the back yard today!

want to come over for a snack on our patio?


the front window




plants doing well inside by the window


and the flowering azalea

after the hail storm

the garden on october 3

I had almost forgotten how spectacular the garden looked in early October. I was out there one day pulling the remaining morning glory off the chain link fence when I found this grasshopper family. They let me get close but were clearly aware of my presence and tolerated my lens for only so long.

meanwhile my friend the grey and white cat came out from behind the rear fence. It was not long before I heard hissing and saw a tiger-striped cat with a large, triangular head start to give my buddy trouble.

I walked to the east side of the yard and was amazed by what I saw- two enormous cucumbers growing over the fence from the neighbor's garden. I picked them and gave one to Bobbi and Carlos- they must have weighed a pound each. Easily the best cucumbers I've had- super crisp, with a lemony flavor.


Here's the vegetable patch. Okay, maybe my memory was a little fuzzy in saying that it suffered minor damage from the storm. Post-storm photos to follow.


basil, lettuce and thyme


the lettuce, while it was small



tomatoes


lamb's ear


the flower bed, near the house

the garden in december

it's been a great while since i posted about the back yard garden. As we spent about two months preparing the store to open, late summer turned to early fall. We were so busy day to day that the garden became a welcoming break- really the only way I could relax. I spent many mornings sneaking some time in, tending to the harvest and sharing the bounty with friends and my newly formed staff. We had piles of ripe, yellow pear tomatoes, tall stalks of lemon grass, voluminous basil plants and plenty of thyme and rosemary, and a bit of oregano. The eggplants grew tall and started to fruit a second time- but some critter came and stole the tiny fruits. I bought an already- fruited hot pepper plant and gave many of the peppers away, as I had no time to cook anything.

As I was walking home one day in the early fall, I passed Gowanus nursery and stopped in. I asked for some recommendations for fall plants and came home with two young lettuce plants and a packet of *French Breakfast* radish seeds. I had pulled the thyme out of the garden to pot and planted the lettuce in the emptyish bed. I never did have time to plant the radish, but the lettuce thrived up until our first frost, which was just a few weeks ago. Problem was, cats started discovering my now empty garden and used it as a litter box. I had heard that cat poop is toxic, so I was wary of eating the lettuce. I kept scooping up and discarding the poo, but it's hard to stop once they've started. In reality the poop probably didn't touch the lettuce or its roots, but the thought of it grossed me out. I sadly watched as the lettuce got bigger and made it through to December, but went untouched.

In the mean time, I gradually brought in the herbs that were in pots and moved inside some other potted plants. Since we live in a basement apartment, I thought it would be best to bring nearly all of the plants to the store, and that's what I did. But then... as the weather got colder I noticed some of the plants having a hard time in the icy cold window. The store might get more light, but it's gigantic and drafty. At the same time I noticed that the plants I left at home were doing well. So back on home they came! The plant pictured below, which never left the apartment, is beginning to flower. Our upstairs neighbor Aki, who moved out over the summer, gave me her plants and this was one of them. I don't know what it is. anyone? anyone? btw, it sure is nice to have my herbs at home and it makes me wonder why I didn't try growing herbs inside A LONG TIME AGO.





okay, so I almost left out one of the most important parts of this story. the day before our store opened, bobbi and carlos came down to help us with some last-minute things. before they left I cut them a bunch of stuff from the garden and they kept saying, "are you sure? it's too much!" to which I replied "take it! please!" my garden looked amazing on October 10- the peak of its beauty. then on the night of our opening party, as we were chatting with friends, the sky started to darken. a few of them had come on bike, and wondered if they should leave right then, before the impending storm came in. I went outside to check the sky, and I could see dark clouds coming from the north. Ariel decided to leave (on bike) and as a few others were making their way to their car, a huge wind started up and they came back inside. the group of us who were left watched as giant hail stones covered the sidewalk and with them, piles of broken leaves that were sliced off the trees.

the next day as the sun shone, the sidewalks of brooklyn were covered in lacerated leaves, and most of the trees were stripped bare of their still-green leaves. I somehow thought that since our back yard is usually protected from the wind, my garden would be spared. the west side seemed okay except for some minor damage to the vegetable garden. I was out there for a good while before I turned and saw the other side- and let out a huge O MY GOD! the potted plants on the east side looked like they were hacked up with a machete. the worst hit was the wandering jew- it had been so lush and full before, but it was now chopped down to its stem.

a lot of the potted herbs had been damaged a bit, and have since been recovering indoors. so anyways, it is great to be able to continue *gardening* through the winter, always discovering new things about plants and how best to take care of them. I've brought most of the potted plants back home, except for the large palm from Aki, which is hearty enough to thrive in the store. b even added to the indoor garden by buying a bunch of miniature evergreens. they are so darn easy to take care of! maybe next fall I'll have more time to do a proper transition out back, and I'll introduce some evergreens outside.

emily rothschild

emily rothschild is an industrial designer who just happens to make some of the most innovative jewelry around in her free time. we first got emily's pinky wings in the store, and they have been a great success. the wings can be worn on the pinky or ring finger and come in left and right hand orientation. they're made of cast bronze, plated in your choice of silvery rhodium or white powder coat.

when emily told me (rather excitedly) that she was coming out with some new necklaces, of course I wanted to see them. each great design contains its own form of trickery.

the whirlgig necklace is a tiny animation that you can wear around your neck. based on a 1920's concept, two slightly different images decorate each side of a rotating disk. We chose the Dancing Couple and the Lumberjack for ebmerc. they're made of brass and are hung on a fine gold tone chain.

the black box key is a particular favorite of mine, as I love surprises. Emily has made a series of necklaces, each one slightly different, from vintage keys have been powder coated in various colors. they come packaged in a black box, tied with ribbon and sealed with red wax.

and saving the best for last, we have the 2010 Mourning Locket. In another nod to the past, Emily tweaks the idea of a Victorian mourning locket, in which you would carry a photo of your dear, departed one. In this version the photos have been replaced by a two-gig flash drive. enough storage to hold all your photos if you like.

all items are available both in the Red Hook store and online.

new poketo

the donutsu and mushroom mugs sold out so quickly in the Red Hook shop, I knew I had to place another order with Poketo soon! we have three new styles of mug- the raygun is my favorite- and also three new wallet styles in stock. woo hoo! bright and cheerful Poketo gifts for $20 and under!


raygun mug- the best!


alien mug- this one's okay too.


elephant mug- b requested this one. it's cute.


bear wallet- it's my cute pick.

buddy wallet- c'mon!

unicorn wallet- lush and trippy

fyi the mushroom mug and wallet are both back in stock. the donutsu mug, sadly, is discontinued. I saw a photograph of it in the promo for Poketo's warehouse sale and I was all, "hey! no fair!" If you don't know Poketo, you should. This L.A.- based company makes all sorts of limited edition items emblazoned with the work of artists, illustrators, doodlers and designers. They are the ones responsible for the amazing SPACETIME wall art we have plastered on the walls of our store. so check 'em out.

new in the ebmerc shop

well we decided to consolidate my online shop with ebmerc- so look for a few items starting to appear on the website. b has some ideas for how the molliedash site should change and I'm excited to work on that. in the mean time:



we've received so many great, new items in the Red Hook store over the past two months. they are steadily making their way to the webshop, for those of you who can't make it to Brooklyn. We are particularly into the Jao Products and so are our customers! I just put Jao's new OutScent and perennial favorite GOE oil on the site. Also new are Italian bath products Tabiano sulfur soap, (yes, sulfur!) Omega Eucalyptus Shave Creme (no aerosol cans here) and shaving brushes with a handy stand. (coming soon) and don't forget a Van Brunt Street favorite- Star of David Kosher Soap in lemon-eucalyptus and honey-almond.

in the kitchen department we have three new styles of soy sauce pot. all made in Japan of porcelain in beautiful, functional forms.

new colors in the PlayForever bruno racing car, (royal blue) mimmo aeroplane, (army green) and enzo motorbike. (red and gunmetal)

very exciting is the introduction of Emily Rothschild's interactive necklaces. We have in stock the dancing and lumberjack whirlgigs- an image on each side of the pendant flips to make an mini-animation. and the truly outstanding 2010 mourning locket which replaces victorian-era trimmed photographs with 2 gigabytes of storage!

enjoy and I'll keep uploading!

origamitron

We are PSYCHED to announce Everbrite Mercantile Co.'s first art show. Our intern Jenna Kole is installing a collection of sculptures, made of hand-made and folded paper. Some are lit and some are sound-actived. They are starting to creep in around the store and the full show will be up Friday, December 10. Join us for a reception that evening from 5 to 9:30 pm.