"How It’s Made" at Acton Woods Plaza

The local merchants at Acton Woods Plaza are presenting a FREE afternoon of “How It’s Made” on Saturday September 28, especially for families in the local area. The participating merchants will each have an educational and fun presentation of how some of their products are made. Presentations will include:

• Kitchen Outfitters will host R. Murphy Knives of neighboring Ayer to show how a knife is made. See examples of the various steps it takes to turn strips of steel, chunks of wood, brass rivets and steel ferrules into a gorgeous butcher knife and an award-winning oyster knife.
• First Rugs will be restoring an area of a rug which will demonstrate how the rug was made…they might even be hand spinning some wool that we’ve sheered from a sheep.
• The Happy Chocolatier will be making a variety of confections and sampling a selection of chocolate products.
• Precision Vision will demonstrate how lenses for eye glasses are ground and invite visitors to participate.
• Quilter’s Way will be sharing both traditional and modern quilting techniques. They will feature their computerized, industrial-sized, quilting machine and demonstrate handwork techniques that have been around for hundreds of years.
• Jo Karen, in conjunction with a nationally known brand’s representative, will be presenting the design and manufacturing of different bras and how they are made to fit different sizes, shapes and specialty dresses. Learn the difference from one style to another; knowledge is power- get empowered.
• CambridgeWear staff members will demonstrate several ways to arrange the important fashion accessory of scarves. Various scarf types will be used.
• The Woolpack will be hosting storyteller and spinner Nancy Bell, who has been delighting audiences all over New England at libraries, schools, museums, and festivals with her fun, hands-on, historical “edutainment” for over 20 years. She will be spinning yarn and her special blend of magic and demonstrate three kinds of spinning from the great wheel to the drop spindle. Come spin your very own bookmark while you learn how to take raw wool “From Sheep to Shawl” or “Sunshine to Socks” and learn a bit about the ancient craft of Spinning.
• Boston Bijoux have a demonstration of replacing and sizing watch bands and replacing watch batteries. Additionally, they will have a raffle going that day to win a woman’s Geneva watch. The winner will be announced on Boston Bijoux’s Facebook page.
• Acton Coffee House will have a video display showing the process by which coffee is transformed from seeds to the cup of coffee you enjoy at our café. This will also be an opportunity to ask the baristas what you’ve always wanted to know about the art of making espresso drinks or pour over coffee.
• Enterprise Bank will be featuring a “Shred On-Site” event from 9:00 AM to 12:00 PM prior to the “How It’s Made” event. Free personal and business paper shredding services will be provided for customers and non-customers. No restrictions on the number of boxes of shred and no appointment necessary.