2020: A Look Back

2020 was a year that very few people need a reflective essay about. For the most part 2020 was a year that many people look forward to forgetting. 2020 however was a very good year to embrace your roots and live slow. It was a year of bread baking, home making, and making a house a home. This was the year to take up new hobbies and learn long forgotten skills. This was a very good year for us to return to FOLK. 

The past few years FOLK had very much been gone dormant. It wasn’t anyone’s full time job and it wasn’t my personal passion. I had stepped away and worked for others all while dreaming of a day when my passions would return and I would want to return to FOLK. 2019 was a year where I could feel the glimmers of my old self coming back to life, my passions re-igniting, and a general idea that maybe I really did want to bring FOLK back to life. The problem was…FOLK had been defined by two very different chapters and identities. It began as a college summer project that celebrated American made, the little things in life, and a love of rural small towns via our original run of magazines. The second chapter was one that focused on epic landscapes and photography community and was entirely digital. To come back to life would mean having to decide which of the chapters to revisit and revive. At the time I was yearning to embrace the original chapter, but I didn’t know how to make it work. I still loved the second chapter but landscapes and photography just weren’t where I personally love in life. I told myself that if it was meant to happy it would happen and that I couldn’t force anything. Over the last parts of 2019 doors started opening and my love of small towns and the little things in life quickly came back to life. The Slow Living movement was one that had been embraced by many across America as a natural progression of the handmade and American made movements and it was one that felt very natural for me. I was raised on a very old farm in the middle of rural Kentucky. I had been living slow long before I realized the way I was raised wasn’t particularly normal. 

2019 rolled into 2020 and I was at a place where if I wanted to bring FOLK back the cards were all in place. I very quietly and privately started preparing a special issue of what I hoped would become a revival for FOLK the magazine. The issue was to be a Slow Living issue and it would release in the spring. I went to many of my friends and those I admired and asked them to be a part. In my mind I really was okay if we only sold one. I wanted to do this for me, to prove to myself I could. I wanted to do it by my rules, by myself, and with all the lessons I had learned from nine years of being in business. I knew if I did all of it myself and kept costs and overhead incredibly lean “we” could make this work. I continued preparing the issue, a slow living issue, as the world slowed to a stop. Suddenly in the spring we were all living slow. 

As the pandemic and its hold grew and the world stood still the issue went to print. I did a very humble printing and exclusively offered it through our website. Every copy was packaged and mailed from my hallway floor. One printing turned into four and the issue was selling way more than I ever expected. We had hit a cord. We were rolling. I truly cannot tell you how good it felt. It was a sense of peace I hadn’t felt in many years. After several struggles over the years it felt like all the hard learned lessons and failures had been stepping stones and lessons for what was here and on the table. 

As part of this new chapter I had the idea of creating a wonderful online marketplace for handmade goods. The idea is a miniature version of etsy…a place where you could order goods from dozens of makers and they would be drop shipped by the maker…thus allowing for a much better cut for the maker and less overhead for us. It launched in April and did really well, until the creator of the startup that hosted the start up had a nervous breakdown. The start up went out of business. This is an idea we will revisit again in the spring with a different platform. I love the idea of having an online general store, but we do not have the manpower to do it all in house. It was beautiful while it lasted and inspired us to keep going.

As we pushed into summer we began work on the two other issues for 2020. What was to be a special one time Slow Living issue turned into a trio of issues for 2020 and we are doing I believe four for 2021. The autumn and Christmas issues saw us step into our stride and felt like something we could truly be proud of. I personally love the size and format of this new era. The idea was to create a size that you could carry with you. A digest if you will.

The year also allowed us to launch wholesale. This had been a dream of mine since long before FOLK. I wanted to create products that could be produced in my own rural community and offered in small brick and mortar shops across the country. This will be something we continue to grow in 2021. My personal goal is to be in 100 stores by the end of this year and to have a person oversee this all. 

As I list all of these things off it truly feels surreal. For so long I thought that FOLK was done and that I was done along with it. There isn’t a moment that I am not thankful for what we were able to do in 2020. I want to thank each of you that were a part of the year. As we move into 2021 the goals are lofty, but the mentality of being a slow burn will continue on. 

Thank you, thank you to each of you.

Ben 

Autumn at the Farmhouse

My house is very much still a work in project, but we are taking it slow and having fun as we go. I have found that during this incredibly weird year baking, cooking, crafting, and enjoying my time and my guests is far more important than having every detail of the house picture perfect. I would however like to power wash the house before winter. Please ignore the algae in the photos of the front.

I took these photos a few weeks ago before returning to The City. The yard has been decorated for our A Kentucky Handmade Weekend events.

This autumn, my first autumn owning the house, has been a bit surreal. Dreams of the way I’d decorate for years were coming true…while also realizing the limitations of what you can realistically pull off. Pumpkins and mums aren't actually that cheap. My favorite area became the side yard. I am still overwhelmed with how to make the front porches really pop. I am hopeful that Christmas is when I will figure out how to make the front porch shine.

The soybean field beside the house.

This was our “photo booth” for the event. The settee is for sale! The blanket is by Tribe and True. The old can I found in the barn twenty years ago and used to use for pumpkin displays.

We strung lights in the trees to provide light during our autumn workshops. I absolutely love how they look. I wish I could cover the entire tree.

This was the year I mastered the pumpkin pie. I will share this recipe tomorrow. With all of the pumpkins I bought I knew I’d be cooking with all of them over the coming months. This pie has been trial and error as I try to create something I enjoy more than Libby’s canned pie filling.

This is a sugar maple tree. We watched it come to life each day. When I left it was such a beautiful color. The water maple next to it is not my favorite.

The final basil of the season was used for a very summery salad to go with pumpkin soup.

The front steps weren’t supposed to be blocked by pumpkins, but it happened.

This swing has been an absolute favorite. It is by Peg and Awl and I would absolutely recommend.

My aunt was selling old quits at our event. They looked perfect on the clothes line.

May the basil live on. I added it as a ground cover to make it more difficult to get to my cistern. I never expected them to turn out so big and full. It started as one of those oversized $6.99 pots you get at the grocery store.

These signs were bought at A Fine Farmhouse years ago.

I absolutely love this side of the big garage.

My coal house is where we store the inventory for the online store. I like the idea of having a space ready and shopable for visitors and anyone that wants to stop by.

An Autumn Sunday Drive

Sundays in autumn are best spent on drives through the mountains and country side. This Sunday we took a drive along The Hudson. The week before we had noticed several spots along the route that were picture perfect. The eastern side of the Hudson has long been the home to vast estates and quaint small towns. Cold Springs has recently become a favorite of ours after an unexpectedly pleasant visit to the town along the river that truly feels like Stars Hallow come to life. The area is also home to FDR’s Presidential Library, homes owned by the Vanderbilts and Rockafelle’s and historic homes along the river, many dating back to the beginnings of the United States. Highway 9D is a must travel road during the autumn season. Plan on frequent leaf peeping stops and visits to the tiny towns that dot the highway. These are a few of the images I shot over the weekend.

The church shots just below are from Warwick, New York…which is on the western side of the Hudson River.

Autumn in Ohio County

Somewhere between Steel Magnolias and Fried Green Tomatoes lives my hometown. I am from one of those areas that identifies as counties rather than towns. When I refer to my hometown I am basically never talking about the tiny town of 300 I grew up outside of, or the town of 3500 where I tell people is my hometown. The entire county and its population of 24,000 is my hometown. The fifth largest county in Kentucky. A county that is named after the Ohio River even though the river isn’t particularly that close (the part of the county that lies along the river broke away and became its own county years and years ago). The county toes that line between the rolling hills of central Kentucky and the flat Mississippi River bottoms that spread far and wide across western Kentucky. The landscapes in our county start in the east with hollers and valleys and by the time you get to the curves of the Green River the land is endlessly flat. I really do love the landscapes in all seasons, but there is something about autumn here that is warmer, more welcoming, and a reminder that these rural farming communities were built using the bounties of the land. A cornucopia of nature provides a painters palette of inspiration for the camera. These are a few of my favorite images I have shot around the county over the past few autumn.

Follow Friday: Leaf Peepers!

This is my absolute favorite time of the year. That short time when the eastern half of the US is awash in the most vibrant and warm shades and hues is just delicious. The colors make me happy. The forests sing to me and invite me in. The images that come from this short window are the ones I cling to all year long. Today I wanted to share a few of my favorites I am enamored with this leaf peeping season.

1) Kyle Finn Dempsey

This pick is an obvious one since he is our Autumn issue cover star.

2) Pine and Proper

Also from the Autumn issue. Elana brings fall to life. New England has never felt so cozy.

3) Dirt and Glass

There is a real magic to the Poconos and Catskill Mountains in the autumn season. We are always in love with the mountains and landscapes of New England but forget the equally enchanting landscapes just a bit farther west. Chris brings these landscapes to life in the most wonderful ways.

4) Brian Johns Adventure

A very classic New England autumn feel. The quality that you want in calendars and in those timeless autumn campaigns. Brian’s work evokes the spirit of wanderlust so many of us had each autumn of our youths.

5) Andrew T Burns

The drone shots are insane. Deep and rich colors bring the mountains, foothills, and rivers to life in Drew’s moody work.

6) Lewis Hackett

There is something almost larger than life and other worldly about Lewis’ landscapes. I cannot get enough.

Next week I will be sharing my favorite New England accounts for Autumn. Autumn comes to life in the region…from the landscapes, to the small towns, foods, and everything in between.

Recap: A Kentucky Handmade Weekend Autumn 2020

We’ve started a new tradition at my farmhouse in Kentucky called A Kentucky Handmade Weekend. For as long as I can remember I have wanted to do something with the farm/on the farm that promoted handmade, rural made, our small town, and a slower way of life. Earlier this year we had the idea to host a pop-up shop and a few workshops at the farmhouse. It felt like a nice way to celebrate our community during a very rough year. We had our first event in August. At the time that event felt like a huge success….then we had our October event and we were blown away with the support.

The concept behind these events is pretty simple…we wanted to have a weekend that celebrated handmade, American made, and local art and folk art. We wanted it to be part pop-up shop and part workshops. We created a large store area in my backyard that was filled with goods and art by locals, vintage pieces I had collected over the years, and a ton of American made goods by my maker friends from all across the US.

The workshops were to be in the side yard, but they grew bigger and bigger and just kinda ended up being wherever we had enough space. The front yard was dedicated to food and pumpkins. Over three days we welcomed so many friends and neighbors to the house. We even hosted a bake off!

For Spring 2021 we will be filling the orchard out back with vendors, adding more food out front, and bringing in a whole new group of workshops. It has been our dream to bring our love of art and handmade to our very rural western Kentucky county and we feel like we are well on our way!

We are doing a much smaller Christmas Open House in December if you are near by.

The following are a few of the images I took over the weekend. I ended up being way too busy to properly photograph it all. I think in the spring we will need a photographer.

You can find many of these items in our online shop!

Daily Favorites 3/20

Y’all! We made it to spring. We truly made it to spring. The days are longer and warmer and the earth returns to life. Today’s favorites are 1) @arnarkristjans_photography 2) @errincasa 3) @jguzmannn 4) @antromalexander 5) @windypeakvintage 6) @lawrence_braun #liveauthentic #livefolk #slowliving #liveslow #folkmagazine @folkmagazine

Daily Favorites 2/13

You can sometimes hear the sweet pitter patter of things coming together. You just feel it in your bones that things are going as they should. You don’t want to celebrate it, cause you might jinx it, but you at least must acknowledge and appreciate it. Today’s favorites are: 1) @kylekotajarvi in New Zealand, 2) @aaronhulbert at Grand Teton, 3) @danieljnail at Snow Lake, 4) @shealeenlouise, 5) @tomcirwin at Moraine Lake, 6) @allanpuls at Snoqualmie Falls.