Michelle Cussick-Kelsoe is thrilled to be back at the Dutchess County Fair, selling homemade soaps, oils and other bath products.

It’s a great feeling to be out here and seeing all our old customers again," she said.

More than 10 years ago, Cussick-Kelsoe started Periwinkles at Rhinebeck with her mom, out of a passion for aromatic bath and body products. The store has grown ever since, but she's never strayed from her desire to locally source her products and sell other local soaps and oils in her store.

“Ninety percent of our store is made in the USA, and a significant portion of that is also local-made products, so New York state for instance, we try to keep it as local as possible," Kelsoe-Cussick said.

It doesn’t get any more local than the Dutchess County Fair. After the pandemic forced its cancellation last year, it's back with all the rides, food and local vendors it left with. Those who run local vendors like Periwinkles really missed the fair last year.

“The fair is one of our biggest events of the year, and some of my customers only come to see me here at the fair," Cussick-Kelsoe said. "So, we may have the retail shop in town, but this is the event that they come every year to see us at.”

Cussick-Kelsoe says it’s good to be back, selling local goods to familiar faces and new ones. In her business, she says, an event like the fair makes all the difference.

“I can’t emphasize enough how important it is, as the business owner and the person who makes all of these products, to be the one that’s face to face with your customer," she said. "They really look to that, and it makes a huge impact.”