Photo courtesy of One Old Farm
One Old Farm
If beautiful objects can elevate everyday tasks, then chopping vegetables will never be the same, thanks to One Old Farm. The company, started by four siblings from White Plains, produces sleek wooden objects, such as cutting boards, planters, and candleholders, all handmade from New York State maple, cherry, and walnut. Dan Nguyen, who does most of the woodworking, was inspired to open the business after making a cutting board for his mother. Growing quickly since its quiet start in 2015, One Old Farm is attracting a strong following of “folks who really care how products are made and where they come from,” says Nguyen.
Mesh Print Studio
Mesh Print Studio is much more than just a place to order (very cool) promotional T-shirts and posters. Sure, owner David Krinick and his small staff can fire up their screen-printing equipment to produce up to 5,000 printed items a week, but Mesh is about more than that. New Rochelle native Krinick sees Mesh as a way to promote other local startups and to support the burgeoning artistic community in his hometown. He’s providing printing classes, studio space, and hosts gatherings of all manner of creative types.
Photo by John O’Donnell
Custom Candle Co.
Marcie Manfredonia had the bright idea to make eco-friendly, nontoxic, long-lasting candles. At her Bedford Hills shop, she hand-pours her creations (also available online), using only high-quality, all-natural, soy-based wax. Environmental bonus: Many of her candle bases are made from old liquor, wine, and soft-drink bottles (including empties of the rarest Champagne), safely repurposing these discarded items, potentially keeping them out of landfills.
London Joiners
A couple at London Joiners Antique Restoration and Furniture Making in Pound Ridge recently had a heated tiff about whether the coffee table they were having built should be a Federal or Queen Anne. Yes, this place is for people who are passionate about furniture (many local celebs included), and James Maliszewski is happy to make it for them, whatever the style. He learned his craft by working beside his father, master cabinetmaker Willy Maliszewski, as he built beautiful new pieces and restored precious antiques —
a priceless education.
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Feder Knives
Heat, steel, locally sourced wood, tools, and skill are a short list of the basics Peekskill blacksmith Geoff Feder uses to make his line of knives, but there is nothing primitive or rough-hewn about them. These handmade knives, many with vivid handles and decorative file work on the spine, are true works of art. Not surprising, since Feder is also a sculptor, a welder, and a culinary-school grad — the perfect background for making incredible knives. His company has grown so fast, Feder hasn’t much time left for sculpting, he admits, but working with each client to create his or her dream knife provides him with the same creative rush. And those clients range from home chefs and hunters to celebrity chefs, like Charlie Palmer and Bryan Voltaggio.
Photo by Nico Tavernise
R. D. Carone & Company
Inside the pretty, yellow barn in Bedford Hills that serves as Richard Carone’s workshop lies a big slab of, well, tree. It’s a piece of English wych elm that Carone will turn into a rustic coffee table, a relatively new style for the self-taught craftsman who’s been making furniture locally for about 40 years, specializing in high-end reproductions. While he still repairs and makes pieces in the Georgian and Regency styles, he’s found that his clients “want less-formal furniture now.” Luckily for Carone, he can make just about anything. A former electrical engineer, Carone felt drawn to woodworking, blaming his furniture obsession on spending “far too much time in the American Wing of the Met.” Pursuing his passion “may not have been a wise career decision,” he says, “but it’s been a great way to live a life.”
