Nets

Steve loves projects and often becomes obsessed with them. Right after our son Marley was born, Steve began building a coral reef tank. Well researched, versed and educated on this latest topic, he was driving to JFK to pick up deliveries of live rock, tropical fish and live coral.  He built a large expansive fish tank in our extremely small NYC apartment. 

The tank was absolutely beautiful and he learned and cared for these sea creatures for several years. It didn't hurt that watching the gentle movement in the tank, helped to put our newborn son to sleep many nights.

Finding these fish nets reminded me of that time in our lives. Over 20 years ago now, the simplicity of these hand woven nets brought me right back. 

CrabApples

I love the yellow of these crabapples. They are sold at the farmer's market in the city as the cooler weather sets in. This color represents Fall to me. There is a small greenmarket on 66th street and Broadway each Thursday and Saturday throughout the year.

http://www.grownyc.org/greenmarket/manhattan/tuckerthursday

Collected Trophy

I'm really not one for trophies, but this one caught my eye. This 1927 tarnished trophy cup was engraved for a Rural Exhibition, which conjured up stories of a prized farm animal. It looks and feels well loved.

I found it in Georgetown,Texas at a shop, called Gatherings. They had phenomenal trophies, along with many other interesting and pretty pieces. We had a great time digging through their collections.

http://www.gatheringsofgeorgetown.com

Palermo's Street Food

It has been many weeks since we returned from Sicily, but those special Sicilian days do not fade from our memory.

In Palermo, we met Antonino, a beautiful man selling smoked and salty fish. We could not resist, and bought several from him, He took such care in scaling, cleaning and wrapping the fish, and his pride was evident in his care and his smile.

What a great afternoon. 

henry street ceramics

I know we have shown you beautiful scoops and spoons from Henry Street, but ceramics are the core of their collection.

Loren and Aliza Simons, mother and daughter, are behind these exquisite ceramic pieces. They are delicate yet sturdy, with a simple design. The 2 of them work together, sharing an innate talent for color, texture. and form. I cannot explain the simple beauty of each and every piece, and of course we love the hand carved house logo on the back of each one.

I am happy to announce information for their upcoming holiday sales: Thursday December 3rd will be an in person sale in the NYC area, and Tuesday December 8th, they will be holding an ONLINE sale that is not to be missed.

I've also included a link to a Henry Street Studio posting on Sassy Kitchen, a great blog that I wanted to share.

See you at the sale.

www.henrystreetstudio.com

http://www.sassy-kitchen.com/home/henry-street-studio

shiitake

My sister hates mushrooms. When we were growing up, it was a fact around the dinner table. I think that is why I ate so many. I was going to do something that my older sister didn't do. It sounds crazy when I repeat it now, but as a result, I love mushrooms. These fresh and beautiful ones from the farmers market were incredible, simply sautéed with garlic and olive oil.

http://www.grownyc.org

pewter and tin

I was in Texas, at First Monday in Canton. A flea market that takes place the weekend before the first Monday of every month, 12 weekends a year. It's a great antique market, with vendors from around the country. 

Canton is known for its First Monday trade days, a tradition that began years ago. Held on 30 acres, it originally began as a place to swap animals, antiques, surplus merchandise etc. At first, planned around government meetings, it quickly became a popular spot to come to buy, sell and swap merchandise.

Our weekend there, was hot. Maya had already given in and bought a large brim texan hat to protect her from the intense heat. We were there prepping for a shoot in Austin taking place the following week,and really loving the experience. This large pewter bowl was already bought and we were feeling pretty content.

Carrying our bags  back to the car, we put on our cheesy driving playlist and went for a drink at the hotel. Unable to be had in Canton,  Van Zandt county, a dry county at the time, we settled on some delicious barbecue and an early night sleep. 

It was a pretty perfect day.

www.firstmondaycanton.com

wooden spoons

Both the worn wooden spoons and the discolored linen fabric featured in this photograph are immersed in history. The wooden spoons are worn down, some to a place where its spoon shape no longer exists. I bought them at Brimfield Antique Show, which is going on right now up in Brimfield, Ma. The enormous sale takes place 3 times a year, this weekend is the final  for the season, going on through Sunday, the 13th. If you haven't been there, it is a truly spectacular  experience and there is no way to leave there without finding many treasures. 

The cloth, an aged japanese linen, long ago discolored from the steam that hit it while it sat above a steaming pot, has a delicate and subtle tone stained from all those years of use.

Weights & Measures

When I am out propping a shoot, I always need a tape measure, looking for the right size plate, surface, glassware, linen, you name it, it is a vital tool for styling.

I have lost hundreds over the years, and don't seem to find as many as I lose. I have measured the span of my hand spread open, from thumb to pinky for those rare days when I have forgotten it at home or lost another, but it's not a great substitute for the real thing.

Businesses used to give out tape measures, advertising their store or holiday greeting, so it is common to find them in vintage shops at a wide range of prices, though It is somewhat rare to find them with great graphics.

OLDTAPE61 on instagram, finds phenomenal old tape measures with great design and character. He surprises me with his interesting collection each week. You should definitely check him out.

https://instagram.com/oldtape61/

Thistle

Thistle is a wildflower that grows with spikes all along the stem,causing pain to anyone who tries to bother it in any way.

When I was growing up, I went to summer camp. I remember all the scrapes I had along my legs from running through the thistle in the woods at night, trying to raid the boy's cabins before the counselors caught us.

It was amazing how those moments came back so clearly when I came upon this thistle.

This time I was prepared, wearing my boots and garden gloves while I tackled the stems.

We were interested when, on this late date in summer, we found fresh new thistle growing alongside the obviously dried up ones. Each were equally beautiful.

wildflowers

 On Saturday mornings, we always try to go to the Barryville Farmer's Market where they sell incredible organic produce, meats, breads, and wines etc,  They  sell beautiful flowers there as well, which inspired us when we found these on our walk home.

La Scuola Italiana

I love speaking Italian. I love making mistakes and learning from them. I love when someone realizes I can speak and understand them and they suddenly speak so fast  with vocabulary far beyond my knowledge, that I shake my head and laugh half way through.  

Steve's cousin Pina, speaks rapidly to me, always. She tells me a message for the group and hits my arm to signal me to tell everyone in english. Bruised and happy, I cooperate and translate when I can.

It was definitely not the intention of our sweet, attentive, funny and cute guide during our Palermo Street food tour, to find vintage alphabet charts, but I found them and it made the day even better.

These vintage italian school charts are available through Archive Home. Please email me for more information. I am happy to send photos and pricing.

www.archivehomestore@gmail.com

homespun repairs

There was great care given to homespun sacks. When they wore down they weren't thrown away and replaced, but instead were repaired time and time again, and used for carrying produce and dry goods.

Many were monogrammed by stitching or dying onto the fabric, and each hand stitched patch extended the use of these purposeful sacks. This top one is "monogrammed" for Bartolo's grandfather from Case Varisco.

When flea marketing and antiquing, unfold the fabrics, and don't shy away from the repaired pieces. They add character, history and beauty.

Please click on the heart below if you like the posting. 

Wooden Pitcher

I bought this pitcher years ago in northern Italy. It is damaged and repaired and unusable, but I hold onto it. It is primitive and basic and carved from 1 piece of wood. Here, it sits atop a small collection of vintage tiles purchased in Palermo.

The small painted vintage tiles are from the Mercato delle Pulci. There, a vendor sells an extraordinary collection, piled up high in a beautiful assortment of patterns and colors. We were blown away by the simplicity of the stacks and the accessibility of the tiles.

 The vendors are there everyday, 7 days a week, and Meridiana Airlines flies directly to Palermo nonstop from JFK. 2 days a week.

Piazza Della Marina

Another flea market in Palermo! This one is only on Sundays at the Piazza della Marina.

We woke up early, and switched into that NYC mindset, to get to the flea market early to beat the crowds. It truly wasn't necessary. The vendors were there already set up, and the small crowd really seemed to be getting started around 10am, when we were heading back home,

 We saw some great  things, and I loved looking through the old italian books, especially the handwritten ones.  The prices were good and as you can imagine, we had a great time. I was defintiely honing my italian bargaining skills, which were weak at best, but the vendors were somewhat charming and convincing that we needed everything we saw. (!)

There was a guy selling these vintage aluminum and brass tools, mostly for the kitchen, with so much character and care. 

When we unwrapped these beauties with our Sicilian cousins, they had a great laugh at our love for these objects. Looking around their home, we realized these were far less beautiful than what they used each and every day in their own kitchens.

case varisco

A short distance from Palermo, just outside of Baucina, is an agriturismo on a country road called "Case Varisco." We have been so fortunate to come to know the owners, Bartolo and Cinzia, a beautiful Sicilian couple who take pride in simple pleasures and comfort there.  

Bartolo's grandfather had worked and lived and farmed on this property, and all his tools have been kept and honored in a newly built museum on the property. This room was beautiful, filled with the amazing antique kitchen and farming  tools, linen bedding, saddles, wine presses and so much more. As you can imagine, we were blown away by the texture, beauty and simplicity of everything in this space and couldn't wait to shoot it.

This is shot on a linen sack that was used to collect grapes for wine. 

None of these are for sale but you can see them in person at Case Varisco just outside of Palermo on your next visit to Sicily.

http://www.casevarisco.com

palermo finds

First, let me apologize for our delay in posting. We are in Sicily, spending many days without wifi, and even more days away from our computer altogether.

We are in Baucina, a small village outside of Palermo, the hometown of Steve's parents. We have been visiting our beautiful Sicilian family with many of our amazing American cousins, soaking in the true magic and craziness of Sicily. There are really no words to explain how great this has been, combining our Italian and American families, and in the days to come, we will have many many postings of what we have seen and found and sometimes eaten. 

This first Sicily posting is a group of finds from a small street in Palermo filled with vintage goods. Of course, I beelined for the small ironstone plate and then was excited to find these other simple vintage pieces which made my day complete.

The famous Sicilian antiques market where I found these goods, is located near the beautiful cathedral of Palermo, near Piazza del Papireto.  The Mercato delle Pulci, which has been held in this spot since WWII, sells small antiques, tiles and furniture. The permanent sheet metal shacks sell a diverse collection of vintage merchandise, and each Sicilian vendor was happy to share their story with us.  

They are open 7 days a week. 

Barryville, NY

This is from a beautiful day in Barryville. On Saturday mornings, we usually go to the farmer's market behind the River Market on Rt 97.  Last week, we found these exquisite mushrooms and fresh garlic. A typical find at this beautiful market filled with organic produce and local finds.

On our walk home, this bird's nest was resting on the road. There were no eggs or sign of life, so we took it home with us.

If you ever find yourself in Barryville, the farmer's market is always great, rain or shine. Tomorrow, on July 18th, Laura Silverman, from the beautiful and interesting blog "Glutton For Life," will be there preparing some dishes from the local produce from 11-11:30 am.

As always, if you like our postings, please click on the heart below, and follow us by signing up above.

www.barryvillefarmersmarket.com

www.gluttonforlife.com

Coin Silver Spoons

Before the mid 1800's, there were no silver mines in the US. Silver coins and spoons, etc, were melted down from other objects - foreign currency, silver bars, candlesticks etc.

It was said that the artisans had to "reach into their pocket" to find the raw materials to make these objects, so coin silver became the term for anything made from scrap silver, containing less than 20% sterling.

These spoons are thin, almost bendable, and have a character of their own. I use them a lot on food shoots. They vary in size, texture, and style but have a primitive handmade quality to them even with the beautiful engraved monograms.