If you live in upstate New York, come visit us at the Pepper Market this Saturday! We’ll have a great mix of Smock goods for sale (including letterpress holiday cards and our double-sided gift wrap!) and you’ll have the chance to support other local CNY designers. We hope to see you there!

If you love letterpress and live in the Syracuse area, stop by our shop this Thursday, November 29 from 4-7pm! We’ll have complimentary sweets and holiday stationery goods for sale, and we’re giving away a free gift when you spend $25 or more! We hope to see you there!

It’s not often we get to see what we eat outside of our homes and the grocery store. In September, a few of us had a chance to get up and personal with our peppers and onions during a tour of the beautiful Grindstone Farm in Pulaski, New York. Many Smock employees have CSA shares from Grindstone, and it was enlightening to get a good, hard look at what goes into creating our tasty, organic produce.

We spent a long time talking with Vic and Dick de Graff about what it’s like running a small organic farm in the snow belt of upstate New York, where snow comes early and often, and the local food movement is just catching on. They have adapted to the weather over the years by growing many of their vegetables in hoop houses, like the one featured above, in order to extend the growing season into November.

While Grindstone farm may look like an idyllic place to live, farming is anything but easy. One mistake, like forgetting to cover the lettuce before a potential frost, can ruin an entire crop for the rest of the year. As a farmer, your backyard is your home office, and there is always more work that should be done. But just like our love for creating beautiful, sustainable letterpress goes beyond the normal 9-5, the farmers at Grindstone choose this life because of a passion for growing and providing food for friends and neighbors, and because they want to spread the idea that feeding the world can happen one small plot of land at a time.

Interested in finding a farm like this near you? Check out localharvest.org for CSAs, U Pick Farms, Farmers Markets, Grocery Co-ops and more!  Want to see more photos from our trip to Grindstone Farm & our CSA pick-up spot here at Bella Figura? Check out this slideshow!

Jolie Colis is a local Syracuse company that takes after our own hearts. Proprietress Carol has a love for paper and a passion for well-wrapped gifts, and specializes in offering gift styling services that dazzle. This pretty package features our Veranda recycled gift wrap, made up with satin ribbons and tiny little sparkles and beads that play off the floral design. You can see more on the Jolie Colis blog. So lovely! Thanks for sharing, Carol!

Today is Tuesday, which during the summer and early fall months means it’s CSA day at Smock! Smock proudly subsidizes CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) memberships for all employees through a local organic farm, Grindstone Farm. Once a week, a big van full of freshly picked organic veggies shows up at our door and we always love digging through the boxes to see what we have that week. This year we’ve been eating a lot of rainbow chard, kale, bokchoy, a variety of lettuces, onions, garlic, lots of beautiful tomatoes, potatoes, and zucchini galore.

Here is a quick peek at today’s share – parsley, patty pan squash, three varieties of tomatoes, baby carrots, two varieties of radishes, lemon basil, lots of tomatillos and the first of this season’s apples.

With tomatillos greeting us week after week, we’ve all been sharing ideas on how to best use them up. The verdict is that a great roasted tomatillo salsa can’t be beat. We love this recipe from epicurious – it’s simple, quick and tasty. Does it get much better?

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

1 1/2 pounds fresh tomatillos
5 fresh serrano chiles (or sub the peppers of your choice; remove the seeds for less heat)
3 garlic cloves, unpeeled
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
1 large onion, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons coarse salt

Preheat broiler or grill.

Remove husks from tomatillos and rinse under warm water to remove stickiness. Broil chiles, garlic, onion and tomatillos on rack of a broiler pan 1 to 2 inches from heat (or on the grill), turning once, until tomatillos are softened and slightly charred, about 7 minutes. Peel garlic and pull off tops of chiles. Purée all ingredients in a blender.

Allow to cool to room temperature and serve with your favorite chips or Mexican fare. Enjoy!

When we first heard about the Salt City Urban Art & Craft Market, we were excited. Really really excited. And then we learned that the market was taking place right here in Smock’s neighborhood in downtown Syracuse – and that so many of our favorite talented local artisans were participating – and we literally jumped for joy. So if you’re here in Syracuse this weekend on Saturday, October 24 – or even if you’re a short drive away – you can’t miss this.

Salt City Urban Art & Craft Market is going to be an exciting marketplace for local and regional independent artists, designers, and crafters to showcase their work. It’s all about bringing fresh, fun and unique handmade goods to the public. There will be music, door prizes, and some of the area’s most talented artists, designers, crafters, jewelry makers, and artisans. All under one roof. We can’t wait.

We’re completely excited with the depth and variety of vendors participating at Salt City. Some of them are even our favorite designers with studios right here in the same old warehouse turned artist’s haven that Smock calls home! From book binders to stationery lines to fashion designers to potters and blown glass aficionados, there will be something for everyone. It may just be the perfect time to check a friend or two off your holiday gift-giving list!

Above, just a small sampling of what’s in store at Salt City. Fun and adorable organic baby and yoga wear from babybe and we love the beautiful jewelry from after winter. Unique prints and drawings from Anne Slattery | Tilting Press and beautiful hand-bound books from Amaranth Press. The funky, fashionable handbags from Lilipad Creations are a favorite with the ladies here at Smock – we all have at least one! And bright polka-dotted bowls from Luckalilly are definitely on a few holiday wish lists around here. Consider us completely inspired.

If you’re not in the Syracuse area and interested in finding out about cool indie craft fairs in your area, check out Handmade Nation and their listing of indie markets on the Handmade Nation blog – scroll down for a listing of indie craft fairs on the right sidebar. And if you are in Syracuse, make sure you get to Salt City this weekend. With the impressive lineup of inspired artisans who will be exhibiting, you won’t be disappointed.