Join us for our 2nd Annual Holiday Sip & Shop! The event will take place on Wednesday, December 4th and Thursday, December 5th from 3-7pm in the Delavan Center Art Gallery. We’ll have holiday shopping and crafting stations, hot drinks and sweet treats from Recess Coffee and The Sweet Praxis, and a fun holiday photobooth from Amelia Beamish Photography. Plus, if you bring a donation (funds or non-perishable food items) for Food Bank of Central New York, we’ll give you 15% off your entire Smock purchase! If you had fun at our Sidewalk Sale, you won’t want to miss this event. Be sure to RSVP to our Facebook event to receive updates and news as the event gets closer. We hope to see you there!
We can’t wait to be a part of the 2013 Buy Local Bash! This year’s event is being presented by AmeriCu Credit Union and supports SyracuseFirst, an amazing organization that helps promote local businesses in the Syracuse area. Come out for a night of fun — the Buy Local Bash will feature live music, local artists, indie retailers, and lots of delicious local food & beverages! The event will take place on Monday, November 25 from 6-9:30pm at The Most and tickets are still available. We’ll be selling exclusive coasters to benefit SyracuseFirst, too, so be sure to stop by and see us at the event!
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!
Smock is proud to support The 3/50 Project, an independent movement aimed at saving the local shops and stores that make our communities unique and our local economies stronger. Have you taken the 3/50 pledge? Jump in and add your name to the list in support of the 3/50 movement today!
In support of the 3/50 project, we wanted to share some of our favorite shops to visit in Smock’s neighborhood here in Syracuse, NY…
If you’re in the market for a great read, visit Second Story – One billion books on Amazon? Overwhelming. A beautifully curated selection of novels, poetry, nonfiction, magazines, and even a few cookbooks? Much more calming. Plus this place has great sandwiches, teas and smoothies.
{Great chai and heavenly cupcakes at Roji Tea Lounge}
In love with a great cup of tea? Don’t miss Roji Tea Lounge, one of downtown Syracuse’s true gems. If you’re a tea junkie, you can buy some of the best loose teas ever here to take home…or simply enjoy the calming atmosphere, vegan deserts, fabulous music, and really, really good tea. Bubble tea too!
We have a bunch of chocolate lovers here at Smock so we highly recommend Sweet on Chocolate – chocolate makes some of the sweetest gifts, and this cute little shop – only a few minutes walk from Smock’s print shop – makes the best dark chocolate truffles ever.
{Mint boar soap from Syracuse Soapworks}
If you’re searching for the perfect Mother’s Day gift or really a gift for any occasion, you have to visit Syracuse Soapworks. Located just a few blocks down the street from Smock’s print shop, their soaps are fragrant and amazing.
When you realize your entire house looks like an Ikea showroom, Smith Interiors is the place to go for slightly more upmarket modern furniture. We try to stop by this place every so often just to oooh and ahhhh over the cool lights and crazy cool couches.
What are your favorite shops in your community? Share them with us so we can visit if we’re ever in town and be sure to pay a visit yourself sometime soon. If you’re looking for cool stores that carry stationery/invitations in your own town, check out our list of great shops that also happen to carry Smock invitations & paper goods. And, don’t forget to visit The 3/50 Project and start spreading the word to help support local shops!