Lost Art Press

Kitsch & Class at Tamarack

Posted on by Lost Art Press

Whenever Megan Fitzpatrick and I pass through West Virginia, we make a stop at Tamarack Marketplace in West Virginia for gas and a look at the furniture and crafts.

Some years we are wowed by… how do I put this?…. what people will pay good money for. Other years there is a balance of beauty and future firewood. This year was one of those good years.

We saw a lot of epoxy tables. (I promise you that this form has a half-life and will not endure. In fact, we might be entering the Late Epoxy Period.) But we also saw some nice pieces of work. You might think I’m joking, but I almost bought a Crown Royal-themed quilt.

Below are some of the photos I took, along with some occasional snark. If you have ever wondered if Tamarack is worth a stop, the answer is yes.

— Christopher Schwarz

I am unapologetic about my dislike for this epoxy stuff. I am certain it will start showing up in landfills in short order. Because of the epoxy, you can’t really burn it when you get tired of it.
We saw a couple nice Maloof-ish rockers. Good craftsmanship. This one was $3,900 – I couldn’t make it for this price.
A couple displays had incredible wooden facsimiles of tools. These are all wood. They are amazing.
Ahh, the firewood section of Tamarack.
The quilt I wanted.
It’s rare that I like a piece such as this. But this one was done quite well.

34 thoughts on “Kitsch & Class at Tamarack”

  2. I’ve never been to West Virginia, but if I ever go, I’ll stop at Tamarack.

    If you’re going to show a book, for God’s sake let us see the title. What is the book on the table in the last photo?

  5. I like to think that epoxy tables someday will be future source of inexpensive wood that can be resawn out of the epoxy.

  6. My furnituremaking class did a unit on resin tables last year because the kids were interested. We found a pretty good video on youtube, where it showed the pretty low barrier to entry. The maker owned no tools and rented time at their local makerspace, had the resin given to them by the manufacturer in exchange for a review, had the legs made by a local welder…basically their only personal investment was having a large enough space for a table to sit in for a week while it cured. We looked up the maker’s website and saw the table sold for around 20k. The students were FURIOUS. “He make 20 grand without doing anything!”

  7. I will be so glad when the epoxy/live edge/charcuterie/cutting board fad is over. Although some live edge, if done tastefully, I do like.

  10. I look forward to the day when epoxy returns to its rightful place as an adhesive and not a preferred building material for YouTubers.

  11. Tamarack is also a regular stop every time we head north. I’ve been enjoying that guy’s wooden versions of tools for some years now. He once was selling a chainsaw that should have been in a museum. I also love some of the fiber arts. Some of the quilting can definitely cross over into art. I’m also impressed by some of the blown glass. We’ve also run into authors there signing books, which is almost always fun. And at Christmas time, an old-fashioned St. Nick, with his patchwork cloak, can sometimes be found wandering around, and has been known to hand out a teddy bear to little kids. And, to top it off, the food is catered by the old-fashioned, fancy-pants, Greenbriar resort. Overall, I like the idea of a site selling nothing but West Virginia creators. Recommend.

  12. Tamarack is close to where I live in WV. It is indeed a mix of very well made pieces and craft show junk, but, there is a big market for craft show junk pieces.it is “juried” but the level of craftsmanship demanded has went down and marketability is more desired.

  13. As a West Virginian, I appreciate the shout out for Tamarack. This state gets little attention, yet abounds in craftsmanship galore. Hope you enjoyed the visit. Next time you’re there, try the coconut cream pie at the Greenbriar-managed grill/restaurant. I wouldn’t steer you wrong!

  14. You have to drink a lot of crown royal to make that quilt. Those bags are pretty small!

  16. The rocker is a definite yes, the quilts are nice and the last table is very nicely done from what I can see in the photo.

  17. I loved seeing this about Tamarack. It is such a neat place. I stop in there every year as I drive from Virginia Beach to MASW. I always look at those tools replicated in wood. Just incredible! Looking forward to your stool class late next year at MASW.

  18. If you’re ever on I-81 near Abingdon, VA, there’s a similar facility just off Exit 14. It’s called Southwest Virginia Cultural Center and Marketplace.

  19. How bloody fascinating this is! I think you’re a bit hard on the charcuterie/cutting boards thing- that’s a nice bit of gear wrapped in plastic under those two brash looking examples. The guy who makes the wooden tools surely deserves his own book- what a talent! Poses a question though: ‘Who would want a wooden spray gun?’If you’d used one of these all your working life you wouldn’t want to be reminded of it, surely.

    1. If i remember the binks is like 5k. The number 3 is a grand. Very neat. I will say most of the stuff there Ive seen elsewhere for cheaper, however as a recent WV transplant I can say its a nice place to see some of whats available around here

  20. The first time you encounter a live edge epoxy fire stick chair with a charcuterie board as one of the arms…

  21. I’m skittish on the whole epoxy/live-edge/slab tables too. Some of the purveyors of these tables are getting fat stacks for them. I have seen some that were quite awful in their execution. Others were amazing. Still I wonder…

  24. My wife and I have been to Tamarack several times and it is always amazing. The artisan that makes the wooden tools had a full size Stihl chain saw made out of wood. Not very useful but still amazing.

  28. For my entire life tamarack has been a place to stop and eat while traversing the WV turnpike from Ohio to the southern Atlantic states. Never made it far from the fastfood and restroom amenities. Slept in the parking lot on occasion. I’ll have to look for the touristy woodwork and crafts next time.

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