Jewelry maker shines at Celebrate Middlebury

#MIDDLEBURY

Lois Ercoli hand crafts a Costa Rican dragonfly beaded necklace during Celebrate Middlebury. (Marissa Matozzo photo)

By MARISSA MATOZZO

Middlebury Parks and Recreation Director Betty Proulx’s newest project, Celebrate Middlebury, got off to a great start Saturday, July 16. Vendors offering a huge variety of crafts and foods were set up on the playing field at Shepardson Community Center. More craftspeople were inside the building, and folks in the lower parking lot were selling tag sale items from vehicle tailgates.

Lois Ercoli, a long-time Middlebury resident, was among those exhibiting her handiwork – handmade and custom-designed jewelry with a touch of Costa Rica. A dragonfly necklace was among her many unique designs.

She said she learned to make jewelry when visiting her daughter in Costa Rica. “My daughter was an exchange student, and we became friends with the family she stayed with,” Ercoli said.

When the family encouraged her to make her own jewelry, Ercoli took classes at a Costa Rican church. She has been making the traditional jewelry ever since. As one of the only people who spoke English in the Costa Rican community, Ercoli learned the craft through bits and pieces of communicating through the Spanish language.

In addition to Proulx, event organizers said volunteer Janice Zwicker was a major contributor to the success of this event. She’s the one who recruited the many vendors and crafts people who were there.