A Visit To Garrison, New York
Last Saturday, I took a drive along the Hudson River to scenic Garrison, New York. The first stop when we arrived in Garrison was to see Chip Allemann, the General Manager of The Garrison. Chip is the partner of John Danzer, the well-known outdoor furniture designer of Munder Skiles. John, a passionate researcher and collector who has always had a keen interest in the field of garden furniture, started Munder-Skiles in 1992 to produce quality pieces using his artisan-like standards of comfort, craft, and proportion. I enjoyed my visit to his showroom and store.
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- The indoor dining room is very attractive.
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- The terraces, all with great views, have comfortable seating and lots of umbrellas.
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- And toured a very well-grown vegetable garden
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- We walked through a well-stocked bar!
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- The Valley restaurant has an excellent chef and a very nice menu, featuring ingredients from their own two-acre Garrison Farm, as well as from other farmers in the region.
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- This former handball court has been converted into a great ballroom.
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- The Inn has wonderful spaces for large events, as well as small.
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- And the flowers had just arrived for the tables and wedding party.
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- The tables were just being set for the reception.
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- The groomsmen wanted to have a photo with me, as well!
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- The altar was a very well-made, artistic dome of woven tree boughs.
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- I think that maybe Michelle and Andrew have to get a pair of Frenchies!
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- Everyone thought it amusing that I would just show up at the wedding!
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- The happy couple asked to pose with the Frenchies, who were very obliging.
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- And wonderful views of the Hudson valley – It doesn’t take much imagination to see why painters of the Hudson River School found these views so worthy of reproduction on canvas!
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- The bridesmaids were gorgeous!
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- The beautiful bride and her groom are from New York. They had a wonderfully beautiful day for the wedding and reception.
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- On September 7, Michelle and Andrew were getting married and when they saw me, they asked if I would pose with them.
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- There is a golf course at the club, as well as a restaurant, an inn, and a catering facility where many weddings – more than 180 – take place every year.
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- Of course there was a very pretty flower girl.
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- A wedding party was having photos taken in front of this lovely gazebo.
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- This is the Garrison and Highlands Country Club with magnificent views of the magestic Hudson River. Chip showed us all around the club.
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- The next stop was a visit to John Danzer’s new, almost completed, showroom and store.
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- There is a large yard where John has arranged many of the beautiful pieces he sells to designers and homeowners.
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- John showed us the plans he has for the showroom and its gardens.
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- The logo of Munder Skiles has just been updated and it is very striking!
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- Many of John’s designs are on display, including this beautiful upholstered sofa.
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- Just a few of the great chair designs
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- John finds inspiration by studying vintage pieces of furniture. He was drawn to this old piece of wicker and may use certain of its design elements for his line.
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- This garden bench, the Almodington Bench, made John famous. It has a prominent place in his garden. The fence behind us is a reproduction of a fence John saw in Sweden.
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- More of the extraordinary pieces – The metal furniture is fabricated in a small factory in Costa Rica and the wood furniture is made from teak grown in Costa Rica.
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- An old laundry sink serves as an outdoor wash basin – John found this on one of his hunts in New York state.
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- The Mawson Chair is just one of the beautifully crafted teak chairs.
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- This metal and teak table is the Coffee Table version of John’s line of Parsons Tables.
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- More great chairs
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- This is the handsome Montgomery Bench.
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- John also sells outdoor carpets and rugs.
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