The Red Barn Sampler

This place caught my eye on the way from Traverse City to the Sleeping Bear Dunes. I made a mental note to stop on the way back, and so glad I did. This is a cooperative of 65 different artists from the area. They all sell their wares and work together to man the store and maintain the barn. The art is fabulous: from paintings to crocheted caps to jewelry and sweet little creatures called PooBahs (they help chase nightmares away). If you’re traveling with kiddies, they can’t paint a rock to add to the rock garden — my daughter and her friend loooved that! We spent at least a half hour checking out every nook and cranny of the barn and admiring the work of every featured artist. So glad we decided to pull off the road!