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Derwin's: Still Natty After All These Years

The seeds for R. Derwin Clothier’s in Litchfield, now run by a whole brood of Derwins, were sown more than fifty years ago from far, far away: Los Angeles, where patriarch Richard Derwin worked his way up the retail ladder as a buyer for several famous, now- defunct department

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Joshua Howe Design: Machine Age Organic

Lighting and furniture designer Joshua Howe, covered neck to toe in a rubber welding suit (head protected simply in a dark blue oversized ski cap), greets me in the middle of a narrow, bumpy, tree-crowded Chatham off road. He motions me to follow him onto a rocky private road,

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Oliphant: In Living Color

Cara Hotchkiss, jewelry designer and owner of the Litchfield store Oliphant, has always had a relentless penchant for color. “It's like a candy store. I love color, I’m not afraid of it.” With those bold, bright, blazing hues, Hotchkiss – London-born, San Francisco bred, Litchfield-based but

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Vegetable Garden: The Pesto Variations—Beyond Basil

A recent trek to the compost pile forced me to reckon with the state of affairs in my vegetable garden, particularly the state of green affairs. The basil is bushy and much of it is flowering; the kale is as high as my waist and deep green. It is time

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Garden View: Sunflowers, Stalwart Sentinels of Summer

Liza Gyllenhaal is the author of the novels Local Knowledge, So Near, and A Place for Us, all set in the Rural Intelligence region. She and her husband divide their time between Manhattan and West Stockbridge, MA where she writes — and putters around in her garden. We’re pleased to

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Garden: The Carbophobe’s Answer to Zucchini Overload

At this point in the growing season, an overabundance of zucchini is practically a universal joke. In our household, we don’t complain about the ridiculously prolific cucurbita pepo overcrowding the chard and cherry tomatoes in our vegetable garden. Instead, we make zucchini pasta. Not pasta with zucchini – pasta made

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Garden View: The Fruit Tree Solution

Liza Gyllenhaal is the author of the novels Local Knowledge, So Near, and A Place for Us, all set in the Rural Intelligence region. She and her husband divide their time between Manhattan and West Stockbridge, MA where she writes — and putters around in her garden. We’re pleased to

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Fashion Alert: BerkChique, a Pop-Up Resale Shop Redux

Left, Bonnington in Ivan Grundahl, $350. Right, vintage Victor Costa, $200. Some of us want clothes that whisper nice things about us. And some of us want only as many of them as we need to get by. Retired attorney Vicki Bonnington, far left, comes at clothing from an entirely

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Garden View: Dapper Dahlia, the Extra Man at the Garden Party

Liza Gyllenhaal is the author of the novels “Local Knowledge,” “So Near,” and the forthcoming “A Place for Us,” all set in the Rural Intelligence region. She and her husband divide their time between Manhattan and West Stockbridge, MA where she writes — and putters around in her garden. We’re

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House Guests Part II: The Saga Continues…

Call in the experts for serious cleaning. ... and I Still Like the Miscreants.Primum non nocere. First, do no harm. My last column for Rural Intelligence, almost a year ago, was on House Guests. A lot of water has passed under the bridge since then but the cyle continues. As

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Radish Seed Pods: A Spicy Secret

I readily admit that I’m not the gardener of the family; what little gardening I do is under direction from my beloved Kipp, who plans the vegetable garden, does the heavy lifting, maintains the compost piles, and tells me what to plant where, and when to harvest what. The

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Garden View: Growing Roses in the RI Region - A Thorny Affair

Liza Gyllenhaal is the author of the novels “Local Knowledge,” “So Near,” and the forthcoming “A Place for Us,” all set in the Rural Intelligence region. She and her husband divide their time between Manhattan and West Stockbridge, MA where she writes — and putters around in her garden. We’re

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