New Additions- November 2019

Author: Mike   |   0 Comments   |   Categories: christmas • gift store • gourmet retail • holiday • holiday ornament • new additions • woodstock virginia   |   Tags: • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

Yes it’s that time of the year again-The Holidays are just a few weeks away and we are well stocked with hand made and locally sourced goodies for everyone on your gift list.

Just in: Our custom made rustic & elegant farmhouse-style pottery from Barbarah Robertson Pottery. We have an assortment of her lovingly hand crafted (and very functional) serving platters, dishes, sponge holders and mugs- including this year’s “Woodstock, VA” mugs. These mugs have a speckled blue & green glaze combo that combined with the forest pattern embossed into the clay along the bottom resembles a starry night above an evergreen forest.

We also have a variety of her peace dove and Virginia-shaped holiday ornaments. The Virginia-shaped ornaments come in blue, green, gold or a blue/green combo embossed with a forest pattern.

Also new: MJ Seal’s latest batch of distinctive hand made stoneware pieces is out on the shelf. This batch was made with a dark red clay and finished with a combination of glazes that give them the appearance of ancient bronze and pewter. He has an assortment of  vases, leaf-shaped dishes, spoon holders, serving bowls and candle holders like the luminaries pictured below-

These dark-metallic colored vases make excellent planters for succulents-

Back in stock: Wooden kitchen utensils from George Lange. George fashions functional kitchen utensils like spoons, spatulas, toast tongs and salad hands from locally sourced cherry wood. His hand whittled creations make great gifts for those in your life who love to cook.

Back on the wine shelf: Fruit Wines from Peaks of Otter Orchard and Winery. “Blackberry Cobbler”, “Blueberry Muffin”, “Sweet Peach” and “Plumlicious” are back on the shelf. Also we have plenty of “Cinfulicious” in stock. “Cinfulicious” is an apple wine infused with cinnamon and makes a great substitute for mulled wine.

Also- it is (finally) the season for Yukon Gold Kettle-Cooked Potato Chips from Rt 11  Potato Chips. These come in 2oz bags- perfect for gift baskets – or a treat for yourself! We also have there Lightly Salted and Salt & Pepper chips in 2 oz bags.

Yukon Gold potato chips from Rt 11 Potato Chips availbale at The Virginia Farmhouse in 2 oz bags

Functional hand made stoneware pottery with complex metallic glazes available at The Virginia Farmhouse

Fresh Out Of The Kiln- Our Latest Batch of Stoneware Pottery

Author: Mike   |   0 Comments   |   Categories: ceramics • clay • crafts • decorative art • experiment • gift store • hand made • home decor • interior decorating • woodstock virginia   |   Tags: • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

They Survived! And even better the (somewhat experimental) combinations of glazes I used came out beautifully-Stoneware pottery with metallic glazes available at The Virginia Farmhouse

So for this large batch of pieces I used a dark, red stoneware clay called “Brooklyn Red”. This clay is heavy, groggy and due to the iron oxide content will stain anything it touches (before firing of course). It’s actually the kind of clay used to make red bricks and in is incredibly durable once fired. It is great for hand building pieces as it has minimal shrinkage during drying and and attached parts really hold together.

I also love this clay as it gives you a rich, dark ground to work off of- perfect for the metallic glazes I wanted to use for these pieces-A tuliptree leaf shaped dish and other functional ceramics with metallic glazes hand made by MJ SealI used 2 different combinations of Potter Choice Glazes from Amaco. In group one I applied 2 thick layers of Saturation Gold to the piece. Then I coated that in a blotchy layer of Temmoku (a dark, translucent brown/black glaze) and Saturation Metallic. After those layers dried I applied a little more saturation gold to the edges and rims of each piece for a little pop of gold.A luminary, soap dish and various serving bowls hand made from red stoneware clay by MJ SealDuring firing the glazes melded beautifully. In the areas with a thinner layer of Saturation Gold the glaze developed a dark bronze coloration that flashes iridescent blue when viewed at certain angles. The splotches of Temmoku and Saturation Metallic gave silvery, pewter-like touches and in areas where the Saturation Gold pooled and dripped you can see these patches of rich gold with little coppery flecks.

Soap dish and serving bowls with an ancient bronze like finish available at The Virginia FarmhouseIn the second group (which turned out to be my fav) I applied a couple thin layers of Saturation Metallic glaze over the dried clay body then a splotchy layer of Temmoku with thick blotches of Saturation Gold.Metallic finish on a stoneware leaf made by MJ Seal at The Virginia FarmhouseThis combination of glazes developed a rich and complex black metallic finish with patches of pewter and ancient bronze. On these little dishes I made with torn edges (the clay had started to dry out and had become unmanageable) the finish almost makes them look like shards of a meteorite-Stoneware dish with torn edges and metallic glaze hand made by MJ SealClose up of a meteorite like finish on a ceramic piece hand made by MJ SealIt’s always nice when an experiment turns out even better results than you were expecting!

Ceramics in Progress – September 2019

Author: Mike   |   0 Comments   |   Categories: ceramics • crafts • decorative art   |   Tags: • • • • • • • • • • •

Finally had a chance to make a few somethings out of a big block of red stoneware clay that we bought last summer (?) and has been sitting around the store ever since-

Some *potential serving bowls and soap dishes

Small and Medium sized planters

Wax tart burners/ luminaries and chafing dishes

These tiny vases would be great for flower buds or air plants. The medium sized vases would be great for succulents or small ferns (and flowers of course).

I made a bunch of serving bowls that could also double as pots for plants that don’t need a lot of soil- like the mosses I’ve been experimenting with.

You’ll notice all of these have little feet which not only make them stand out more but I think will nicely compliment the Raku- like glazes they will be getting once they dry. Keep your fingers crossed they survive the firing process.

 

New Additions- April 2019

Author: Mike   |   0 Comments   |   Categories: ceramics • gift store • gourmet • gourmet foods • gourmet retail • gourmet shop • pottery • shenandoah county • Stoneware • virginia made • virginia wine • wine • wine store • woodland • woodstock • woodstock virginia   |   Tags: • • • • • • • • • • • • •

We’ve really been cramming the shelves full this month with a plethora of new products-

First- the batch of stoneware pottery I started last year (before we moved) has finally been fired! I made an assortment of leaf-shaped dishes (Oak, Tulip Tree, Maple, etc.) with finishes like Autumn Scarlet (glossy), Dark Cocoa Brown (semi-matte), Autumn Gold (matte), Mushroom Soup (satin) and First Snow (matte). The First Snow and Autumn Scarlet finishes look especially nice on the brown of the clay body.

I also made an assortment of serving bowls, relish dishes and little trinket boxes (they were supposed to be salt cellars) with an oceanic look to them.

New Additions to The Pantry:

  • Organic Buckwheat Flour
  • Organic Coconut Flour from Tropical Green Organics of Sterling, VA- my home town! The coconuts that went into the flour weren’t grown in the state though- they sourced those from Sri Lanka.
  • Organic Spelt Flour
  • Organic Chia Seed
  • Organic Farro (a kind of wheat berry)
  • Organic Scottish Oatmeal

Back in stock:

  • Bulgur Wheat
  • Organic Whole Flaxseed
  • Almond Flour
  • Sorghum Flour
  • Millet Flour

Also new:

  • Organic Chia & Quinoa Restaurant-style Tortilla Chips from Late July
  • Organic Ancient Grain (Spelt Flour) Pretzels from Hanover
  • Organic Sprouted Whole Wheat Pretzel Shells from Unique Pretzels
  • Gluten-Free Multigrain Crackers from Crunchmaster
  • Whole Wheat Fig, Raspberry and Strawberry Bars from Nature’s Bakery
  • Whole Wheat Double Chocolate Brownies also from Nature’s Bakery
  • Dill Pickle Spears, Pickled Baby Beets and Pickled (baby) Green Tomatoes from Jake & Amos

Note: The pretzels are quite a deal at $7.49 for a giant, 28 oz container.

New to the Wine Rack:

  • Bluestone Vineyard’s 2016 Chardonnay and Petit Manseng, 2017 Moscato- Their Cab Franc is very spicy with lots of cardamom and black pepper. The Petit Manseng is complex, fruit-forward (tropical fruit- think starfruit) and luscious. The 2017 Moscato is slightly drier than previous vintages.
  • Castello Di Gabbiano Chianti Classico- rich, full-bodied and spicy with notes of tobacco, earth and violets.
  • Rabble Pinto Gris- light-bodied, mellow with notes of pear, golden delicious apples and a refreshingly tart finish
  • Slow Press Lodi Zinfandel- Spicy and rich with juicy black cherry on the nose and cedar on the palate.