VFP is proud to announce that we will be at the Samadhi Christmas Bazaar again this year.  This event is a lovely small venue, with a host of super talented local artisans. Everything is hand created by the artists. It’s a great venue to support your local artisans!

This year VFP will have fun ceramic things (heavy on the cats, as dictated by the Chief Feline Officer, of course), but will also be unveiling new creations at this event.

Samadhi is located at:

Samadhi Healing Arts Center

423 West Walnut Street

Johnson City, TN 37604 (

423) 926-2020

Their website is: https://samadhihealingartscenter.com/

Fergie here, standing in for our CFO (Chief Feline Officer). At the moment, that post is vacant, although we are very close to being able to make an announcement celebrating our newest blog author.

We have just found out that VFP-McFergies will be at the Festival Bazaar at the Colonial Hills Independent Living Center on the 18th of October, 2019 from 10:00 AM to 2:00 PM. Come out and say hello and check out the whimsical holiday decor that we create. We will have Halloween and Christmas decor, along with some fun tokens, handmade ceramic buttons, and candle-scene decorations. We are proud to say that the Halloween decor will include the World Famous Fergies Fun Fiendish Friends – hand crafted pumpkin candle holders which change their look between the darkness and the light.

Looking forward to meeting everyone!

There is a small place in Johnson City called Samadhi. This is a lovely place with a nice vibe to it. In December 2018, VFP was fortunate enough to be able to take part in their intimate Street Bazaar (not in the street, thankfully. The mountains do get cold, and weather was coming in). Here are some pictures from our table.

There is a special place in the heart of VFP-McFergies for the Amityville Apple Fest on Long Island, New York. Last year, 2018, marked the return of VFP-McFergies to the world of the occasional artistic venue after a European Sabbatical. Of course, the Silence Breaker was at the Apple Fest. Here are some pictures of our booth. We had a great time and enjoyed meeting up with old friends and making new ones!

As some of the VFP fans may be aware, Fergie has been working on fulfilling some of her life goals and passions. She loves science, and has been a process improvement evangelist for decades. Her great love is living well and healthily, and her focus is on growing food locally — for oneself, one’s family, as a community. As a scientist with experience in disease pathology, she is working in plant pathology, specifically tomato pathology. Combining these two loves, she and her non-profit organization The Great Tomato Woman focus on basic and social research in food sovereignty and justice by demonstrating systems of small scale agriculture/horticulture that are accessible to all.

So, VFP will be winding down in the next six months as plans to engage in full time research with a group dedicated to sustainable organic agriculture come to fruition. HOWEVER!!! Fergie and her soaps, scrubs, beeswax ointments, and baFizzies will be at the Cornell East Meadow Teaching Farm on Thursday the 16th of May and on Friday the 17th of May. Come out, see what some of the tomato research is all about, and trade some cash for the most amazing pampering products out there!

Hope to see you there!

Yes, I’m talking to you.

Winkie’s Easter Outfit

This is a picture of Winkie (aka Annette, but she has is always winking at me, or Fergie, or anyone, so we call her Winkie). Fergie decided to make matching outfits for Winkie and Blondie (picture below). I love it when she decides to make outfits for the dollies, or when she decides to work on her UFO Textile Creations, because it means she is trapped. Trapped on the couch, or the futon, and I can sit right next to her (as you see in the picture above) and purr loudly (as I am doing in the picture above, even though you can’t hear me unless you have Very Good Ears Indeed). Once she gets comfortable, I may even sneak on over to her, push everything to the side and sit in her lap. One thing i don’t do is play with the yarn. That just doesn’t work out well for either of us. In general, though, it is good for all when Fergie is crocheting.

What’s not so great for me, the CFO, is when she is making soap. Or lotions. Or liniments. Or canning confections. Because those things mean bleach and hot water and sterilized surfaces and containers, and do not allow for kitty cuddling. And as we all know, kitty cuddling is the number one priority for all kitty staff.

Which brings us to the point of this here post. Took me a while to get to it, didn’t I? Well, Cat’s prerogative. The point, was, right, oh! Yes. Sabbatical. Fergie is taking a bit of a VFP Web Sabbatical. She’ll be doing some intensive language studying and so there will be no etsy shop sales, or any market sales, or any making of things, for most of May and June. When she comes out of the hidden intensive language program, she will be yapping at me in yet another language which means nothing to me, but it entertains her. She may have all sorts of neat new names and inspirations for dolls and soaps and pamper products and tea pots! We’ll see.

She may just be exhausted. Which works out for kitty cuddling, so it’s fine with me.

An announcement by Panda, the current CFO of VFP-McFergies. As a hippie sort of artistic place, VFP is always looking for ways to create new products that are just good for people. Our Kitchen Alchemy products are made without addition of colors or additives outside of the natural. We like to use natural textiles in our McFergies Doll Collections as much as possible. And our internationally loved Bathe Alchemy products are made without preservatives such as parabens but do include various materials that are grown up in gardens and farms!

VFP is excited to be supporting The Great Tomato Woman in the Great Tomato Venture. This organization is devoted to tomatoes — eating them, growing them, helping other people grow them, and on a scientific level, understanding the interactions between tomatoes and their pathogens, their growing conditions, their cultivars, and oh, so much more.

To learn more about The Great Tomato Woman and the Ventures (or Adventures, as these things oftentimes turn out), check out their blog The Great Nightshade Story (AKA Solanum Singalong).

As for how VFP is supporting them, we are developing an entire line of tomato soaps. All net proceeds from the sale of these soaps will go towards supporting the work that is done at TGTW. We will be at the Cornell East Meadow Farm selling our marvelous products on May 16th and 17th, 2013, so come out and see the gardens, buy some plants, and pamper yourself.