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07/13/2016 08:30 AMFridays are special: There’s the heartfelt TGIF at the end of the work week, Black Friday for the day after Thanksgiving, and casual Friday, at the office, the day when everything in your closet seems either a little too dressy or a little too scrappy. Add now First Friday in Chester, a new celebration sponsored by the Chester Merchants Association to have downtown stores and galleries stay open until 8 o’clock on the first Friday of each month.
“It’s a time to create real excitement, to visit shops, visit galleries, see new things and new collections; going all around, not just to one store,” says Kate Hair, the gallery manager of Dina Varano, the jewelry store on Chester Main Street that sells Varano’s original designs.
Kate, who has worked at the shop for three years, joined the Merchants Association when Varano asked her if she was interested in going to the monthly meetings.
“I’m really happy to be a member of this group. It helps the merchants as individuals and it helps the whole town. I am definitely going to keep being involved,” Kate says.
The weather didn’t cooperate on the kickoff First Friday in July. It was raining and there was even a tornado warning. Still, according to Kate, the strong local customer base turned out for the occasion. The evening marked the grand opening of the French Hen, which had moved from Essex to the center of Chester, as well as the expanded premises of Lark on Water Street. Suzie Woodward, the proprietor of Lark, is currently the president of the merchants association.
Monica Vandehei, who works at Elle Design, suggested adding First Friday to the roster of local events that include the Chester Fair, the annual four on the Fourth Road Race, and September’s Come Home to Chester Days.
Kate, 41, grew up in Essex and now lives in Chester, but she left the area after graduating from Valley Regional High School to see more of the United States.
“I wanted tangible experience,” she explains.
Next, she enrolled at the Maine College of Art, but left before graduating because she was not sure that her concentration in fine arts was the area she was really interested her.
Her next move was an abrupt departure: She earned a bachelor’s degree in plant science from Rutgers University in New Jersey. After working as a researcher at a horticultural laboratory, she realized she missed art. She went back to the Fashion Institute of Technology in Manhattan, this time with a concentration on graphics and textile design.
“Living in Manhattan, it was an experience,” she reflects.
Still, after working in the field of textile design, she came back to Connecticut.
“Chester is a little town, but there is so much going on here, and it’s such a beautiful spot,” she says.
Now Kate is trying to combine her love of plants and her training in art and design, doing small botanical watercolors that she hopes use as textile designs—and she is gardening with passion.
“I love gardening; It was another reason to move back here,” she says.
She grows both flowers and vegetables, and uses her homegrown produce in another pastime she loves, cooking.
Kate would like to use her particular blend of talents to bridge the distance between art and science.
“People think art and science are separated, but I think they are related. My art is inspired by plants,” she says. “I’d like to use art as a vehicle for change and for creating awareness of the natural world.”
Growing up, Kate recalls walking by the jewelry displays in Dina Varano’s shop window.
“I fell in love with them. They are so special,” she says.
She prefers working with customers in a store rather than sitting at a desk as she did in her New York job in textile design.
“When I was young, I was shy, but now I really like talking to customers, and relating to them,” she says.
While talking with a visitor, Kate keeps an eye on browsers in the store. She says she can usually tell if people are just looking or interested in buying. And sometimes browsers come back to buy, she points out. “Thanks for visiting,” she calls as one group leaves the store.
Kate’s real name, which she says no one uses, is Kathryn. And she says that her surname Hair, has produced a bit of teasing, particularly when she was in elementary school. She recalls a teacher who asked her name and she replied, “Kate Hair.” The teacher repeated the question louder. She thought Kate was saying can’t hear.
At this point, first Fridays are scheduled to continue until the end of the year. And Woodward, of the Merchants Association, has some other good news for those who love Chester events: After a year off because of the reconstruction of the bridge on Main Street, Winter Carnivale, complete with ice carving, will be back in early 2017.
First Friday in Chester
First Friday in Chester will feature downtown shops and galleries open until 8 p.m. on the following Fridays: Aug. 5, Sept. 2, Oct. 7, Nov. 4, and Dec. 2.