Josh Kilmer-Purcell's Blog, page 49
August 7, 2014
Five Beautiful Things
Pothole Perfection
If only all potholes could be patched so colorfully! Street artist Juliana Santacruz-Herrera “repairs” the crags and cracks in the pavements of Paris with coils of braided, hand-dyed fabric that she arranges in multicolored designs for a brilliant and beautiful effect. She is, to be sure, a kindred spirit: an optimist who sees the potential for beauty where others may not. Her smile-inducing compositions brighten a gray canvas, and the citizens who tread upon it, with unexpected whimsy. Below are five examples of her work.
5 Beautiful Things
Pothole Perfection
If only all potholes could be patched so colorfully! Street artist Juliana Santacruz-Herrera “repairs” the crags and cracks in the pavements of Paris with coils of braided, hand-dyed fabric that she arranges in multicolored designs for a brilliant and beautiful effect. She is, to be sure, a kindred spirit: an optimist who sees the potential for beauty where others may not. Her smile-inducing compositions brighten a gray canvas, and the citizens who tread upon it, with unexpected whimsy. Below are five examples of her work.
July 30, 2014
Five Beautiful Things
Pushing The Envelope
I’ll be honest: I really miss snail mail. When I was in college, my friend Katie and I would exchange elaborate, handwritten letters. Both former art students, the envelopes provided the perfect canvases for our doodles and embellishments. I still have those letters and cherish them. I would urge everyone who reads this to find some time to write a letter to a loved one or a friend. While technology may have changed and expedited our methods of communication, nothing has yet been able to replace that feeling of warmth and surprise when we discover a thoughtfully-written letter (complete with a pretty envelope) in our mail boxes. Below are five examples of ‘mail art.’ Not all of them were sent in the mail, but they do provide some inspiration. The artists in most cases are not known, however the last example is by artist Mark Powell.
July 26, 2014
A Midsummer Eve
P. Allen Smith has been known to audiences for almost 20 years from his gardening show on PBS and known to us for his style and passion for farming. We first met him 5 years ago when we created The Art of Farming–a special charity auction of heirloom vegetables on the floor of Sotheby’s in NYC.
To celebrate the release of the Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook (and our first trip to Arkansas), he threw a dinner party at his home, the beautiful Moss Mountain Farm.
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July 23, 2014
A Morning Garden Tour with Josh & Önder
From the moment the ground is thawed each spring, till the moment I can no longer break through frozen ground in late fall, I start each day in the garden. Early. Really early. Like, roll-out-of-bed-and-throw-on-sweats early. From June-August I don’t even have to wait for the sun to come up. I just grab a cup of coffee & bowl of yogurt (I add fruit in the garden,) wake up the dog, and head out. Early morning is the best time to surprise attack bugs, pull weeds from the damp soil, and harvest berries and other veggies at their plumpest.
Along with my coffee, I grabbed my camera this morning so I could take you on tour. This is one of the best garden seasons since we moved to Beekman 1802 Farm, and yes, I’m gonna show it off. Gardeners, like fishermen, are consummate braggarts. Hope you enjoy the photos. (You should see the cucumber that got away.)
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Beekman 1802 Vintage Collection
Hi! I’m Jodi – the Curator of the Beekman 1802 Vintage Collection. I pick, clean up (best I can), photograph, list and ship every piece of the Vintage Collection. I dig deep at flea markets and various sales to find vintage treasures to share with you.
For me, picking is a worthwhile labor of love. It is so rewarding to breath life into something old, save it from being discarded and find someone new to re-love it. Also, I enjoy helping people reconnect with the past – curating items that bridge memories of special times, people or places is a great way to honor our personal history. And, of course, I absolutely love to decorate with vintage items; mixing old and new “stuff” can make for amazing décor!
Stay tuned for future blog posts from me about all things vintage and new (well, old) item listings under the VINTAGE tab within the online Mercantile. If you see something that catches your eye, be sure to act fast…some items are truly one-of-kind!
Vintagely Yours,
Jodi
Five Beautiful Things
Mosaic
The word itself inspires me: the composition of a whole image through the strategic arrangement of many components. Philosophically, the notion touches on themes such as community, family and teamwork. Artistically, however, it is the idea of seeing two perspectives at once that dazzles me: the myopic focus on a multitude of singularities and the hyperopic perception of one whole image made up of those smaller pieces. The earliest known mosaic art dates to Mesopotamia and the second half of the third millennium. Colored stones, shells and ivory were used to decorate temples by arranging them to form a singular image. Ancient Rome and Greece, too, used mosaic art to great effect in their temples and public spaces. It is an art form that is still very much alive today, used as a decorative technique in homes, museums, galleries and restaurants – on floors, walls and ceilings. Below are five beautiful examples of mosaic tile work. To learn more about the history of mosaic art, click here.
July 22, 2014
The Goat or Who is Sylvia?
We are always coming up with new displays for our flagship store in Sharon Springs, NY. People come from all over the world to visit, so we want the experience to be fun and memorable.
To celebrate our summer launch of the Goat Milk Fudge Sauce our friends at Chocolate Therapy hired prominent sculptor Judith Rubin to create a life-sized goat out of chocolate.
It took Judith over 50 hours to make the creation.
Here’s a look at how it was done:
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July 20, 2014
Name a Goat!
Our friends at Chocolate Therapy are helping us celebrate all things chocolaty at Beekman 1802 (like our new goat milk fudge sauce) by hand-sculpting the World’s Largest Chocolate Goat! (Really!!)
The goat is currently on display in our flagship store in Sharon Springs, NY, but needs a name.
This is where you can help!
For the next week, you can submit your choice of names in the comments section below. At the end of the week, the sculptor that spent over 50 hours creating this masterpiece will choose the winning name.
And this is not just for bragging rights!
The chosen entry will win a full box of hand-made truffles from Chocolate Therapy just like this:
On your mark, get set, GO!
July 16, 2014
5 Beautiful Things
Farmers Market Signage
For big-city dwellers, like myself, there are few summer treats as tantalizing as local farmers’ markets. We are lucky to have two fairly large weekend markets near our apartment that sell produce grown on farms just outside Toronto’s city limits: tomatoes, cuccumbers, lettuces and leafy greens, potatoes, carrots, berries and so much more. I’m always charmed by the signage that is used to promote these markets. Some of them are handmade using a bunch of Sharpies and skillful penmanship while others are commercially designed. Below are five signs used to advertise the Knoxville, Tennessee, Farmers’Market. They were made by Pioneer House, a small company with an Etsy store where letterpress cards and prints can be purchased. Click here to visit their shop.
To make the most of this year’s Farmers Market, take along a copy of your Beekman 1802 Heirloom Vegetable Cookbook. Click here
