Meet A Few Of The Kendal Crafters

Craft Show This Weekend

Kendal at Lexington’s sixth annual Holiday Craft Fair, which is being held this week, features the work of 16 residents and eight staff artists and crafters.

Kendal has offered the following glimpse into what area residents can expect as it profiled the work of four of the artists and crafters.

The craft fair will be held Friday, Dec. 5, and Saturday, Dec. 6, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Kendal Hall, 160 Kendal Drive.

Jack Page, wooden toy maker

A retired civil engineering professor who taught at Virginia Military Institute for 30 years, Jack Page found a new calling in woodworking.

“The worst thing to have around the house is a retired guy with little to do,” he joked.

His wife introduced him to a publication with plans for wooden toys, and a passion was born. Initially making dollhouses for his daughters, he now crafts small trucks and roadsters for his grandsons and the wider community.

Page uses scrap wood, and each toy, consisting of about a dozen pieces, is meticulously sanded, stained and waxed. He finds joy in modifying plans and problem-solving, but his greatest satisfaction comes from creating a finished product that brings smiles.

“My toys are powered by imagination, are simple to operate and need no instructions,” he said.

Lad Sessions, photographer

Lad Sessions has been passionate about photography since his teenage years and, almost 20 years following retirement as a professor of philosophy at Washington and Lee University, he moved to Kendal and began dedicating himself to his craft even more.

He transitioned from film to digital and from black and white to color. His work focuses on what photographer Eliot Porter called “intimate landscapes,” capturing the small, beautiful details of nature around Lexington.

Sessions said he believes there’s no single “perfect shot,” but rather “serendipitous satisficing” — finding good-enough images by chance. He finds beauty in every season and is currently working on a photographic book titled “Appalachian Seasons.”

Karen Fabry, soap maker

Karen Fabry, following an impactful career in nursing, moved from the Tampa Bay area to Kendal at Lexington five years ago with her husband, Frank, where they found a welcoming community and made close friends while enjoying meeting new ones all the time.

She discovered soap-making through her daughter, Heather. What started as a way to use up leftover lye from pretzelmaking has blossomed into a shared creative pursuit. Now, when Heather visits her at Kendal from California, they set aside time to create and test new soaps.

For the fair, Fabry will offer about 10 varieties, including an unscented option, a wintery pine scent and a unique coffee-infused soap requested by a fellow resident. Her process is a blend of ancient techniques and modern precision, using edible oils like olive and coconut to create gentle, high-quality bars. For Fabry, the best part is creativity and the special time spent with her daughter.

Allison and Remington Propps, beekeepers Remington and Allison Propps bring vibrant creativity to Kendal’s craft fair this year. As a cook and prep cook in Kendal’s culinary department, the married duo are also passionate beekeepers committed to pure, raw honey and handmade beeswax goods.

Remington first discovered beekeeping while helping his grandfather tend hives in West Virginia. Later, when his aunt retired from her own beekeeping adventure — downsizing from over 100 hives to just two — she passed along all her equipment.

Remington and Allison Propps will also be selling beeswax candles and handcrafted art, including canvas paintings, painted vinyl records and beethemed items, such as tiny crocheted bees and a striking honeybee painting.

For Remington, the craft fair is the highlight of the year and a chance to connect, share and spark smiles.

“Almost every time I see any resident at Kendal, the first thing they say to me is, ‘I’m going to be first in line at the craft fair,’” Remington said.