Ambatalia brick and mortar shop at the Mill Valley Lumber Yard

Welcome friends,

Come visit us at our new retail- studio space at the Mill Valley Lumber Yard. 

Located at 129 Miller ave, Mill Valley, Ca 94941

winter hours: everyday 11-5

You will find wonderful goods to support a non-disposable life.

AMBATALIA SAYS EAT YOUR FRUIT AND VEGGIES

Eat your fruits and veggies! And join a CSA program!

Danielle with our first week's share from CSA. Modeling an Ambatalia kitchen furoshiki.

A few weeks ago my roommate Jen and I were shopping at the local Logan Square Farmers Market on a lazy Sunday. Montalbano Farms CSA sign caught our eye. We saw happy customers leaving with giant bags of fresh produce, so we decided we must learn more. 

CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. This is a program that has been in practice for over 25 years. Basically what happens is that a farmers offers a certain number of "shares" to the public. When you purchase a share you, in return you receive a box of seasonal produce throughout the farming season. CSA programs vary from farm to farm, but Montalbano Farms offers three options for their CSA program. You can either receive a vegetable and fruit share, a vegetable share, or a fruit share. And then you also get to decide if you want the box every week, or every other week.

This means that since we are signed up for the biweekly fruit and vegetable share, every other week we get to pick up a bounteous box of fresh produce with a wonderful mix of fruits and veggies. And a few days prior to pick up Montalbano Farms emails Jen and I a newsletter detailing what we can expect in the share that week, fun recipes to use the week's offerings, and updates on events at the farm. This week our menu looked like this:

Harvest season is upon us. Summer crops like tomatoes and peppers are finished while cool season plants are thriving.   In the Vegetable share this week, Chioggia beets Lettuce Radishes Turmeric Cauliflower Bok choy Cabbage Potatoes Shallots persimmons And in the fruit share:, Mix of Empire and Jonathan Apples from Earth First Farms Persimmons Cranberries Let these persimmons get a little soft and enjoy them chilled. They make great sorbet and they dry well too!

What is so great about the CSA program is that all the vegetables, herbs, and fruits arrive within days of being harvested. This means that it is as fresh as can be! Also it allows you to make a connection with your farmers, since Jen and I go to pick up the box every other week the farmers become familiar faces. I also love the fact that the CSA program is a great way to support local farms, but also receive quality produce at a reasonable price. 

Jen and I are both eating healthier and happier! Definitely check out the CSA options in your area. A great resource to find more information for a program to fit your needs is at your local farmers market. 

And don't forget to eat your fruits and veggies! Til next week! -Bridget 

AMBATALIA GOES TO NY

Hello NYC

"New York is the center of the universe!" declared the cab driver as Molly and I pulled up to the Javits Center to set our booth up for NY Now, New York's international gift show. With over 2,800 businesses representing their products under one roof, it did seem like we were at the center of something. 

We were assigned booth #2486 in the section of "Home Furnishings and Textiles" and had three days to prepare before the show started.  Ambatalia was extremely lucky to share the booth with Oakland-based artist Maria Schoettler. Ambatalia does a lot of collaboration with Maria, where her beautiful illustrations come to life on cloth, but Maria also has her own line of post-consumer paper goods that were on display as well. 

Prior to the gift show I was well aware that there was a lot of stuff in the world, but being there put this into a whole new perspective. Tchotchkes, knickknacks, doodads, and trinkets lined the shelves of the booths row after row. The buyers for Anthropologie and Urban Outfitters wandered casually by, and looked at our stuff. It all seemed so strange to me, and it made it quite real that Ambatalia, and the products we produce, are part of this international global market. 

Across from Ambatalia's booth was Pendleton, the company that made the blanket that sat at the foot of my bed as a child. In the main hall was Library of Flowers, the company that produces my favorite bubble bath. Downstairs, Yellow Owl Workshop had a booth, and for my birthday I just received a set of their stamps. Surrounding me were the faces of people who administer these products. Up to this point, I had bought into their realties. Their products and their displays at the show were perfectly tailored to my liking. There might possibly be a photo of me on the bulletin board in their office labeled: "target market." Is it a bad thing that we buy into these fantasies?

In a world where literally every sort of product exists, it is more and more important to make wise and knowledgeable decisions. We met a lot of people that really believed in Ambatalia. People wanted to know where we sourced our fabrics, if they were certified organic, and where they were being sewn. We are based out of San Francisco and everything is sewn locally. We know exactly where we are getting our materials from and select carefully. A lot of the buyers and consumers at the gift show really do care about these factors. They want to buy a long-lasting product that they can feel good about on a social and environmental level. This is exactly what Ambatalia wants to promote. I was extremely grateful that I was at Ambatalia + Maria Schoettler's booth standing behind products that I really believed in, aesthetically and also ethically.

Maria, Molly, and me at NY Now 2013

Ambatalia + Maria Schoettler's booth

Maria Schoettler, check out her work.

Set up.

The Javits Center.

Summer at Ambatalia

This summer is the first of feeling truly relaxed in my business and family. Honestly I could probably write about book about how it is to be a creative and be a big fat disorganized mess. Life has generally been that way for me. I could go into all the whys and what fors but for now I'm just so relieved that I'm at a place where everything is falling into place with help from others. I love my work and building a business by my self has been struggle to say the least. What an amazing journey of somewhere deep inside believing in my self and just going for it and not quitting EVER. If you come to my blog,  I would love to get to know who you are. Are you an artist. Do you struggle ( in the aloneness of creating by your self)? and how do you cope? 

"The African" opens to a big fat round basket inspired by the traditional African basket. Made with reclaimed Cone Mill salvage denim and Loui Vuitton( seconds) leather handles.

                                       

     Reclaimed Linen patch work bread basket

                             

       Butterfly visited studio.

Forager

                                         

       Small Bento

                                   

   "New apron design"

   My sister Colleen's every days ceramics

                                                     

  "The Moroccan" Inspired by the traditional Moroccan basket.

    Made with Heavy hemp canvas and reclaimed leather.

  Kitchen Furoshiki made with Hemp/ organic cotton 31"x 31"

    Buying locally Milled Flour for Bread with a dear old friend.

                                          

  " Plastic bag keeper" made with reclaimed denim and scrap leather.

"Halter Apron" Pure Linen

      Peter

                    Peter was commissioned to make this love bracelet out of scrap leather for a client.

                   It turned out awesome.