It's always fun getting together with colleagues to share holiday cheer.
Our annual company party was held yesterday in New York City. 100-employees representing 17 different labels from Marquee Brands attended the event at the midtown restaurant, Quality Bistro. There was a delicious menu of buffet dishes and hors d'oeuvres, a variety of cocktails and wines, and great conversation. It was a wonderful time to celebrate the season and the year's many accomplishments.
Enjoy these photos.
Following an all-employee meeting, our company held a lovely luncheon at Quality Bistro, a brasserie serving contemporary takes on French classics.
It was nice to step away from a busy day of meetings to enjoy some time with colleagues.
Here are two of our Marquee Brands senior executives – Chief Financial Officer John Hayes and our Chief Executive Officer Heath Golden.
Pictured here are my Executive Assistant Dorian Arrich, Sam Porat from Neuberger Berman who is also co-founder of Marquee Brands, and my Business Manager JC Roberts.
I was especially excited because members of my Bedford team also came down for the event. Here are Fernando Ferrari and my Property Manager Doug White. Fernando has been working with me for more than 30 years.
There were lots of mini bites to start, such as these fresh crudités with special sauces and dips.
Passed around were Mini Cheeseburgers on sticks…
… And Tuna Tartare Cones, with Calabrian Chili and Saffron Aioli.
The entrée dishes were served at one long table – everyone took a bit of everything.
There was a Bibb Lettuce Salad with Champagne Vinaigrette and Roasted Pepitas.
And this is Moroccan Fried Chicken with Harissa Honey and Lemon Labne – a big hit.
The Seared Salmon with Sautéed Leeks was also very popular.
And so was this classic comfort food dish, Potatoes Au Gratin.
This is Charred Brussels Sprouts with Fresno Chilis and Hot Honey.
Everyone’s plate was full and many returned for second helpings, some even thirds.
Lots of snapshots were taken throughout the event. This one is of Peter Maule, EVP Active Outdoor, and Anthony Tutrone, Global Head of Neuberger Berman Alternatives and Managing Director.
In this photo, my longtime Special Projects Producer Judy Morris and Yenelle Jackson, Marquee Brands Chief of Staff.
Here are Office Manager Frank Sanchez and Maria Molloy, Administrative Manager.
Sophie Roche is Senior Marketing Manager for Martha Stewart, Sur La Table, and Emeril Lagasse. She’s standing with Marquee VP Human Resources, Susan Lee.
My Director of Brand Content Strategy Kim Dumer is sitting with My Executive Producer Amy Chiaro. Kim Dumer has also been working with me for many years.
Two more from the Martha Stewart team – Senior Marketing Director Ben Luckadoo and VP Creative Services, Ryan Mesina.
In this photo, Marquee EVP Culinary, Thomas Joseph, is joined by Allison Moore from the BCBG team.
And here are Jenny Levtchenko, Senior Fashion Trend Director and Allison Darling, Art Director for Ben Sherman. It was lovely to see everyone from the various brands together at one event.
Here are Marquee VP of Consumer Insights, Anik Chaudry, and Nick Meistrell, VP Global Marketing from Body and Glove.
And here are Katina Montieth, Marquee Brands Senior Human Resources Director, and Business Systems Analyst, Adam Tipton.
This photo shows Martha Stewart Culinary Director Chloe Zale and Marquee Brands Chief Content Officer, Christian Martin.
For dessert, an array of mini tarts and cookies. It was a delightful gathering for everyone. Happy Holidays!
My farm looks so eerie covered in a blanket of thick fog.
Do you get a lot of fog where you live? My property is in close proximity to a reservoir, where early patches of fog are quite common. Fog is essentially made up of condensed water droplets - a result of the air being cooled to the point where it can no longer hold all the water vapor it contains. It can be thin or thick - sometimes so thick it obscures the road and other objects ahead making it difficult for driving or even walking. Yesterday, I had a dense fog, which covered the area for most of the day.
It was a great opportunity to capture some photos of this atmospheric phenomenon, enjoy.
This is my long Boxwood Allée now covered in protective burlap for the winter. Yesterday, the atmosphere was filled with thick fog. At the end is my stable, but the thick fog makes it nearly impossible to see.
Here is one of my handsome Friesians standing in the pasture. Foggy, wet conditions can sometimes bother horses, but we only got light rain on this day, and plenty of fog that lasted several hours.
Do you know how fog forms? Fog can form in two ways: either by cooling the air to its dew point or by evaporation and mixing. This happens often when the earth radiates heat at night or in the early morning.
Fog happens when it is very humid. There has to be a lot of water vapor in the air for fog to form. This is one section of an allée of lindens planted between two paddocks leading down to my chicken yard.
Here are my five donkeys in another pasture. They don’t seem to mind the weather at all.
This is a southern view looking at my living maze. Hard to see, but my Winter House home is in the distance.
And this is the older Linden Allée just outside my stable. Don’t confuse fog and mist. Fog is denser than mist. This means fog contains more water molecules in the same amount of space. Fog cuts visibility down to six-tenths of a mile while mist can reduce visibility to about one to 1.2 miles.
The thicker the fog, the longer it takes to dissipate. This fog lasted several hours along with light rain showers. This view shows my golden weeping willows.
Here, dozens of geese gather in what I call my “Run In” paddock. Wild birds love to visit my farm. I also see wild turkeys, and raptors or birds of prey, such as hawks, falcons, and turkey vultures.
This photo shows the thick fog through the woodland. But, the foggiest place in the world is Grand Banks, off the island of Newfoundland, Canada. The cold Labrador current from the north and the warm Gulf Stream current from the east create just the right conditions for thick fog to form almost every day of the year.
This fog is in my back hayfield where I grow lots of hay for my horses. Edging the field on one side is a stand of red maples.
At the far end of the back hayfield is my giant sycamore tree, the symbol of my farm. This tree is among the largest of the trees on the property.
Even with the dense fog, my outdoor grounds crew keeps busy with all the late fall chores. Our biggest task right now is to cover all the boxwood shrubs and hedges with burlap.
This is a view of my middle field, another area that is dedicated to growing lots of nutritious hay for my horses. At the left edge is a stand of Japanese zelkova trees, closely related to the elm.
These are also linden trees – half of my long allée that starts at the carriage road to my Winter House and extends north between the fenced pastures all the way to my chicken coops.
This bare stands behind my goose pen. Ever wonder why it is called “fog?” One definition of fog from the 14th century refers to tall grasses. Many grasses use fog as part of their name such as Yorkshire fog grass. Fog was also the Danish word for mist or spray in the 16th century. It is thought that the two definitions may have merged when mist was noted over a field of grass.
This is my orchard. Another interesting story involving fog includes President George Washington. During the Battle of Long Island on August 27, 1776, George Washington and his troops were fighting a losing battle against the British. When a thick fog descended on the area, Washington took the opportunity to withdraw thousands of his troops into Manhattan. After the fog lifted, the British descended on the American positions, only to find they had left. The Americans’ miraculous retreat saved their lives.
These are the great Eastern white pine trees on the left. Hard to see their bold green color, but they do stand out in clear conditions.
On this foggy morning it was even difficult to see trees up close. This is my pinetum, or an arboretum of pine trees or other conifers.
Today we’re expecting one to two inches of rain and high winds with temperatures in the 60s – unusually warm for this time of year. And winter officially starts in just 10 days.
Every year around this time my farm undergoes a great transformation. It's when all the precious boxwood shrubs and hedges are covered with burlap.
I am a big supporter of "burlapping" shrubbery for the cold season. Burlap casings protect the tender branches from splaying and breaking under heavy ice and snow while shielding the foliage from strong winds. Burlap is more effective than plastic because it allows air to circulate through the plants. It is a practice I've followed for many years, and I think it also provides a cozy and pretty look to the winter landscape. Last week, the crew finished the biggest part of this project - my long Boxwood Allée.
Enjoy these photos.
When pipes like these are out this time of year, it can only mean one thing – it’s time to burlap. These pipes, which we keep organized in a back field where we store other supplies, are made from rolled galvanized 16 gauge industrial tubing. They are actually the metal parts of greenhouse hoop houses. I also use them for the framing needed for the protective burlap covers. In all, hundreds of ground stakes, purlin pipes, connectors, nuts, and bolts are used for the project.
The metal pipes and bows are brought out from storage by type and installed in a very organized manner.
To start, pieces are placed along the allée in a production line process. A long piece of twine is used to ensure ground pipes are positioned straight along each side of the allée.
Constructing the frame for the burlap takes several days, but the process is well worth the effort during cold snaps, high winds, and snowstorms.
Ground pipes are installed every four feet along the allée. These hollow pipes will anchor the supports.
These are 10-foot wide bow sections – they will last quite a while and give the boxwood a lot of room to grow. Building the frame at least a foot taller than the majority of the boxwood protects any heavy snow from weighing down onto the tender foliage.
Working in pairs, these bow sections are positioned on both sides of the boxwood.
Each end of the bow piece is inserted into the tall ground pipes.
Here is what it looks like once the bow pieces are in place. The boxwood has grown quite a bit in the last couple of years.
Long center pieces support the perpendicular bow sections.
Small pieces of wood are pounded into the ground next to each steel ground stake. These short wooden pieces provide points at which the burlap can be secured.
Because the burlap comes in 48-inch wide and 60-inch wide rolls, it’s necessary to sew lengths of burlap, so it is wide enough to cover the boxwood. Burlap is relatively inexpensive and available at garden centers.
The fabric is unrolled along the allée and prepared for sewing.
I have a portable bag closing sewing machine that works perfectly for this project and cuts manual sewing times in half. This machine is able to sew long lengths of burlap in just minutes.
The fabric is held taut as the machine is pulled across. It can also be done right on site, which is very convenient.
The machine uses white strong cotton thread and a chain stitch which is formed when the needle passes through the fabric and inter-loops with itself on the underside of the seam. It is often seen on sacks of rice.
Once sewn, the new cover is brought to a designated section and slowly draped over the boxwood.
The crew pulls the burlap over the metal framing and over the shrubs. It takes a couple of crew members to get the burlap over the frame peaks.
To secure the burlap cover tightly, Pete pulls down the burlap and attaches it to the ground stakes using wood strips and screws.
Even scraps of wood can be repurposed for various projects. Here, we cut wooden stakes into small strips. The strips are about six inches long – just long enough to accommodate two screws that will keep the burlap secure.
It looks very tidy once attached. Both the metal and wood stakes can be seen through the fabric.
At the ends, Phurba pulls the burlap snug and begins sewing it closed. For this he uses a large embroidery needle and jute twine.
All the sewing is done using five-inch or eight-inch long craft needles specifically made for working with jute – every member of the outdoor grounds crew has his own needle. These needles have large eyes and bent tips.
Here is what the end sections look like all sewn together. The fabric is pulled taut and secured – all by hand.
Here is one finished section of the Boxwood Allée. The burlap still allows the boxwood to “breathe”, and get sunlight, which is important even during the colder months.
I’ve been “burlapping” for many years and find that this is really the most reliable way to protect my hedges and shrubs. Covering this allée with burlap gives me comfort that all will survive the winter unscathed. And it is so pretty to see all done. And this is just the beginning… the crew has already started “burlapping” another part of farm – wait and see where the “cover up” happens next.
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