The center of downtown Bennington is "Four Corners", where Route 9, running east from New York through Vermont and on into New Hampshire, meets Route 7, which runs north from Connecticut and Massachusetts up through Vermont. This is Bennington's commercial heart and the center of one-off specialty shops that visitors will enjoy visiting.
One shop that gets missed more often than not is Katie Cleaver's tiny (and I mean tiny) outlet on Route 7 heading west toward New York. Located close to Four Corners, and next to the Left Bank gift gallery, this is The Women Of Bennington's best kept secret. I would challenge anyone to find a woman in the area who hasn't purchased one of Katie's finely crafted silver and/or gold creations for herself, or as a gift for others.
The shop is so small, it is easy to walk by it without really noticing it. Katie doesn't make it any easier by opening her shop only three days a week, from Thursday through Saturday. The rest of the week is spent working on her stock, which by closing Saturday is pretty much depleted. Those in the know realise that you have to get to her shop on Thursday morning for the best selection.
Katie's creative gift is enough reason for anyone to stop by her shop, but there are others. I have brought friends from New York and California who have literally gone slack-jawed at the quality of Katie's work, particularly in light of the prices that she charges for it. I have told Katie that she could increase her prices 50-100 percent and still sell her entire stock, but she will not.
That is yet another reason to stop by. Katie is one of the most charming individuals you will ever meet, a genuinely nice person who could not bear to increase her prices for her loyal clients who have become her friends. The fact of the matter is that Katie probably doesn't need your business. In selling everything she makes, she is happy doing what she is doing, on her own time and in her own fashion. Still, that doesn't mean that you shouldn't stop in to meet one of a dying breed of individualists in New England. You'll love chatting with her, and even if there is only one piece of jewelry left in her display case, chances are that you will probably walk off with it.