OXFORD – Despite the closing of Robinson woolen mill, its Oxford Mill End Store is alive and well, and hosting a gathering of artisans and crafters Saturday.

“It’s a way to get over the January blahs,” said store employee Beth Derenburger. “We’ve invited local artisans and crafters to come and display their wares, and provide demonstrations.” It is free.

The Creative Endeavors event to promote creativity and inspiration will be held from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the mill building at 283 King St., directly behind the store. There will be finished items and demonstrations of quilting, rug braiding, basket weaving, paper piecing (a form of quilting), penny rugs, applique’, spinning, jewelry artists, card making, scrap-booking and more. There will be some finished items for sale, and people may sign up for classes at a later date.

Not only will the exhibit give exposure to the local artisans, it will serve as a reminder that the fabric store is still open, and still offering cloth made in the woolen mill, Derenburger said.

Robinson Manufacturing was the last surviving woolen textile mill in Maine when it announced it was closing in July 2003.

Cathy Corbett, mill vice president, sees the event as a way to bring crafters together, to share ideas and learn from one another.

The Knitters Guild of South Paris is coming, as is the Pine Needle Quilters, she said. “We can share with each other what we do on a cold winter evening,” she said.

The women say they want the community to know that the mill store offers classes in rug-hooking, and that they want to offer other classes as well.

Derenburger and Corbett said plans are in the making to eventually move the mill end store into larger quarters inside one of the mill buildings. They would be part of other stores inside the mill under a redevelopment plan now being considered by the Robinson family in coordination with town officials and community residents.

For more information on Creative Endeavors, phone 539-4451 or 539-4481.