Garden Tour Series: A Martha Moments Road Trip

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. 

Garden Tour Series: A Seminar and Q&A

Our last stop on the tour was for a formal presentation about Martha's business, as well as a Q&A with Martha and her team. This was held in one of the buildings near the stables. There were comfortable seats set out for us all and we gathered around to listen to the presentation, which focused on several aspects of Martha's company, led by various members of her team. 

Martha began the seminar by speaking about her farm and how her homes have always influenced her business model. She thanked us all for coming and told us that it was great to meet her core audience, up close and personal. 

Kevin Sharkey spoke next. He is the Executive Vice President of Martha's company and is in charge of much of the merchandising ventures. He spoke about the company's core values, how the company connects with the consumer, what the company aspires to and how they continue to reach new audiences around the world through social media and diverse partnerships. He also spoke about the new Martha Stewart store in Dubai and how it all came about, with plans to open even more stores! It was a great presentation!

The company's core merchandising values: Superior Function and Innovation; Quality at a Value; Beautiful Design that Elevates the Home.

Lisa Wagner was next to speak. She has been working with Martha since the mid-1990s when she began as a stylist and producer on her television show and as a contributor to the magazine. Lisa continues to work as a stylist on many of Martha's publishing projects. She spoke about the art of making something look beautiful, using photos she took herself at her own home. It was a lovely presentation about finding beauty in the everyday and capturing it with an eye for detail, which is very much a part of the Martha Stewart ethos.

Lisa was followed by Allyn Magrino, the sister of Susan Magrino who runs Martha's public relations. Allyn explained how Martha was their first and longest-standing client and how she has been so inspired by Martha over the years, sharing personal anecdotes about some of their adventures together in business.

Martha's three 'collecting gurus' spoke last. From left to right: Frank Kaminski, Vincent Manzo and Jim Klinko. Frank runs an auction service; Vincent is an antiques dealer and appraiser, and Jim has a store in Westport, Connecticut, called Furniture on Consignment, which Martha has been frequenting since the late-1980s. These three were responsible for organizing Martha's Great American Tag Sale. They shared their tips on how to build a good collection and how Martha has deeply influenced the collecting market with her excellent taste. 

Here are some upcoming Martha projects that were revealed in the seminar:

• Martha's next book will be a baking book, very similar in style to Martha: The Cookbook with stories and archival photos woven into the narrative.
• Martha's autobiography is still in the works - don't worry!
• Martha's first book from 1982, Entertaining, will be reprinted this fall in its exact original format. 
• There are three more special issues of the magazine coming our way this year: a reprint of the last Halloween issue with a different cover, one called Fall Recipes and a new Holiday issue.
• There is a new line of Martha Stewart cookware, bedding and bath coming out soon using the 'good, better, best' model that Kevin Sharkey says we should all be very excited about!
• A new location of The Bedford, Martha's restaurant, will be opening this fall in Connecticut.

After the seminar, everyone gathered for a group photo outside of the main entrance to the stables. It was the perfect send-off!

I said a quick goodbye to Martha and thanked her for everything. We all had such a wonderful day together! It was a truly special event for all of us.

Before we left the farm, there was one more surprise for the group: the table where we had had lunch was laden with big stacks of Martha's books! Martha told us we could each take five or six books with us before we left! What a treat! 

Our adventure wasn't over yet! In the next blog I'll share photos from a road trip some of us took the following day to some of Martha's favourite vendors.

(Photos by Jordan Munn, Jocelyn Santos, Ryan Mesina, Steven Bednasz, and Bernie Wong)

Garden Tour Series: Lunch by the Pool

 As the tour date approached, Bernie and Dennis were getting more and more details from Martha's team regarding the events of the day - and it just kept getting better and better! We learned, for instance, that Martha not only planned to serve the group breakfast on her terrace, but also lunch by the pool! It was truly an embarrassment of riches for us! 

As we headed up towards the pool, Martha told us about the pool's construction and her desire to make it look as inconspicuous as possible: no bright blue here! The pool is the same depth from one end to the other, with a slight dip at the center that is about five feet to the bottom. Martha told me this was a mistake on her part and wished she had created an actual "deep end" for diving. In any case, the pool looks gorgeous, surrounded by potted palms and antique saddle stones at one end that give the appearance of large mushrooms.

The pool can be entered at either end down a series of narrow concrete steps. At one end, near the pergola, there is a jacuzzi hot tub.

I love these antique saddle stones that stand guard at the north end of the pool. 

Martha under the pool pergola explaining to us how the pool was built.

We then all headed over to the covered patio for our lunch! Martha was excited!

We were gobbsmacked to learn that Chef Pierre Schaedlin of P.S. Tailored Events was going to be making our lunch! He had worked as Martha's private chef for several years and has collaborated on many of her cookbooks. He has worked in some of the world's best restaurants in London, Paris and New York City. What a treat!

The table where we dined was set so beautifully. Martha told me her kitchen staff had set it for us, and had even made all of the small arrangements of peonies. Everything looked so beautiful.

Since we couldn't all fit around the main table, Martha had set up several smaller tables around the area. I sat at one of these ones with my friends Michelle and Jordan, and two representatives from Martha's PR firm, the Magrino Agency.

Everyone seated and ready to enjoy a delicious lunch!

The lunch started with gazpacho and herbed toasts. Martha's podcast producer, Heather Kirkland, and stylist and content producer, Lisa Wagner (who has worked with Martha for nearly 30 years) helped out!

The main course was a delicious paella. There were three kinds on offer: the traditional paella with seafood, one without seafood and a vegetarian variety.

Everyone helped themselves!

For dessert, flan was served... on Fireking Jadeite dishes, of course. It was so delicious!

So perfectly pretty!

After lunch, I had a few minutes to chat with Martha. 

Martha told me about her granddaughter, Jude, and some of her musical interests. She always speaks with great pride about her grandchildren. We also spoke about my blog and its Instagram account and how it all came to be. Martha told me she thinks I do a very good job running it. (blush!!)

After lunch, it was time for one more stop near the stables for a formal presentation about Martha's company and some of the projects they're working on! Stay tuned!

(Photos by Jocelyn Santos, Andrew Ritchie, Matt Obey, Carey Lowe, Steven Bednasz)