Would you trust a landscaper dressed in $1270 overalls?

As, hopefully, demonstrated by our "Intelligent Design" series, good design is not an attribute limited to one area of talent. Those who understand it often apply it to other aspects of their life or career. If you have ever had the fortune to be in an artists home you will often see their style reflected in the objects they choose to surround themselves. Designers - who are often accustomed to using the principles they understand to reflect others taste - apply the principles of good design to their homes and wardrobe....or sometimes just their eclectic nature. 

We at Martin Shaw like to think that we are stylish dressers, our company shirts are embroidered polos in classic navy and taupe, our salespeople often sport plaid cotton shirts or rugby shirts and khakis with Redwing boots - traditional American looks you are likely to find on the pages of J. Crew  albeit a bit more distressed. Our designer has admittedly unusual tastes but garners compliments on most days. For these reasons this article on the New York Times blog caught our eye. 

Now, we are the first to tell you that innovative ideas and good quality products don't come cheaply, but they do have value because of their durability and beauty. Even so, we are not sure what could be done to overalls that would make them worth $1,270.00! Sure they are "designer" - and for a gown or suit that may make perfect sense  - but for an item meant to be worn while working in the dirt...? What do you think, would you trust a landscaper who showed up to install a patio wearing an outfit that you knew to have cost just over $2,900.00? 

Work Wear | Brook Klausing

MEN'S FASHION

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By JASON RIDER

 | JANUARY 27, 2012, 11:00 AM

Junya Watanabe Man Comme des Garçons jacket, $1,195, overalls, $1,270, and shirt, $445. 

For the next installment in our series on occupational uniforms, T visited with the landscape designer Brook Klausing to see how he dresses for work every day.

As the owner and creative director of Brook Landscape, Brook Klausing gets his clothes dirty on an almost daily basis. But that’s not to say he doesn’t think about what he wears as much as, if not more than, the fashion folk. “When I meet with new clients, I want to make sure they understand what they are going to get,” he says. “What I wear should say that their garden will be timeless, clean and organic with a modern undertone.” Still, moving between the office and urban landscapes requires a uniform of “rugged clothes that hold up to the abuse” — waxed jackets, dark pants that obscure hand-wipes, and boots that can be worn year-round and that are high enough on the ankle to keep the dirt out.

8:15 August Fifteenth sweatshirt, $165. Go to odinnewyork.com. Oliver Spencer shirt, about $165. Call (212) 475-0079. Levi’s Made & Crafted chinos, $225. Available at Brooklyn Denim, 85 N. 3rd Street, Brooklyn.

Klausing stands by the sweatshirt, like the one he’s wearing here from the new Japanese-designed brand 8.15 August Fifteenth, for being the most versatile piece in his work wardrobe. Worn over a collared shirt, it has the put-together look of a knit sweater, but it’s much more durable and easier to wash, and it’s always shovel-ready. “I never want to look too pretty to jump in and make something happen,” he says.

http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/01/27/work-wear-brook-klausing/

Destinations: Terrain at Styer's, Glenn Mills

Since the demise of Smith & Hawken (and subsequent acquisition of the brand by Target) there has been a void of beautifully designed high-end home and garden supplies with wide availability. Maybe that is in part because of the changing marketplace; economic pressures have made $1500 wheelbarrows - even if you can afford them - too pretentious to be seen with. 

Of course the internet is an unlimited source for any product you are looking for, though it is my opinion that A) sometimes we don't know what we are looking for, B) in that case of something as tactile as a tool, it is really helpful to be able to handle it before buying, and C) sexy sells - and by that I mean sexy retail displays or even crisp catalog pages begging to be dog-eared, torn out and savored (Pinterest notwithstanding).

A flat image of product isolated on a white screen or even displayed in an attractively photographed scene is nothing compared to a lush display of fragrant pots of lavender with smooth stones, the cool water of a trickling fountain and the rough texture of burlap. We, as gardeners, love to be able to touch, smell and hear our purchases. Nothing inspires you to tackle an ambitious and frivolous botanical pursuit (terrarium anyone?) quite like seeing the magical beast alive. There it seems so tangible...so easy to recreate and maintain. 

"Shop local" has (happily) become an economic and social trend many of us choose to live by which has a positive effect on our local garden centers who offer up well made tools, quality supplies and healthy plants - all with friendly service and advice. None, though, (in my opinion, anyways) has had quite the ambiance of S&H...that is until now. 

Terrain is not so new to the scene, having opened over a year ago at Styer’s - already an excellent garden center on Baltimore Pike (202) in Glenn Mills, Pennsylvania. Much has been written about Terrain in both local and national horticulture venues. It was a holiday feature of Garden Design Magazine (a personal favorite), reviewed by Susan Cohen of Miss Rumphius Rules blog and many more. A second location will be opening soon in Westport, Connecticut so you can expect to see it featured by Martha Stewart any...day...now. The online store places Terrain's wares with-in a mouse click of any customer, but here in the Bucks County, Main Line and greater Philadelphia areas we have the advantage of enjoying it's incredible appeal in person and still being able to call it "local." 

Terrain's parent company is Urban Outfitters,  the hip retailer that also owns Anthropoligie. They are merchants who understand their retail concepts - generating 1.5 billion dollars in sales in 2007. As such, each and every aspect of the store is well thought out to showcase not only what is for sale, but also how to incorporate it into your home. The destination itself is - most likely - designed, installed and maintained by Styer's own well-trained and talented landscapers. Unique materials including rough cut lumber siding and rustic twig fencing juxtapose with industrial architectural salvage. Lushly planted containers dot the parking lot and nursery where garden vignettes illustrate how you might combine the flora offered. 

An ample selection of plants are available for selection in the traditional nursery-style setting, while also being used in sample plantings which adorn the store and as interior accessories to the home goods. A shade house shields ferns, hosta and other shady ephemerals while a hot house protects the tropicals and house plants. The potting shed houses garden practicalities like hand tools and amendments.  You won't find everything you could want here, but what they have is high-quality, unique and/or timeless, with more than enough to satisfy most gardeners (if not landscapers.) Of course Terrain also offers a landscape design studio and no doubt has the capabilities to source any material you could desire - but hey, so do we!

The interior is a mix of finishes: bluestone, polished concrete, reclaimed (or so they seem) pine boards and sleek aluminum girders. The minimally designed space is open and sparsely populated by well-thought out displays where new merchandise accompanies one-of-a-kind vintage finds creating sculptural arrangements of retail which speak for themselves - or more appropriately sing like a choir of sirens. Each is richly layered with  a mix of materials so wonderfully blended that the shopper feels they have made a discovery when uncovering a gem hidden by the surrounding products. Individual shops are housed in cleverly designed shed-like structures and each has its own focus.  The main shop displays garden ornaments, plants, small pots, furniture, books and an area for spa products with a green wall of  staghorn ferns and other epiphytic perennials.    

Terrain's events calender includes, currently: a chocolate workshop, spring branch forcing demonstration, Valentine's Day Dinner, orchid lecture and - of course - a terrarium workshop (because after a visit  you will feel inspired to fill your former fish tank with delicate botanical specimens.) 


The venue also boasts a cafe and hosts private events at its restored antique greenhouse, lodge, and terrace - including personal chef dinners, picnics, afternoon tea, anniversaries and fundraisers. Judging by the buzz it has also received on wedding blogs - it is an incredibly popular location for engagement parties, showers, rehearsal diners, ceremonies and receptions as well. Take THAT Target!

Happy New Year (for the trees, that is)

Christmas and Arbor Day are not the only holidays to celebrate the tree. Tomorrow  millions will celebrate Tu B’Shevat, a Jewish holiday that marks a new year for trees. This year it falls on February 7, beginning at nightfall and continuing for 24 hours. It is roughly this time of year that the earliest-blooming trees in Israel emerge from their winter sleep and begin a new fruit-bearing cycle. 

When’s the last time you wished a tree Happy New Year? The 15th day of the Hebrew month of Shevat is a great opportunity. It’s known as Tu B’Shevat, the New Year for Trees. Why do trees celebrate their New Year so much later than ours? It has to do with the rainy season in Israel, which commences with the festival of Sukkot. It takes four months for the rains to saturate the soil, nurture the trees and coax them into producing fruit. 

Legally, the “New Year for Trees” relates to the various tithes that are separated from produce grown in the Holy Land. This is important to know if you are planning to give your tithes of fruits, as is done in the Land of Israel, because the required tithes vary from year to year. In the seven-year shemittah cycle; the point at which a budding fruit is considered to belong to the next year of the cycle is the 15th of Shevat.  It’s also important if you are a tree and looking for something to celebrate.

We humans can also celebrate along with the treesWe humans can also celebrate along with the trees. Observant Jews mark the day of Tu B’Shevat by eating fruit, particularly from the kinds that are singled out by the Torah in its praise of the bounty of the Holy Land: grapes, figs, pomegranates, olives and dates. On this day they remember that “man is a tree of the field” (Deuteronomy 20:19) and reflect on the lessons to be derived from the botanical analogue: 
 We are nurtured by deep roots; we reach upwards to the heavens while standing firmly on the ground; and when we do all this right, we produce fruits that benefit the world—namely, our good deeds.

Traditional Observances:

The blessing on fruit:
Ba-ruch atah Ado-nai, Elo-hei-nu me-lech ha-olam, borei pri ha-etz.
[Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who creates the fruit of the tree.]


More spiritual information can be found here: http://www.chabad.org/library/article_cdo/aid/3264/jewish/Tu-BShevat.htm