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packing up; next stop #farmandflea @basilicahudson this weekend! Thank you @oroboro_store! And all who came by, enjoy your #sac1sac2 #sacpoint5 #keycase! see you this weekend at #basilicafarmandflea #bffhudson #farmfleafun 🍁 (at Oroboro Store)
Long lost friends meet @basilicafarmandflea! Great to see you Lizzie and Mayaluna! @elizabethkenya @maasai_collections #basilicafarmandflea #bffhudson #maasaicollections #sac1sac2 📷@abigailchapin_ (at Basilica Hudson)
Thank you, Farm & Flea
Our second annual Basilica Farm & Flea Spring Market was a beautiful weekend of celebrating regional entrepreneurs within our community. We had a great mix of vendors -- local maple sugar cotton candy by Maple Leaf Sugaring Co., rare finds from Reggie Madison in the Basilica Airstream, homemade kombucha kits from Smugtown Mushrooms, tasty cocktails from Wm Farmer + Sons, revitalizing hot + cold brews from Irving Farm, handmade wardrobe additions by cMYLOOK, vintage pieces from Lovefield Vintage + North Country Classics, old timey silverware from White Whale Ltd., hand-turned wooden bowls by Aubry, leather goods from P.M. Reed Carry Goods, sustaining foodstuffs from BFF mainstays Alimentary Kitchen + Raven & Boar, and much more. We love our creative business community and look forward to our fifth annual Holiday Market over Thanksgiving Weekend -- Friday November 24 through Sunday, November 26. Mark your calendars! MANY THANKS to our springtime BFF SPONSORS: Green Mountain Energy, Columbia County Tourism, Stair Galleries, Lumberyard, Perfect 10 and All Over Albany.
Day 2 of the Basilica Farm & Flea! #bffhudson #basilicahudson #hudson #vintage #shoplocal #shophandmade #shopsmall #smallbizsat #smallbusinesssaturday (at Basilica Hudson)
Pretty things @basilicahudson #bffhudson
Basilica Farm & Flea | Vendor Spotlight : Mountain Honey Clothier
Deirdre Lozier
Who are you and what is your trade/practice about?
My name is Deidre Lozier, I’m the Founder and Creative Director of Mountain Honey Clothier. I’m a mother of 3, and a biologist turned seamstress who has built a unique children’s line focused on highlighting the whimsy and simplicity of childhood. I am inspired by vintage designs and fabrics that don’t fit into the “cute, childish, or gender specific” categories. Instead of following trends, my focus is on creating heirloom pieces that are unique, timeless, and responsibly produced.
What got you started on this path? Who influenced you?
My mother is an incredibly talented seamstress and began teaching me to sew at a young age. I still call her to help me work through design issues and for advice on techniques I might use to solve a particular problem. I fell in love with sewing items for kids after my own boys were born. I often found myself disappointed by the sport themes and logos that were slapped onto many of the boy’s wear options, and began sewing my own pieces that were geared towards being whimsical instead of “boyish."
What do you do when you need inspiration?
When I am in need of inspiration, I find that seeking out nature is incredibly helpful. I also love to research vintage fashion designs. I can easily get lost in exploring children’s fashion over the last two centuries.
What makes your products unique?
Uniqueness and individuality are two very important aspects of my designs. I’ll often spend months designing a new piece, and then researching whether or not something similar is already on the market. I want my pieces to stand out and be as unique as the children that wear them. While it is hard to define the Mountain Honey look in words, you can certainly recognize my signature bonnets from a mile a way, with their adorable ears that stick up proudly! There is a certain mix of whimsy,vintage, and punk in my pieces.
What are the biggest challenges to growing your business? The biggest rewards?
The biggest challenge to growing my business is finding a balance between my strong micro-business ethics and the current standard for mass production in the market-place. I am devoted to small-batch fashion, and making items that are produced in a way that minimizes waste and treats all partners in production fairly. I’ve found that this means slower growth, but it also means deeper more meaningful connections are made with my customers, material sources, and collaborators. What is your favorite thing about what the Hudson Valley has to offer?
Today’s consumers are bombarded by fast, cheap, and low quality products. It’s easy in our current environment to forget that each product we purchase is connected to so many other human beings. The people behind the items we use everyday fade away and are often completely forgotten and an expectation of 2-day shipping and steep-discounts is pervasive. For artists who work in small-batches, and run sustainable studios, it is incredibly important to find a community that understands what your product stands for, and why it might not be available as quickly, or cost a bit more. There is a wonderful group of small business supporters in the Hudson valley, who value the handmade arts and seek out ethically produced products. There is also this collective/creative vibe amongst the crafter of this region. This information sharing, collaboration, and sense of community is as vital as air, water, and nutrition, to a creative person like myself.
A Conversation with Stella & Kate of Hudson River Exchange
What is HRE?
SY - Hudson River Exchange is an effort to serve the needs of the new creative economy of maker and collector entrepreneurs in and around Hudson. We are a creative trade exchange.
KM - Hudson River Exchange wears a couple different hats. On the one hand we have our markets, which are really like modern day trading posts - places for the exchange of goods, ideas, inspiration. Makers, collectors and farmers converge in one place and the community has the opportunity to purchase their wares.
On the other hand, Hudson River Exchange is really for the artists. Our events, markets, and pop-ups are a place for artists to share what they've been making, meet fellow creatives, see what's happening in the world around them. It’s a community. People have a lot of great ideas and it means something to bring them all together.
What got you started on this path? Who influenced you?
SY - Community. I moved to Hudson because I wanted to be in the company of farmers and creatives. I wanted to have a closer relationship to food and the growers. Farmers are the most impressive makers. Whether you're a designer, musician, or chef, there is a shared value for work done with your hands.
I must have a list somewhere in my brain of things that I wish existed for people that work for themselves and things that would be different in the retail world because Hudson River Exchange didn't start with an intention of being a business or beyond a one-day event. A lot of my ideas come from my experiences freelancing -- it's pretty autonomous which has it's perks but also can be really isolating. I understand the feelings of uncertainty and the mental hurdles you jump so that you don't get stuck. I also spent a good amount of time working and thinking about retail. Never could stick to one thing long enough because it wasn't interesting anymore or I was frustrated with things that I thought were inefficiencies or really wasteful. I'm not here to present a cure-all but more so an alternative that addresses the growing group of small business people living in this region.
KM - I’d say it definitely didn’t seem like a path when I got started! I’ve always been interested in collaborating, in helping people and watching ideas grow as they bounce between two people in creative partnership. Looking back I think I’ve been looking for a team in everything I do - whether it was working in end of life care or helping a friend launch a new business, I really like working with others towards something.
I gotta say there’s also something to figuring things out, to inventing rules. That doesn't mean going it alone. It’s more about not acknowledging the individual experience.
What drives you to wake up everyday and do what you do?
KM - I really like seeing what’s out there. It can be hard at times not getting overwhelmed when you wear a lot of hats. To combat that I like to make a list before I go to bed so I wake up with a clear sense of priorities.
SY - Snoozing a responsible number of times before it becomes excessive. Stream WNYC and start flipping through Instagram. I'm not a morning person, but once I wake up, I can keep going until the day feels done.
What do you do when you're NOT working on Hudson River Exchange?
KM - When are we not working on Hudson River Exchange? In all seriousness, the line between work and not work is pretty blurry. I have these great conversations with creatives and friends about what’s going on in their lives and we make plans for some future event. And it all ties in together. How much of that is fun and how much is work? But there’s more to life! I love walking my dog and getting outside. Whether in combination or solo, being physical and not being in front of a computer are key!
SY - Definitely. Get away from the computer! Hudson River Exchange is still in its infancy so it demands a lot of attention but it's something that I feel really inspired by so when I'm not working, I'll still get an idea for something, but that's more exciting than burdensome.
Something I've been thinking about recently is that why 'what do you do for work?' is such a horrible question. I always want to know what people do. We spend the majority of our lives preparing for or going to work. I guess the difference is that it defines some people and for others it's just functional, but that is interesting too. I guess Kate and I have talked a lot about work/life balance this year. It's definitely important, but I'm trying to find my own boundaries with it. It's been a process of separating my personal feelings about working versus what general consensus about work is.
You recently opened your own brick-and-mortar space, offer workshops, and will be launching a membership program - you've been busy! And were only established in 2013!
SY - This has been our 3rd season and we're so grateful to all the opportunities and people we've gotten to work with!! Having our studios is exciting and opens up possibilities. We're still figuring out what membership would look like. Maybe that's not even the right word for it, but we've bouncing things around and seeing what makes sense.
What has been your biggest accomplishment or greatest sense of reward?
SY - This year, we have been carving out and forming what and who we are. Getting to know what Hudson River Exchange is and wants to be has been a really amazing process. There's a lot of stuff we've come up with in theory, but it’s when we put it into action and our workshops fill up, Farm & Flea attendance goes off the charts, and people come into our pop-ups saying they've been following us on social media and can’t wait to see it in person, it feels really good. If it didn't feel rewarding, we would've stopped a long time ago.
KM - Ditto to all that! And I’d say the relationships are growing. Nowhere is that more apparent than when we are walking around talking to vendors this year at Basilica Farm & Flea compared to the 2013 Summer Market when were just meeting for the first time. The fact that Hudson River Exchange is a community and its ongoing is pretty amazing.
What do you do when you need inspiration?
SY - Travel has been really important, but I'm still learning about this place I live in. So for now, slowing down and doing really simple things, like cooking, or taking a drive. Meditative tasks are really nice and gratifying.
KM - Yeah. I really need to get present when I’m feeling like I need inspiration. Either go out and see something new and different - even if it’s just going to a movie alone - or do something small and meditative. Pull out the watercolors and shut off for a bit. And no Instagram.
What does the growing American maker movement mean to you?
SY - I think the makers have said it best – a renewed appreciation for handmade, quality over quantity, a nod to traditions and knowledge of the past, and bringing back American manufacturing. It’s inspiring to play a role in shifting how empowered individuals are making a living and creating a new hybrid of working class entrepreneur. Creativity is the most important tool we have. It's a celebration of human ability.
KM - I think it’s about getting back to our physical, emotional and spiritual humanity. We are amazing creatures that play and create and connect. Creativity, making and even the form of small, direct capitalism that takes place at our markets allow for all those things.
How have you seen Basilica Farm & Flea evolve?
KY - Evolve is a good word. Very alive. Basilica Farm & Flea has taken on a life of its own for sure. People have come to rely on it, that it exists, that it kicks off the holiday season. My dad recently described it as the Basilica’s Nutcracker. He comes from the dance community and I think what he meant was that it has become a benchmark season event, for our community of makers, for Hudson itself.
Image Credits (top to bottom):
Kate Moore at Basilica Farm & Flea in 2015, photo by Margrit Wenzel. Stella Yoon at Hudson River Exchange Headquarters on Warren Street. Stella Yoon and Kate Moore preparing for Basilica Farm & Flea 2015, photo by Margrit Wenzel. Stella Yoon and Kate Moore preparing for Basilica Farm & Flea 2015, photo by Margrit Wenzel.
Basilica Farm & Flea Vendor Spotlight: Chara Amplification
What is Chara Amplification? Chara Amplification is a bespoke tube amplifier company based out of Hudson, NY. Chara amps are entirely hand-built and feature the highest quality components, materials and craftsmanship.
What got you started on this path? Who influenced you? I've been an active musician for several decades as well as designer and cabinetmaker, so it was only natural the disciplines would blend together.
I started Chara Amplification after building a speaker cabinet for myself and then trying my hand at wiring up an amp. After that, I was hooked and kept building more difficult circuits with the goal of creating a design to call my own. I’ve come a long way in a short time, but I still have much to learn and many more ideas and concepts to explore. One of those ideas is a concept called Amptiques™ combining a functioning piece of furniture with an amp and speaker. I recently exhibited several amps and an Amptiques™ piece at the 2013 BKLYN DESIGNS tradeshow.
What do you do when you need inspiration? I find inspiration everywhere in all aspects of design, especially through music and guitar tones. I want to create something unique both visually and sonically. Living and playing music in NYC for the last 18 years has also influenced what kind of amps I want to design and build. For instance, my Anthem30 model was created as a versatile amp that could handle a variety of musical styles so you would only need one amp instead of several.
What makes your products unique? The word boutique is thrown around freely in the industry, but I feel most of these are larger companies that make certain models in mass quantities. I’d like to create individual amps for each individual person and this is what boutique means to me. I love getting commissions that require a challenge and push me. and I’m obsessed with details and quality not found in the mass produced marketplace.
