Door County Wearable Art Show Returns with Fall Selections

Blazer by Shirley Senarighi

As Door County’s landscape makes its annual shift from the bright greens, blues and yellows of summer to the fiery reds, browns and oranges of autumn, fashion will soon follow suit.

With changing flora comes falling temperatures, demanding thicker fabrics, layered ensembles and knit accessories paired with leather bags and statement jewelry. All of this will be on display at this weekend’s Door County Wearable Art Show in Sister Bay.

For the third time this year, the Sister Bay Village Hall will transform into a women’s wearable art boutique featuring the handcrafted fashions, jewelry and accessories of 10 local and Midwest artists.

Goldfilled Lotus Flower with Druzy pendant by Angela Lensch.

Curated by Egg Harbor jewelry artist Angela Lensch, this year’s roster of invited artists includes those working in wool, silk and cotton, natural fibers, leather, silver and gold.

The Door County Wearable Art Show, in its seventh year, is unique in its ability to present not only one-of-a-kind goods inspired by the culture and landscape of the Midwest, but to have the artists who created the items on-site.

As show founder and local textile artist Sue Donohoo explained, “That interaction is what’s key for one-of-a-kind and what artists do versus retail. It’s a night and day difference.”

Returning guests will be familiar with all but two of this year’s exhibitors, though Lensch points out that the core group of artists has continued evolving in their designs from year to year, ensuring a new and exciting crop of clothing and accessories.

“The great thing about artists is they’re always experimenting and putting their twist on it,” Lensch said. “We’re all women who are always working on making something so it’s fun to be around that and be swimming in creative energy all weekend.”

From sleek raincoats to textured cardigans, pom-pom hats to layered earrings, the show reflects Lensch’s belief that personal preference is the current trend.

Raincoat by Pat Rued.

“Everything’s in style, in my opinion,” Lensch said. “All of the genres are in style again. You can’t really go wrong. It’s kind of a fun, experimental time for wearable artists. All the bridges are being connected. It’s turning into a big wagon wheel, which is great.”

But if your desire is to stand out among a sea of flannel, leggings and cable-knit sweaters at one of Door County’s many harvest-centric festivals, the Door County Wearable Art show is a good place to start.

“There’s so much consideration that goes into the color of the fabric and the artist usually is part of that process and the cuts and the lines and every seam is tended to,” Lensch said. “Or the jewelry is hand-polished, hand-soldered, hand-woven…one-of-a-kind is an understatement when it comes to our event and the work being sold.”

The Door County Wearable Art Show takes place at the Sister Bay Village Hall on Highway 42. It runs Saturday, Sept. 30 from 9am – 5pm and Sunday, Oct. 1 from 10am – 4pm. Admission is free. For more information, visit DoorCountyWearableArtShow.com.