Profiles
Like a food dish that is too beautiful to eat, Jim Thompson’s painted kites are too pretty to fly.
While his craft only started in March 2011, the Montpelier, Vt., resident made his first kite many years ago. “In my early twenties, I was teaching art at a special education school,” Thompson says. “I made some kites with the kids, and then I made some on my own just to fly.” The kites that made their way home were transformed into lions and butterflies with acrylic paint.
If pianists injure their fingers or dancers hurt their feet, they will worry that their artistic career is over. But when carpenter and owner of State of Mind, Dennis Arthur, busted his knee, he turned to his dexterous hands to lead him to a more fragile craft—glass blowing.
It all started with restless boredom rendered by his injury. Arthur first learned about the art of glassware craft and signed up shortly after for a class at Corning Incorporated in Oneonta, N.Y. After continuous practice and progress made, Arthur eventually established a shop in downtown Plattsburgh, N.Y., to sell some of his homemade glass art.
Because of its border location and college presence, Plattsburgh has become a hot spot for some of the country’s most famous franchises. Every year, it seems two or three more famous food outlets appear in the city. New to the growing food franchise roster is Texas-originated Dickey’s Barbeque Pit. The casual, quick-order restaurant is the first of its kind in Plattsburgh, but its owner is far from having a fresh face to the Plattsburgh scene. The man behind the plan is store owner Jim Moore who was the meteorologist at WPTZ from September 2000 to September 2011. After 11 years of helping Plattsburgh residents get ready for their day, Moore decided to venture down a completely different path.
What in the world are llamas doing in the city of Plattsburgh? Hugs and Kisses, two male guard llamas, have been living on the Champlain Valley Physicians Hospital’s grounds since 2006.
Registered with the International Llama Registry, Hugs and Kisses are a special part of the zoo at CVPH. The zoo began in 1979 and first featured Asian deer, peacocks, and donkeys, but it later expanded to include Mute Swans, goats, and geese. A Blue Heron, seagulls, ducks, and catfish are the latest additions to the unique zoo.
At first your eyes can’t focus. There is stuff everywhere, from huge couches in the heart of the room to tiny table ornaments cleverly scattered all over. In no time what initially looks like mass clutter begins to become organized in your mind as you find yourself magnetized to a particular item—something that you have been looking for all over and finally found. This is the beauty of a thrift store; it’s where hidden gems can be found, and where a search could be ended by one simple discovery. One family believed that if they could obtain enough of these elusive items they could start their own business out of it, and they did.
They’re fierce, they’re fast, and they fly around the track on four wheels. They’re always hungry for fresh meat, and they know how to throw an elbow. They’re the Lumber Jills, Plattsburgh’s roller derby team. The team, which was formed about a year and a half ago, is all female, except for a male referee or two. The women are all different ages, shapes and sizes and come from different walks of life.
What unites these rowdy ladies is a passion for their sport and the culture that surrounds it. At practice, which they take very seriously, the team wears a variety of fun and funky apparel, from striped tights to neon knee-highs. Team shirts display a macabre mascot on the front and intimidating alter-ego names on the back.
