The day after our experience on Martha's farm, a group of us decided to spend the day on the road visiting some of Martha's favourite vendors and artists. After a delicious breakfast at the Airbnb, we all piled into three vehicles, which were loaded with homemade snacks (of course) and began our excursion early so that we would be able to see everything on our list.
Our first stop of the day was Orangerie, a fabulous home-goods store and nursery in Millbrook, New York. We all posed in front of the entrance with proprietor Anthony Bellomo (far left in the green shirt) who was just leaving for the day.
Anthony's store has a large greenhouse attached to it, filled with all manner of potted topiaries and plants for the garden. It was a serene and beautiful place.
Inside the shop there are all kinds of beautiful and interesting finds for the home. I loved this collection of ostrich eggs, which had been mounted on stands and decorated with finials. They looked so beautiful in a grouping like this in the center of a large round table.
I also admired these hand-carved moose antlers. They were extremely costly, but they were works of art. I was enchanted.
A mirror selfie in front of a stand of beautiful scented candles, as well as many ceramic pieces by acclaimed ceramicist Christopher Spitzmiller, Anthony's husband.
We then drove to Bantam, Connecticut, to visit the ceramic studio and shop of Guy Wolff, one of Martha's favourite potters. Many of the pots in Martha's greenhouse were made by Guy and his son Ben. This is the exterior of his shop and studio.
The store is rustic but so beautifully-appointed with a variety of Guy's ceramic vessels. Everything was also beautifully lit.
A collection of white ceramic vessels with decorative edges.
We were lucky to find Guy Wolff himself in the shop! He gave us a lesson on the history of his studio and all the different kinds of ceramics on offer. Nathan Schmidt purchased this large red ceramic pot.
This one was Bernie's favourite.
During our visit, Guy was kind enough to give us a demonstration of how he makes his beautiful pots and vessels.
It all begins with good clay!
We all posed for a photo outside the studio. Guy's daughter snapped the picture for us.
We then headed over to Westport where we had a late lunch at Terrain, a garden and housewares store that is part of the Anthropologie brand.
We had lunch at their charming cafe, which has a delicious menu.
The bread comes baked in ceramic flower pots. So charming!
The store itself was lovely with all manner of potted flowers and plants, as well as many home goods, such as scented candles, dinnerware, beauty products and textiles.
Motoring along to our next stop! Bernie and Dennis are expert navigators.
While in Westport, we HAD to stop in front of Turkey Hill, perhaps Martha's most famous home. It was lovely to see it in person.
Here I am posing in front of the main gate with my friends Kevin Link and Kristina Closs.
And here I am being silly, pretending to emerge from the side gate to welcome visitors.
After Turkey Hill, we drove around the corner to the Adams House, which Martha restored in the early 1990s and used it as inspiration for her book, "Martha Stewart's New Old House." She completely renovated it with her late brother, George, and made several videos of the restoration process. The videos were sold at Kmart and the house was used as the logo on the early Martha Stewart Home products that were sold at the retailer. Kmart helped fund the restoration of the home.
Here's the whole group posting in front of the house. From left: Rachel, me, Justin, Jennifer, Kevin, Nathan, Kristina, Dennis, Bernie and Hayden.
One last stop in Westport: Goodwill! We scoured it for anything Martha, but only Nathan scored with a Martha Stewart Everyday glass pie dish. But, we all found something we loved!
Just before we headed back to the Airbnb, Bernie wanted to stop at Westfair Fish and Chips for some lobster rolls. It is one of Martha's favourite little spots in Westport. It was a full and eventful day!
The following day we all went our separate ways and headed back to our homes, filled with feelings of gratitude and so many memories of our experiences with Martha at her farm. It was truly a dream come true for all of us.
So many thanks to Martha, Ryan McCallister, Matt Krack, Heather Kirkland, Dorian Arrich, Kevin Sharkey, Lisa Wagner, Allyn Magrino, The Bedford Post Inn, Martha's entire farm staff, and every single person who came from miles away to attended this remarkable event together with me, Bernie and Dennis. We are eternally grateful.
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