Telling Stories About The Things You Love

The need to share stories is embedded in our DNA. Sharing stories allows us to connect with loved ones, neighbors, colleagues, and even strangers. Through a special conversation with two acclaimed creators and collectors--Joan Osofsky and Mary Randolph Carter--we will explore how objects often carry special meaning: a cherished book, a needlepoint from a friend, the basket picked up at a yard sale that you've been carrying around for thirty years. We find stories in each other, and in the possessions we collect over a lifetime.

After hearing from Joan and Carter, participants will be invited to talk about an object that they love as a first step to a story that they can share with the people in their lives.

Through the work of founding Hammertown, the beloved lifestyle stores located in Pine Plains and Rhinebeck, Joan Osofsky has been helping people deepen their connection to their homes and community for over 40 years. Joan has spent a career hand picking exquisite antiques, house wares, clothing, and decor, and with this work, she has collected many, many stories.

Mary Randolph Carter, writer and longtime creative director for Ralph Lauren, has always celebrated beautiful objects and the stories they hold. In a recent interview with THE LAKEVILLE JOURNAL, she said of the ten books she has authored, “At the root of each is my love of collecting, the thrill of the hunt, and living surrounded by things that conjure up family, friends, and memories.”

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR

Paul Ricciardi is Co-Director of Ancram Center for the Arts and is the creator and director of the community storytelling program REAL PEOPLE REAL STORIES.

Ancram Center for the Arts is a member of TheWorkshopExperience.org, a group of friends and neighbors who produce exceptional experiential learning through open gardens and workshops on a wide variety of topics in the Roeliff Jansen region, where the Hudson Valley and Berkshires meet.