Doers and Dreamers – Sara and Michael Beames

Say ‘Hello’ to Sara and Michael this week who are a couple of midtown artists/entrepreneurs doing business at The Shirt Factory.  I always find it encouraging to meet people who are no strangers to traveling and living abroad, that settle in the Hudson Valley and love being here. Many of these modern day settlers, like Sara and Michael, bring a diverse background to our community which ensures everyone’s vitality.

Your name:   Sara & Michael Beames

Business or organization:  Beames Designs!

Occupation:  Design and produce fused glass giftware

What is your approach to your business or occupation that makes you unique?
Years ago we fell into a niche market of making Jewish Ritual Objects.  Sara designs and makes every single piece in the line; Michael sandblasts, packs, ships and does all the business administration.  As small producers we are design driven and can maintain a high level of quality.  More importantly, we love what we do.

Where are you from originally?
Sara was born in Bayside, Queens.  Michael was born and raised in Adelaide, South Australia.

What brought you to the Kingston area and keeps you in this area?
Sara went to school at SUNY New Paltz and fell in love with the area.  We lived for many years in San Francisco, but wanted to come back to the East Coast to be near family.  The Hudson Valley was our first and only choice.

What is your favorite hangout in this area and why?
The Rondout.  Michael rows with the Rondout Rowing Club and we love to walk along the waterfront.

When you’re not in Kingston, what’s your idea of a wonderful city to visit, and why?
New York, Paris, Sydney – it is too hard to choose one.  Endless walking, great architecture and of course the food.

Tell us something that we never would have guessed about you.
That we met during the Blizzard of 1977 in Buffalo.  Then were apart for 2-1/2 years during which time we wrote letters to each other.   Michael came back to America to check Sara out and just never left.