Mary Miller--Generic Genius

Mary with some of the glass creations she sells at Cape Charles Beachglass & Stories

Some of us bloom earlier than others. Mary Miller--whose talents span fields as diverse as fashion, writing and community leadership--points to fishing lures as her childhood introduction to commerce.

"My brother made some flies, and I set up a marketing program to sell them," she said. Mary and her brother wrote to local fishermen, or called them, and sold every one.

 "I love retail. I love commerce. It made me a 5-year-old capitalist."

Mary insists that she learned everything she knows about business by playing store in kindergarten. The children created knickknacks out of buttons and whatever could be scraped together after WWII.

"I learned how to figure out what people wanted, how to get it, how to display it, how to restock and still make a profit," she said. "That's business."

Miller trained as a theater designer, took courses at seven different fashion and art schools in New York City, and even studied pre-law.

"You run a business, you ought to know contract law," she insisted.

Her designer wearables were marketed through the American Craft Council, the Smithsonian, and in arts venues from Maine to California. So how did she end up on the Eastern Shore of Virginia?

"There was an ad in the Wall Street Journal that said, 'Tired of the fast lane? Send for our free brochure.' The brochure was blurred and runny, but we found a house that we wanted. That was 30 years ago," she said.

Now, Mary and her husband David Handschur live in Eastville and run The Gallery at Eastville. For 10 years she has been organizing the Artisans Guild Open Studio Tour (which, by the way, is a blast). The first year, she expected 30 people to attend the tour, and got 300. Participation has grown steadily since then.

This year, as usual, the tour will start the day after Thanksgiving and run all weekend.  Twelve artisans will open their shops to the public, as well as Chatham Vineyards. Mary is already getting calls from customers, asking what kind of soup she is making.

It's always good.