Mom and dad will adore these thoughtful treats from Hudson Valley makers.
Photography | Julie Benedetto
Creative Direction | Halina Sabath
Assistants | Amanda Clark, Maeve Allen, Meg Tohill
Mother’s Day
1. Bud-Vase Trio
Price: $52 for a set of three
Maker: Lucie Piedra and Meg Oliver of L&M studio, based in Catskill; shop on Etsy
These vases were inspired by dramatic cliffside basalt rock formations in Iceland. When assembled together they resemble a fantastical cityscape, according to sculptor Lucie Piedra. Bring some of that dramatic flair to Mom’s tablescape by arranging these in sets of up to 9.
2. Loose Leaf Tea
Price: $3-20 per tin
Maker/Shop: Harney & Sons in Millerton
Also available at: local retailers
Don’t be surprised if the next time you visit your mom, royal tea-time rituals are in full swing. John Harney, founder and master tea blender at Harney and Sons inspired that way when he founded the company in 1983 — he even created the official line of teas for the historic royal palaces of England. So, pull up a seat, butter your toast, and enjoy the first of many tea times with mum.
3. ‘Best Freakin’ Mom Ever’ Notebook
Price: $12
Maker: Lisa Goodman of Messy Bed Studio, based in Chatham; shop on Etsy
The sun has finally set on the days of cards with long-winded messages scrolled over the dawn of some melodramatic dreamscape. Skip Hallmark this year for a handmade notebook by Lisa Goodman that tells Mom directly that she is the “freakin’ best!” There is plenty of room inside to spill your own custom love and appreciation. Mom will get to re-read it every time she opens it to make her own notes.
4. Garden Wild Book
Price: $29.67
Maker: Photographer Andre Baranowski, based in White Plains
The gardens presented in Andre Baranowski’s book are an enhanced imitation of, and integration with, their natural surroundings. His images inspire gardeners to harness, rather than control, the drama and beauty of nature just in time for spring.
5. ‘Joy’ Handbag
Price: $390
Maker/Shop: Designer Mary Fleckenstein of NYCe Blu, based NYC, Mamaroneck, Fort Lauderdale and Newburgh
Mom will feel appreciated every time her hand glides across the electric cobalt blue Spanish calfskin lining of the ‘Joy’ handbag. Lead designer and co-founder Mary Fleckenstein’s dream is for people to feel “beautiful and complete” when carrying it. The dancing white foil and violet exterior pattern bring that dream to life. This bag is made using the finest Spanish calfskin suede.
6. Diamond Balm and Lip and Cheek Balm
Price: $12 (balm); $20 (lip and cheek balm)
Maker: Heaven on Main Street, based in Bovina Center
Also available at: Anderst in Kingston, Timbuktu in Woodstock
This lip and cheek balm duo is hard to beat with infused alkanet root and beets in the oil base. As for the Diamond Balm, it’s a multipurpose highlighter for cheeks, lips, eyes, collarbones, and noses. You won’t leave home without them. Each makeup is made from natural ingredients and essential oils and packaged in stylish hand-painted sticks.
7. Sage Leaf Necklace
Price: $129
Maker: Yali Lewis for Lewis and Pine Shop
The sage leaf is said to symbolize wisdom and longevity, Yali learned from The Old Farmer’s Almanac; what better emblem of your mother’s strength could there be, than this natural sage leaf cast in cast in sterling silver or 18K gold vermeil worn around her neck on the links of a gentle chain? Maker Yali Lewis gathered inspiration for her designs on her many Catskill Mountain weekend hikes.
8. Concrete Soap Dish and Lavender Moon Soap
Price: $40 and $8 (respectively)
Maker/Shop: Gary Austin of SallyeAnder in Beacon
Also available at: Fishkill Farms in Hopewell Junction and other local retailers
SallyeAnder has been making olive oil soap bars since 1982, when the first bar was designed by maker Gary Austin to help out his son who had a sensitive skin condition. Each bar is made from essential oils and hypoallergenic, edible ingredients. We wouldn’t be surprised if people get excited and take a chomp while lathering up — these bars look so delicious — although that’s probably not the intended use.
9. Trois Mother of Pearl & Diamonds Pendant and Leaf & Diamond Necklace
Price: Price upon request
Maker/Shop: Designer Susan Pascal Johansson of Galaxy Bijoux, based in White Plains
Jeweler Susan Pascal Johansson gathers inspiration for her work in “the beauty of all women and the beauty in everything.” She absorbs these qualities and manifests them in her jewelry using natural stones, often studded with diamonds, and often in sets of three—a nod to the past, present and future in our lives.
10. Living Edge Designs Cutting Board
Price: $110
Maker: Todd Young of Living Edge Designs, based in Rhinebeck
Also available at: Rhinebeck Farmers Market and other local shops
Sustainably harvested Hudson Valley hardwoods are the source of these artful cutting boards produced by Todd Young in his Rhinebeck studio.
11. Parker Safety Razor 29L
Price: $30
Maker: Parker Safety Razor for Super Safety Razor, both owned by Howi Inc. and based in Yorktown Heights
No woman looks forward to the chore of shaving, but she’ll appreciate the glide of an old-fashioned double-edged Parker razor. Howie Woda is the President of Howi Inc., which owns Parker Safety Razor USA, Taconic Shave and SuperSafetyRazors.com. Howie started the company over 10 years ago in his quest for the perfect shave. Parker & Taconic Shave products are available in over 55 countries worldwide and hundreds of retailers in the U.S.
12. Orange Blossom Nourishing Hair & Body Oil
Price: $48
Maker/Shop: Janette Bower of Flora Beauty wellness + apothecary in Kingston
Janette Bower, founder of the 58Flora beauty line and the Flora Beauty shop, has spent more than 20 years in the industry and has studied aromatherapy, perfumery, green medicine, and psychology. All that knowledge of wellness gets processed along with raw natural ingredients and bottled as luxurious, fragrant oils and creams. This Orange Blossom Nourishing Hair and Body Oil is one of our favorites.
13. Wild Olive Wood Triple Spice Bowl with Spoons
Price: $24
Maker/Shop: Living Nectar, based in Gardiner
Living Nectar gathers Fair Trade items from craftspeople around the world. This spice holder was handmade by the famous Kamba carvers of Kenya from sustainably sourced olive wood. Three spoons come with the set, so everyone can reach for extra flavor come mealtime.
14. That Hudson Valley Candle
Price: $38
Maker/Shop: Burkelman in Cold Spring
Fragrances of fire, tobacco, and moss will gently linger in the air, giving Mom the gift of transportation — to a pleasant woodland stroll or a late-night campfire with friends — anytime she closes her eyes and inhales. “That” candle is made here in the Hudson Valley from 100% soy wax.
15. Wrights Farm Jam
Price: $15 per jar
Maker/Shop: Tammy Boylan at Wright’s Farm in Gardiner
For an instant taste of sweet nostalgia, pick up a jar (or three) of homemade jam from Wright’s Farm. The family has been canning their preserves for 30 years on the farm, and the jam recipes are even older: Jam maker Tammy Boylan uses the same recipe her Grandma Ann used for decades prior.
Father’s Day
1. Leather Wallet
Price: $75
Maker: Matthew Demeo at Mateo Mattia, based in New Rochelle
Demeo, a graduate of F.I.T., decided to detour from the corporate fashion world of Manhattan into an independent business making simple, high quality, durable leather goods in his studio in New Rochelle. He focuses on making products — like the vegetable-tanned billfold wallet we have included here — that will last a lifetime and improve with age. Buy either of these items for the dad on your list, and they will stay with him forever.
2. Shrubs
Price: Starts at $10
Maker: Marianne Courville, Emily Woerthman, Marcel Reid-Jaques, and Lily Gile of Hudson Standard, based in Hudson
These bar-cart upgrades are the perfect blend of mixers to liven up the cocktail selections when Dad plays barkeep. Marianne Courville, Emily Woerthman, Marcel Reid-Jaques, and Lily Gile — the artisans at Hudson Standard — crafted the signature, award-winning Strawberry Rhubarb shrub and their zippy Cassis Berry shrub to provide something for cocktails suited to all moods and seasons.
3. The Borscht Belt
Price: $29.95
Maker: Photographer Marisa Scheinfeld, based in Katonah
Scheinfeld, a Catskills native, documents the architectural ruins of the region’s abandoned resorts and bungalow colonies in this book published by Cornell Press. Her images transmit an optic rollercoaster gleaned from growth and decay.
4. Dutchess Private Reserve Straight Bourbon Whiskey
Price: $80 for 2
Maker/Shop: Taconic Distillery in Stanfordville
Taconic Distillery approaches whiskey making with a precise nose for detail, ensuring every last drop carries the integrity and personality of the ingredients that went into it — like grains grown in New York, and natural spring water from their farm. Their award-winning straight Bourbon Whiskey carries notes of spice, honey, and vanilla, and has been described as both subtle and sophisticated.
5. Harissa, Bitters, Hot Sauce
Price: $24, $24, $16; Call to confirm availability
Maker: Chef Brooke Vosika of Sawkill Creek, based in Woodstock
Chef Brooke Vosika spent 32 years working for Four Seasons Hotels and Resorts in exciting global locations like Tokyo, New York, and Seattle before settling down in his “slice of heaven” — a cabin in Woodstock that he inherited from his grandfather, an artist who settled here in the 1920s. Today he spends his days in Woodstock gathering and processing the most natural ingredients possible for his exceptional products: He forages black walnuts for his black walnut bitters, and grows peppers in his organic garden for his small batches of Scorpion Pepper Hot Sauce and spicy Harissa.
6. Hand-Carved Pen
Price: $19-$23
Maker: Edward Bryan of Hudson Valley Woodworking, based in Pawling
A weighty, handcrafted, smooth-sailing pen can offer a nice touch of pleasure and a sense of importance to daily writing tasks. Craftsman Edward Bryan makes all of his pens from naturally fallen and upcycled wood from the Hudson Valley. Each pen carries the unique personality of the wood it was crafted from, ensuring Dad will have an experience like no other.
7. Citron Neroli Beard and Shave Soap
Price: $24.50
Maker: Bill Hovard of Hudson Made New York, based in Andes
This Beard and Shave Soap serves as both a shaving cream and beard shampoo for the modern bearded dad-in-a-rush. The organic blend of petitgrain, white grapefruit, neroli, and cedar wood will be a welcome delight to the morning ritual. Proprietor Bill Hovard grows some of the botanicals himself on site, and sources most others from within 200 miles.
8. Parker Safety Razor & Taconic Shave Mug, Brush, and Shave Soap Set
Price: $66
Maker/Shop: Parker Safety Razor and Taconic Shave Soap for Super Safety Razors; all owned by Howi Inc., based in Yorktown Heights
Also available at: Yorktown Pharmacy in Yorktown Heights
The experience of swishing hot nourishing suds around his face with this smooth badger-hair brush beats the push-button routine-in-a-can any morning. The soap in this set is made from coconut, olive, and hemp seed oils by local Hudson Valley artisans at Taconic Shave. Slide an old-fashioned double-edged Parker razor over it to finish up the treatment. Howie Woda is the President of Howi Inc., which owns Parker Safety Razor USA, Taconic Shave and SuperSafetyRazors.com. Howie started the company over 10 years ago in his quest for the perfect shave. Parker & Taconic Shave products are available in over 55 countries worldwide and hundreds of retailers in the U.S.
9. Living Edge Designs Serving Platter
Price: $100
Maker: Todd Young of Living Edge Designs, based in Rhinebeck
Todd Young makes one-of-a-kind cutting boards and serving platters from sustainably harvested hardwoods in the Hudson Valley at his Rhinebeck Studio. A former architectural woodworker, he began making these products after a downslide in the housing market and sold out quickly at his first farmers’ market experience. Over the last 10 years his cutting boards have become more artistic, beautifully channeling the vibrancy of life after death in the fallen trees he uses.
10. Men’s “X”ecutive Bracelet
Price: $1,600
Maker/Shop: Designer Susan Pascal Johansson of Galaxy Bijoux, based in White Plains
*No longer available
11. Roll-On Cologne Oil
Price: $20
Maker: Roosevelt Grooming Co., based in Cohoes
Choose from one of ten roll-on fragrances depending on whether your pops is more of a mountain man — the Adirondack fragrance is like a robust pine forest — or a beach bum — the Jamaica Bay fragrance gives hints of West Indian palms and classic bay rum. All fragrances are vegan, animal-friendly, and made from pure essential oils.
12. Brewtus Roasting Coffee
Price: $11.99-$15.99
Maker/Shop: Stephen Pivonka of Brewtus Roasting in Delmar
Also available at: Thyme & Co in Hudson
Stephen Pivonka, owner and roaster at Brewtus, ensures that beans from climates of Rwanda, Ethiopia, and Peru all get individualized treatment. He sees his role as “enhancing all of the hard work that has gone into the coffee before arriving at the roastery.” Respect for the farmer is paramount for Pivonka, which is why he works to ensure the farmers he sources from are paid fair wages. All of that integrity is easy to taste.
13. Fish Knife
Price: $10.49
Shop: Clove & Creek in Kingston
Every dad needs a pocketknife, whether he is snipping off tangled fishing line or sliding it around the nozzle of a wine bottle, so it may as well have a design that intrigues. This super sharp, finger-size, fish-shaped knife made in a 200-year-old Czech cutlery is just the right thing.
14. Timex x Todd Snyder Military Watch
Price: $138
Shop: Hamilton and Adams in Kingston
Although Todd Snyder is not a local artisan, the products created as the result of his collaboration with Timex are a perfect fit for the aesthetic vibe at Hamilton and Adams. This watch draws on the simple, rugged 1970s-style military watches in overall design and adds modern functionality and comfort; its subtle and universal style make it appealing for whoever the dad is in your life.
15. Hudson Valley Brewery Gift Card
Price: $25 and up
Maker/Shop: Hudson Valley Brewery in Beacon
One of the most acclaimed breweries to hit the local scene in recent memory cranks out a refreshingly unique range of sour beers with flavors that will have Dad referencing the taste of sugary breakfast cereal and Jolly Ranchers the way master wine sommeliers reference oak and apricot. If it sounds off-putting, tell him to go ask one of the legions of men and women in lawn chairs lining up on Saturdays like it’s an Air Jordan sneaker release. Send him with a gift card.
16. The CounterEv Craft Beer Flight Paddle
Price: $40
Maker: CounterEv, based in Catskill, Kingston, and Brooklyn
Any beer enthusiast would proudly roll up to the table holding some sample sizes of craft brews on this stylish paddle made from 100% reclaimed heart pinewood from bowling alleys. Fun fact: founder Jim Malone was previously the voice director for Pokemon, before he decided to clear some space for Catskill living and wood crafting.
*No longer available. Shop the Pindeck Wine Rack instead.
17. Handmade Mug
Price: $30
Maker: Mary Murphy of Hudson Valley Clay, based in Croton-on-Hudson
Also available at: Village Gallery at the Black Cow Coffee Shop in Croton-on-Hudson
Mary Murphy’s singular hand-molded and wheel-thrown mugs come in simple earth tones and inviting shapes, perfect for wrapping hands around a comforting beverage while gazing over one of any Hudson Valley woodland scenes. All of her products are microwave and dishwasher safe.
