Sweet Times! Maple Weekend in New York State

Maple Weekend in New York State is March 17-18 and March 24-25. Sugar shacks sprinkled throughout the state open their doors for tours, pancake breakfasts and tastings... kind of like "open studio" for the art and craft of all things maple.

And a craft it really is. Next time you open a bottle of syrup to put on your waffles- think twice- most commercial grades a la Aunt Jemima are made from the lowest grade syrup added to copious amounts of corn syrup while the stuff that comes in the cute bottles and is super pricey--- that's the good stuff- the cream of the crop so to speak.

Many syrup businesses are small cottage ventures and many a seasonal offset for dairy farmers to bring in a few extra bucks during the Spring season. The syrup business is not for the frail - it is hard labor and a labor of love. The sweet stuff does not flow easily and taking it from tree to table is a monumental effort.

Contrary to what many think- maple season is early Spring, not Fall. Warm days of early Spring and cool nights make sap run- and it is the sap that we have come to know as maple syrup. First you need the trees, and lots of them! Sugar Maple and Black Maple are the most popular variety and to yield a great crop you need more than a bucket.

We had the sweet fortune of visiting Fairbanks Maple in Forestville, NY on Saturday and were amazed at just how elaborate the "tiny" operation is. With over 3,300 trees each tapped just once a season, there are what seems like miles of endless blue lines that run the sap from tree to tank.

Once collected, the sap is converted to syrup. When sap is first collected it is mostly water and the sap to syrup conversion happens when most of the water is boiled away. It takes over 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of syrup.

Packaging alone is a craft in and of itself. Similar to canning- issues of hygiene and proper sealing of the container must be precise to avoid contamination- if any introduction of air is released into the seal, the syrup is destroyed.

Next time you sit down to a hearty breakfast- think twice- and enjoy the sugary sweetness as you pour maple syrup- a truly sweet labor of love!

MAKING THE GRADE

Here's a run down of maple syrup by quality and grade:

Grade A maple syrup is classified according to color. The darker the syrup, the stronger the maple taste.

Grade A Light Amber — the lightest of the three classifications with a mild and delicate flavor. It’s best for maple cream and molded maple sugar (candy).

Medium Amber — a bit darker with a fuller flavor. This is the most popular grade for table syrup.

Dark Amber — the darkest of the three grades has a stronger maple flavor. This all-purpose syrup is good for cooking, baking and table use.

Extra Dark — used for cooking, strongest maple flavor. Best for cooking.

Grade B — sold in bulk for reprocessing and the manufacture of commercial table syrups. Best for baking.

Source: Mapleweekend.com

Learn more here:
NY State Maple Producers Association
Cornell University Sugar Maple Research Program

Photos taken at Fairbanks Maple: Forestville, NY - (716) 965-4208
Photo #1: via getentrepreneurial.com

Garden Ideas: Inspired Details from Morikami Japanese Gardens

We were lucky enough to be able to steal away for a few days and headed to South Florida to soak up some sun, absorb some much needed Vitamin D and to fight off the winter blues and greys of Central Ohio. Three days were spent at some beautiful nature preserves- birds, wetlands and the highlight- The Morikami Japanese Gardens in Delray Beach.

Photo: newenglander.smugmug.com

The gardens are designed to represent major periods in Japanese garden design from the eighth to the twentieth centuries. According to the designer Hoichi Kurisu, "each garden is intended to express the character and ideas of a unique counterpart in Japan without attempting to duplicate those gardens and seamlessly flow together as one garden."

With over 200 acres it's needless to say the gardens were tranquil and magnificent. With a surge of interest in sustainable gardening what better way to look for inspiration than in the Japanese masters who flawlessly combine simplicity with majesty to blend the earth into their surroundings.
We were especially captivated by the small details- from bamboo stakes to border detailing... and while perhaps we were fooled by the zen genius of it all- it appears that many of the details could easily be executed by the average gardener with a talent for construction and DIY utilizing some fairly basic, natural materials.

Bamboo, of course, was prevalent and it's clever use seamlessly translated from Japanese to classic to modern with a variety of practical uses from staking shrubbery to creating benches. Rigging was precise yet so simple: lashed and knotted with rope or black twine.

Bamboo was also prevalent in creating privacy screens that, again, could so easily translate to residential spaces- yard fencing and shed or door details...
On a grander scale... Most of the garden paths were lined with giant hedges, much like hews and privet commonly found in many a garden. What was so striking was the angle at which they were pruned- not sharp or geometric but gentle slopes that often angled upward creating sweeping vistas of greenery. What a perfect way to make a space feel larger and less closed in.
So often, shadows offered the most striking of details- reminding us that if you have trees which cast amazing shadows build around them as a focal point.

And what Japanese garden would not be complete without the quintessential fave - the rock garden... shown here on a vast scale carefully raked with meditative precision. But size truly does not matter and even the linear repetition of the border alone - slate, brick and stones could be easily interpreted to a country garden or urban landscape.

Especially effective was the use of gravel composed not only of stone but of shells- whole and crushed- a great use of what the local terrain has to offer. While clearly the scale of such a garden is a space challenge for most, the details are not. Note the boulder with such a carefully composed placement of ferns and the tree trunk which forms a perfect resting spot.

For those lucky enough to have a water feature- nothing says Japanese garden quite like a coy pond. This vast pond was especially impressive with turtles and giant fish (no, seriously giant fish!).
The delicate leaves of the plant cast lively shadows on the shimmering water- a detail easy to re-create. Below bamboo reeds create a perfectly balanced fountain.

From fence finials to border edging to Peace Pole personal message statements- the details of Japanese garden design offer endless inspiration for subtle simplicity. It won't be long before Spring approaches and some of these ideas may be the perfect accent for your own garden retreat!

Inspired? Here are just a few Japanese garden resources:

Japanese Gardening
Morikami
JLife International
Japanese Style
Dharma Crafts
Custom Peace Poles
The Peacepole Project

All photos are our own except where noted.

Green Paper Company @ Poeme

It's always fun to see one of our favorite retailers evolve and on a recent trip to nearby Cincinnati, Poeme, has never looked better.

Sleek, modern, and fresh... with a slight nod to classic, we loved seeing our paper fixture amongst the carefully selected product offering.

Owners/Designers Phil and Kristin take poetic license and create some amazing invitations. We're honored to be a part of their selection!

Cinderella Pumpkin Time

With much work to get done on this beautiful Sunday, a day in the country turned in to a few mere minutes in the country- alas- the life of an entrepreneur! So a quick trip to one of Ohio's largest farms- Lynd Fruit Farm yielded a few Fall faves...

Don't you just love the natural textures and color shading on these!?


A Cinderella Pumpkin- really- that's what it's called ;)


And what would Autumn be without the proverbial adorable mini pumpkins!

Oh, and did I mention pumpkin doughnuts, apple cider doughnuts and apple fritters??? So much for the healthy eating, but hey, it's Autumn!

Anyone do anything Fall fabulous this weekend???

Clothing Made in the U.S.A. - Fall Picks

I thought this blog post would be a snap... a few shout outs for a few Fall fashion picks from a growing crop of clothiers manufacturing in the USA. Boy was I wrong. Turns out- there really aren't many clothes manufactured in the U.S. and I had to do a bit of digging.

Most of the clothing I did find all have something in common- heritage branding- companies with a long history, a family saga, a devoted interested in the working man (or woman) and a dedication to quality.

The entire concept of heritage branding is really another post, which we'll feature later. It goes beyond a seasonal pick and deserves more in depth coverage. In the interim- if you have a favorite clothing company - or even just a favorite shirt, jean, etc. post a comment. We'd all love to fill our closets with more threads that boast the label: Made in the USA.

In the meantime, here are a few suggestions to warm up this Fall...

The Portland Collection new from Pendelton launching Fall 2011

Glen Plaid Alicia Jacket - Pendleton- Portland, Oregon. Shadow-weave glen plaid fabric is woven in Pendleton USA Northwest mills. $258


Perfect Tee from Blue Canoe - San Francisco, CA. Rayon from organically grown bamboo, organic cotton and spandex. $52.95

Stronghold River Rinse indigo wash jeans by The Stronghold - Venice, California {cool website, worth a visit}

Harness Leather Road Boots- top grain hide, waterproof scuba liner. $298 at Orvis, Sunderland, Vermont

Dehen 1920 Motorcycle Sweater by Dehen- Portland, Oregon $295 at Woodlands



Made in Michigan Graphic Tee by Carhartt - Irvine, Kentucky $20

Stripe Cardigan by Centralia Knitting Mills - Centralia, Washington. Wool sourced in New England. $180 at Archival Clothing

Canvas cotton tote from Archival Clothing - Portland, Oregon. Waxed cotton canvas/unwaxed cotton duck. $150

Hello Fall!

Hello September!

Goodbye Summer!

Goodbye Summer!

Video: by Bill Menke
The porch of Hotel Lenhart - Bemus Point, NY

Eco-Hotels in NYC: Element and Yotel

As you may know- we attend a trade show now and then! I attend shows as both an exhibitor and/or as a buyer for my store, On Paper. Whenever we travel we try to seek out greener hotels and two new faves when we head to NYC are ELEMENT where we stayed last trip and YOTEL where we stayed last week while attending the New York International Gift Show.

We highly recommend ELEMENT - It's new, has many truly green features but during the NYIGF it was completely booked - which is a good thing and means more and more people are putting eco at the top of their reservation list! You can check out the hotel on their website here.

Element Hotel - photos via Elementtimessquare.com

Yotel is brand new. If you can get past the name and the somewhat Vegas/60's/motel-ie exterior- Yotel is a pretty great NY find. And super cheap if you can snag one of the NYIGF rates.

Before selecting the hotel, I read that if Steve Jobs were to design a hotel- this would be it. Say no more- good enough for me!

Check-in is on the street level and features self check in kiosks- super easy- and a robot for storing luggage. Fear not, there are real people too- who hand you your key and will happily handle your bags.

The rooms are super tiny (repeat after me- tiny!) But warned in advance I found much appreciation in the incredibly well designed multi-functional space. And compared with several hotels where I've stayed- this felt roomy in spite of it's pint size.

Photos via yotel.com

The most clever part of the room design is the bed that raises and reclines serving double duty as bed/sofa. It's a great concept and leaves you wondering why no one has done this sooner.

Also clever and true to green design, the hotel maximizes it's open space providing common areas that are vast both indoors and out. The hotel boasts a fabulous outdoor terrace and it's fantastic on a summer evening.

Overall- Yotel is a great eco sensitive hotel. It's not glitzy and definitely not a be-seen scene. And make no mistake- it's not "luxury" as they claim. But it's cool- innovative technology focused efficient design, low key and best of all - a short walk to Javits!