Don’t Read This When Hungry: Grounded at Hullabaloo!

If there’s one thing we know about hospitality, it’s that you can’t invite people to something and not have anything for them to eat. And no arty party would be complete without some incredible local food!

We know that shopping can make people hungry, so we’ve enlisted the help of Linda from Grounded (downtown at 83 Broadway) to offer breakfast, lunch, and on-the-spot snack options during the event!

On both Saturday and Sunday, Grounded will be on-hand with coffee, pastries, and a scrumptious lunch menu. We love going to Grounded’s café in the Rondout district in Kingston for the almond croissants, breakfast specials (keep an eye out for the cinnamon roll French toast!), and Forty Weight coffee. At lunchtime, there are delicious soups, salads, sandwiches, and hot entrees. You can even shop for specialty items like cheese, pate, and house-made frozen foods to keep on hand for easy dinners. Grounded also does catering for all sorts of events and makes wedding cakes: Check out the website for more information: http://www.groundedny.com/ . Every menu, whether in the café or at your own site, is fresh, and based around local, bio-dynamic, sustainable ingredients. We can’t wait to see the menu (and eat the food) that Linda creates for our hungry vendors and shoppers!

Also, our friends at Monkey Joe’s are going to be open on Sunday, special for Hullabaloo! Just a literal hop, skip, and jump directly across the street and you’ll be noshing on pastries and sipping the best coffee Kingston has to offer—freshly roasted in the store! Thanks, Monkey Joe’s for keeping us caffeinated!

Still got a craving? There are numerous casual eateries in the immediate area—get your pre- or post-Hullabaloo hot dog, sandwich, wings, or pizza fix right on Broadway! Heading out for a nice dinner after a hard day of shopping?  Kingston is chock full of great restaurants—just ask for a recommendation at the Welcome Table!

Hungry yet? Leave room in your budgets and your bellies for breakfast, lunch, and maybe even an early dinner at Hullabaloo! Like good hostesses, we won’t let anyone go home hungry!

Vendor Feature: SO Handmade, Grok Enterprises, Kitta, and The Shayski Shop

You can cross a few more hard-to-buy for people off your shopping list! Messy kids (and the parentswho clean up after them)? Gotcha. Vegans with a sweet tooth? Covered. Cat lovers, old and young? Yessiree. Your quirky, quick-witted friend? Check. Meet four more Hullabaloo vendors who can help you out! 

SO Handmade, Woodstock, NY

Sarah uses her experience as a textile designer and sewing enthusiast to design and make stylish and practical products for homes and families. Designed, sewn, embellished, and screen-printed by Sarah herself, her designs are whimsical and stylish, and her products are SO innovative!  Her playmat? Genius! It’s got a hole in the center so all you have to do to clean up is gather the corners and hold it over the Lego container. Need to bring six Matchbox cars wherever you go for instant entertainment? Sarah’s got a rolling pouch with room for six cars and a racetrack on the back! She’s also got handmade fabric books, crayon rolls, beautiful tree skirts, and whimsical fabric ornaments too! With great gifts for so many people (of so many ages), we’re sure Sarah’s first Hullabaloo will be a successful one!

Grok Enterprises, New Paltz, NY

“Grok” is a transitive verb meaning “to understand profoundly and intuitively” that was originally used in the novel “Stranger in a Strange Land.” It’s an appropriate name for Peter and Heidi’s business—because they so completely understand the need for nutritious snacks that taste good. Knowing that celery sticks and carrots just don’t satisfy a sweet tooth, but that the sugary snacks we’re all too quick to grab aren’t doing us any nutritional favors, they created their low-calorie, no-sugar added, energy-boosting snacks from raw natural fruits and nuts, and other yummy superfood ingredients (like natural cacao). The result? Six flavors (Jalapeno Surprise, Chocwork Orange, Nutty Expressor, Bare Fruit, The Tropix, and Verry Bery) that taste a whole lot naughtier than they are!  Grok Bites are vegan, dairy-free, and gluten-free too!  Hooked on Grok Bites and afraid you’ll run out? Order a Grok dozen or a Month of Grok Bites (one for each day!); they even offer 3-, 6- month subscriptions—an absolutely perfect gift for vegan, GF or health-conscious friends! This is Peter and Heidi’s first Hullabaloo, so stop by their table and welcome them! 

Kitta, Kingston, NY

Elizabeth’s super cute plush cats are the perfect “little somethings” for all the kids on your holiday gift list. Affordable AND adorable, they’re irresistible to kids and adults alike—need a gift for the “crazy cat lady” at the office? A Secret Santa gift for the kids’ class party? Done and done! There are so many sizes, patterns, and colors (both realistic and fantasy-cat markings—like clouds and camouflage) and you can even buy a kit and stuff your own!  Buy a whole family of Kittas and display them on your mantle during the holidays…or let the kids pick out one for their good behavior while you shop. Kittas are friendly, versatile critters that feel at home just about anywhere…Elizabeth is from right here in Kingston, but this is her first Hullabaloo so be sure to meet her and her “kittas”!

The Shayski Shop, Kingston, NY

By day, Shay is an animator and designer at the American Museum of Natural History. But in his free time, he designs fresh, funny graphics that he prints on super soft t-shirts. His designs are inspired by retro- and pop-culture, cool stuff, geeky things, favorite foods, and portmanteaus (combining two things—like, imagine Chewbacca and Fozzy Bear had a baby, and it’s Shayski’s Chewockawocka character).  Some of his shirts are part inside-joke (like the Murphy Mets mustache shirt only baseball fans will appreciate), part jabs at pop and mainstream culture (his “Kanye East” is incredibly modest), while there are others with wider appeal (what kind of person can’t appreciate a “hell yes” ice cream shirt?!?! Who wouldn’t laugh at the site of an “underwearwolf” in polka dotted panties?!?!) With both men’s and women’s sizes, you’re sure to find the perfect gift for someone with a quirky sense of humor or just an enthusiasm for ice cream. This is Shay’s first Hullabaloo, so please join us in welcoming him! 

Vendor Feature: Twisted Thread and Hook, Owlkill Studio, Hanky Blanky, and Field Apothecary & Herb Farm

Which one of these is not like the other? They’re all talented makers with work and products we know will sell like hotcakes at Hullabaloo…They’re all from NYS…They all carefully source their materials (or ingredients) and make their respective products with careful attention to detail and a lot of love. But only one is a Hullabaloo newbie, participating for the first time this year…Do you know which one? (No reading the blubs below until you make a guess!) 

Twisted Thread and Hook, Poughkeepsie, NY

Magda and her gorgeous rope home décor items are joining us again this year and we’re so psyched about it! Using natural cotton, jute, and hemp rope, Magda makes rugs, mats, tiebacks, knobs, coasters, and baskets using her own designs and careful attention to detail. Magda’s unique craft is rooted in her love of crocheting and her childhood memories of the lakes in Poland. Her work is nautical in a sophisticated way (think chic beach house, not tacky crab shack) and fit in well with any décor—we love them in bedrooms, hallways and entries, kids rooms, or anywhere you want a stylish, cozy floor covering, and her bathmats are a beautiful alternative to those run-of-the-mill options from the big-box home stores. The rope she uses is soft on floors and feet (delightful foot massages are an added bonus) and the finished pieces wash exceptionally well, too! Need something a little smaller? Her rope coasters, curtain ties, and drawer pulls are stocking-size, with all the fine craftsmanship of the rugs! 

Owlkill Studio, Cambridge, NY

Adelia’s business takes its name from the Owlkill River, which runs through her parents’ property in upstate NY.  Aiming for sustainability, Adelia primarily uses dead stock vintage, salvaged, and discarded materials to produce her unique jewelry and accessories. Along with 14k gold-filled chain, she uses common materials in new ways for visual interest and textural effects. And while her pieces are minimalistic, she seems to find just the right composition to set off each one-of-a-kind element—balancing mismatched but complimentary vintage beads in an asymmetrical arrangement, for example—to make simple, dainty necklaces that make big statements.  In addition to jewelry, she offers keychains, coasters, and other accessories made from carefully sourced scrap leather. This is Owlkill’s first Hullabaloo and we’re so excited to have her join us! Her jewelry is perfect for anyone who likes modern design with touches of vintage flair and her leather goods make great stocking stuffers or affordable “little something” gifts.  Stop at her table and check them out!

Hanky Blanky, New York, NY

Rosi’s handcrafted clothes, rompers, onsies, and accessories (like blankets, bibs, and dolls) will make that already-adorable kid on your gift list even cuter—like Christmas-card-cute. Each piece is truly unique because they are made from vintage fabrics, upcycled sweaters, and antique hankies that Rosi has collected over 20 years. Her pieces have been called “memory clothing” and we think that description is perfect—each era in the life of the fabrics adds character as it is passed down in an heirloom piece. From dapper onsies with vests and bow ties for your little man, to cozy argyle cashmere buntings, togirly onsies with vintage handkerchief skirting, to sweet denim hoodies (the newest addition to “Rosi’s Cosys”), Hanky Blanky has the perfect outfit for your favorite little fashionista. It’s Rosi’s second Hullabaloo, and we’re so glad to have her back! Say hello and pick up something truly special for the little ones in your life!

Field Apothecary & Herb Farm, Germantown, NY

Dana and Michael believe that good food and drink are the best medicine and that using herbs in your daily practice can contribute to greater health and well-being.  They aim to help others transform their medicine cabinets the way they are cleaning out their food pantries and replacing the junk with more natural options. To do so, they educate the community with classes and workshops, and offer a comprehensive line of natural remedy products, made with organic herbs grown on their own farm in Germantown, NY. They grow, harvest, and process their ingredients by hand to create tinctures, extracts, bitters, tonics, syrups, oils, salves, salts, teas, soda kits, and more.  Field Apothecary also offers an herbal CSA, consisting of a seasonal shipment with natural solutions for everything that may ail you at that time of year (the autumn box, for example, includes natural cough syrup, chest rub, calming bath salts, and more, including a couple of culinary goodies too!) It’s Field Apothecary’s third Hullabaloo, so show them some love and support a business whose products are local from start to finish—give the gift of wellness this holiday season!