Market Update - 12/18/10

So, this is it folks!  The last weekend before Christmas!  The last market of 2010!  (But our season isn't over - far from it!  We will be running every second Saturday for January through April.  Next market is on January 8th.  Don't worry - I'll send a reminder!!)  The market will be absolutely stuffed-to-the-gills jam-packed this Saturday!  We have FIVE new vendors (and my phone is now ringing off the hook with people wanting to join – no more room at the inn, sadly!) including Berkshire Mountain Bread (cherry pecan boule anyone?? Panettone that will never need to be re-gifted??) Longmeadow Farm with pasture-raised roasting chickens, Cream Hill Veal with humanely pasture-raised veal, Marilyn’s Food Co. with an incredible assortment of handmade pickles, chutneys, tomato sauce, relish, hummus, compotes and more, and the Hudson Valley Seed Library will be educating us all about their Hudson Valley grown and saved heirloom seeds, beautifully packaged in Art Packs designed by NY State artists.  Please be sure to pass this email along to any gardeners you know – this is a great opportunity to buy a useful, beautiful and meaningful gift, as well as to learn more about the importance of seed saving and growing heirloom microclimate-adapted plants.

 

The gift opportunities this weekend are absolutely limitless!  From affordably priced ornaments, natural soaps and pint-sized totes to hand-knit farmstead wool blankets, huge Shaker baskets and hand-crafted live-edge wood tables, there is absolutely something for everyone.  And so many combinations to be created!  Soap and a soap dish.  Yarn and a knitting needle case.  Ornaments and a mini potted tree.  Cheeses and a porcelain cheese plate.  Honey and cheese and flatbread crackers.  Scones in a basket with cloth napkins. Soup and soup bowls.  A diaper tote and a cashmere kitten...   Many vendors have put together boxes and baskets of food items all wrapped up and ready to gift!  Don’t forget that food can make a great present!  Everyone eats, right?!  Who wouldn't appreciate a bag of granola and a tub of fresh yogurt?  Or loaf of bread and some cinnamon sugar butter and jam.  Or a cave man's delight of steaks...  Come, be creative!  Ask us for suggestions!  

 

Our artisans this week will include Artful Treasures, Baskets at Home, CrippenWorks, dbO Home, Randi Sue Foreman, and Sunset Hill Farm.  Farm & Food vendors will include The Amazing Real Live Food Co., Berkshire Mountain Bakery, Berkshire Mountain Granola, Best Creations Bakery, Cascade Mountain Winery, Cedar Hill Farm, Clear Water Aqua Farm, Cream Hill Veal, Dashing Star Farm, EBs Golden Harvest, Farm Country Soup, Pampered Cow Cheeses, Krazy for Kazu's, Longmeadow Farm, Marilyn’s Food Co., Meili Farm, Moonbeam Farm, Perry Hill Farm, and Ronnybrook Farm Dairy.  I think the Hudson Valley Seed Library qualifies as both artisan AND farm!

 

We will be entertained by Amenia resident Diana Herold playing the marimba from 11:00 to 1:00, and Marshall Miles will be running a live broadcast from the gymnasium from 12:30 to 2:00.  We will have Best Creations’ holiday cookies on the house, and tea & coffee available, as always.  Farm Country will be selling piping hot bowls of soup for the lunchtime crowd.  Bundle up,  make a list, check it thrice and come see us at the Amenia Winter Market!  10:00 to 2:00, Amenia Town Hall, right on Route 22.  

Thank you all for such a fun spirited and successful first season!  Happy Holidays!

Market Update - 12/11/10

I'm sure I don't need to remind anyone that there are only two weekends remaining before Christmas Day.  What I would like to remind everyone is of the importance of supporting small, local businesses this Holiday season.  Although the concept of Small Business Saturdays (such a lovely antidote to Big Box Black Friday) was first conceived of and marketed by a Very Large Company indeed, I'm happy to help spread the idea.  And I cannot think of a better place to spread the Small Business Cheer than the Amenia Winter Market!  This Saturday, the Amenia Town Hall gymnasium will be filled to the brim with 21 vendors - every single one a local and small business, and present at almost every table is the person (or people) behind the small business.  I think I speak not only for myself, but for every vendor, when I say that every market day provides a source for reaffirmation of all the reasons why I do what I do.  I love to tell people all about my farm, my animals, my practices.  Come and spend a few minutes speaking with farmers, bakers, potters, soup-makers, soap-makers, basket weavers, seamstresses, shepherds, painters, beekeepers...  This is such a wonderful way to both support and learn about the people working in and around our community.

This weekend, we welcome two new artisans - both will be familiar to regulars of the Millbrook Farmers Market.  Martha Belardo of Baskets at Home (Pine Plains, NY) will be selling her incredible hand-woven Shaker-style baskets, as well as Carolina snowflake ornaments and felted wool bowls, garlands, acorns and rings.  Randi Sue Foreman (Millbrook, NY) will be selling stuffed bunnies and Christmas trees made from repurposed cashmere sweaters.  Randi will also have an assortment of handcrafted ornaments, totes, cloth napkins and hand-knit flower necklaces.  Along with Martha and Randi, returning this week will be Dawn Casarra of Artful Treasures (Amenia, NY) with hand-painted floorcloths and placemats, as well as whimsical dragonfly pins and pinecone ornaments; CrippenWorks (Millerton, NY) with hand-sewn knitting needle cases, tote bags, diaper clutches and more; dbO Home (Sharon, CT) with handmade porcelain plates, bowls, soap dishes and vases; and Sunset Hill Farm (Millbrook, NY) with farmstead wool roving and yarn in a fabulous assortment of colors.

Our Farm & Food vendors will include The Amazing Real Live Food Co. (cheeses), Berkshire Mountain Foods (granolas), Best Creations Bakery (holiday cookies, cupcakes, cheese pastries), Cascade Mountain Winery (wines and olive oil), Cedar Hill Farm (pork and beef, pumpkins), Clear Water Aqua Farm (tender greens and herbs, veggies), Dashing Star Farm (lamb, eggs, wool/yarn, baked goods), EBs Golden Harvest (honey and honey products, beeswax candles, herbal tinctures), Farm Country Soup (quiches, soups, baked goods), Glenn Golovin of Pampered Cow (Harpersfield cheeses, triple cream cow, goat and sheep milk rounds, goat and sheep feta from Four Brothers Farm), Krazy for Kazu's (Japanese marinades & dressings), Meili Farm (pork, beef and eggs), Moonbeam Farm (chutneys, jams, flatbread crackers), Perry Hill Farm (soaps, tinctures, salves, trees, Holiday wreaths), Ronnybrook Farm Dairy (milk, yogurt, butter), and Wild Hive Bakery (breads, pastries, micro-milled flours and grains).

We look forward to seeing you tomorrow - we'll be in the gymnasium of the Amenia Town Hall (on Route 22) from 10:00 to 2:00.  Have a bowl of hot soup for lunch, sample a few cheeses, taste a local wine, and check gifts off your list one by one...

Market Update - 12/4/10

Happy Hanukkah!  The holiday season is upon us already, and I'm sure most of us are busy scratching our heads and wondering where in the world the past year has gone...  Before we know it, good old Saint Nick will be sliding down the chimney!  Lucky for all of those who have discovered the Amenia Winter Market (and those who have yet to discover us - aahhemm!) there are more gift options than you can shake a stick at just waiting for you in the gymnasium of the Amenia Town Hall.  Beginning this Saturday, and continuing through Saturday the 18th, the Amenia Winter Market will feature - in addition to all the fabulous local foods - a carefully selected group of LOCAL ARTISANS!  The gifting opportunities multiply by the minute!  

This weekend we will welcome Artful Treasures (Amenia, NY) with hand-painted floorcloths and placemats, as well as whimsical dragonfly pins and pinecone ornaments; CrippenWorks (Millerton, NY) with hand-sewn knitting needle cases, tote bags, diaper clutches and more; dbO Home (Sharon, CT) with handmade porcelain plates, bowls, soap dishes and vases; and Sunset Hill Farm (Millbrook, NY) with farmstead wool roving and yarn in a fabulous assortment of colors.  More artisans arrive next weekend (bringing Shaker baskets and  cashmere bunnies - just a sampling!).  

In the Farm & Food department, you will also see a few new faces.  Wild Hive Bakery (Clinton Corners, NY) will be back!  Many of you will know Wild Hive from the outdoor Amenia Farmers' Market (and the Millerton Farmers' Market).  Wild Hive micro-mills all of the flours they use for baking, mainly from organic grains grown by Lightning Tree Farm in Millbrook, NY.  As I discovered this summer, Wild Hive brioche makes the best french toast on the planet!  Our second new vendor will be Glenn Golovin of Pampered Cow (Amenia, NY).  Glenn will have on offer a very tasty spread of locally produced cheeses, from cow milk triple creams to goat milk buttons to goat and sheep milk feta made just up the hill in Millerton at Four Brothers Farm.  He will also have a wax-wrapped cheddar, as well as an assortment of cheeses flavored with beer, tea and herbs.

Our fabulous Farm & Food vendors will include The Amazing Real Live Food Co. (cheeses), Berkshire Mountain Foods (granolas), Best Creations Bakery (holiday cookies, cupcakes, cheese pastries), Cascade Mountain Winery (wines and olive oil), Cedar Hill Farm (pork and beef, pumpkins), Clear Water Aqua Farm (tender greens and herbs, veggies), Dashing Star Farm (lamb, eggs, wool/yarn, baked goods), Farm Country Soup (quiche, soup, baked goods), Krazy for Kazu's (Japanese marinades & dressings), Meili Farm (pork, beef and eggs), Moonbeam Farm (chutneys, jams, flatbread crackers), Perry Hill Farm (soaps, tinctures, salves, trees), Ronnybrook Farm Dairy (milk, yogurt, butter), and Sol Flower Farm (veggies). 

Come hungry, have a coffee, chat with a farmer, a baker, an artist.  Admire the many diverse talents our area has to offer...  We look forward to seeing you Saturday, from 10:00 to 2:00, in the gymnasium of the Amenia Town Hall.