By Melissa Arnold
Love it or hate it, pumpkin spice season is upon us. If you’re a fan of all things fall or just have an appreciation for beautiful things, stop by the Setauket Presbyterian Church from Sept. 27 to 29 for a unique experience and a good cause.
More than a thousand hand-blown glass pumpkins of every size and color will dot the church lawn during a three day Fall Fair and Glass Pumpkin Patch fundraiser. Each piece, created by glassblower Gregory Tomb of the Adirondack Glassblowing Studio, is for sale; a portion of the proceeds will benefit the church’s Open Door Exchange.
Located in Port Jefferson Station at 200 Wilson Street, Open Door Exchange is a furniture bank, the first of its kind on Long Island. People in need can visit to browse the collection of donated furniture, selecting whatever they’d like at no cost. There are no income checks or other proof of need required — all are welcome.
The program began in 2015, when former pastor Kate Jones Calone visited a furniture bank in Maryland. Sitting around her kitchen table with friends not long after, she began to brainstorm how Setauket Presbyterian could bring something similar to their own community.
Almost a decade later, they’ve grown out of the small storage unit from their early years and clients now have an entire warehouse full of options to choose from. Over the years, they’ve received more than 6,000 pieces of donated furniture and assisted more than 800 households.
“Whether it’s someone moving into their first home, people who have escaped domestic violence, veterans or LGBT youth, we’re here for everyone. We want to honor the dignity of each person and want them to feel the same excitement we all do when furnishing our homes,” said Ryan Haugstatter, director of development for the program. “I love that we get to help people from all walks of life find a sense of stability again. You don’t always realize until you don’t have them how important it is to have a kitchen table to share a meal or a couch to sit on with your family.”
When clients come in for an appointment, they get to choose furniture that fits not only what they need, but appeals to their own tastes and style as well.
The program also helps the environment. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Americans throw out more than 12 million tons of furniture each year, and the majority ends up in landfills.
Demand and costs are on the rise for Open Door, Haugstatter said, with some clients coming from as far as Brooklyn and Queens to find assistance.
Haugstatter knew Gregory Tomb from his work with another nonprofit organization, and reached out in hopes of creating an interesting community fundraiser.
Gregory Tomb splits his time between his two studios in Phoenix, Ariz. and North Creek in upstate New York. As a child, his family often stopped at the renowned Corning Museum of Glass on the way to visit relatives, and it was there that his love for glassblowing was born.
“It’s like magic — glowing, hot globs of glass that become these beautiful creations,” Tomb said.
The artist attended Hartwick College initially studying psychology, but found that the glassblowing classes for his art minor were more engaging. He ultimately dropped psychology and graduated with a degree in art.
After graduation, Tomb did all kinds of work, from tending bar and playing music to teaching ski lessons and white water rafting. But he always returned to glassblowing.
“I thought that it was something I would always do, though maybe not professionally,” Tomb said. “People told me I should work in a factory, but I said no, I wanted to be an artist. In mastering a craft like blowing glass, the skill of it, eventually you can begin to create art.”
Since 2015, he’s focused exclusively on creating art and sharing his skills with the public through workshops. Most recently, he converted an old barn on the Hudson River into a studio, where he offers classes from mid-spring to mid-fall.
As for glass sales, pumpkins are consistently among his best-sellers.
“In the art glass world, pumpkins are kind of looked down on — but I see them as a canvas,” Tomb said. “You can try so many different colors and styles and arrangements, and they have a big impact on people who come to see them. It brings a lot of joy to us making them as well.”
The Fall Fair will include hundreds of whimsical, vibrantly colored one-of-a-kind pumpkins as small as a golf ball to as large as a basketball, with prices ranging from $50 to $500. Twenty percent of sales will benefit Open Door Exchange. Agway of Port Jefferson is helping out by donating bales of hay for the event, and Duck Donuts of Selden will sell sweet treats on site for additional fundraising. Families can enjoy kid-friendly activities each day including face painting..
Tomb is happy to support Open Door Exchange’s mission. “The more I learned about the project, the more important I saw that it was — especially in today’s world, when it’s hard to even afford housing,” he said.
Setauket Presbyterian Church, 5 Caroline Ave., Setauket will host the Fall Fair and Glass Pumpking Patch fundraiser on Sept. 27, 28 and 29 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Admission is free. Call 631-941-4271 for further information.
For more information about Open Door Exchange and to make an appointment, visit www.opendoorexchange.org or call 631- 743-0633, ext. 1.
To learn more about the art of glassblowing with Gregory Tomb, visit www.tryglassblowing.com.
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