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Over 300 places in Upstate NY with a focus on art, design hospitality and the natural world, curated by Tastemakers who live in and frequent the area.
“Biking through the Storm King sculpture garden is otherworldly, one of the great outdoor museums is in our backyard.” - Michael Bruno
"My friends have raved about (and created great instagram envy from) this celebrated sculpture park located in the town of Cornwall. The center boasts a collection of more than 100 carefully sited sculptures nestled in the midst 500 acres of rolling hills, woodlands and fields of native grasses and wildflowers. Maybe I’ll see you there!" - Georgina Schaeffer
“Although it is self-serving to mention, I do feel that Storm King Art Center is an essential Hudson Valley destination. Our 500-acres have been sculpted over the past 58 years specifically to display outdoor artwork. It is a unique destination where visitors can experience large-scale sculpture and site-specific commissions under open sky.” - John Stern
“I like to bring a picnic and spend the afternoon wandering through this world class sculpture park.” - Claudia Hanlin
The shortest trip from farm to table - Michael Bruno
“Although I plan plenty of events at Blue Hill, I never grow tired of touring the farm, learning about sustainability and visiting my favorite animals. Get a healthy little lunch at the cafe while you’re there." - Claudia Hanlin
"A short walk to the train and lots of healthy snacks and baked goods. Mostly organic produce and specialty beverages for the trail." - Michael Bruno
"Valley Rock Inn is like an oasis in the middle of a food desert, all the produce in their market looks as fresh as if I picked it myself that morning. It is not to be missed on your way Upstate." - Benoist Drut
“When I’m preparing for a small dinner party I always stop in to Valley Rock Market for fresh flowers, prepared dishes and last minute treats for my guests. - Claudia Hanlin
"One of the hidden gems of the area, Innisfree is recognized as one of the “world’s ten best gardens.” Landscape architect Lester Collins created this Japanese “cup” or “bowl” garden with his clients, Walter Beck and Marion Burt Beck. This iconic garden merges Modern and Romantic ideas within the Chinese and Japanese principles in landscape design, creating a “distinctly American stroll garden.” - Georgina Schaeffer
"A one mile walk around the lake and hundreds of exotic flora and fauna to see and always fun to find a frog or turtle on the side ready to take the plunge." - Ashley Whittaker
"From the moment I discovered this magical garden I was smitten. It’s the most peaceful place designed with Chinese and Japanese garden design principles — truly a treasure." - Claudia Hanlin
From the shortlist of Mieke Ten Have -
"Harney’s Tea Room is a quiet place to re-energize." - Karen Klopp
"Stop off at Harney and Company Tea and pick up some fun gifts and delicious tea." - Ashley Whittaker
"The wedding tea is my favorite, of course.” - Claudia Hanlin
"A truly mind blowing experience, a must see to believe." - Christopher Knight
"You must check out Opus 40 is a large environmental sculpture in Saugerties, New York, created by sculptor and quarryman Harvey Fite. It comprises a sprawling series of dry-stone ramps, pedestals and platforms covering 6.5 acres of a bluestonequarry." - Anne Foster + Suysel Cunningham
“There’s something about an artist’s obsession that inspires me — Harvey Fite dedicated 37 years of his life to this installation." - Claudia Hanlin
If you’re ever in Hudson you MUST go to this incredible little cheese and provisions shop. Not only do they have one of the best selections of curated artisanal cheeses I’ve ever seen, their sandwiches are absolutely delicious. They have amazing baked goods and salads, and their prepared foods are excellent, too. Everything is so thoughtfully done; you can tell a lot of love goes into it. - Katie Lydon
I like to stop at Talbott and Arding to pick up some culinary hors d’oeuvres for our dinner at home. - David Mann
I love finding sources for local Hudson Valley cheese, this one is the best! - Claudia Hanlin
If you're looking to up you're cheese board game, Talbott and Arding in Hudson is your place. it has many locally made cheeses, preserves, crackers, and cookies, with a friendly staff that can help assemble a perfect board. - Ana Hito
So many special original products come out of their market. I never go to Hudson without stopping there to stock up. - Michael Bruno
“The John Russell Pope-designed Tudor mansion is only outdone by the beautiful gardens.” - Michael Bruno
“I’m obsessed with the history of NJ’s state Botanical Garden and mansion. The Tudor Revival house holds ancient wood paneling, mantel pieces and stained glass windows stripped from important homes in Europe." - Claudia Hanlin
“The house, the artwork, the sculptures, the garden. Plan to go again and again to see it all.” - Claudia Hanlin
"The Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum is celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, so if you’re ready to take a break from contemporary art and brush up on your American history, this presidential library is another museum well worth the drive over to Hyde Park." - Georgina Schaeffer
“A great day out learning about a very productive former president, his home and his legacy." - Claudia Hanlin
“This award winning bourbon whiskey distillery is in a perfect setting to explore the region." - Claudia Hanlin
"This park is great for a quick hike — the trails are not too hard, they’re well-marked and the park is never overwhelming." - Claudia Hanlin
“We love going to this out of the way orchard to take a tractor ride out into the fields to pick our own apples.” - Claudia Hanlin
Over 300 places in Upstate NY with a focus on art, design hospitality and the natural world, curated by Tastemakers who live in and frequent the area.
April 4, 2020 – Letter to Upstate NY merchants featured on Tastemakers Guide.
All small businesses are important, right down to the first lemonade stand many of us had as kids when we discovered we were entrepreneurs.
Your business is one of the 300 small businesses featured in Tastemakers Guide, selected by Tastemakers that live in or frequent the Upstate Region. Upstate New York is the closest thing America has to the European countryside with its inns, restaurants, farms, and shops scattered throughout the region. I built Tastemakers Guide about a year ago because I wanted to promote our beautiful countryside. I was fortunate enough to sell my last company 1stdibs.com and have the resources to open a small hotel in the lower Hudson Valley, Valley Rock Inn, and now to use Tastemakers Guide to help us all stay in business.
Right now we all need a central station where people can search online in one place to find out everyone’s current business status and to discover new businesses and dream about where we can go when it becomes safe to venture out.
We are making it easy and comforting for people to find out who is open and what you are offering: delivery, curbside pick-up, e-commerce, gift certificates, special rates on future bookings, and acts of kindness.
While we would like to cover all small businesses we are focusing on the ones that drive spending and create local good jobs through hospitality, craft, collecting, and community essentials of which you are one.
There is no cost to be included –
The road ahead will not be easy but there is strength in numbers, even though that is counter to how many of us feel in the current moment.
Before developing Valley Rock Inn, I was the founder and CEO of 1stdibs.com for 17 years. I was responsible for developing and supporting a large online community of thousands of small business owners in the art and design field. Together, we survived and prevailed significant hardships, including 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, and the 2008 financial crisis. The entrepreneurs that were on 1stdibs came through those difficult times stronger I believe because of strength in numbers. If we all work together simply by providing and sharing information with existing and potential new customers we can do the same with this platform.
By now we have all begun to hear about the Federal Government’s programs which will give small businesses a very short lifeline to cover about 2.5 months’ worth of expenses mostly in the form of loans. If you include March, we are all on our own come mid-May, so we must act quickly. Tastemakers Guide will evolve as we go, but getting going is the most important thing.
We appreciate your input and are grateful for your participation, please provide your business status information as soon as possible as we plan to update the site the week of April 6.
Our first plan of attack, once we have updated the site with everyone’s information, will be securing media coverage and getting the site in front of New York City’s tens of thousands of employees in the tech industry. They are gainfully employed and therefore excellent consumers, they love a good database of information and they love Upstate NY.
Warm regards, Michael Bruno
Founder 1stdibs.com
Founder TastemakersGuide
Owner Valley Rock Inn