The Mill at Shady Lea

06/04/2026

06/04/2026

Come wish Richard a happy retirement!! He will be missed by us 💕

06/03/2026

06/02/2026

Join us for a very special open studios! Join us for demos and tours June 6-7th from 10-4 pm

June 6th :
10:30 am: History Tour with John Trainor 1st Tower
11:30 am Art Collecting Demo with Steve Farelly at Dye House in the back!
1:00 pm Demo with Diane Harrison Ice Dye Studio 111
2:00 History Tour with John Trainor 1st Tower
2:30 Kelly at Rarities of Books Studio 201

June 7th:
10:30 am: History Tour with John Trainor 1st Tower
11:30 am Demo with Tom Stewart Studio 209: Beach Stone Painting
12:00 History Presentation on White House Lawn
1:00 pm Demo with Elizabeth Lind- L-1 Carving in Stone
2:00 History Tour with John Trainor 1st Tower

06/01/2026

For June6&7 Open Studios event, we are asking for donations for our local furry friends 🐈‍⬛💕🐶. Please consider donating!

06/01/2026

Most beautiful work! Be sure to visit Petri in Studio 114 at our Open Studios this coming weekend.

Ooh-la-la 💗 Come see this and more of Petri's work at this coming Open Studio at The Mill at Shady Lea. There will be artist demonstrations and a wide variety of artisan works for sale.

05/31/2026

What Does a Building Remember?

Come find out — with one of Rhode Island's most passionate architectural historians.
The photograph above was taken when the Shady Lea Mill was still alive with industry. Steam rose from its chimney. The Mattatuxet River held its reflection. Inside, workers wove the fabric that clothed a nation.

What began in the late 1820s as the Springdale Factory — built by Esbon Sanford to manufacture Kentucky Jean, a rough precursor to dungaree fabric — became, by 1871, the crown jewel of the Rodman family's textile empire. . After Rodman Manufacturing closed in 1952, the mill passed to Ambrose Reisert, who ran his metal staple company, King Fastener, out of the old building for the next three decades.

Then came the transformation. Reisert divided the mill into loft-style spaces and opened them to artists, artisans, and craftspeople. Today his daughter, Lynn Krim, carries on that mission — presiding over the vibrant artist colony we now know as The Mill at Shady Lea. With more than 25 studios inside its walls, the 200-year-old mill has become one of Rhode Island's most beloved hidden gems.

Tour the Mill at Shady Lea with John Trainor
John Trainor has been studying architecture since he was 12 years old — not in classrooms, but in the field, in the details, in the questions buildings refuse to stop asking. Mostly self-taught and entirely obsessed, he brings the eye of a scholar and the instincts of a storyteller.
On this tour, John will take you through the historic Shady Lea Mill complex — an 18-acre National Register of Historic Places district that stands as one of the best-preserved rural mill complexes in New England. You'll see the bones of the original structure, learn what the architectural choices reveal about who owned it and who labored in it, and hear the stories that don't appear on any plaque.

What the building knows, John knows. And he's ready to share it.

📍 215 Shady Lea Road, North Kingstown, RI 🗓️ June 6 & 7

05/28/2026

Join us to explore our community of Artist & Artisans including painters, jewelers, potters, sculptors, photographers and more! We will be giving demos and tours and having all kinds of fun!

📌Please join us June 6-7th for a day of creativity, inspiration and FUN!

10-4 pm

215 Shady Lea Road
North Kingston RI