It’s always rewarding to bring a brand’s teams and partners together to celebrate accomplishments, reflect on progress, and share ideas and inspirations for the future.
Yesterday, Marquee Brands hosted a Martha Stewart Brand Summit in New York City, gathering employees, partners, and collaborators for a day of discussion, strategic planning, and networking. I, along with members of our executive team, shared highlights from the past year as well as goals and aspirations for the months ahead. The event was held at Pier 59's event space, Current, overlooking the Hudson River and Chelsea Piers Marina. It was a wonderful opportunity to connect with colleagues and celebrate all we've done.
Here are some photos from the day. Enjoy!
A brand summit is a focused event where company leaders gather to review branding strategies and marketing innovations. It’s also a good time to meet other partners and collaborators. (Photo by Arianna Tettamanzi)
This year’s summit venue was large, with very roomy, row seating – perfect for a meeting of many minds. (Photo by Arianna Tettamanzi)
Here are some members of our executive team – SVP Brand Management Meegan Colgan, CCGO Rachel Terrace, CCO Home Kevin Sharkey, myself, CEO Heath Golden, EVP Culinary Thomas Joseph, CCO Christian Martin, VP Marketing, Ben Luckadoo, and Justin Meno, SVP Business Development.
Heath was among the first to welcome everyone to the event – employees, partners, collaborators, and friends. It was a full house.
I spoke about the brand’s growth over the years, some of the many things I’ve accomplished since the last summit meeting, and a selection of memorable moments. (Photo by Arianna Tettamanzi)
Meegan also spoke – sharing brand updates, and mentioning this year’s newest partners.
Christian, who oversees content, spoke about the brand’s accomplishments in media.
Everyone listened so attentively to our brand officers.
Ben shared the brand’s marketing analytics and how they have improved over the year.
And Thomas, who has worked with me for many years, reviewed our culinary accomplishments and future endeavors in the food space.
The event also allowed everyone to catch up with others. Here I am with Elisa Marshall, founder of Maman, the American French‑inspired chain of bakery‑cafés. (Photo by Arianna Tettamanzi)
A “step-and-repeat” wall banner was put up in one area for social media photos. Here are Natasha, Heath, and Rachel.(Photo by Arianna Tettamanzi)
This is Robb Ginter, CMO at The Cookware Company, with Marquee’s Chief Business Development Officer, Joe Zarro. Have you purchased any of my Kitchen Electrics? If you go to my shop at Amazon right now, you’ll see pieces from my first-ever kitchen electrics collection! The entire series includes a range of countertop essentials designed to make everyday cooking so much easier! (Photo by Arianna Tettamanzi)
Here I am joined by Kevin and my longtime publicist, Susan Magrino.
Kevin explained the different categories and collections in our Home division, including interesting and informative personal stories spanning the many years he’s worked with me.
Here’s my longtime special projects producer, Judy Morris, with Amy Chiaro, SVP Lifestyle Video Content.
Jodie Laroche oversees Marquee’s social and digital strategy. She’s here with team member Payton Brown.
And here – Marquee’s Chief of Staff Yenelle Jackson and Zachary Sigel, managing director at Neuberger Berman and co‑founder of Marquee Brands.
You may recognize this threesome – Sarah Carey, my longtime culinary content developer, Thomas, and Susanne Rupert, editorial director of my books.
This is my executive assistant Nikki Kranzler with Mary Guzzo, Home director.
Ryan Mesina is VP Creative Services at Marquee Brands, where he oversees the photo and video creative production.
Yih‑Han Ma is co‑founder and chief executive officer of Hint, my new home-management platform, with Matt Krack, operations manager of my Bedford team, and Garrett Gottesman, our Strategic Partner Manager – Public Figures at Meta.
Current provided lunch and small bites including an artisanal sandwich buffet. This is a platter of Tuscan Caprese sandwiches made with fresh mozzarella, arugula, basil, roasted tomatoes, and pesto.
There were also fresh salads such as this lemon dijon haricots verts served with a confetti of peppers, capers, Kalamata olives, and dill.
Dessert included house made brownies, and a selection of house made cookies.
It was a very informative and successful summit. Be sure to follow me and the Martha Stewart Brand on social media – @MarthaStewart48, @MarthaStewartWorld, @MarthaStewartBlog, and @MarqueeBrands to keep up with our many announcements, partnerships, and events.
Here at my farm, we’re making the most of the fall planting season, getting many beautiful trees into the ground. Fall is an ideal time to plant, when the soil remains relatively warm while cooler air temperatures help newly planted specimens establish their roots.
This week, my outdoor grounds crew is planting 15 sugar maples, Acer saccharum ‘Green Mountain’, from our friends at Select Horticulture, Inc. in nearby Pound Ridge, New York. These handsome trees can eventually reach 40 to 80 feet tall, developing dense, oval crowns and spectacular yellow-to-orange fall color. I chose to plant them along the carriage road in my back hay field, near a grove of red maples. I’m looking forward to watching these trees grow and thrive.
Here are some photos.
There is always so much happening at my farm. On this day, trees are delivered from Select Horticulture and brought straight to my back hay field.
The foliage of these trees has already started to change color and drop, but the leaves are usually leathery, dark green in spring and summer, turning brilliant orange, gold yellow, and scarlet in autumn.
Using our trusted Hi-Lo, my outdoor grounds crew foreman Chhiring Sherpa positions the trees at the edge of the carriage road.
When planting any tree, the hole should be twice the width of the root ball and equal in depth. This allows the tree’s roots to spread easily and get the oxygen it needs.
The sides should also be at a slight angle to help the roots get properly established.
Pasang begins to remove the protective plastic from the root ball of the tree. The materials hold together the root ball so that chunks of heavy soil do not fall out or tear roots. The wrapping protects the roots from dehydration and sunburn and allows trees to be safely moved.
Here is Pasang also removing the strong rope.
Meanwhile, Alex sprinkles a generous amount of fertilizer into the hole and the surrounding soil. Remember, “if you eat, so should your plants.”
I use Miracle-Gro Shake’n Feed Flowering Trees & Shrubs plant food which has done so well for my plants. It contains natural ingredients such as kelp, earthworm castings, bone meal, and feather meal, which will feed the tree and maintain its foliage.
The Hi-Lo carefully transports the tree to its designated hole.
Once there, the wiring is cut and removed. Some feel it is ok to leave the wiring in place, but I always remove all the protective wrapping, so there is nothing blocking the roots from developing.
A crucial step in growing healthy trees is to plant them at the proper depth. Planting a tree too deep can kill it. Plant it only at its flare – the bulge just above the root system where the roots begin to branch away from the trunk. Digging a wide planting hole helps to provide the best opportunity for roots to expand into its new growing environment.
The crew looks at the tree from all angles to make sure it is straight and secure in its place. Jimmy stands by to help make any slight adjustments.
Next, these trees need a good drink before they are completely backfilled.
Compost made right here at my farm is also brought over to add to the existing soil.
The sugar maple is one of the most iconic deciduous trees in North America. The ‘Green Mountain’ is known for its exceptional hardiness, strong branching, and brilliant fall color, but it is also deciduous, so it drops all its leaves by late fall and is bare for the winter.
The hole is backfilled, the area is tamped down lightly to establish good contact between the soil and the tree’s root ball, and then it is raked level and neat.
Sugar maples thrive in full sun to partial shade, ideally receiving four to six hours of direct, unfiltered sunlight daily, with some afternoon shade in hot climates. All these maples will be very happy here.
Here are three lined up nicely and planted 25 feet apart. They will have lots of room to grow.
These trees are loved for their broad, rounded crowns and symmetrical form when mature. They will look so beautiful here in this field.
Maintaining my farm is all about attention to detail—carefully tending the gardens, groves, and allées to keep them looking their best throughout the seasons.
Outside my Winter House, a row of dwarf lilac trees—including ‘Palibin,' Syringa meyeri, and ‘Miss Kim,' Syringa pubescens subsp. patula, standards—lines the carriage road. In spring, these lilacs are covered with fragrant panicles of soft lavender and pink blooms that emerge from purple buds. Yesterday, Phurba Sherpa, a longtime member of my outdoor grounds crew, carefully groomed the lilacs, lightly shaping each one to preserve its natural form and keep the row looking neat and beautiful.
Enjoy these photos.
I have 16 dwarf Korean lilacs lining the edge of my carriage road. These trees are compact and typically five to six feet tall with rounded crowns.
The leaves are small, slightly heart‑shaped, green in spring and summer, and turn red to burgundy in fall.
In May, these trees put on quite a show. These are “Miss Kim” Korean lilac standards in spring bloom.
They feature long panicles of sweetly scented lavender blooms that burst from pink to purple buds.
Yesterday, I asked Phurba to groom all the lilacs. They have grown quite a bit this season.
Phurba is my resident shrub and small tree pruning expert. He has been with me for many years
Phurba uses Japanese shears to groom the undersides of the lilacs. When possible, I prefer hand held tools – it’s a slower process, but they make cleaner, neater, more detailed cuts compared to powered versions.
Everyone on my crew uses Japanese Okatsune shears. These shears are user friendly, and come in a range of sizes.
For the tops and along the sides, Phurba uses the STIHL HSA 26 Battery-Powered Hedge Trimmer. It’s one of my favorite tools to use around the farm – it’s so light and handy.
Because these lilacs bloom on old wood, it’s important to not trim too heavily at this time. Phurba focuses on shaping the lilacs, so they maintain their beautiful forms.
The precision-engineered blade creates very clean, controlled cuts that don’t damage the plants.
Here he is trimming the tops carefully, just removing the tips of branches that are sticking out.
‘Miss Kim’ is known for being very adaptable and easy-to-care-for.
Here, Phurba trims the bottom sides of the ‘Miss Kims’ along the footpath to my Winter House terraces.
Occasionally, Phurba stops to assess his work – looking for areas the may need a little more shaping.
After grooming the lilacs, Phura focuses on the clean up, raking the trimmed leaves from the pits and lawn spaces below.
Phurba also uses a battery powered handheld blower from STIHL to clear any debris. This blower is less noisy and perfect for around my Winter House.
These dwarf trees are meant to have small trunks and rounded canopies, rather than sprawling shrub shapes.
Now these lilacs look well groomed and handsome for their fall color display.
In autumn, both cultivars turn deep burgundy or reddish‑purple before dropping leaves late in the season. And then next spring, we hope for gorgeous and colorful blooms once again.
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