Feedback Wanted!

Behind the scenes at PHW, we are considering some tweaks to the Bough and Dough Shop for 2021. While we can’t peer into the crystal ball and see what our day to day life will be like by November, our highest priority with holding a gathering of any sort is safety for artists, visitors, and volunteer workers. If you enjoy shopping at the Hexagon House in the holiday season, we’d like your thoughts on how we should proceed this year. Please follow the link or answer the survey below to help us plan for the dates, format, artist/product selection, and shop layout for the 2021 Bough and Dough Shop. Make sure you give your answers to us by noon on February 8 so we can share the information at our next board meeting.

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Friday Photos Come to Facebook

Longtime readers may know of PHW’s efforts to scan our physical photographic and slide collections, documented in our Friday Photos tag. For the most part, all the physical media that has been found stashed at the office has been added to our Flickr account, but because most images were uploaded in large batches the image descriptions are often basic. This can make finding the appropriate image for research requests a bit more obtuse for someone not familiar with the collection.

As part of our “clean up the office” efforts in January, we have been randomly selecting a photo a day and giving the descriptions a more thorough look, making sure the image is in the appropriate albums, and sharing the item on our social media. We hope this will add more depth and background to our collections and increase their usefulness and interest to those exploring Winchester. We hope you enjoy revisiting these images along with us and learning a bit more along the way (and it will be quite a journey, as we have over 10,000 images)!

To hold you over this weekend between new image posts on Facebook, you may also want to review the Lunch and Learn Lecture “How to Finance Historic Preservation” by Bill Buettin on our YouTube page. Happy watching!

Welcome to 2021

PHW is slowly returning to normal services following our Bough and Dough Shop. We are still operating on an appointment system for visitors to the office. Call ahead or email phwinc.org@gmail.com to schedule your visit. Most questions can be answered via email, so we recommend utilizing that method of contact.

A limited quantity of PHW-produced items that were available at the Bough and Dough Shop like our books and decorative items with local historic buildings can still be ordered through our online store. If you want to save money on shipping and take advantage of curbside pickup at the Hexagon House, use the promo code “Curbside” at checkout. Pickup is available Monday-Friday.

In the meantime, enjoy this blast from the past from our lecture series, How to Utilize State and Federal Historic Tax Credits by John Willingham.

Merry Christmas!

Thank you all for following and supporting PHW this year. If you were not able to visit the Bough and Dough Shop in person, a few photos of the artist setups are available on our Flickr page. The office will reopen January 4 by appointment as we get back to our regularly scheduled activities of promoting and preserving the architecture of Winchester and Frederick County. We wish you a healthy and happy holiday season. See you in 2021!

Bough and Dough Shop Procedure Updates

Effectively immediately, the Bough and Dough Shop will be implementing the following procedures to comply with the updated restrictions for limiting the spread of COVID-19:

Shopping is now appointment only. Please make your appointment in advance (no walk ins) on Facebook, or by leaving a message at phwinc.org@gmail.com or 540-667-3577.

Guest size is now limited to 6 per appointment slot (down from 10).

Shopping time remains a half hour for an appointment.

Masks are required for all shoppers at all times. There are no public restrooms or free samples.

If you have special requests for loose greenery, you may continue to use the preorder form available on our website.

If you know what items you are looking for, we will put items directly online for you to purchase from our online store so you can buy and use curbside pickup to reduce contact. We may be able to do limited phone or email ordering the same way. We ask no credit card orders over the phone or email, thank you!

Please continue to follow our social media for further updates and item showcases as we finish our 2020 Bough and Dough Shop. Thank you for your patience and helping us keep the Hexagon House a safe place to shop this holiday season!

The Bough and Dough Shop Updates

Thank you to everyone who has come out to visit the Shop so far this year. There is still plenty of time left to visit before December 23, but after our opening weekend we have a better understanding of how operations are flowing. Here are a few more points to keep in mind:

We will be staggering larger groups of four or more into two people at a time. This will help with the congestion inside of the house to help everyone maintain social distance.

We are extremely pleased with the appointment system. If you have limited time to shop, please visit our Facebook page or leave a message by phone or email at least half a day in advance so we can confirm your time slot.

Walk ins are still accepted, but visitors with a reservation will be given priority for their half hour time slot.

While we know it is difficult to resist, please try to handle items as little as possible. If you would like to touch items, hand sanitizer is located in the kitchen at the entrance, in the dining room near the wood, and in the living room by the pottery.

Loose greenery has not been stocked and several of our suppliers are not able to provide items this year. When loose greens arrive, we will post on our social media accounts. If you have a known item of greenery you are looking for, you may send a request and we will try to fulfill it.

As a reminder, the Shop will be closed every day between 2:00 and 2:30 PM for cleaning and a small lunch break for our workers and volunteers. We are letting the last group of shoppers in at 1:45 PM so you can finish your walk through the shop. Likewise, we are closing the door at 4:45 PM each day to help us finish up by 5 PM.

In the event of inclement weather, please watch our social media for delays or closing information.

Thank you for your understanding of these procedures so we can keep the shop open and safe for you and us!

Countdown to the Shop

It is one week until the Bough and Dough Shop opens at the Hexagon House! If you’ve been following our Instagram, you might have gotten glimpses of the fun goodies as the artists have been setting up over the past few weeks. If you don’t have an Instagram, here’s a video preview just for you!

As a reminder to help keep everyone safe, we are limited to ten shoppers inside the building at a time, and hard limited to 25 people on the grounds. We strongly recommend setting up an appointment for a shopping block on Facebook if you have limited availability. We also encourage you to order online through our store and preorder perishable goods whenever possible to reduce congestion. Remember to enter promo code “Curbside” during checkout from our online store for free pickup at the Hexagon House during normal shop hours!

The Shop will be a little different this year, but we want everyone to be safe while you enjoy this holiday tradition. Please remember to be courteous and patient with our volunteers and staff as we find our new rhythm and adapt to any upcoming changes.

Bough and Dough Shop Is Two Weeks Away!

One of the items we have for sale online is this scarf by Brenda Fairweather. See the item description in our online store!

Time is flying as we move through November! In just two weeks, PHW will be opening our holiday pop-up boutique at the Hexagon House, 530 Amherst Street.

If you haven’t explored our Instagram yet, make sure you do! We are posting photos and short videos as the goods trickle into the physical store. Larger and more delicate items like furniture and fine art will be highlighted in our stories and videos.

We are also adding select items to our online storefront. Not all our artists or goods can be featured here, but easily-shipped items continue to be added as they come in.

If you see an item on our social media updates you are interested in purchasing for curbside pickup and it is not yet listed, drop us a message and we can arrange your item sale. Don’t forget you can also work out a preorder wishlist for greenery and sweet treats – we will be happy to send you a complete invoice so you can pay online with credit card!

We also strongly encourage you to set up a shopping appointment on Facebook if you have a limited day and time you are available to shop. We anticipate there may be lines to enter the store due to our lowered guest capacity. If you reserve a shopping time, you will be allowed to “skip the line” during your half hour shopping appointment.

Holiday House Tour Championship Winner

Thank you to everyone who voted in our final round and through our sixteen week bracket. The people have chosen the all time favorite Holiday House Tour: Potato Hill Promenade!

While we know the voting bracket is not a replacement for touring homes decorated for the holidays, we hope the Holiday House Tour Championship provided a wonderful trip down memory lane. Now you can revisit the descriptions of the homes and buildings at any point, as the descriptions we digitized and edited from our old tours will always have a home on PHW’s blog.

If you haven’t used the feature yet, you can visit the blog directly and use the search function to look up addresses or common house names to see what information we may have posted about the building in the past. You may also want to revisit PHW’s newsletter collection, which is so far digitized and available from the present day back to 2005. If you have a request for a building to be featured on the blog in the future, drop us a note. We are collecting ideas for posts in 2021 now!

Holiday House Tour Championship: Final Round!

Potato Hill Promenade once again swept the voting in last week’s semifinal. Thank you for your votes! Here is the final update to the voting bracket:

Now it’s down to the two powerhouses of this championship. Potato Hill Promenade faces stiff competition with the equally beloved Amble Along Amherst. Which tour will take the championship crown? We know you and the rest of the world is tired of voting, but your choice this week will decide the ultimate victor of the Holiday House Tour Championship. The choice rests with you! Refresh your memory of the tours at the links above, and then cast your vote when you are ready.

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