A Dash & A Sprinkle: Recipe for Fulfillment

Our friend Julie has been baking since she screwed-in the lightbulb of her first Easybake Oven. Practice has served her well, so we were thrilled when we found out that she's opening her first bakery, The Able Baker, in Maplewood, NJ (coming this month!). Though cupcakes have been the fad for the last couple of years, a bite into her Red Velvet Cake or Flourless Chocolate Cake will leave you speechless (you shouldn't be talking with your mouth full anyway). Here are a few inspirations for Julie from the 1930's and NH:

Clabber Girl Baking Book via OLDVINTAGECOOKBOOKS on Etsy

Baking tins in our pantry, NH

An oil on canvas we bought for The Able Baker, coming to Maplewood, NJ this year

Locally grown eggs, NH

In the pan...a post-bisquit moment

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Another 30's, vintage cookbook via Etsy

Online Find: The Art of Eugene Speicher

As we searched online auctions at Liveauctioneers last night, we were astounded when we came across a work by Eugene Speicher. A little more investigation, and magnificent canvases with the most stunning color saturation and energy were revealed. We love when we find artists we're captivated by. Here are some examples of this recent find:

Eugene Speicher, Portrait of a Woman at Michaan's Auction

A Speicher floral study via Askart

Eugene Speicher, Portrait of Renate

Eugene Speicher, Nancy

Safe Keeping

One of the first things we ever brought up the house was an antique, heart-shaped lock that we found in Maine. We loved it the moment we saw it and had a stand made for it back in the New York. We love how it represents safety, from belongings to the heart, and we seem to gravitate toward other pieces that seem represent security, somehow...

Antique cast iron padlock on stand

Vintage suitcase

Velvet Victorian jewelry box with dome top

Antique cast iron elephant bank

Deco inlay box with mother of pearl detail

Size Matters

Antique cast iron bank of the Woolworth Building aside toy donkey

As we work on shooting product for our new site, we've been very aware of scale and context to accurately represent size. So when we came across the terrariums of Twig this week, we were immediately intrigued. Created in vintage and antique containers, the scenes range from country escapes to Central Park muggings in a whole new proportion...sans donkey.

Terrarium by Twig

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A Loft of Pigeons

With a high temperature of 10F, we passed a loft of pigeons yesterday trying to stay warm on the Upper East Side. We've always held some level of aesthetic appreciation for pigeons....their coloring & pattern, robust, almost muscular little bodies and elegant carriage. Yes, there are many who disagree, but on this cold day we salute the little survivors huddling in the cold.

A loft of pigeons staying warm in evergreen boughs on the Upper East Side

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A hand painted engraving at our home in NH

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A cold painted Austrian pigeon sculpture from Tom Harris Auctions

1920's broach

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A bronze pigeon at Clar's Auction house via Liveauctioneers

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Mark of Qinglong Bronze Pigeons from Wichita Auction Gallery

A New Find in New Zealand

We stumbled upon New Zealand photographer Desiree Dolron's work while searching for compatible images for Jamie Wyeth's Orca Bates (which we love and have had on the desktop for quite some time). Dolron's body of work is astounding. Emotionally charged and wildly diverse in both technique and imagery, she references the Pre-Raphaelites to Wyeth, Walton Ford to the Dutch masters (see her complete works on her website!)

Desiree Dolron, Xteriors VIII

Jamie Wyeth, Orca Bates via Artnet

Desiree Dolron, Gaze Study 18

Sir John Vincent Millais, Ophelia via Pre-Raphaelite Sisterhood

The Chicken or the Egg

While we’re certainly inspired by the muted palettes of Andrew Wyeth’s paintings, our new country life has exposed us to many of the same influences that fueled his iconic work--soft midday shadows, warm fields of wheat, the textured ercu of farm fresh eggs. As we create our own compositions for H&GAH we wonder what influences came first…

Abandoned bird's nest in the bush outside the house

Vintage woven metal basket

Andrew Wyeth, Off at Sea

Dried Artichoke

Andrew Wyeth, Open and Closed

Vintage pantry and packing boxes with Mid Century pottery

Modernism at Home

Cartwright painting from 1954 purchased at auction

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We've purchased some modernist artwork lately that we're completely in love with. No provenance or big names, these works are beautifully realized in the style specific to the 50's and early 60's...we've mixed some other iconic imagery in to provide flavor of the time and it's aesthetic.

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Modernist unpolished cat sculpture, auctioned at Vallot, NYC

Evelyn Ackerman wool tapestry at Bonhams via Liveauctioneers

An enamel and metal wall sculpture at Skinner

Vita Jaspan, oil on board

Another Weekend at the Office

Frost on the keeping room (a.k.a. "the office") window, overlooking the barn

As we prepare to launch our e-commerce site for vintage and antique goods, our country getaway has become an office of sorts, filled with product and props collected over the years. We've been staging photo shoots weekend after weekend--cataloging our inventory and capturing our voice on "film." Here are some outtakes to wet your appetite...

Antique washbashin, packing box and roadside blueberry table

Vintage ragdoll

Interior of a velvet Victorian jewelry box

Vintage tape-measure and books

Collection of vintage wooden spindles

Ledger from Great Grandpa's locksmith store