Posted by Amanda Gresens on Fri, Jan 13, 2012 @ 03:53 PM
Patricia Seabrook, Doreen Johnson, and Holly Raal. Owners at Bumble & Hive
Tucked away in a lovely Rhinebeck courtyard, Bumble and Hive is off the beaten path, but well worth the short walk down the alleyway next to Arielle Restaurant on East Market Street. Proprietor Holly Raal says that she "has always worked as an artist or designer, but desired to have more freedom to create."
In the spring of 2011, she decided to make a leap of faith and opened Bumble and Hive, in order to showcase her own work, as well as that of her talented friends. Holly reports, "this flight of fancy has been a true joy," for herself and her partners Patricia Seabrook and Doreen Johnson. "Rhinebeck seemed like a natural fit for Bumble and Hive," Holly notes, "because of the wonderful and encouraging spirit among the merchants in the village." And so far, Holly concludes, "Bumble and Hive has been very well received."
Well received, indeed! Bumble and Hive is currently offering a well-liked promotion through ChronogramDeals.com,“I have had such a great response from this program,” Holly explains, “it has brought many new people to our store, whether they bought the gift certificate, or if they just read the promotion and came by to check us out. The ad was so well put together that many people bought sight unseen without ever having set foot into our store.”
Bumble and Hive is an asset to the Hudson Valley and Rhinebeck. The store truly is "an emporium for the soul," as it's owners describe, offering work from local artisans, culinary treats from France, and, as you might expect, lots and lots of honey. Peruse varietals of exquisite honey from around the world, as well as local Hudson Valley varieties and other apiary products. Stop in and see for yourself!
ChronogramDeals.com is a new marketing vehicle for businesses in the Hudson Valley, providing advertising that gets results with no up-front cost to businesses. Similar to popular websites like Groupon and Living Social, Chronogram Deals differs in that it emphasizes community and localism by only offering deals from local, independently owned businesses in the Hudson Valley.
Get more information on Chronogram Deals for businesses!
Posted by Michael Lamuniere on Wed, Dec 21, 2011 @ 08:05 AM
Chronogram Deals is delighted to announce the winner of the Getaway for Two at The Rhinecliff. Ani Kaiser, of Kingston, NY, will receive a weekend getaway for two at The Rhinecliff, a luxuriously rustic boutique hotel in Rhinebeck, NY. Kaiser, who hails from High Falls, NY, was one of thousands of people who entered to win at Chronogramdeals.com. Kaiser has recently opened a new business in the Stockade district of Kingston. “I decided to create a local space that I would want to visit as a client. Just this past November I opened a unique, inviting and relaxing massage studio in Uptown Kingston.” Kaiser’s business: Therapeutic Massage by Ani Kaiser is open by appointment and is located in the historic Burgevin building at Fair and Main streets.
During stay at The Rhinecliff, Kaiser and her boyfriend, Matthew, will unwind on a balcony to Hudson River views and have dinner and Brunch at the in-house, Zagat-rated restaurant while enjoying a room with first-class amenities: a private balcony overlooking the mighty Hudson, a king-sized bed, flat screen TV, a Hi-Fi music system, and a double whirlpool air-massage tub.
ChronogramDeals.com partners with the Hudson Valley's community of locally owned and independent businesses to feature deeply discounted prices on local food, lodging, activities, and events. "It's like a co-op," says Chronogram Publisher and Co-Founder Jason Stern, "only it's via the web and there are no membership fees." ChronogramDeals.com only carries offers from locally owned, independent businesses in the Hudson Valley. This is for our customers—because our neighborhood merchants have the most interesting offerings; and for our community—because keeping dollars circulating regionally is the foundation of a local, living economy.
ChronogramDeals.com is a project of Luminary Publishing, Inc., publishers of Chronogram as well as custom publishing projects for clients in the Hudson Valley and beyond. Luminary Publishing, Inc.'s mission is to disseminate material that nourishes and supports the creative life of our region and in the world, and to demonstrate a paradigm of creativity in action.
Amanda Gresens, Marketing Coordinator, Luminary Publishing, Inc.
Posted by Jason Stern on Thu, Dec 15, 2011 @ 12:44 PM
An Ethical Consumerist Approach to Holiday Shopping: Commit to Shop Local
With 10 days to go before Christmas, we’ve entered into the last minute race to finish, or in some cases (like mine) to start shopping. The holiday shopping season doesn’t only benefit our friends and family, it provides a seasonal boost for the economy. The National Retail Federation projects that shoppers will spend an average of $500 on gifts this season. Where is all of this money going? The same report showed that we tend to spend money primarily at nationally owned discount stores and department stores. Is this where we should be spending our money?
We spend in places where we will see fewer returns than if we spent the same dollars in independently and locally owned businesses. The US Chamber of Commerce reports that for every $100 spent in a nationally owned chain store, $43 stays in the local economy. Buying online through nationally owned chains and big box, “made-in-china” stores brings a nice round $0 back to the local community. On the other hand, that same $100 spent in locally and independently owned stores returns $68 to the community via taxes, wages, and other means of disbursement. Online shopping through smaller retailers and on websites like Ebay and Etsy as least supports someone else’s downtown.
Imagine what could happen if we changed our buying habits, even on a small scale, to purchase from our local businesses and smaller independently owned retailers. What if we go back to our communities and take an ethical consumerist approach to holiday shopping?
Each and every one of us can make a simple but direct impact to the economy and in our communities. An AIBA Economic Impact case study found that if each household spent at least $100 on holiday gifts from locally owned and independent businesses, instead of gifts from nationally owned chain stores, the local economy would benefit in terms of $10 million--60% of which would be reinvested in the community to fund organizations like schools, libraries, and local fire and police departments.
This all begs the question: Why don’t we make every day “Small Business Saturday?” Imagine how we could turn our national economy around if we all focused on turning our local economies around
(Photos: Middle left: Lila Pague of Winter Sun & Summer Moon in Rhinebeck, NY. Bottom Right: Jerry Schlichting at Frazzleberries Country Store in Warwick, NY)
Amanda Gresens is the Marketing Coordinator at Luminary Publishing, publishers of Chronogram.
Posted by Jason Stern on Wed, Dec 07, 2011 @ 12:51 PM
What’s the best way to drive local economic growth? The smart answer is “smart growth,” a winner of a term that proposes that the most prosperous communities will be ones that protect the environment, support local businesses, and provide ready (and ideally walk-able) access to amenities and services.
Here in the Hudson Valley, the debate between smart growth and, okay, stupid growth, has been going on for years. Guess which side we’re on? The same one, it happens, as Mary Kay Vrba, director of tourism for Dutchess County Tourism. An ardent and articulate advocate of smart growth, Vrba sees an important role for tourism in the Hudson Valley, both now and in the future. Start with the fact that it’s already a significant revenue generator. In 2009, according to Vrba, visitors spent $4.1B throughout the ten-county Hudson Valley region. In Dutche
ss County alone, they spent $438M, generating over $28M in tax revenue.
Despite the economic downturn, tourism revenues have continued to grow. From 2009 to 2010, they increased by 7%, an impressive statistic during these down economic times. The main reason: New York City denizens are vacationing locally instead of jetting off to the Caribbean or wherever. Also, says Vrba, a lot of people make a special point of taking down time when they’re financially stressed.
Tourism and stupid growth are, of course, incompatible. People do not pay for the privilege of experiencing endless highways, belching smokestacks and strip malls. Which isn’t to suggest that smart growth is anti-industry. Or Vrba, either. She proudly notes instances where people who visited the Hudson Valley as tourists ending up re-locating their businesses here. Among them: Niche Modern Lighting, whose owners moved up to Beacon from Brooklyn, taking over the old Tallix foundry and creating close to 20 local jobs in the process.
Vrba also points out that new businesses can be sited in locations that actually improve—or, at a minimum, don’t degrade—the area’s physical appeal. In Poughkeepsie, for instance, brownfield reclamation has led to riverfront locations for the restaurant Shadows on the Hudson and the Grandview, a catering facility. Another example: China’s Linuo Solar Group recent takeover of IBM’s former West Campus in East Fishkill.
As it happens, Luminary Publishing has been publishing Dutchess County Tourism’s County Travel Guide for the past three years. It’s a philosophical as well as business partnership. We’re allies against stupid growth.
Carl Frankel writes regularly for Chronogram about sustainability, local business and other matters.
Posted by Amara Projansky on Mon, Oct 03, 2011 @ 04:25 AM
On September 23rd, China’s Linuo Solar Group announced plans to purchase the former IBM West Campus in East Fishkill to use as the company’s US headquarters. If things go as planned, the company will invest $100 million and hire up to 1,000 people over the next years.
In an expansive, praise-everyone-but-the-pope press release, local and regional heavyweights applauded each other for landing Linuo. The Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation, The Solar Energy Consortium, Governor Cuomo and Representative Maurice Hinchey were among those receiving kudos.
They’re merited, too, even if the communiqué laid it on bit thick. Jobs are a fine thing. The more the better—and an estimated 80% of the Linuo Solar jobs will be manufacturing line jobs, the sort of bread-and-butter, blue-collar positions that have been flying out of the region (and country) faster than a speeding neutrino.
The news has a shadow side, though. Remember when we used to outsource jobs, when it was people in India or Vietnam or, yes, China who were being put to work by American companies? Linuo’s arrival in the Hudson Valley turns that story on its head. Now we’re the ones being grateful for foreign job creation—the ones hopeful that foreign capital will show up, like Jimmy Stewart come knocking on our door, to bring a ray of sunshine to our lives.
The announcement’s timing contributed an ironic twist. For much of September, the abrupt demise of US solar company Solyndra, which had received $535 million in loan guarantees from the Obama government, was front-page news. Now along comes Linuo, prosperous and successful—everything, in short, that Solyndra and the US solar industry are not.
Vincent Cozzolino, founder and co-ceo of The Solar Energy Consortium, has an explanation. “It’s predictable,” he says. “We’ve outsourced so much manufacturing that we’re bound to get to a point where we’re not efficient at it anymore. As a country, we haven’t kept current with how to build things better. Once you get to this state, you’ll inevitably have failures. Now it’s our turn to learn from the Chinese.”
About manufacturing, and maybe some humility too. If we ever want to be reminded about the decline of American empire, we need look no further than East Fishkill.
By Carl Frankel
Carl Frankel writes regularly for Chronogram about local business, sustainability and other issues.
Posted by Amara Projansky on Sun, Oct 02, 2011 @ 04:00 AM
Agricultural and dairy farms throughout the Hudson Valley and into the Catskills were devastated by Tropical Storm Irene. Not only was the timing—prime growing season—awful, but many of the area’s most productive farms are situated in flood plains. RSK Farm in the Greene County hamlet of Prattsville was among the hardest hit. Bob and Sandy Kiley lost all the topsoil on 14 acres they own—it’s now pretty much a rockpile—and all the crops on another 14 acres that they rent.
“I was in shock for a while,” says Bob Kiley. “I think I’m starting to emerge. And in ways I’m lucky. I still have my home. I have electricity. The heat went on earlier this week like it’s supposed to. A lot of people in Prattsville, much of which Irene washed away, are a lot worse off than me.”
Still, his business has largely vanished, at least for now. How’s a farmer to climb out from under this mountain of woes?
FEMA isn’t any help. Its focus is strictly residential. Governor Cuomo has created a $15M fund to help rebuild the farm industry, but that’s only a beginning. Early estimates place the total agricultural damage at about $45M and that’s probably low. Whatever help Kiley gets from the state—and it’s looking as though some funds may go toward stream bank restoration—it will fall far short of what’s needed to make him whole.
What’s left? Kiley’s customers. “They’ve been fantastic,” he says. “It’s really hard to me to ask for help. I’d much rather be giving than receiving.” One of his customers set up a website, Help the Farm, to raise money for Kiley. So far, they’ve raised $5,000 toward a goal of $150,000. Two other customers, Michael Bernardo of Cafe Mio and Jessica Winchell of Globale Palate Restaurant, are partnering on a benefit to be held on November 6th.
“I’ve found another 14 acres to rent, so I’ll be okay next year,” Kiley says. “The challenge is to make it through till then. It would be easy to just quit. But it’s always been about my customers—and it’s my customers who keep me going.”
By Carl Frankel
Carl Frankel writes regularly for Chronogram about local business, sustainability and other issues.
Posted by Michael Lamuniere on Tue, Sep 13, 2011 @ 08:51 AM
Networking with fellow business owners encourages the development of long-term relationships, boosts your reputation, and can help you to gather new business leads. We invite you to join us to share appetizers, conversation, and ideas on Thursday September 15, 2011 5:00-7:00PM at Towne Crier Café at 130 Route 22 in Pawling, NY. Network and come together with other local business owners in Pawling. And, help us launch the Hopewell, Wappingers Falls, and Pawling community pages in the October issue of Chronogram.
The Towne Crier Cafe has presented the finest in live folk, jazz, blues, Celtic, bluegrass, cajun, zydeco, roots, and world music since November 1972.
To RSVP for this event, please email mixer@chronogram.com
For information about advertising in the October Chronogram, which will include the Hopewell, Wappingers Falls, and Pawling community pages, please visit http://info.chronogram.com/community-pages/hopewell-wappingers-falls-pawling/
Posted by Jason Stern on Fri, Jun 10, 2011 @ 12:12 PM
What is the history of “Blue Mountain Bistro” and “Bistro-To-Go”?
My husband and I were living in New York City. This was pre-Giuliani, so the crime was getting really bad. A lot of our friends had left. We used to come up on the weekends and try to figure how to live here full-time. Richard became a chef for a restaurant but we were tired of working for other people so in 1993 we opened Blue Mountain Bistro. We purchased a building, moved the restaurant, renovated the space and turned it into a catering company -- which was great for a couple of years but it’s hard to make a go of a restaurant during the winters. We were trying to come up with an idea for a business that people wanted, that was food-related and profitable. That’s when we thought about doing Bistro-to-Go.
How did you know Bistro-to-Go would work?
Route 28 is a very active, busy road with people going out to Bel Air and Margaretville, a lot of people come up from the city and go out that way. We saw the need for a good take out place. We found a location -- an alternative video store and a flower shop -- and we knocked the wall out between the two stores and created Bistro-to-Go. That was November of 2007 and it’s done great business. We’re really, really thrilled with it. People appreciate us and we know we make a difference in the community. We feed a lot of people.
What makes Bistro to Go unique?
Well, it’s not your average deli or fast food take-out place. We have four star restaurant chefs preparing the food. Really. We’re making the same delicious food people are used to having in our restaurant -- to pick up and eat at home.
What’s your vision for the business three years from now?
We’ve been able to put together this amazing staff of people who are all highly trained who match our vision of how to treat people and how to make great food. So, one of our goals -- just as owners of the business -- is to be able to trust our staff to run it so that we can step out of the kitchen once in a while and have a vacation.
What kind of local advertising do you do?
We felt that number one, being right on Route 28 with this gigantic sign was a lot of advertising in itself. We know that word of mouth is really important. We do some radio advertising with WKZE and Tavernier ANC, we think that’s a pretty amazing audience to reach. We have a Facebook fan page, we have a blog. And of course we’ve been in Chronogram since the very beginning.
Why advertise in Chronogram and not another local magazine?
Chronogram is the most successful. It was one of the first free magazines that really reached a large area. They have comprehensive listings and I’m really impressed with the level of articles they put out. But the main thing is: people love it. Here’s an example: They dropped off a stack of magazines at our store the other day and before I could grab one for myself, they were all gone. I mean people snap them up. As fast as they can bring them to us, they’re gone. So, obviously it’s a great place for us to advertise. It’s distributed all over the place.
How do you imagine local advertising helping you with your three year vision?
I went to a design school in LA and one of the main things you learn in advertising class is “name recognition” or “brand recognition” whatever you want to call it. People flip through the magazine, they see our logo, they see the name and they just file it away in their brains until sometime later when they’re driving by our store they go, “Oh yes! That’s the place! I saw their ad in Chronogram!”. Then the next time they drive by and they’re hungry, they’re going to stop because they’ve made the connection.
Posted by Amara Projansky on Mon, Apr 11, 2011 @ 09:15 PM
Chronogram Cover Show
Beth Cramer of Brave directed this interview with Chronogram founders, Jason Stern and Amara Projansky, and editor Brian Mahoney. It also features candid interviews and footage from the 2011 Chronogram Cover Show at ASK (Arts Society of Kingston).
Were you there? How many attendees can you recognize? Was your favorite cover of all time included? Watch and see...
Posted by Jason Stern on Sun, Feb 20, 2011 @ 12:56 PM
Traditionally, workplace diversity has been measured by the number of different races in an organization. While this might still be the most noticeable indicator of a varied company, a more subtle one may bring the most important implications to the plate—multigenerational diversity. The era in which we grew up shapes our psyche, our behavior, and our outlook in our work life and beyond. Understanding the varying drivers behind different generations thoughts and actions can help set an organization’s management goals, and can also better inform interactions with clients, vendors, and target demographics.
Today there are four main generations—the Traditionalist (born between 1922 and 1945), the Baby Boomer (born between 1946 and 1964), Generation X (born between 1965 and 1980), and Generation Y (born from 1981 and on, also known as the Millennials and Generation Me). Each generation brings a distinct set of values to work because of the varying experiences they had growing up. Traditionalists lived through the Great Depression and World War II, when paternalistic companies were the norm and leadership (and therefore job security) was attained by a hierarchical order. Compare that to Generation Y, who has grown up with ever-evolving technology, is entering a shrunken job market, and believes leadership should be attained by skill and knowledge rather than seniority...
To read further, visit Luminary Publishing's New Paltz Chamber newsletter, Regional Report, here.