Vermont
Made in Vermont: Cryptcelium
BRANDON, Vt. (WCAX) – The whimsy of the woods, captured through art.
“We struggle to explain our art when people ask us that,” said Stephany Faris, one of two people on a mission to bring the outdoors inside.
“This all started from the obsession, really, with mushrooms and nature,” said Jonathan Faris, the other half of the equation. “We’ve realized how magical it is really, and we wanted to capture that.”
When this duo isn’t at work, you can find them in the forest, foraging for unique finds on the tail end of their life. Once they have their bounty collected, they use it to create art for their business, Cryptcelium. Jonathan and Stephany call their work a collaboration with nature, with the goal of celebrating the harmony between the natural world and human creation.
“We wanted to figure out how we could capture and preserve the life that’s in the Vermont woods,” Stephany said.
By incorporating dead and decaying elements of nature into art, the two believe they’re continuing the life cycle. Their studio is where foraged finds take on new life.
“You know the world sort of stops and you just sort of, you just get into a flow and it evolves from there,” said Stephany.
The things they make run the gamut, from wall hangings to table pieces, jewelry and candles. Each artist takes on their own projects, growing and expanding their skills a long the way to make new art.
“A lot of my pieces have accents that glow, so I have to do a lot of phosphorus,” said Jonathan. “That’s been like a steep evolutionary change.”
As you might imagine, Jonathan and Stephany’s work for Cryptcelium turns heads wherever they go. Be it at festivals or markets, their work always draws a crowd, and sometimes, a conversation.
“A lot of nostalgia is one of the cool things, too. They see something and it brings them back to maybe something they haven’t thought of in 20 years, 30 years,” explained Jonathan.
While it’s a challenge to put their art into one category, something that remains the same across the board is the heart and soul that goes into each piece.
“We really just wanted to make it so that you could have something that you could look at when you came home and just have a sense of peace with that,” said Stephany.
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Gov. Phil Scott has chosen a replacement for the Democratic state representative who resigned and moved to Canada this summer out of fear for a second Trump administration.
On Oct. 17, Karen Lueders, an attorney and fellow Democrat from Lincoln, was appointed to fill the open Addison 4 seat, which Mari Cordes vacated in June to start a job in Nova Scotia after six years in the Legislature.
Cordes attributed her departure to fears that the Trump administration might cut Social Security, continued concerns about her safety as a queer woman in the U.S and a loss of work hours at her nursing job at the University of Vermont, according to VTDigger.
Before she moved to Canada, Cordes occasionally made the news for her activism, especially regarding medical and social issues. In 2018, she was arrested in Washington, DC, after joining hundreds of other women to protest U.S. immigration policies.
Lueders will represent the district’s four towns: Lincoln, Bristol, Starksboro and Monkton.
“Karen has strong ties to her community, which will bring a valuable perspective to Montpelier,” Scott said in an Oct. 17 press release. “With many years of public service, I believe she will be an effective legislator and represent her constituents well.”
Who is Karen Lueders?
Lueders has extensive nonprofit and volunteer experience, according to the press release from the governor. She is a board member for Addison Housing Works and serves on a Lincoln Selectboard-appointed committee tasked with studying and recommending improvements to local voting, including during Town Meeting Day.
Lueders previously sat on boards for Addison County Home Health and Hospice and Habitat for Humanity. Along with her law office, Lueders also ran Walkover Gallery and Concert Room in Bristol for 17 years until the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
Lueders’ son is Tim Lueders-Dumont, who serves as the executive director of the Vermont Department of State’s Attorneys and Sheriffs.
“I am grateful to the governor for the opportunity to represent Addison 4 in the Vermont House of Representatives,” said Lueders in the press release. “I look forward to working with my colleagues in the House to find solutions for the complex concerns that affect our communities across the state.”
Megan Stewart is a government accountability reporter for the Burlington Free Press. Contact her at mstewartyounger@gannett.com.
Great places to view fall foliage in Burlington, VT
It’s leaf-peeping season in Vermont. Here are six places to see the fall foliage in Burlington, the Green Mountain State’s largest city.
Vermont might not be a huge state but the amount of land the largest landholder owns might surprise you.
The World Population Review drew on 2025 data and found the biggest land owners in each state of the country.
“Approximately 60% of land in the United States is privately owned, and just a few individuals and families control a significant proportion of this land,” they said.
Here’s what the World Population Review said.
What is Weyerhaeuser
Owning 86,000 acres of forestland, Plum Creek Timber Company was the largest landowner in Vermont, but it merged with Weyerhaeuser in 2016, the Review said, technically making Weyerhaeuser the biggest landowner in Vermont.
Weyerhaeuser also owns land outside of Vermont.
The state website said that the Kingdom Heritage Lands that encompasses the West Mountain Wildlife Management Area as well as the public easement on private timber lands are currently owned by Weyerhaeuser.
“Essex Timber Company acquired 84,000 acres for working forestry, with easements protecting certain natural resources and guaranteeing perpetual public access,” the Vermont government website said. “This land was subsequently purchased by the Plum Creek Timber Company and again purchased by Weyerhaeuser.”
Today, the company manages land for wood production, conservation, and recreation. There are 20 miles of hiking trails as well as rock climbing opportunities.
According to investor.weyerhaeuser.com, Weyerhaeuser owns and manages 10.4 million acres of timberlands across the United States, making its overall market capitalization approximately $17.2 billion.
Weyerhaeuser also has had its fair share of controversy, facing repeated accusations of violating the Clean Water Act and dozens of charges for stormwater discharge violations in the state of Washington. They have continued to deny wrongdoing and have settled in the past to end legal proceedings.
In 2016, Weyerhaeuser faced legal controversy when the Vermont Supreme Court said that their loggers cut down more trees than they were allowed to cut. They would settle with the state for $375,000 in 2017.
“Our environmental stewardship in these northern forests is shaped by responsible forest management, the geography of our ownership and past land management practices,” Weyerhaeuser’s website said. “Our forest management plans address biodiversity in line with state and federal environmental laws, collaborative projects with a variety of stakeholders, and practices that support sustainable forestry.”
Rin Velasco is a trending reporter. She can be reached at rvelasco@gannett.com.
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