Foraging From Nature to Enhance Your Rustic Cabin Decor

 Now is the perfect time to enhance your rustic cabin decor and vintage style with natural elements you can find in your own yard.  Pink Pig's apothecary jars, mason jars and other vintage vessels are perfect receptacles for simple arrangements that make a bold statement.

Grab your clippers and a basket and stroll through your garden or yard with an new outlook on the flowers, plants, shrubs and trees that are there.  Look for natural elements that emphasize shape, color, texture and a bit of whimsy.  Late-blooming flowers, colorful foliage, dried flowers, evergreen branches, berries, pine cones, seed pods and small branches with interesting shapes make great accents for arrangements.
Use them indoors in small vessels to add a fresh look to your home for the fall holidays, or outdoors in larger pieces such as our vintage wooden crate or antique wooden caddy to make an eye-catching statement at your front entrance.  Check out our website at http://www.pinkpigwestport.com for endless possibilities for your unique style or contact us at for advice about creating a natural look for your home.
There's no limit to the unique looks you can create when you find inspiration in nature!
 

The Peppermint Pig

The Peppermint Pig - A Holiday Tradition in the North Country
 A local tradition here in the Adirondack's i thought i would share with all of you.... We are delighted this year to share with you here at the Pink Pig the "Peppermint Pig" by Saratoga Sweets.

The first dusting of winter's snow gathered in darkened downtown doorways and twirled by night's wind seemed to dance and whirl like sugarplum fairies. Behind the oaken doors of gingerbread-sized candy shops that dotted Saratoga, tireless old candy makers, bathed in amber glow of crackling hearth and bubbling candy pots, labored on into the night creating... and continuing a holiday tradition known to all as the "Peppermint Pig" by Saratoga Sweets

This "Peppermint Pig™ as aptly it was named, was cast of hard candy similar in fashion to candy cane and festive pink in colour. And while the pig is honored in Victorian holiday tradition as a symbol of good health, happiness and prosperity, these special "Peppermint Pigs",™ unique to Saratoga Springs, New York, came to represent much more.  They proudly stood for and old-fashioned Yuletide itself-a wonderful time when red-cheeked children laughed and rode old wooden sleds over fresh snow, when church bells pealed and fond recollections were shared by family and friends. After the holiday dinner, the Pig was passed amongst those gathered, each in turn giving the pouch a firm tap and sharing a tale of the past year's good fortune. The delicious broken peppermint and warm memories were enjoyed by all in hopes of prosperity for the coming year.

As holiday seasons passed and time marched further into a new century, the tradition of the "Peppermint Pig™ continued on in popularity...until Father Time could wait no longer. One by one the candy makers of Saratoga Springs passed onto their reward and the "Peppermint Pigs™ became but a wonderful memory.

Visit our shop and choose your selection of Peppermint Pigs to add as part of your Holiday Tradition! 

Decorative Pillows Give Rooms a Homey Flair

Have you finished decorating your living room, den or bedroom, but it still seems like something is missing because it doesn’t have quite the homey look that you imagined? Unique decorative pillows can add just the touch you are looking for, whether floral, ruffled, burlap, French Country, grain sack or primitive pillows.

We have several types of grain sack pillows to complement your rooms, including stripe grain sack cushions, double stripe grain sack pillows, antique stripe grain sack pillows, antique red stripe grain sack pillows and woolen grain sack pillows.

Our grain sacks are from Europe. Some have red strips and some have blue or red and blue. Pillows come with new down-like inserts for a fluffy, comfortable look that goes with most any décor you choose for your home. Our French grain sack pillows come with French words. Some come with vintage ticking trim. We also have soft woolen French grain sack pillows with gray plaid fabric and off-white stitching for a homey look in an elegant living area.

Choose from many different sizes and shapes, including square, long, a distinctive shape, large or small for the perfect embellishment for a sofa, chair, chest or window seat. Our decorative pillows give your home the perfect look, whether you want a rustic touch, an elegant touch or a mix of both.

Green is Gold - Article 14

A complete with much of the original wrought

Green is Gold
Living in the Adirondacks is like no other place on earth. We are an experiment playing out on the world stage. The balancing act is between wilderness/habitat and people/economics. Though this contest is played out on every inch of the globe, no other place has constitutional protection in place. To wit: “The lands of the state, now owned or hereafter acquired, constituting the forest preserve as now fixed by law, shall be forever kept wild forest lands. They shall not be leased, sold or exchanged, or be taken by any corporation, public or private nor shall the timber thereon be sold, removed or destroyed.”
This overarching ethos colors our day to day existence. We go about our business often not fully aware we inhabit a six million acre PARK struggling to balance the mandates of wilderness, the needs of people and economic exigencies. We all share this womb struggling to birth a viable and thriving template the rest of the world might clone.
MOSTLY we just live here, year after year, as creeping awareness seeps, osmotically into our collective cells and changes how we view the world.
We like having almost no traffic lights. We like seeing faces of foxes, bears, eagles and falcons as we venture out for coffee. And we begin to see - no feel - the beauty of old things. Like old wood, be it barn boards and beams or the smooth well worn seat of an old chair.

                                                                                   

Here at PINK PIG in Essex, we collect and rescue these artifacts. And BREATHE NEW LIFE into them. We beat the bushes looking for the relics of a time when pride of craftsmanship was the order of the day. For instance, you will find late 1700’s and early 1800’s paneled doors. The wood is a bookmark of the great Northeast virgin forests and a door to today’s quest for re-purposing.
Here at the Pig we find great ways to play with old doors. We leave the vestiges of latches and hinges if we are lucky to find those still clinging. We love to see these doors as headboards, sideboards, work tables and desks or propped against a wall - maybe holding a photo a painting…. Maybe throw a rack over the top and display our camp blanket collection - a wonderful MIX of texture.

Seven billion people on the planet and counting….a challenging game of musical chairs indeed. Breathing new life into OLD STUFF is fun, creative and very ,very green. And GREEN IS GOLD.

Creative Decorating Tips Using Candles For Home Decor

Home Decor For the Cottage or Cabin
As the cooler weather blows in and the sun dips earlier in the day, why not decorate your cottage, cabin or home with candles adding warmth and ambiance to the space.  Fall is the perfect time to collect colorful leaves outside and harness their warmth when decorating with candles.  For example, you could use our mirrored winery tray to display leaves or flowers in red, yellow and orange with short amber or chocolate colored candles.  To maintain your vintage style, tie velvet, satin or other rich material around the candle and secure with a favorite brooch.  The mirrored tray will capture and reflect the light, creating an inviting centerpiece on the dining room table.

Using special items around the house for unique and unexpected uses is a great way to show off your creativity!  Look for an urn, a finial or a pedestal bowl  to place on a table in your entrance or foyer to welcome guests with the smell of cinnamon.  If using a clear container, fill with acorns or cranberries first, then using wooden florist wire as sticks, attach fruits of the season and fill in with flowers.  Surround your tall container with pedestal candle holders with cinnamon scented candles.  Greeting guests with fragrances of the season adds a nice touch to any home decor.

If you just can't let go of summer yet, fill your garden bistro table with fall leaves and pine cones and place votive candles in between.  To keep everyone cozy, bring out your blankets or throws, like this Kantha Throw.

Stop in at Pink Pig now in Essex, NY to touch and feel our yummy blankets in person or contact us with any questions you may have!

Ripples in Essex, NY

This week I am welcoming to the Pink Pig web site, guest blogger Linda Coffin. She has an interesting and varied background that colors her perspective. Prior incarnations include, equestrian, theater, launching a wholesale manufacturing company to the furniture  trade in High Point, North Carolina of her own designs, experience in restoration, preservation and love of Historic Architecture, and animal welfare campaigner. Moving to Montreal with her French speaking Mother as a child, she said, she was a little scared but excited at the prospect of Igloo living. Instead she found a vibrant city which, she says, touched a very responsive chord within cultivating a love for art, style and urban landscapes. Summers were spent in the Adirondacks -first as a camper and then Counselor at local storied Camp Poko-O-Moonshine, and with her family on Big Wolf Lake. So read along with us as she treats us with her take on…the fine art of Essex living with a side dish of, “a little bit of everything.” Welcome to “Horse-Feathers”, by my friend, Linda Coffin

 

As an Essex resident I am excited about the local presence of the Pink Pig Boutique.  It's a game changer.  Most scramble to exit this neck of the woods after the Autumnal Equinox. Like frenzied little mice trying to escape a rain barrel. And until The Essex Inn on Lake Champlain received a no holds barred face-lift and the Pink-Pig hung it's shingle, pretty much the only folks who stopped in Essex , "out of season" , were those unfortunates caught in that dirty little seat-belt and stop-sign trap instituted a few years ago.

Hundred bucks minimum for not having the seat belt buckled or only slowing to a crawl at the stop sign before turning  right out of town and straight out of Essex.  Mind you the stop sign is virtually twenty-two yards from the Ferry parking lot so most folks didn't stand a chance with the seat belt thing or the crawling stop because they are anxious to cover the 15 miles to the Northway on Ramp- so they can get to Montreal or NYC before nothing keeps happening.  

If I sound a little bitter I am. One day I was headed to the dump a - half mile up the hill - seat belt unclipped - as I was jumping out momentito and also did not want to restrict my arm since it is attached to my hand that held a piping hot coffee and since no one was around I turned up the hill from a "crawling stop".  Adjudicated down to court costs thanks in part to my friendly neighbor and magistrate. (That's why I know the fee schedule)

I am a happy citizen to report that this unsavory practice is now abandoned as the gun-ho rookies slunk back Down-State where night-clubs exist.  But still beware racing down Rt. 22 in a hot hurry to catch the Ferry as there is ALWAYS a stake-out waiting as soon as you see the 35mph limit sign.

Keep going and you T-Intersect with the Main Street of Essex and Lake Champlain, where the Adirondack Park becomes known locally as the Banana Coast. That's because though we are not far from Lake Placid, we experience a significant drop in altitude with a co-morbid rise in mean temperature. It's kinda a joke since nobody can really grow any banana trees here so far yet. (But haven't confirmed with Essex Farm lately)  www.gardenshare.org

Turn left and you are almost at the Ferry, BUT just before you arrive - there it is....an eight foot high by two-foot wide black and white sandwich board in it's own parking space proclaiming...COFFEE!   AAAAAbsolutely FAAAAAbulous!  That slows the rubber on the road and then you see these colossal 18th ct. display windows and you can't tear your eyes away.  It's the store front of the Pink Pig Boutique housed in an early 1800's gray stone Emporium.

Greeting one upon entering is a large silver urn of hot coffee and on a round, cloth-covered table with dainty doilies and napkins -  homemade pumpkin cookies.  Courtesy of Debbie's old school Italian mother. (sometimes it's banana or zucchini bread - from scratch she explains to me - practically does her own  threshing...'nuff said?).

But it's those gi-normous display windows, luminous eyes that sparkle and wink and change with the season, that pull you to the sidewalk transfixed.  Right now, but at the end of it's lease on life, is a Fall and Halloween Vignette. Precious, little, tear-drop headed ghosts suspended from pink ribbons dressed in translucent fabric with rose tulle scarves smile down on the drop-dead gorgeous Alaskan inspired Hooded Parka featured front and center. Gee those ghouls put a spell on me and made me purchase it - you could plausibly tell your husband, lover or accountant. You wipe the saliva from your face and notice the 14 piercing pair of eyes looking back at you. Five snowy white Owls perch here and there, two small hoot owls and three larger barn owls -all stylized in white fur- as if to say - you too can be as striking we are - just put on that parka! The other eyes belong to a grinning white pumpkin and a horribly scowling orange squash poking out from the lower corner reminding us it is the haunting season.  (That exquisite jacket does a pretty good job of haunting all on its own of course)

The twin window on the other side of the entrance inexplicably holds two lovely lithe torsos on wooden stands wearing sparkling tutus in striking cherry. I notice a bone-white vase with cherry blossoms in the fore-ground. If you ask me, and I am getting paid to offer my perspective- those cheery cherry outfits hint at the fashions and spirit of the splashy holiday season just around the corner, and the cherry blossoms echo the cherry colors whilst reminding us that spring ,will indeed, spring forth from a bone white winter.

If you get the feeling somebody knows what they are doing you'd be damn right. Debbie Schrodt, my friend, and Pig proprietress, cares. And she has changed the deeply, I'l say it again, deeply, entrenched traffic pattern of the Village of Essex. No small feat.

She is, perhaps, the hundredth monkey.  Because something is afoot here. For sure. Hundredth Monkey Effect.   In fact, I was galavanting at the store today, drinking free coffee, eyeing the pastry offerings on display....uh...oh, I mean researching things and watching a few customers...people...not from around here. I couldn't help staring. 

She is, perhaps, the hundredth monkey.  Because something is afoot here. For sure. Hundredth Monkey Effect.   In fact, I was galavanting at the store today, drinking free coffee, eying the pastry offerings on display....uh...oh, I mean researching things and watching a few customers...people...not from around here. I couldn't help staring. 

Finally, in the interest of research, I asked an interesting looking woman what she was doing here, why she was in the Pink Pig and...she interrupted me to ask politely if I was interviewing her. Caught with my writer showing!! Such a rookie mistake but can't knock off that prideful flush - my first official writing job....finally getting paid for inking that cursed natural verbosity, (also known as wordiness, prolixity and garrulousness - those last two almost sound like venereal diseases- thanks Wikipedia.)

I confessed I was: feigning embarrassment that I had a bona fide reason for engaging her. She was so gracious and forthcoming, explaining that she was a collector. Always has been. Collecting doll house interiors as a young girl and only gaining scope and whimsy from there. Definitely a very interesting and articulate person, Pam. She is a huge fan of Debbie and her store. She is from the city but has tap roots in Philly and once, she and her husband - a native northern New Yorker- were pleasure traveling and disembarked in Essex and ended up buying a place in this area. She likes the store because it affords her ample opportunity to add to her collections and find new things to collect. The great mix of old and new- country and urban, primitive and refined allows anyone to indulge their passions.

Everything from furniture, accessories, to soft goods, clothes - a hybrid with a resort mentality- understands trends, fun, elegant and with really good unbelievable prices. ( Pam, if you send a S.A.S.E. I will send you $2.40 - .10 cents. per word)

You'll find scrumptious hand creams and jewelry, some of it local artist made. I bought the sweetest paper mache bracelet this summer made by Lynda Smythe -a confection of stripes, butterflies in soft pastel corals, gold, pinks and apricots -loved that the interior of the 3/4 inch wide band also had decoration.

Coincidentally, Pam, the interesting collector, was accompanied by a friend and my new friend, Frank Edgerton Martin. Turns out he is one of the Port Henry Seven. (as is, also coincidentally, Lynda Smythe). This gang of insiders and outsiders have a mission to bring culture, a thriving economy and at least one French Restaurant, ( I hope), to Port Henry. Don't bet against them. They are like seven magnificent Samurai, but that could be coincidence also). Frank is a landscape historian. ( www.frankedgertonmartin.com  ) Another great concept linking scenic hiking trails to the village economies is  CATS= Champlain Area Trail System.  www.champlainareatrails.com

 

Noticed Debbie was the proud recipient of an original Sid Couchy painting. She pointed it out when I was drinking coffee and trying to read the Times Headlines (without actually purchasing). 'Tis a great little wee painting of - interestingly - a masculine pink pig - leaning on a fence chatting up a frilly and fluffy feminine sheep with long eyelashes and a hint of pink lip gloss. Anyone familiar with the Little Lotta, Richie Rich or Little Dot Harvey Comics knows Sid Couchey. ( www.facebook.com/pages/Sid-Couchey/143335009015123 ) Proud  to say he and his wife are pretty close neighbors- Mrs. Sid Couchey saved my young Border Collie, Blue , once when we first moved here seven years ago. He ran away to investigate the neighborhood. She saw the number on his tag and called me. Thanks Mrs. Couchey!

Ex. Gov. George Pataki also lives up the road in a large farm with waterfront called The South Farm. Sid painted the large square farm sign by the road so be sure to notice when in the area. When are you going to throw in your hat, George?

I think it is often the case, little Eastern towns, once major players in shaping early history but left in the dust of Manifest Destiny,come round again attaining glorious new heights when some event precipitates a chain-reaction. I-Pads, Phones and technology in general allow connectivity, in turn allowing Manhattanites- as an example- to live here -in the Great White North - at least part of the time. Clearly there is a ripple effect along the Adirondack Coast and it's rousing little towns.

Next week there will be new Store windows, new merch, and more people and stories.

Hey, hang on to your seats because this LITTLE PIGGY HAS WINGS!!