Meet the Neighbors: Craftstitute

At the Aurora Shoe Company, we passionately support small business and handmade and local goods. As a visitor of our blog, we thought that you might feel the same way. In our Meet the Neighbors series we're featuring businesses and people who reflect our own values and whom we feel lucky to call neighbors and friends.

I walked into Craftstitute in Ithaca knowing that I'd like it.  The craft school, which opened its doors exactly one year ago, offers a huge range of classes and workshops, ranging from edible things like cheese and coffee, to slightly more obscure crafts like indigo fermentation and a meditative line drawing class, appropriately named Zentangle.  Of course, there's lots of sewing, knitting, dying and various other making in between.   It's the kind of place where people of all levels and abilities can come together to enjoy shared passions or to learn new ones.  Some of the workshops progress over multiple sessions, and others are in and out, with a piece of your own handiwork to walk out the door with. 

Craftstitute aims to bring people together to create community around creative pursuits, but also to work at re-building a sense of self-sufficiency that our culture has grown away from.  The sewing machines at Craftstitute are named after beloved grandmothers, a touch that seems quaint and sweet, but also ironic and empowering.  If grandma didn't have to rely on countries half way across the world to clothe or feed her, maybe we don't have to either.  

Robin, who calls herself one of the Co-Ringleaders showed me around during drop-in crafting time (which is free) and chatted while she worked on some knitting along with her own small business venture, MiMBY (short for Made in My Back Yard).  The bags are made from fabric that she often dyes or block prints herself, along with full grain leather straps made from our own scrap leather.  She offers classes, teaching people how to make these bags, and also offers them for sale on her Etsy site.  

Every sewing machine at Craftstitute is named after a beloved grandmother. 

 

Thank you, Robin, and everyone at Craftstitute, for recognizing the value of handcraft, and for bringing this fabulous school to our community!  

You can keep up with class and workshop offerings by following the link above and by joining the Craftstitute Facebook and Instagram pages.  

 

Featured in Central New York Magazine

Back in July we did some scrambling to get ready for a day-long interview and photo shoot with a local magazine.  The issue made it to stands this month and we're loving the way that journalist, Allison Sklaney, and photographer, Ellen Blalock took our raw material and turned it into a really nice story about who we are and what we do.  Locals might like to pick up a copy of Central New York Magazine: The Good Life, but for the rest of our friends around the globe, here are some shots from the article. 

Special thanks go out to a few local shops (Jane Morgan's Little House and Dinosaur Dry Goods) and a locally born designer (Vallarino Saltonstall) who contributed clothing and accessories, and to the three friends who agreed to take a day away from their regular jobs to model for us. 

Middle English

A few weeks ago, a request came in on our Facebook page for a few photos of our Middle English style on a woman.  It was exactly the reminder we needed to get back into taking regular photos of our shoes outside of the shop and on people's feet!  Here are a few from this snowy April Saturday in Aurora.

A Harvest Supper

After months of discussion and a little bit of planning, Dave and his wife, Andrea, hosted a relaxed dinner party for a handful of like minded local friends.  We celebrated a highly anticipated wine release and talked about the challenges of running small businesses in our small, rural town (spotty and inconsistent internet coverage being the main complaint!).

While Dave and Andrea provided a lovely location and a perfectly retro playlist, we all brought food to share and collectively created a beautiful meal.

Keeley brought her delicious washed rind cheeses which were great on their own and amazing on top of our steaks during dinner.

Katie and Dan brought pickled beets and garlic scapes from their garden.

Dave grilled up some massive steaks

I brought salt potatoes tossed in garlic (thanks again, Maggie!), olive oil and local basil, and  sauteed collard greens from our weekly share at Early Morning Farm.

Dinner was simple and delicious.  But dessert was a chocolate lover's dream.

From the top...

Pain au chocolat (my favorite pastry of all time) made the right way by Keeley's husband, Alan, who apprenticed at a bakery in his native Ireland, and really ought to get one going here. 

He also whipped up some buttery raisin scones (my second all time favorite)...

And this decadent chocolate cake made with spelt flour and merlot! 

And to top it all off, Katie served up her grandmother's chocolate zucchini cake (you want this recipe).

And of course, a bottle of Treleaven Dry Rose was the perfect accompaniment to all of that chocolate.

Even the flowers were local! 

Dinners like these are such a great way to celebrate the season and all of the local goodness that comes with it.  With all of the hustle and bustle of daily life (running small businesses, managing small children, etc., etc, etc) it's nice to spend some time reconnecting with old friends and making a few new ones.  Especially when food and wine are involved!