A Compliment to the Complimentary Colors
Interior hallway at Whiting Mills.
Here in the Rural Intelligence region, we are blessedly removed from the land of strip malls. We like our commercial areas to be as artistic as the people and contents inside. And we’re fortunate that New England’s history of mills and factories has left its legacy in buildings begging to be repurposed into centers like the one we’ve just discovered. Whiting Mills, which sits at the end of a nondescript street in Winsted, one of Connecticut’s old mill towns, is a mighty, brick giant whose dusty, historic innards are being transformed into a small business and arts mecca. The four-story, light-filled former factory, known in the 1800s as Winsted Hosiery, is being revitalized into studio space for a wide variety of artisans, small business and retail shops. Paintings, yoga, handmade soaps, model railroad supplies, carpentry, farrier-related products, basket weaving, sculpture, photography, video production and a silversmith’s wares are among the activities breathing new life in the building’s 52 large, airy, studios and shops. “It's becoming a success story," says photographer David Archambault, who also rents a studio there. “My goal here is to have no vacant studios." The studios have been a long time coming. Winsted was one of the first mill towns in Connecticut, and Winsted Hosiery was a small manufacturer of men’s hosiery, later becoming the largest hosiery manufacturer in the state after expanding its product line. Whiting Mills LLC was established in June 2004 when Jean Paul and Eva Blachere of France bought the aging 135,000-square-foot complex and later renovated it.
Above authored by Lauren Curran in Rural Intelligence
A Compliment to the Complimentary Colors
Interior hallway at Whiting Mills.
Here in the Rural Intelligence region, we are blessedly removed from the land of strip malls. We like our commercial areas to be as artistic as the people and contents inside. And we’re fortunate that New England’s history of mills and factories has left its legacy in buildings begging to be repurposed into centers like the one we’ve just discovered. Whiting Mills, which sits at the end of a nondescript street in Winsted, one of Connecticut’s old mill towns, is a mighty, brick giant whose dusty, historic innards are being transformed into a small business and arts mecca. The four-story, light-filled former factory, known in the 1800s as Winsted Hosiery, is being revitalized into studio space for a wide variety of artisans, small business and retail shops. Paintings, yoga, handmade soaps, model railroad supplies, carpentry, farrier-related products, basket weaving, sculpture, photography, video production and a silversmith’s wares are among the activities breathing new life in the building’s 52 large, airy, studios and shops. “It's becoming a success story," says photographer David Archambault, who also rents a studio there. “My goal here is to have no vacant studios." The studios have been a long time coming. Winsted was one of the first mill towns in Connecticut, and Winsted Hosiery was a small manufacturer of men’s hosiery, later becoming the largest hosiery manufacturer in the state after expanding its product line. Whiting Mills LLC was established in June 2004 when Jean Paul and Eva Blachere of France bought the aging 135,000-square-foot complex and later renovated it.
Above authored by Lauren Curran in Rural Intelligence