Lynn’s daughter, Cynthia, a professional musician who operates a local music studio, will play classical music on the piano.

The third generation of Otter women includes Lynn Otter Fleming’s granddaughters, Hadlui Hall, 13, Amanda Fleming, 13, Cooper Hall, 12, Julia Fleming, 11 and Sarah Fleming, 9, all of Wyndmoor. Together, the cousins create colored ribbon headbands. The girls handle every aspect of production from design to sale. They select and purchase all supplies including plastic bands, ribbons, glue and price tags for each headband. Using an assembly line approach, each of the girls contributes to the production of the headbands.

“I love picking the ribbon patterns, but mostly we just love hanging out together,” says Cooper. Explaining their production process, Amanda adds, “We set up the stations while we watch Eagles games — cutting, sewing, snipping, gluing, tagging — and everyone has something to do. We have good times together.” The instruction and sewing machine came from their grandmother Lynn. She had used this one for many years before passing it on to the girls. “The machine goes back and forth between their houses. It’s wonderful to see them enjoy sewing so much.”

Three sisters — Betsy Otter Thompson, 71 (from left), Lynn Otter Fleming, 73, and Nonnie Otter Barnes, 68 — along with Betsy’s daughter, Liz Dehaven Glass, 46, and Lynn’s five young granddaughters, are all accomplished craftswomen. (Photos by Paula Riley)

Lynn has been sewing for years, “I have six kids,” says the oldest of the sisters. “I sewed absolutely everything — clothes, slipcovers and curtains.” As her children grew, she started designing and producing adult clothing that has sold in boutiques all over the East coast. As her grandkids were born, she began making children’s clothing with matching clothing for dolls.

In the clothing business for the past 25 years, she has exhibited at numerous arts and crafts shows including shows at Martha’s Vineyard and last weekend’s Fall for the Arts Festival, where her granddaughters had a side table selling their headbands.

Lynn did not only teach sewing skills. The girls have picked up her shrewd business skills. “We always model our products,” says Hadlui. “Recently, at a flea market we took it (the headband) right off and sold it to someone who liked it.” The girls often model the children’s clothing their grandmother creates, usually holding a doll with matching outfit.

When Nonnie displays her work, she requires not a model but an easel for her watercolors and hand-painted tiles. Nonnie, like her two sisters, graduated from the University of Pennsylvania. After college she attended a pottery school and was a professional potter for two decades. She transitioned into decorative tiles and showed her work at the Chestnut Hill Tile Shop for 10 years.

For the last nine years, Nonnie has been painting and exhibiting at galleries in Pottstown as well as art shows in the area. The youngest sister, she describes herself as a “tennis bum and realistic painter” who enjoys capturing her environment — whether it is rural Berks County or off the coast of Maine, where she spends as much time as possible.

One of her favorite paintings is a watercolor of three young girls standing in bathing suits on the sand, facing the ocean. She describes this work: “I used a photograph of the three of us when we were little … It was a black and white that only showed us in our suits. I had to imagine the colors of our suits and create the ocean scene that surrounded us.”

“I remember that photo,” Lynn exclaims with a grin. The sisters exchange comments on the picture and the memories it invokes. The young grandnieces watch in amazement, “We are learning so much about our grandmother and aunts,” Cooper declares.

Betsy who recently moved back to Wyndmoor after 25 years in California, is learning more about her grandnieces and sisters as well. Like her sisters, Betsy has been perfecting her craft for years. Her sweaters, sold under name KEO Handknit Originals, have been shown in a wide variety of locations including a country store in Wilmington, Delaware and a specialty shop on 5th Avenue in Manhattan.

“I knit to relax,” says Betsy, “but I got the idea to sell my work when I was knitting sweaters for a crisis center. Fellow volunteers suggested I sell my work, and that’s how it began.” Like her sisters, Betsy recalls knitting as a child and making sweaters and blankets for the “Bundles for Britain” volunteer effort during the Second World War.

Fifty years later, the sisters are still busy creating their own bundles. Though they cannot say how they all became such creative women, they do speak of a mother with excellent painting skills and a grandfather whose artisanship abilities they adored. They are thrilled to come together to sell their works at the first trunk show.

At 13, the oldest granddaughter, Hadlui Hall, appreciates that she is part of something special. “Yes, making headbands is a hobby, but it’s so much more. It feels so cool to be part of three generations of craftswomen.”

The public is invited to come to the Open House Trunk Show on Oct. 21, from 12 – 5 p.m. at 7800 Linden Ave. in Wyndmoor. For more information, call 215-402-0483.