Artisan’s Marketplace, a jewel box of a shop located on Route 10 in Plainville, reminds me of an era when shopping for something special was itself a special experience. Devoted almost entirely to selling curated American crafts, Artisan’s emerged at a time when artisanal values and aesthetics were ascendant. The national studio craft movement had […]
Tag Archives: Patricia Grandjean
Family Line
The birth of Theresa Nast’s fourth child in 2018 led to the birth of a new direction in life. After several years as a bridal designer, she’d finally had enough of wedding-prep pressures. “I was (more…)
Floral Fixation
One of my favorite harbingers of spring is the annual opening of Cheshire’s Tower Farms. From April through December, the garden center offers a parade of botanical delights from daffodils and pansies to ornamental grasses and fall mums, ending the year with an array of Christmas trees (mostly Frasier firs and some balsams). Overall, customers […]
Sliced Bread
There’s nothing fancy about Corso’s Deli & Subs. Located in a squat mini mall on Route 1 in West Haven, the humble bones of the place—brick-red floor tiles gridded with dark grout, cement-block walls painted mostly white, old cases finished in mismatched faux wood, a letterboard menu filled with staples and classics—look like they haven’t […]
Works in Progress
I had never fully considered the social and cultural content of the color pink until I saw Sheila Levrant de Bretteville’s 1974 broadside Pink. Designed for an American Institution of Graphic Arts exhibition, de Bretteville’s piece examined the color from a feminist perspective. She invited women from all walks of life to submit statements and […]
Taco Standing
Milford’s Don Rene Taqueria says its tacos “must be considered in any discussion of our state’s best.” Challenge accepted. This small restaurant along the Milford Green felt spare and open, with moody dark tables and leisurely ceiling fans. It doesn’t have a liquor license, so diners are encouraged to BYOB. As for service, the word […]
Good Bones
I never got over Brontosaurus excelsus (“noble thunder lizard” for those of us who don’t speak ancient Greek). I don’t know when I first visited Yale’s Peabody Museum, probably at age 4 or 5, but that ginormous dinosaur floored me. It became my first stop on all subsequent visits and the first spectacle I would […]
Formal Visit
Vintage clothing stores make me feel a little melancholy, in a Toy Story 3 sort of way. They’re stocked with objects that were once madly loved by someone but then got cast aside. Also like Toy Story 3, Westville’s Lower Forms gives them a chance to be loved again (more…)
Early Risers
If you’re a New Havener hoping to catch a good selection at Shef’s, you’d better set your alarm clock. This Cheshire bagelry opens at 6 a.m. most weekdays and 7 a.m. on weekends, and business is known to get frisky fast. I visited one recent Saturday at 7:30 and wasn’t too late to be captivated […]
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