Shopping blog featuring products made by people not factories.
Happy Martin Luther King Jr. day everyone. If my math is correct, he would have been 82 years old this week. It’s sad thinking about what he might have accomplished were he not assassinated, but he certainly made the most of the time he had.
painting by ToineQuinn
Last year both our garden and home-grown meat endeavors were far from what anyone would call successful. Between the late blight, the wonky weather, and a four-day trip to a blogging conference during which the very loose grip I had on weeding was lost entirely, spinach and peppers were the only produce we managed to harvest in any significant quantities. Add that to a late spring flood and the incredibly persistent raccoon predation that all but wiped out our poultry flock and suffice it to say 2009 was a giant failure here. We have been, I am more than a little embarrassed to admit, depending quite heavily on supermarket fare to fill-in the gaps that we were unsuccessful in filling during the growing months ourselves.
It has been a humbling experience; having to very reluctantly fill a shopping cart with goods I know will never really satisfy the cravings for the hearty homemade meals I need this time of year; having to stare our own failure in the face week after week, month after month. It has been more frustrating than words can express; having to hand over much of our hard earned money for products I consider, in many cases, to be incredibly inferior to those I tried and failed at stocking away myself — for much more labor, but much less money I might add.
And yet, it has also been an invaluable exercise in extending our food comfort zones and, of course, a crash course in being more creative. Did you know, for instance, there are approximately eleven hundred and seventy three meals based entirely on the green beans you managed to procure and freeze in copious amounts from a fellow gardener more successful than yourself? Me either. Or that spinach can be added to almost any recipe to extend the store bought ingredients and that, perhaps more importantly, you can feed your children said spinach three times per day, every single day, for weeks and so long as you don’t point it out they won’t complain — or turn green? I know, I too was shocked.
Tell me, in lean years how have you become more creative? How did it change your buying and growing habits for the following year? Already we’ve invested in raised garden beds, heavily composted and have decided not to accept pre-orders from our clients for poultry; not to sell the eggs before they’re in the basket, so to speak, in order to ensure we can provide for ourselves first.
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Of course the Pop’s Grass Fed Ground Beef (top), small-farm grown Gourmet Dried Mushrooms (middle), and Rick’s Picks Mean Beans — and other spicy pickled produce — (bottom) all of which I’ve been coveting certainly wouldn’t hurt the mealtime variety. Of that I’m sure.
Wrap this gorgeous creation around your neck and face the day with style and flair.
By omanepadmeom.
Judy Frederick is a potter who started out in a field that couldn’t possibly be more different than shaping clay by hand: computer science. As a computer programmer and systems analyst, she enjoyed a profession that was challenging and rewarding in its own way, but still left her wanting more.
In 1998, Judy started experimenting with clay as a way to express her more creative side, the side that got little attention while she was immersed in the high-tech world. Her first efforts in clay were hand-built, and were focused on figurative forms.
Wanting to explore more of her creative side, Judy took classes in all of the studio arts, including painting, drawing, sculpture, and ceramics. She enjoyed working with all the different types of media, but was continually drawn to three-dimensional work, particularly ceramics.
As her work progressed and matured, she was led to create functional, utilitarian pieces that could serve people in their every day lives. She found that focusing on the functional did not hinder her creativity at all; the clay would still speak to her, telling her what it should become, whether a teapot, a flower vase, or a serving plate.
Not all of Judy’s work is purely utilitarian. Some of it is just for fun, including jewelry, holiday and seasonal ornaments, piggy banks, and decorative vases and other vessels.
Her style and technique continues to evolve, as she is always experimenting with new decorative glazes and new shapes, including surface decorations like cut outs, relief, ceramic applique, and creative handles.
All of Judy’s work is one-of-a-kind and completely handcrafted from a lump of clay. She only uses lead free and food safe glazes, and all of her work is oven, microwave, and dishwasher safe. She can even do work in custom sizes and colors, just contact her for details.
You can see her work in person at the Potter’s Guild of Baltimore in Hamden, Maryland, and you can also purchase her work from her online shop.
Ryan Ringel’s boys are hard on their toys. Any parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle or big brother or sister can probably relate. Ryan’s oldest son especially loves a good puzzle. But when ordinary, store-bought puzzles were subjected to his enthusiasm…over time, the results were not pretty.
Of course, store-bought puzzles are merely cardboard or chipboard with a sticker slapped on, or paper glued to the front…hardly designed to stand the test of time. Ryan’s boys were going through puzzles like tissues during flu season.
One day, Ryan was inspired to make more durable puzzles while watching a sculptor use a scroll saw to create intricate patterns in wood. He figured the same technique could be used to make puzzles for his kids, puzzles that were more interesting than the standard square or rectangle, as well as tougher than the flimsy ones from the mall toy store.
The first puzzle (“Faye Fish”) was a huge hit with the boys, and could keep them entertained for hours, without breaking apart, peeling, or bending. Soon, Ryan was making puzzles for the kids of his friends and neighbors, as well as his sons’ classmates, and My Daddy Puzzles was born.
Every puzzle is drawn by Ryan, and cut, sanded, stained, and painted by hand in his Alexandria, Virginia workshop. Each design is available in a variety of paint colors, in natural stain, or unpainted.
The poplar or maple hardwoods used to make them are grown and harvested in the USA, and the paints and stains used to decorate them come from a company in Ohio.
The puzzles are simple, yet challenging enough to keep kids as young as 18 months entertained and mentally stimulated. They’re painted on both sides to add a layer of difficulty, and range in size from 5 pieces for the littlest ones, to 10 pieces for older children.
Visit the My Daddy Puzzles web site to find out which Washington, DC-area art and craft shows they will be attending, or pick one up from the online shop.