What Happens Next?

Yesterday, I began my day full of hope. The grassroots organization that I work my tail off at, and love dearly, Moms Clean Air Force, had just unveiled a billboard, and participated in a rally in Denver asking the Presidential Candidates which way they will choose. Will they lead us down a dirty energy path that allows coal, gas and oil polluters to continue their assault on our planet? Or will they lead us into a new era of energy-efficiency and renewables? 

Hopeful, huh?

But then I watched the debate go south. Fast. I could hardly watch. I was thrown off balance by these three words: "I love coal."  

The guy in the photo above is hopeful. But let's face it, no good can come from surf shooting. Could that be a waterproof camera? Was there such a thing in 1969?

How'd the debate look through your lens?

Photo: by John Grannis via The Selvedgeyard

The World Is My Oyster

“As I ate the oysters with their strong taste of the sea and their faint metallic taste that the cold white wine washed away, leaving only the sea taste and the succulent texture, and as I drank their cold liquid from each shell and washed it down with the crisp taste of the wine, I lost the empty feeling and began to be happy and to make plans.” ~ Ernest Hemingway, ‘A Moveable Feast’

What is it about oysters that people either love or hate? It’s a slippery slope, and oysters slide right into one of those polarizing food categories, kind of like cilantro. I happen to love fresh, briny, sweet oysters. But my daughter…not so much. These sea-dwellers don’t float her boat.

Nevertheless, a few weeks ago, while I was vacationing on Martha’s Vineyard with my family, my daughter and her partner (in business and life) were in the midst of branding their client, Honeysuckle Oyster Farm. To inspire the design process, early one morning, they set out by boat to go oyster farming. Their research is this photo story:

The seafarers returned with a full bag of oysters. As it turned out, my daughter sampled a raw oyster on the boat and she was still not enamored with the texture and taste. So my recipe resourceful husband decided to make oysters more palatable for her and grill them over an open fire (with a few clams). Here's his recipe:

Wood-Fired Grilled Oysters 

1. Scrub oysters clean. If available, use oak or hickory wood.
2. The fire is hot when you can’t hold your hand above the grate for a few seconds.
3. Place the deep cupped half of the oyster shell facing the fire (flatter part facing up).
4. In 2-3 minutes the oysters will open. Immediately, take the oysters off the grill before the liquid dries up.
5. Can be served with a simple Rose Mignonette sauce.

The beauty of this dish is that it is like inhaling the sea...and while my daughter may not have “lost that empty feeling” towards eating oysters, she was inspired to “make plans” and brand Honeysuckle Oyster Farm.

Photos (except the grilled oysters): Ben Scott for Bluerock Design Painting: Nadine Robbins

Inside Out

Every once in a while, an image captures your attention and you can’t let it go. After dreaming about this photograph last night, I thought I’d throw it up here and see what you have to say about this "down to earth" home.

“The idea of having a sand floor was to bring the outside in, to live naturally. It’s very calming, which is what my wife Andreia, and I wanted in a beach house. We picked Comporta in Portugal, an hour south of Lisbon, with its wild beaches full of birds and dolphins but very few people. The original inhabitants fished and grew rice. They picked straw at river’s edge, and built small houses with compacted earth floors. This was the tradition; you cannot build anything new. Our architects at Aires Mateus could only rebuild what was there, because it’s a preserve. When our kids, Joao and Maria, go into the house, they play like they are on the beach, with shovels and buckets. A cleaning lady comes in; she goes over the sand with a big rake. And no, you don’t need to wear shoes. There is a heated concrete floor underneath, so even in winter, the sand is warm.” ~ Joao Rodrigues, Coastal Living

For more information, visit CasaNaAreia.

Credit: Gaelle Le Boulicaut

The "Fab 3": Photographers Make The Posts

I want to share the work of three amazing photographers that allow me to post their images on Econesting.

Did you know that Annie Leibovitz lives right near me? Well, she does, and I've had the privilege of gracing Annie's home a few years ago when I picked my daughter up from babysitting her kids. Annie is not one of the "Fab 3" photographers you'll find here. To be truthful, I didn't ask her. Do you think she would have said yes? I hate rejection, so instead I asked these equally talented photographers. I believe they capture moments in time with just the right perspective and composition. Here is an introduction to the "Fab 3" photographers of Econesting:

Ben Scott

Ben Scott is a multi-talented Boston-based graphic designer, photographer and mixed-media artist. I'm sure if you asked him what he would rather be doing more than anything else, he would answer "Fly Fishing". We're glad Ben really loves his camera too. You must check out Ben's images of his hometown, Martha's Vineyard. Ben is also my daughter's boyfriend, so I guess he couldn't say no when I asked him if I could use his photos. Website: Ben Ross Scott

Juliet Harrison

Juliet Harrison is a newish friend that seems like an oldish friend. We started meeting once a week with a few other unbelievably talented women for a "Creative Breakfast". Juliet and I discovered our husbands are colleagues, and now we are all bonded by friendship. When Juliet told me she was a black and white equine photographer, I had no idea what she was talking about. Was there really such a thing? Well, Juliet has many photography books to her credit, and now I know so much more about horses, as she shares their beauty through the eye of her lens. Website: Juliet Harrison Photography

Jen Kiaba

Jen Kiaba is another friend I met at our amped up caffeine and creativity-charged breakfast. Jen is young, beautiful and so, so talented. She's the ultimate portrait photographer. Already a professional at 26, Jen is going places. I had so much appreciation and trust in Jen's work after viewing her portfolio, that I convinced the editor of Where Women Create magazine to have Jen shoot my six-page spread. You all saw that, right? Jen's so good, that my portrait picture didn't even need a photoshopped facelift. Amazing. Website: Jen Kiaba Photography

Main image: Jen Kiaba Photography

Crafting A Career

Have you ever thought you could sell your art or crafts? If you have a creative hobby that you love, cheap and friends and family are often telling you, "You could sell that!" - why not consider subsidizing your income or making a living as a "craft-epreneur"? Folks all over the globe are reinventing their careers by selling their art and crafts.

5 questions to ask yourself before quitting your day job to run off with the crafters:

Who will buy your crafts? How will you finance your start-up? What will your wages be? How much help will you need to produce at a profitable scale? How much will you need to charge to break even or better yet, make a profit?

CLICK HERE to find out where to sell your art without selling your soul, and what my friend, Juliet Harrison who sells her equine photographs, has to say about marketing art.