Mid-December Treasures
- At December 15, 2012
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It’s mid-December and Nest is full of beautiful and unique treasures! Here’s a sampling…
PACT at Nest
- At November 24, 2012
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Sometimes you learn things from your younger siblings. Our friends at Boulder discovered PACT’s underwear and socks this summer, but we didn’t really pay much notice. Recently the Boulder folks nudged us to take another look, and wow were they right – there is so much to like about PACT!
For starters, PACT’s items are all made with organic cotton – right up Nest’s eco-minded alley. Not only that, but they source all of their organic cotton from a single farmers’ co-op in Turkey – we’re all for dealing directly with farmers instead of the commodities market! Then all of their garments are sewn in a factory just 100 miles from the farmers – an impressively small eco-footprint. As if all that weren’t enough, the folks at PACT give back in some very real ways. Every season they select an organization to highlight and support financially.
This fall PACT is supporting The Empowerment Plan in Detroit. After interviewing homeless people in the city, Veronika Scott designed a waterproof parka that converts into a sleeping bag. The Empowerment Plan hires and trains homeless women to make the parkas, which are then given away to homeless people who need them. We hope you’ll be inspired by watching this video about The Empowerment Plan. Veronika’s vision is stunningly simple, is making a concrete difference in people’s lives, and is getting noticed. We’re honored to work with PACT to support the good work she is doing in Detroit.
The season’s cause also inspires PACT’s fabric designers as they create the prints for the season. This fall/winter, the designs speak of cozy blankets, crocheted and quilted. Sometimes undies can be fun!
PACT is fun, comfy, happy, eco, fair-trade, and good at heart… just like little brother Boulder said!
Spector Studios Ceramics
- At November 20, 2012
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Based in the Fingerlakes region of New York, Spector Studios is the ceramic collaboration of husband and wife team Adam and Sarah Spector.
We love the combination of their sturdy functionality and exquisite borders. Perfect for holiday (and year-round) tables!
Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company
- At November 09, 2012
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We’ve been looking for new sources for hardwood cutting boards and are pleased to announce a great find! The folks at Vermont Butcher Block & Board Company make beautiful boards from solid hardwoods such as Walnut, Bird’s Eye Maple, Curly Maple, and Tiger Maple. Their simple designs highlight the natural grain and beauty of the wood while providing long-lasting functionality.
Most of their wood supply comes from managed forests and is purchased locally to support their regional economy. In addition, the trays that we’re offering are made from planks rejected as not quite perfect enough to be used as flooring… but still perfect for a sturdy tray!
Rare Earth Candles
- At November 02, 2012
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We discovered Rare Earth Candles at the Natural Products Expo in mid-September and immediately became fans of their beautiful products. Made in Minnesota, their candles are 100% domestically sourced plant waxes and beeswax, and are scented with 100% natural essential oils.
What makes Rare Earth’s candles really special are their extraordinary colors. Using natural earth pigments, Rare Earth achieves rich and shimmery hues. These natural pigments are the same kind used by early humans in 30,000 year old cave paintings in France and the same as those used in classical paintings by Van Gogh, Monet, Renoir, and Picasso. They’re gorgeous.
In mid-November we’ll also be offering Rare Earth’s essential oil reed diffusers – beautiful bottles with the same lovely scents as the candles.
Planes and Planes and Submarines
- At October 26, 2012
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We think the world of all the products from Green Toys. They’re made in California from curbside recycled milk jugs, and are sturdy and irresistibly fun. A couple of times each year they come out with new toys, and we just received our shipment of the latest, greatest offerings.
Airplane, Seaplane, Submarine, and a set of four small vehicles. They’re fabulous for the tub, the backyard, the family room, and yes, if you let them, your little people will probably take them to bed, too.
Nine Years of Nest
- At October 20, 2012
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I’m not entirely sure if it was just teasing or a serious nudge, but Josie recently expressed surprise that I hadn’t yet written a nostalgic Nest anniversary post. Sometimes we need another person to point out the obvious – Nest turns nine this month and that’s something to be proud of.
Nest opened in October of 2003, which some days seems like eons ago and other days feels like last week. For me it’s one car and four homes ago and well before him who is now my husband showed up. It was before Donna’s made way for Great Sage and back when they still sold pet food in Roots. And Boulder was only the barest twinkle in Jeff’s entrepreneurial eye.
An eco-friendly store right here in little Clarksville. We still frequently get asked, “Why are these businesses here? Why here of all places?” The simple answer is that the brave folks with the ideas and the gumption thought Clarksville looked like a good spot to grow some eco-endeavors. Others of us gathered around to help make ideas into reality. And then a community of customers showed up, and kept showing up.
We’re so grateful for you, the community to which we belong. The life of Nest is woven through with the colorful threads of your lives. Thanks for nine great years!
Fall Cooking
- At October 12, 2012
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Suddenly it’s time to cook again. Of course, I’ve been cooking, and I’ve been eating. Yet summer food is different somehow – easier, lighter, faster. Tomatoes, cucumbers and garlic in the blender and in five minutes you have gazpacho. Pizza on the grill is fabulous in its own right, but it’s been a long time since the last oven pizza, and I’m starting to miss it.
Before the temperatures even start to drop, other clues tip me off to the transition into autumn. The sycamores, always the first to go, start browning and dropping their leaves. The cicadas get insanely noisy. Sweet potatoes and winter squash appear at the farmers market. And just like that, I’m longing for fall and its foods – soups, casseroles, and anything roasted in the oven.
Things change at Nest, too, just a few weeks ahead of the outside reality. In late August long sleeved shirts and fleece jackets make their appearance, and the wall of wool socks explodes with color and patterns. September brings cast-iron Dutch ovens and baking stoneware. Telling a customer recently about the non-stick surface that the stoneware develops with use, I remembered the one I have at home… lasagna sized… right, lasagna, I used to make that, back when turning on the oven wasn’t a sweat-inducing hideous thought. It’s time for lasagna again.
A few weeks ago Nest received a big stack of copies of Dinner: A Love Story. A copy went home with me soon after, and while I have used it as bedtime reading, I have the sense that this book is going to come alive in my kitchen now as we move into the cozy season.
The author of Dinner: A Love Story, Jenny Rosenstrach, believes in eating dinner together. She’s not at all judgy or bossy about it, but she does believe that, “it has done more to foster togetherness and impart meaning and joy into my family life on a daily basis than just about anything else I can think of.” Jenny understands that consistently making a remotely civilized dinner happen for a one, two, or four+ person family is not easy, but believes it’s definitely worth the effort. To that end, the book is full of amazing recipes, as well as family stories, inspirations and tactics for making good eating happen in your home.
Jenny and her husband Andy write a blog (also called Dinner: A Love Story) where several times a week they offer up more recipes and seasonal ideas. They’re starting to feel like friends, or at least friendly kitchen mentors who will guide me into this next season of cooking…and then gathering my people to eat at the dining room table. Because it’s worth it.
Terry Sitz Artwork
- At October 06, 2012
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We’re pleased to introduce the beautiful and unique artwork of Terry Sitz.
Inspired by her yoga practice and created from handmade paper, her pieces are somehow bold and yet tender, confident and yet vulnerable. Drawing from Rumi and her own life experience, Terry creates pieces that share her inner voice and vision while also engaging our own.
Learn more about Terry and her artistic process on her website and Facebook page.
Approximately, 2′ x 3′, framed prints are $395, unframed are $250.
Kerry Brooks Pottery
- At October 05, 2012
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We are so excited to welcome Kerry Brooks Pottery back to Nest. Affectionately called the “crackle glass ceramics” by the Nest staff, these pieces are jaw-droppingly stunning.
Before putting each piece in the kiln to fire the glaze, Kerry adds wax and crushed glass to the center of the piece. The wax and glass both melt in the kiln, the wax evaporates, and the glass crackles as it cools and solidifies.
All pieces are functional and food safe, although Kerry suggests using them for only dry foods (bread, fruit), to avoid staining the crackle.
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