Josh Kilmer-Purcell's Blog, page 17
September 8, 2017
B. SOCIAL | BEST OF THE WEEK
We had an incredibly exciting and busy week with the launch of HAPPY PLACE Natural Cleaning Line and the new cookbook “A Seat at the Table”. If you want to see these posts as they’re happening, make sure to follow along on Facebook and Instagram!
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September 6, 2017
MEET THE MAKERS | CACKIE TRIPPE MCCARTY
Meet Cackie Trippe McCarty who will be part of the Harvest Festival Artisan Colony at the Beekman Farm this coming weekend.
Where are you based out of?
Richmond, Virginia! I live in an historic neighborhood in the Northside and my workshop, a little building with its own interesting history, is in my garden.
What is the item(s) you make for Beekman 1802
You only see my work at B1802 when it’s Holiday time! I make one-of-a-kind wreaths from vintage/antique Christmas ornaments and decorations.
How did you get started?
I’ve had a longtime love of old Christmas things. I admire the craftsmanship and creativity that went into making them. But, as a child of the 1950s, I especially love the wonderful memories these pieces evoke. One day I saw a magazine article about how to make an ornament wreath so I made one for myself using mostly broken ornaments that I loved too much to throw away. It turned out so well that I decided to start making them to sell as an adjunct to my other artwork.
Is this your full-time focus?
It’s pretty much a full-time gig with breaks here and there to regroup and refocus (and hunt for new treasures!). This year, I basically played hooky until mid-summer to devote some much-needed time to my house.
What is something special/unique about your process?
Every piece I make is unique; there will never be another one like it. This is not only because of the materials themselves (as in what I have in my inventory) but I would be bored to tears if I had to reproduce previous designs. I try to begin each wreath (or centerpiece) with something very special as a focal point. I’m driven by color, scale, and texture. I love the mental stimulation of design.
How long is the process of making the product/piece?
It usually takes parts of 3 days to make a wreath from start to finish. As I mentioned earlier, there is a good bit of mental work involved and I work until I lose my mojo. I’m afraid that I’m a bit dogged in my approach – there are times when I search through my ridiculously large collection for 45 minutes to find just the right piece to go in a particular spot. First, I get the “background” done and then it’s on to the placing of the larger pieces. The final bits often take as long as the first 2 steps put together; for me, the finishing touches are what will make or break a piece. Success is all in the details.
What did you want to be when you were little?
I was born in the early 1950s, immensely different times from today. When I was around 5 or 6, I had a terrific nurse’s costume. It had the little white cap and navy cloak that the nurses of the time wore and came with a doctor bag complete with stethoscope and tongue depressors. Everyone, even my poor cat, was subjected to “examinations.” I was certain I wanted to grow up to be a nurse like Florence Nightingale, or better yet, a doctor. That only lasted a short time, mercifully, until I decided I wanted to be a fashion designer instead.
If you weren’t doing what you currently are, what would you be doing?
This summer saw my 65th birthday so I am not interested a new career path but I hope to always have art and design in my life. If you gave me a nickel right now, I would be plunked down in a beach chair in October on the Outer Banks of North Carolina with my feet in the sand, my nose in a book, and an eye on the waves, dolphins, and birds. Sheer heaven.
Meet the Makers | Jasmine Crowe
Round two of MEET THE MAKERS who are part of the Harvest Festival Artisan Colony at the Beekman Farm this coming weekend. This time we are getting to know Jasmine Crowe. You may not know her name but you certainly know, and possibly own, some of her pieces from Beekman 1802.
Where are you based out of?
I work from a studio in our home, which is in between Sharon Springs and Cherry Valley
What is the item(s) you make for Beekman 1802?
Drink set with tray
Mixing bowl in large or medium
Drink set with pitcher
White ruffle planter
Doily plates in white and black
Triple planter set with tray
Cheese cover
Baby set with bowl, cup, and plate
Gold spice bowl with spoon
Ink pot bud vases with gold top
Set of three bowls with gold rim
Doily serving tray
Coffee pour-over
Cream and sugar set
How did you get started?
I graduated from Hartwick College with dual focus in Ceramics and Glassblowing. I traveled for a bit with my husband, then boyfriend, and he decided he wanted to come back and work on his family farm. I took classes locally, then taught for a while in Cooperstown, and when we built our house in 2007 we built the basement studio with my business in mind. I didn’t see myself as a production potter at the time, but a friend started working with Beekman and asked me to design a couple things and it just took off from there. I now love production, and feel it was always what I was meant to do.
Is this your full-time focus?
This is my full time job. Pottery and Motherhood.
What is a usual day like for you?
A usual day is spent taking care of the kids, fitting in pottery during the day whenever I can (school, a babysitter in the mornings this summer). After the kids are in bed, I usually work another three-four hours and my husband hangs in the studio with me so we can spend time together. Both my children will be in school this year, so I’m hoping to do more work in the day and less at night.
How long is the process of making the product/piece?
The process usually takes about two weeks. I spend one week throwing (making) and then trimming (putting the foot and detail on). Then everything has to be bone dry before it can be bisque fired in the kiln. This is a low fire that leaves the pieces porous enough to hold onto the glaze and tough enough to handle without breaking. After the bisque, I glaze everything at a higher temperature which is usually the final step. If it has gold luster on it, that is a third firing at a much lower temperature.
What did you want to be when you were little?
I think I always wanted to be an artist, although for the longest time I wanted to be a painter or illustrator. I love to draw and spent most of my childhood drawing and painting.
If you weren’t doing what you currently are, what would you be doing?
If I wasn’t a potter I would be a pastry chef. I love to bake, and spend a lot of my free time baking for my family. Making fancy desserts is kind of similar to making functional pottery in that the end product brings joy to the experience of dining. I really just love to have dinner parties.
The post Meet the Makers | Jasmine Crowe appeared first on Beekman 1802 Mercantile.
MEET THE MAKERS | JASMINE CROWE
Round two of MEET THE MAKERS who are part of the Harvest Festival Artisan Colony at the Beekman Farm this coming weekend. This time we are getting to know Jasmine Crowe. You may not know her name but you certainly know, and possibly own, some of her pieces from Beekman 1802.
Where are you based out of?
I work from a studio in our home, which is in between Sharon Springs and Cherry Valley
What is the item(s) you make for Beekman 1802?
Drink set with tray
Mixing bowl in large or medium
Drink set with pitcher
White ruffle planter
Doily plates in white and black
Triple planter set with tray
Cheese cover
Baby set with bowl, cup, and plate
Gold spice bowl with spoon
Ink pot bud vases with gold top
Set of three bowls with gold rim
Doily serving tray
Coffee pour-over
Cream and sugar set
How did you get started?
I graduated from Hartwick College with dual focus in Ceramics and Glassblowing. I traveled for a bit with my husband, then boyfriend, and he decided he wanted to come back and work on his family farm. I took classes locally, then taught for a while in Cooperstown, and when we built our house in 2007 we built the basement studio with my business in mind. I didn’t see myself as a production potter at the time, but a friend started working with Beekman and asked me to design a couple things and it just took off from there. I now love production, and feel it was always what I was meant to do.
Is this your full-time focus?
This is my full time job. Pottery and Motherhood.
What is a usual day like for you?
A usual day is spent taking care of the kids, fitting in pottery during the day whenever I can (school, a babysitter in the mornings this summer). After the kids are in bed, I usually work another three-four hours and my husband hangs in the studio with me so we can spend time together. Both my children will be in school this year, so I’m hoping to do more work in the day and less at night.
How long is the process of making the product/piece?
The process usually takes about two weeks. I spend one week throwing (making) and then trimming (putting the foot and detail on). Then everything has to be bone dry before it can be bisque fired in the kiln. This is a low fire that leaves the pieces porous enough to hold onto the glaze and tough enough to handle without breaking. After the bisque, I glaze everything at a higher temperature which is usually the final step. If it has gold luster on it, that is a third firing at a much lower temperature.
What did you want to be when you were little?
I think I always wanted to be an artist, although for the longest time I wanted to be a painter or illustrator. I love to draw and spent most of my childhood drawing and painting.
If you weren’t doing what you currently are, what would you be doing?
If I wasn’t a potter I would be a pastry chef. I love to bake, and spend a lot of my free time baking for my family. Making fancy desserts is kind of similar to making functional pottery in that the end product brings joy to the experience of dining. I really just love to have dinner parties.
MEET THE MAKERS | BETH MILLER
With the 2017 Harvest Festival right around the corner, we decided to ask artisans that will be part of the Harvest Festival Artisan Colony at the Beekman Farm a few questions. Meet Beth Miller of Parris House of Wool Works.
Where are you based out of?
The Parris House, c. 1818, National Historic District of Paris Hill, Paris, Maine
What is the item(s) you make for Beekman 1802?
I make a line of wool on linen hand hooked and hand sewn pillows designed exclusively for Beekman 1802. The designs are inspired by life at the Beekman farm and on my own rural Maine homestead.
How did you get started?
After my mother passed away in 2011, I needed a meditative, zen art to cope with my grief. I turned to rug hooking. It provided the spiritual respite I was looking for and also became my primary creative outlet.
Is this your full-time focus?
This is my full time work and passion! I gave up a career in real estate and more traditional business pursuits to follow this dream.
Is there something special/unique about your process?
North American rug hooking is a heritage art, with its roots in northern New England and the Canadian Maritimes. It was originally a craft of necessity, with cold climate residents stripping up old wool clothing and hooking it into burlap sack foundations to cover chilly floors. I think what I value most about what I do is the continuation of that heritage, bringing a modern interpretation to an art that was practiced by so many who came before me in this place. Additionally, this is an entirely hand process, from the drawing of patterns onto the linen to the dyeing of wools, hooking, binding of rugs or stitching up of pillows, there are no machines involved.
What is a usual day like for you?
The first thing that happens in my day is a walk with my five month old Collie puppy, Wyeth, because, well, he insists. (Yes, he’s named for the family of artists.) After that I might tend to the Parris House bees, chickens, and/or garden. We’re getting into apple harvesting season now. After the outdoor work, I check email and social media, and review my daybook/schedule for my plans and to-dos for the day. Sometimes I eat breakfast, sometimes I just drink coffee. If it’s a Tuesday, I have a good sized group of “hookers” (that’s what we call ourselves – feel free to make jokes!) for open studio, during which I may work on my own pieces, teach, or tend to their shopping or other requirements. On other days I’m working on creating class offerings, which I teach in venues up and down the east coast, creating new designs, tending to my blog, newsletter, and website, fulfilling online orders for both finished pieces and rug hooking supplies, hand dyeing wool, writing hooked project articles for magazines when the opportunities arise, and generally tending to my business. It is usually late in the day and into the evening that I’m actually making, whether creating finished items for my own shop or for Beekman neighbors. Somewhere in there, I do eat, and I like to cook things grown on our own little homestead whenever possible.
How long is the process of making the product/piece?
This varies by size and complexity of the pattern. Some other variables include whether or not the piece requires me to hand dye the colors for it, the size of the wool strip or other materials being used, whether or not the piece has hand beading, and whether the interior of the pillow is my own homemade blend of buckwheat and essential oils, fresh Maine balsam, or a more typical stuffed interior. Having said that, the smallest of the Beekman 1802 pillows could be completed in one day if worked on nonstop. The larger ones would take closer to a week. Many of my students gasp at this because their process is longer, however, like all things, a bit more speed comes with a great deal of practice.
What did you want to be when you were little?
I wanted to be either an astronomer or an English teacher/writer. I guess I had both sides of my brain going back then!
If you weren’t doing what you currently are, what would you be doing?
I would be a writer, hands down. Fortunately, in my fiber art life I have been given the opportunity to do some writing and designing for craft journals. I also blog and have submitted a solid book proposal which is currently in review with a favorite publisher. Wish me luck!
If you are curious as to what the actual process of creating one of these pieces entail, read this previous post by Josh and Brent. See you all at Harvest Festival this weekend!
September 1, 2017
B. SOCIAL | BEST OF THE WEEK
August 29, 2017
Don’t Buy a Cookbook
You do not need another cookbook.
When we began work on A Seat at the Table almost 3 years ago, we wanted to create a book that was much more than just another cookbook.
Quite frankly, almost everything you could ever want to cook can already be found online…in a hundred places or more.
But what if there was a recipe for something something better?
What if a cookbook could nourish in more ways than one?
In addition to 100+ recipes, we wrote a love story to our community and the story of the people that are as much a part of Beekman 1802 as we personally are.
And that philosophy of giving everyone a seat at the table even took hold in the production of the book.
Generally when anyone is putting together a cookbook, all the actual cooking for the book is done in a studio kitchen. It can be prepared and then immediately put in front of the photographer to snap the photo. The trade-off for this ease and convenience is that tons of food gets dumped into the trash at the end of the day.
We shot the photography for A Seat at the Table in Sharon Springs, and at the end of each day we would post on Facebook when we were going to be finished for the day. We piled all of the day’s work on the table, and anyone who wanted to stop for dinner did.
The cookbook literally fed the community–and that is the single best recipe in the world.
Here are some behind-the-scenes shots from those after-the-work dinners:
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Get your autographed copy, click here
August 26, 2017
Harvest Festival 2017!
NEIGHBORS | ARTISANS | FOOD | MUSIC
Friday, 09/08/2017
6:00pm – Harvest Feast at the American Hotel – A 4 course dinner featuring produce from Parson’s Vegetable Farm of Sharon Springs, NY. Call 518/284-2105 for reservations.
Saturday, 09/09/2017
9:30a-5:00p – Chris Ottman will demonstrate how he creates his popular Cherry Valley Tincicles. Demonstrations all day in front of Cobbler and Company.
9:30am-5:00pm – The Spring House Spa will be “inside out” at the Harvest Festival! Meaning they will be out in the yard offering chair massage and card readings with their usual crew of jewelry, famous hats and produce vendors! Stop by and say “Hi!!”
10:00am – 5:00pm – Over 100 Vendors will open their booths scatted throughout the village.
10:00am-10:45am – The Dancing Farmer, Jay Lavery, will be giving a talk about permaculture and show off some of his animal friends. [Chalybeate Spring Park Pavilion]
11:00am-12:00pm – Artisan Jasmine Crowe demonstrating how to throw pottery [Beekman 1802 Mercantile]
11:00am-12:00pm – Honeybee Expert Dean Haskin, owner of Mickle Hollow Maple and Honey, will host a discussion and Q&A session about the importance of bees and answer questions if you are interested in starting a hive of your own!
12:00pm – 12:30pm – Become an Official Sharon Springs Honorary Citizen [Chalybeate Spring Park Pavilion]. Show up to take the Oath of Honorary Citizenship, (and get spritzed by Mayor Doug,) to become an official, card-carrying, honorary Sharon Springs Citizen.
12:30pm-1:00pm – Claussen Farm History Talk – Hops and the return of Claussen Farm Beer – Yvonne Hamilton Gardner [Chalybeate Spring Park Pavilion]
1:00pm-2:00pm – Rose Marie Trapani, Josh and Brent cookbook signing [Beekman 1802 Mercantile]
1:00pm-3:00pm – Free Live Music Concert- [Chalybeate Springs Park Pavilion] – Featuring the local band, Force of Habit
3:30pm-4:30pm – Melissa Coughey [Chalybeate Springs Park Pavilion] –the easy way to raise chickens in your backyard
4:00pm-6:00pm – Beekman Happy Hour [Beekman 1802 Mercantile] – stop by for a taste or a tipple
ALL DAY: Miss Lodema’s Tea Room will have coffee, tea and pastries available on the porch of The Roseboro from 8 AM to 11 AM both Saturday and Sunday. A full tea service will be offered at 11 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM on both Saturday and Sunday, September 9th and 10th. Reservations can be made by calling 518-860-5513.
Saturday Evening Events:
6:00pm – Harvest Feast at the American Hotel – A 4 course dinner featuring produce from Parson’s Vegetable Farm of Sharon Springs, NY. Call 518/284-2105 for reservations.
7:00pm – Veronica Klaus – In Concert! [Roseboro Hotel Ballroom]. Veronica Klaus, a recent addition to the Sharon Springs community, and award-winning singer who made her home in San Francisco for 30 years, is bringing her signature brand of cool jazz and cabaret to Sharon Springs! Come and enjoy some of your favorite classic tunes with Veronica and her trio!
Tickets are $20.00 each and can be purchased at: http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/3058851
Sunday, 09/10/2017
ALL DAY: Miss Lodema’s Tea Room will have coffee, tea and pastries available on the porch of The Roseboro from 8 AM to 11 AM both Saturday and Sunday. A full tea service will be offered at 11 AM, 1 PM and 3 PM on both Saturday and Sunday, September 9th and 10th. Reservations can be made by calling 518-860-5513.
9:30am-5:00pm – Chris Ottman will demonstrate how he creates his popular Cherry Valley Tincicles. Demonstrations all day in front of Cobbler and Company.
9:30am-5:00pm – The Spring House Spa will be “inside out” at the Harvest Festival! Meaning they will be out in the yard offering chair massage and card readings with their usual crew of jewelry, famous hats and produce vendors! Stop by and say “Hi!!”
10:00am – 5:00pm – Over 100 Vendors will open their booths scatted throughout the village.
10:00am-11:00am – Artisan Andre Jones [Beekman 1802 Mercantile] – felting demonstration
6:00pm – Harvest Feast at the American Hotel – A 4 course dinner featuring produce from Parson’s Vegetable Farm of Sharon Springs, NY. Call 518/284-2105 for reservations.
PARKING
A rotating shuttle bus will operate continuously on both days between parking lots and festival destinations on Main Street. Free parking available at the Sharon Springs Central School at the intersection of Route 20 and Route 10 and at Sunnycrest Orchard and Greenhouses at 7869 State Route 10, Sharon Springs, NY 13459
Nourish in more ways than one.
Brent & Josh will be at the Mercantile from 10:00-5:00 on Saturday and Sunday to meet, greet, take photos and sign copies of the new cookbook
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August 25, 2017
August 19, 2017
B. SOCIAL | BEST OF THE WEEK
Your visual recap of the best photos from Josh and Brent this week, as seen on Facebook and Instagram.
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