After nearly two years of "working from home," I am finally spending a little more time back at our New York City Headquarters. Marquee Brands is located in midtown-Manhattan, about one hour from my Bedford, New York farm. Because the risks COVID-19 poses continue to evolve, we're currently following a hybrid business model that allows small groups to work in the office on various days, while others continue operating remotely. Earlier this week, I went into the city for an in-person executive meeting and I'm happy to report - it was informative, productive, and most of all, safe.
Enjoy these photos.
Our offices are new and bright and very inviting. It is refreshing to be able to return to our safe corporate environment, and to see colleagues after all this time. Our partner, Marquee Brands, is a leading global brand managing and marketing entity. It was founded in 2014 and is sponsored by well-known investment corporation, Neuberger Berman.
Walking down one of the corridors is a wall showcasing all the brands managed by Marquee – we’re in very good company.
Valerie Waterman is our office manager – always so enthusiastic and ready to help.
Our space has both private, executive offices as well as open desk seating. To ensure everyone remains healthy and safe, we all follow strict guidelines – all employees must wear masks, provide recent proof of negative Covid-19 testing, and work on a scattered schedule.
On various walls, we also remind employees to remain distanced whenever possible – a sign of the times.
My Bedford operations manager, Stephanie Lofaro, joined me in the city on this day. She usually works at the farm. She and my executive administrative manager, Dorian Arrich, joined forces and worked across from each other at their stations – six feet apart.
And you all recognize Kevin Sharkey, our EVP design director. Kevin has worked with me for about 30 years and has a wealth of knowledge about our brand and our many, many Home products. He also takes excellent photos – follow his Instagram page @seenbysharkey.
More giant inspiration images line the long hallways.
Here’s a view of our test kitchen, where all our book and magazine recipes are tested and retested until they’re perfect. It is complete with lots of light, large working islands, multiple commercial refrigerators and freezers, and side-by-side door wall ovens.
On another wall, we have a complete set of magazines for quick reference – everything is organized and tidy.
Jerry Haggerty is our EVP of brand strategy – Home at Marquee. He stopped for a quick snapshot during one of his many Zoom conferences from his office.
On another wall, a row of large photos featuring all the Marquee Brands businesses. Our Martha Stewart brand has a very busy fun year ahead – stay tuned to all our social media platforms and web sites to keep informed on everything we’re doing.
Among our other partners – my friend, Emeril Lagasse. Emeril is the chef and proprietor of 12 restaurants in New Orleans, Las Vegas, Pennsylvania, Florida, plus one at sea. He is also a national television personality and has hosted more than 2000 shows.
Sur la Table is a retail company based in Seattle, Washington, that sells a host of kitchenware items including cookware, cutlery, cooks’ tools, small electrics, tabletop and linens, bakeware, glassware and bar, housewares, food, and outdoor products.
Bruno Magli is an iconic Italian luxury brand.
In 1936, Bruno Magli and his siblings, Marino and Maria, began crafting women’s shoes in a small basement in Bologna, Italy. Today, the company also sells luxury essentials ranging from accessories, handbags, and men’s tailoring to timepieces and personal care items.
Ben Sherman is a British clothing brand that focuses on shirts, sweaters, suits, outerwear, shoes, and men’s accessories.
BCBG stands for “bon chic, bon genre,” a French slang phrase that roughly translates as “good style, good attitude.” BCBG sells clothing, shoes, and accessories for women inspired by the evolving landscapes of European culture, art, and design. BCBG includes BCBGMaxazria…
Body Glove is an American brand of watersports apparel and accessories that was founded in 1953 by twin brothers Bill and Bob Meistrell. The brothers are often credited with inventing the first practical wetsuit in the early 1950s behind their Redondo Beach, California surf shop. I posted a blog about their fun paddle boards last summer – click here to revisit it.
Dakine is an American outdoor clothing company specializing in sportswear and sports equipment. Founded in Hawaii, the name comes from the Hawaiian Pidgin phrase “da kine” meaning “very good,” “the real deal,” or exceptional.
Destination Maternity oversees A Pea in the Pod, one of their two designer maternity wardrobe businesses. A Pea in A Pod offers clothing for every stage of pregnancy.
Their other business is Motherhood Maternity, the world’s largest designer and retailer of maternity apparel, based in Moorestown, New Jersey.
Here is our VP of product development, Zaki Kamandy, on the left, with Keith Li, one of our dedicated IT consultants – don’t worry, they only removed their masks for this photo.
And here I am in our meeting – everyone is well and ready to continue working on our many projects for 2022. We took this photo of our group on the large monitor.
And here is the actual view. It was so nice to see everyone face-to-face. I hope you are all able to resume your regular work routines to some extent – productively and safely.
Erratic weather continues here in the Northeast. I hope you saw the photos on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 - this weekend there was ice everywhere!
Last week, we had a day of thick, thick fog. When mild, moist air cools and mixes with cold air, condensation and fog occur. These conditions left my Bedford, New York farm shrouded with a dense layer of fog that took most of the day to "burn off" or dissipate. Today is expected to be in the high 30s, with a warming trend that is supposed to last through the week.
Enjoy these photos.
The weather here in the Northeast has been extremely inconsistent. After the recent nor’easter, we had a day of cold, sunny weather, then freezing rain, leaving a lot of vapor and moisture in the air. By last week’s end, the vapor condensed into water droplets and formed fog, covering the farm before more rain and a big freeze. Here is a view of the snow covered vegetable garden.
Looking down between the paddocks, one can barely make out the trees in the distance. The tall, majestic eastern white pines are on the right.
This is the winding road that leads past the hay fields and into the woods. It is among the most photographed areas here at the farm.
A view into the woodland – up close, the trees look ominously dark against the white snow.
When I moved here, I decided to paint my home and all the outbuildings a shade of gray, which I call “Bedford Gray.” On these foggy, winter mornings, everything seems to take on various gray tones.
This day was also very cloudy – one can see the outline of this tree, completely bare of leaves. Clouds and fog both form when water vapor condenses or freezes to make tiny droplets or crystals in the air, but clouds can form at many different altitudes while fog only forms near the ground. Notice the whimsical heart in the foreground.
This is a photo looking into one of the horse paddocks. Look closely, my Fell Pony Banchunch is on the right.
Nearing the paddock, Banchunch and Bond approach ever hopeful – perhaps cookies accompany this visit. Rinze stands in the distance and my home beyond.
After the snow came freezing temperatures, which left the roads treacherous and completely covered in ice. Temperatures this week are expected to remain in the 40s, which should melt a lot of it down.
At the end of my great allee of pin oaks, one can see this grove of beech trees, some still holding on to leaves.
These old apple trees are original to the farm. With good care and maintenance, they continue to produce an abundance of apples every year.
Looking across this paddock are linden trees. These trees are part of an allee that runs from the old corn crib all the way down to the vegetable garden.
Here is a view of the long Boxwood Allee completely covered and protected in burlap for the season.
This is the run-in shed for the donkeys. A run-in is a three-sided structure placed strategically to protect equines from wind and rain. My donkeys stand in it whenever they feel the need for cover.
Despite the cold, all five donkeys are gathered at the manger – Jude “JJ” Junior, Truman “TJ” Junior, Rufus, Billie, and Clive. At night, all the animals are brought indoors where it is safe and warm.
My outdoor grounds crew continues to do tree work around the farm. Here, they tend the lindens and sycamores in the allee. I instructed them to “limb up” the trees – remove the lower branches of each specimen. I do this to improve the views beneath the foliage, to maintain good air flow, to create less dense shade for plants and grass growing below, and to maintain clear pathways for our Polaris off-road vehicles. These trees also look much better when properly “limbed up.”
Domi collects all the pruned branches and piles them near the carriage road where they can be loaded onto the dump truck and added to the pile for chipping.
Here’s a view looking down the allee. With all the fog, it is difficult to see the very end.
This is my stone yard, a place where extra inventory of the many types of stones used at the farm are kept – slate shingles, marble flooring, granite posts, etc. The thick fog can be seen in the distance.
Today, we’re expecting a wintry mix in the morning with some freezing rain, but temperatures are supposed to rise as the week progresses, and looking ahead – spring. Spring starts in just 41 days.
It's always so much fun to see photos from others taken during their vacations.
Not long ago, my outdoor grounds crew foreman, Chhiring Sherpa, returned from a trip to his native Nepal. Nepal is a landlocked nation located between India and the autonomous region of China known as Tibet. Sherpas live in the most mountainous areas of Nepal, high in the Himalayas. They are renowned in the international climbing and mountaineering community for their hardiness, expertise, and experience at very high altitudes. Chhiring and his family try to go back once a year to visit other relatives and friends, and to enjoy the many beautiful sights and delicious foods of their homeland.
Enjoy this selection of his photos.
Chhiring’s hometown is Solukhumbu, which is close to Mt. Everest. Solukhumbu is one of 14 districts of Province No. 1 of eastern Nepal. Chhiring says he has climbed many mountains, but not Mt. Everest – not yet, anyway.
Here is Chhiring standing in front of the wrathful Hindu god, the White Bhairava. Bhairava comes from the word bhīru, which means “fearsome”. Bhairava means “terribly fearsome form”. This god is known as one who destroys fear and protects his devotees from dreadful enemies, greed, lust, and anger.
This is an example of the ancient Nepali architecture. These 500 to 600 year old structures show handmade, hand-painted wooden windows. These were once traditional homes in Nepal, but are now maintained as museums.
Here is the World Peace Pagoda, also called Nipponzan Peace Pagoda – a Buddhist monument in Pokhara, Nepal. This Pagoda was designed to be a symbol to unite humanity in a desire for peace. Shanti Stupa is the first World Peace Pagoda in Nepal and the 71st pagoda built by Nipponzan-Myōhōji in the world. The pagoda is 115-feet tall and 344-feet in diameter.
This is Chhiring’s wife, Ang Pema, standing in front of this stunning view of the mountains. Nepal is home to Mt. Everest and to many other mountains, from the 3000-foot summits of the Churiya Hills to the giants of the Greater Himalayas and the ranges along the border with Tibet.
Here is a view of the beautiful rice terraces in western Nepal in the village of Landrung. Chhiring and his family did a lot of hiking during their stay to capture these beautiful sights.
Chhiring also visited The Old Gurung Museum, where he and his son, Mingmar, tried on custom clothing and posed with gurkha knives called khukuri, used in WWII.
Here is Ang Pema trying the traditional female Gurung dress and basket used for carrying goods from the market.
Chhiring stayed in the Gurung village of Gandrung, the biggest Gurung town in Nepal.
These are some of the native ferns in Nepal. Chhiring says he has never seen this type of fern in the United States.
Some of the local Gurung food includes this buckwheat porridge, served with vegetables and dry buffalo meat.
Mingmar, who also works at my Bedford, New York farm, preferred the rice to the porridge. The meals are served in traditional Nepali brass plates.
This is another breathtaking view of the mountains from the Poon Hill View Tower. Poon Hill is a hill station overlooking the Annapurna Massif range and Dhaulagiri mountain range, located on the border of Myagdi District and Kaski District in the Gandaki Province of Nepal. This day was a bit cloudy, but the view is still spectacular.
Here’s another dish of traditional Nepali buckwheat porridge with a variety of other appetizers – it is among the most popular dishes in Nepal.
This is a bungee jump bridge in Kusma Parvat. This city lies in the western part of Nepal about 35-miles from Pokhara. Mingmar, a United States Marine, took the leap and loved it.
Here’s Chhiring after walking across the same bungee jump bridge.
For those not ready for bungee jumping, this is called the Tick Tock Swing.
And here is a triple seater Tick Tock Swing.
Here, Chhiring visits the Chamere Gufa cave in Pokhara, Nepal. It is known for its resident Horseshoe bats that live inside the cave, over the walls and on the ceiling. The cave is made of limestone and is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Pokhara.
The Baglung Parbat Footbridge is claimed to be the longest suspended footbridge in the world with a span of about a third of a mile. The bridge is over the Kaligandaki River and is more than 400-feet above the water at its lowest point. It is named ‘Gandaki Golden Bridge’ in English and ‘Gandaki Sunaulo Jhula’ in Nepali.
Mingmar bought a prayer wheel for his grandmother. It signifies peace of mind and is a popular gift from the young to their elder relatives. These prayer wheels are on spindles made from metal, wood, stone, leather, or coarse cotton.
Another view of the snow-capped mountains behind the village of Solukhumbu. These mountains can be seen from almost every vantage point.
Here’s a photo of Chhiring’s family including his mom, Damu Sherpa, who accompanied them on many of their treks.
This is the Swayambhunath Stupa or Monkey Temple Buddhist Monastery in Kathmandu. The complex sits atop a hill in the Kathmandu Valley and consists of the stupa, a variety of shrines and temples, some dating back hundreds of years.
Channeling peace, Chhiring takes a few minutes to rest and meditate on Ghorepani Hill. Reaching this summit one can see the panoramic views of the famous Annapurna region including Annapurna South, Annapurna I, Annapurna II, III, and IV, Dhaulagiri, Lamjung Himal, Gangapurna, Machhapuchhare and Manaslu. What a wonderful trip Chhiring – thanks for sharing these photos with us!
Martha Pins
Martha Tweets
