The Ridgefield Guild of Artists has turned its Halpin Lane gallery into a holiday marketplace again, its annual handmade gift sale for this corner of Fairfield County. Festive Home 2026 opened to shoppers on Saturday, November 14, and runs through Sunday, December 13, with handmade gifts from more than 50 artisans, member artwork on every wall, and rooms dressed by four Ridgefield interior design firms.

Admission on regular shopping days is free. The season opened the night before with a ticketed preview party that raises money for the Guild, which has served the town's artists since 1974.

What is for sale

The Guild describes the stock as hand-crafted holiday and gift items: ornaments, cards, knitwear, candles, pottery and one-of-a-kind pieces, alongside selected holiday decor. Paintings and other work by Guild members hang throughout the gallery, so a visitor can leave with a stocking stuffer or a framed original.

One table works a little differently. Guild members paint and donate small 10-by-10-inch canvases each year on a shared theme, and every one is available for a $50 donation that goes to the Guild. This year's theme for the small canvases is In the Barn.

Four designers, four rooms

The gallery's usual white walls are replaced for the season by a theme the Guild calls Colors of the Season: metallics, bright colors and the traditional reds and greens. Each gallery space is anchored by a vignette built by a local designer around the work of one member artist. The 2026 designers are all based in Ridgefield:

  • Jill Rae Designs, a full-service interior design firm led by Jill Rae, which also runs a studio and shop downtown.
  • Molly Hirsch Interiors, the studio of designer Molly Hirsch.
  • Rachel Gedymin Design, the studio of designer Rachel Gedymin.
  • The Tweaked Home, founded by Nicole Fortson and Sarah Sullivan.

The designers contribute their time to the show, according to the Guild, and each vignette is built to show a member's artwork in a furnished setting.

Hours, and the Thanksgiving break

Festive Home keeps longer hours than the Guild's usual exhibition schedule:

  • Tuesday through Friday, noon to 5 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.
  • Closed Mondays.

The gallery closes for Thanksgiving week from Monday, November 23, through Thursday, November 26. It reopens Friday, November 27, and is open through that weekend from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. The final shopping day is Sunday, December 13.

About the Guild

The Ridgefield Guild of Artists is a community visual arts organization that runs exhibitions, classes for adults and children, and a lecture and workshop series it calls ARTalks. Festive Home is one of its fundraisers, and the preview party and the small-canvas donations both support its programs during the rest of the year.

Getting there

The Guild is at 34 Halpin Lane in Ridgefield. Ridgefield sits along Route 35 and Route 7, and the nearest Metro-North station is Branchville, on the Danbury Branch. For questions, the Guild's front desk is at 203-438-8863 or frontdesk@ridgefieldguild.org, and the full list of participating artists and artisans is on the Guild's website.

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