The nose knows. Vote for the most creative florist, soothing aromatherapist, or other purveyor of ode-worthy odors.
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Beth Pilar and Ellen Sternau How Sweet It Is
Beth Pilar and Ellen Sternau turned their tiny Lower East Side catering kitchen into a charming patisserie and coffee bar stocked with breakfast treats, steaming lattes, and mouth-watering desserts. Read More
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Originally published on October 26, 2007
Sweet Dreams Are Made of These
How Sweet It Is Opens
An ode! To the sweetest thing that we’ve gleaned,
Fresh from the burgeoning Allen Street scene.
A darling, pocket-size patisserie,
Built by two pals on a sugar-high spree.Ex-pastry chef from The River Cafe,
Worldly food stylist for added cachet.
Their wedding cake business blossoming forth,
Lead to this retail shop — just one block north.Buttery scents are pumped right to the street,
Curious passersby won’t miss a beat.
Senses aroused! You’re moved to ingest
Croissants, sticky buns, cheese puffs for breakfast.Wee fancy devil dogs, cheddar dill scones,
Sampled with bright eyes and approving tones.
Counter Culture baristas craft hearts in foam,
Of course, you think, this is a place to call home.Eight in the morn till late in the night,
Amuse bouche desserts stand in their own right.
Baklava purses, pastel macaroons,
Gelato cookie sandwiches midafternoon.Soft opening now! Break into a sprint,
Toward one shop decked in Marimekko print.
With a tall glass of milk or a hot mug of tea,
Chocolate sea salt tarts are pure poetry.More than a pipe dream come true in the biz,
That’s why they call it How Sweet It Is.
How Sweet It Is, 157 Allen Street, between Stanton and Rivington Streets (212-777-0418 or howsweetitispastry.com). -
Tassy Zimmerman and Tara Heibel Sprout Home
Green thumbs up to Tassy Zimmerman and Tara Heibel, the duo behind the Brooklyn outpost of Sprout Home. The indoor-outdoor nursery offers botanical delights, gifty things, and urban landscaping services. Read More
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Originally published on August 7, 2007
Yo, Homey
Sprout Home Boutique Opens
We’ve got a secret (and it has nothing to do with the power of positive thinking) but not much willpower.
Twist our arms: It’s Sprout Home, a garden shop oasis we were really, really trying to keep to ourselves.
The Burg’s new peaceful indoor-outdoor nursery is stocked with hundreds of botanicals, must-have trinkets, and green-thumbed employees.
Co-owner/floral wonder Tassy Zimmerman, who helped run the popular Chicago shop of the same name, prides herself on the selection of low-maintenance, unusual flora finds. Her favorites (and ours) include the tillandsias, displayed like spiders on a wall (no soil!), and tough (but delicate) rock plants that grow in volcanic sediment.
Those with reputations as plant killers should head to the gift section, where kitschy ceramics from Prague rest next to melamine plates, hanging orbs, and Brooklyn’s own Foxy & Winston stationery.
Sprout also makes eye-popping flower arrangements and can help you decorate al fresco with customized urban landscaping services, already gaining momentum in BK.
And that’s the dirt.
Sprout Home, 44 Grand Street, between Kent and Wythe Avenues, Williamsburg (718-388-4440 or sprouthome.com). -
Emily Candee and Heather Savarese Vine Floral & Event Design
Tabletops everywhere are blushing from the attention Emily Candee and Heather Savarese are giving them. The two launched Vine Floral & Event Design to create eye-popping arrangements of unusual flora and fauna. Read More
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Originally published on March 20, 2007
Nip It in the Bud
Vine Floral & Event Design
Friday Dinner Party Checklist
Done: plan menu, clean bathroom, dust off old Twister mat.
Still to do: decorate, brush up charades moves.
Five words. First one sounds like “fine.” Actually, time’s running out, so just shout the answer: Vine Floral & Event Design does haute tabletop landscapes for dull Manhattan apartments.
Winter doldrums have stunned your party planning prowess, not theirs. The girls at Vine shop according to season. Right now that means they’re making vivid arrangements of artichokes, lotus pods, fiddleheads, and persimmons mixed with parrot tulips, calla lilies, viburnum, and anemones.
They also dress up the dining room table with vintage vases, bamboo napkin rings, floating candles, shiny stemware, and rented linens.
No, they don’t do clean up.
Yes, we’re familiar with that hand gesture.
Vine Floral & Event Design (212-722-5706 or vinenyc.com).