At Spruce Peak, we incorporate local craftsmen’s work as often as possible. Here, we celebrate some of these makers and their creations.

Kathryn Wiegers

Above the private dining room at Alpine Hall restaurant, your eyes can’t help but follow the undulating shapes flowing across the wall. Painted on-site (in a single day!) by muralist Kathryn Wiegers, it’s a relaxing vista you can continue studying as glasses clink into the night. “I used the mountains as my inspiration,” Wiegers says, “As well as the smell and color of cognac.” Compared to her usual naturalistic style, this mural is a departure, Wiegers points out. (Her other work includes whimsical flowers that pop off the exterior of Burlington’s Green State Gardener dispensary and bright nature scenes featuring local animals decorating the University of Vermont Medical Center’s children’s floor.) “I enjoyed painting a more abstract piece,” she says. 

The Green Mountains offer more than just artistic inspiration for Wiegers. She grew up in Maryland and her New Jersey- born husband spent most of his summers at a family cabin on Vermont’s Lake Bomoseen. “When he introduced me to Vermont, I fell in love with the state and knew this is where I wanted to live,” Wiegers says. “I love the lush green nature and very distinct seasons.” Vermont has now been her home for two decades; she and her husband are raising their five children here. “I really appreciate how the state strives to maintain an organic feeling through time, such as the lack of billboards and fluorescent lights,” Wiegers says. “And our family enjoys skiing, snowboarding, snowshoeing and hiking together.”

Bee Happy Vermont

Cows, apples, pine trees, sunflowers, and chickadees: These are all things you can see across the Green Mountain State—or take home in the form of carved beeswax candles from Bee Happy Vermont. Pedro Salas, beekeeper and founder of Bee Happy Vermont, chose to settle in the small town of Starksboro after traveling all over the United States. “I’ve found that Vermont is a very peaceful place to live,” he says. It didn’t take long before Salas, with the help of his bees, got to work making 100 percent pure Vermont beeswax candles and honey that evokes the flavor of local wildflowers.

While Salas’ honey is undeniably delicious, his beeswax candles are truly works of art. He creates custom molds that allow him to form candles in a variety of stunningly detailed shapes, from delicate roses to hyper-realistic corn cobs. “I harvest honey from the hives, uncap the frames from the wax, spin the honey, and filter out the beeswax,” Salas says. “From there, I melt the wax to make candles with the unique smell of fresh beeswax.” He recently crafted custom candles for the One Spruce Peak and Treehouse residences, the newest luxury alpine residences at Spruce Peak.

Windy Ledges Metalworks

The next time you enter The Lodge at Spruce Peak or the Alpine Club at Spruce Peak, take a good look at the coffee and dining tables. These live-edge walnut, maple, and elm tabletops—supported by steel bases—were crafted by Windy Ledges Metalworks. A small, family-run furniture making operation located in the village of Adamant, Windy Ledges Metalworks is owned by Rob Beall and his wife Connie Gaylord. For the last 20 years, the pair have been creating hardwood and metal furniture for homes, businesses, and ski areas, with clients ranging from Mad Taco in Montpelier to Seventh Generation in Burlington. “We take great pride in the durability and quality of our materials and workmanship,” Beall and Gaylord say. Windy Ledges has long had a deep connection to Stowe. “We began selling our work back in the 90s at the Stowe Farmers’ Market; to be commissioned to create so many pieces for Spruce Peak was amazing,” Beall and Gaylord say. “Our tables can endure the abuse of everyday ski life, while providing a glimpse of Vermont’s natural beauty.”

Wood & Wood

You may not give much notice to the sign out front before going to a shop, restaurant, or hotel. But after all, first impressions are everything and a sign sets the tone for your experience: Will it be an elegant, refined establishment or have a laid-back vibe? Waitsfield-based Wood & Wood (a company that designs, fabricates, and installs custom signage) makes it clear that sign-making—from design to execution—is a powerful art form. “Wood & Wood has helped Spruce Peak be unique and vibrant in the resort world since the beginning,” says owner and founder Sparky Potter. (And yes, he is also the father of famed Vermont singer/ songwriter Grace Potter!) “It has been a privilege to work with Spruce Peak,” Potter says, “They always come up with projects that challenge and excite our crew.” His team has handled everything from the Spruce Peak entrance sign to the eye-catching Adventure Center signage. Most recently, Potter’s team created the striking exterior signs for the Tipsy Trout and Alpine Hall restaurants. “The Tipsy Trout signs were simpler to fabricate,” Potter says, noting his team came up with numerous paint samples to achieve a unique metal looking finish on the backgrounds. “For our staff that was pure fun.” Fabricating and engineering the Alpine Hall sign, on the other hand, was quite the feat. “Looking at the finished sign, it may be hard to imagine the degree of difficulty involved in getting it safely up on that wall,” says Potter. “Many, many meetings between contractors, electricians, engineers and our staff were organized in order to design the appropriate components to suspend it. It may have taken 50 years of being in business to pull this off, but we are thrilled to say that the team effort worked!”