I was thrilled when I learned several months ago that two friends of mine had joined the numerous vendors that Anthropologie brings on board on a continuous basis. Dr. Brent Ridge (a former health editor at Martha Stewart Living magazine) and his partner Josh Kilmer-Purcell (a novelist and advertising executive) are owners of the prolifically productive Beekman Farm in Sharon Springs, New York. They now sell various examples of their fine, all-natural goat's-milk soaps at Anthropologie, including an exclusive new boxed collection of 12 handmade soaps, straight from the mills of their farm.
Their "A Year In the Country" soap collection features all twelve of their custom-formulated scents (12 soaps with particular scents that reflect seasonal fragrances) and comes in a beautiful, sturdy wooden box. I adore the label on the tin!When I told Brent about my little scream of delight when I received the delivery of his soap at our store in Toronto, he informed me that he personally made, by hand, each of the metal lids on each of the hundreds of boxes that are being shipped to Anthropologie stores across North America, and to the new store in London, England. He also had to hand cut each of the small holes on the lids, which act as gripping mechanisms to slide the lid open. His effort paid off -the collection is beautiful!
Underneath each monthly soap is a description of the scent and the natural derivatives that were used to achieve it. All the soap is handmade at the Beekman farm by Brent and Josh (with help from Farmer John!) using the milk from their prized goats.In any case, the soaps are delightful and are so beautifully packaged that I will naturally be buying myself a box. I urge you to seek them out at the Anthropologie nearest you or order them online at anthropologie.com
NOTE: I will be visiting Brent and Josh at the farm in December, so I'll have a full report about their beautiful little piece of earth, with photos!
9 comments:
It's funny you should mention Beekman farm and Brent Ridge because I just saw them featured on an hour-long Food Network program last night. The show was "Rachael Ray's Vacation" and it was all about the farm-to-table craze and the "locavore" concept of eating only fresh,locally grown food. Anyway, Rachael and her husband traveled all over the U.S. including a stop at Beekman farm in Sharon Springs, NY. Brent Ridge was interviewed briefly as he puttered around in the garden. They showed off his goats a bit, but no sign of Josh! Then they showed their goat's milk-based products, which were nicely displayed at a store. It was great publicity for them, and I hope it will increase interest in their handmade products, and an appreciation of the farming lifestyle, which they have thoroughly embraced.
Please see my blog... for a mention that I used your photograph of your post on burlap...Chamara
I love the soap and am hoping to pick up some on my trip to New York soon. I hunted for them in the London Anthropologie but with no luck - I will just have to keep hunting!
Where are all 3 stores? Can't find the info on the website. I know there is one in Toronto, and another in Edmonton, but what about the third? I live in the States, but may have to move back, so it would be nice to still have access to my Anthroplogie fix!
Thanks Andrew...we're glad you like them. Poor Brent did the lion's share of wrapping and packaging. The entire wide center hallway of the Beekman turned into a soap factory for much of the last few months. We hope people enjoy them!
There are actually TWO stores in Toronto. One in Don Mills and one downtown at Yorkville. Come visit!!
Hi, Andrew
Glad those made it to Canada safe and sound. The order required us to hand-wrap over 14,000 bars of soap. Every surface in the house was covered in soaps. It STILL smells fabulous
This may seem like an odd question, but do they actually make the soap there at the farm themselves, or do the just supply the goat's milk?
They actually make it at the farm themselves. Their blog, beekman1802.com documents it all.
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