I am so excited to share our latest news - you can now visit "The World of Martha” in Amazon stores!
"The World of Martha" offers all the essentials I love and can’t live without - beautiful products for every room of the home, all in a dedicated brand store. Just go to amazon.com/marthastewart or search “The World of Martha” on your mobile phone or desktop. My Collection includes cookware, bedding, textiles, furniture, gardening items, holiday décor, and so much more - new items and existing favorites. Plus, we offer video content as well as delicious seasonal recipes from my media library. With its reliability and quick delivery service, Amazon makes the perfect retail destination for all my home and lifestyle offerings.
Enjoy these photos showing some of the products you can now find in "The World of Martha."
My new “World of Martha” shop now offers your favorite cooking essentials such as my stainless steel Castelle Cookware Set. All these pieces feature 18/8 stainless steel – perfect for everyday sautéing, simmering, searing – all without any metallic aftertaste.
You’ll love my Oven to Table Stoneware Bakeware. These work with so many dishes, baking both sweet and savory meals evenly.
This is my Eastholm Enamel Cast Iron Dutch Oven in Martha Blue. These distribute and retain heat evenly for slow simmers, braising, making soups and stews, baking casseroles and bread, and more.
If you’re looking for a dependable knife set for your everyday cooking, try my Eastwalk Stainless Steel Cutlery Knife Block Set with ABS Triple Riveted Forged Handles and Acacia Wood Block. They come with high carbon blades and ergonomic handles.
There’s always a need for good, practical storage solutions. These are my Square Glass Containers. They’re great for leftovers, pantry ingredients, and for all those school and office lunches.
My Broadbrook Stoneware Bowl Set comes in this Sharkey Grey and Martha Blue. Use them for everyday mise en place, occasional baking, or for casual entertaining.
In “The World of Martha” we also offer a large variety of sheet sets in a wide range of colors and patterns – all made with high quality cotton for the utmost comfort.
I offer printed and solid colored sheet sets made with 100-percent Egyptian cotton sheets. Plus, my sheets have clean finished hems and a 16-inch deep pocket mattress fit to be sure sheets stay in place.
These are my 400 thread count white down soft Bed Pillows – a must for anyone looking for a good night’s sleep.
Spring will be here before you know it. Order my lightweight cheerful quilts for every bed in your home.
If you’re looking for new flatware, try my Goswell set. It comes with four dinner knives, four dinner forks, four dinner spoons, and four teaspoons. Durable and streamlined in design, buy a set for yourself or give away as a birthday, wedding, or housewarming gift for family and friends who love to host and entertain.
Don’t forget the kids. I offer a selection of furniture for our smallest crafters. Try this Art Center with Stools and Bins.
And of course, one will find lots of gardening essentials in “The World of Martha” on Amazon – weeders, pruners, trowels, my essential Hori-Hori knife, and so much more. Please go to my shop and look around – you’ll find so much, and whatever you choose can be shipped safely, quickly and efficiently through Amazon’s dependable services. Take a look now!
So many of you are enjoying "The Martha Stewart Podcast." These shows are when I sit down for one-on-one conversations with fascinating people from all walks of life to learn how their individual careers began, how they have evolved, and what tips they have for listeners. These talks are filled with information, inspiration, and lots of laughter. If you haven’t already, please tune in - it's available on the iHeart media app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Today, we're releasing another great episode - this one with noted ceramist, entrepreneur, author, and my friend, Christopher Spitzmiller. Christopher is an artist. He creates one-of-a-kind, timeless lamps. In fact, he's made lamps for four different White House Administrations, the Presidential Blair House, and many other distinguished American homes. But how did he become so successful? What drives his passions? Why lamps? We delve deep into his background to hear his stories.
Not too long ago, I also had the chance to visit his New York City atelier where he and his talented team design and create the lamps - enjoy these photos and be sure to listen to "The Martha Stewart Podcast."
I always enjoy visiting the studios where beautiful handmade items are manufactured. Here I am with Christopher at his Manhattan studio where he “creates jewelry for the home.” We’re standing in front of a wall of shelves filled with some of his gorgeous and colorful lamps – ready for their new homes.
This shelf is also filled with finished pieces – all personally designed and meticulously crafted by Christopher and his team of 14 artisans.
Here is Christopher explaining the manufacturing process to me. Each piece is hand thrown and then molded, glazed, and wired. Christopher is always developing new glazing techniques, new colors, and patterns.
This area is where all the plaster molds and straps are kept.
Here, the molds are strapped together and poured with the wet clay and then left overnight.
Here is a top view after the liquid clay is poured into the mold. As it dries with the slip in the mold, the plaster draws out liquid from the slip. This leaves a clay wall against the inside of the plaster mold.
And here is the piece once it is removed from the mold. The next step is to smooth out all the lines. Each mold can be used about 100-times.
Here is the lamp on the potters wheel where more hand work is done to remove the lines from the slip cast molding process.
A kiln is an insulated chamber, a type of oven, that heats to very high temperatures in order to harden and dry the lamps. Unlike an oven, however, it does not melt the objects enclosed, so it is perfect for drying out ceramics or layers of glaze.
Christopher’s team fills the kilns in the afternoon and then lets the lamps sit overnight in 1900 degrees Fahrenheit. At this stage, they can pack them in pretty tightly. Once the glaze is put on and fired again in the kiln, the lamps will not be allowed to touch each other.
These pieces have been been fired once. They are now waiting for glaze.
The glaze is put on from the top and then dried in between coats.
Here is one in between coats. It will dry for about an hour before another coat is poured. The amount of coats needed depends on the glaze.
Each lamp is set in a hand turned hardwood base. This one is coated with gold leaf. Some bases are also offered stained or water gilded with white gold.
The process is done so carefully. Here is the gold leaf being applied to a base.
This lamp is waiting to be wired.
All the electrification is done at the studio.
This lamp features a hand done basket weave lines grid and a rich spruce glaze.
These lamps are completed and purchased. They’re on this shelf waiting to be shipped out.
And in this section of the studio – a showroom of available pieces – every one truly a work of art and love.
Go to my podcast, “The Martha Stewart Podcast” – available on the iHeart media app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts, and listen to my conversation with Christopher Spitzmiller – you’ll laugh, you’ll learn, and you’ll be inspired.
I love a good cup of cappuccino - it can be a great start to the day and a pleasant pick-me-up in the afternoon. I have several espresso machines here at my Bedford, New York farm and they get a lot of use, so of course I keep them very clean and well-maintained. Coffee beans contain essential oils and over time, the residue from those oils can stick to the machine's components and alter the flavor of the beverages. Regular cleaning not only prolongs the quality of the coffee, but also extends the life of the equipment.
Yesterday, Kobrick Coffee's service and equipment manager, Donald Ibrekic, came by to check the machines. Donald has been servicing my machines for many years. He also gave us some helpful tips for maintaining the units in-between visits, so every cup of coffee tastes perfect.
Enjoy these photos.
When Donald comes to the farm, he looks over every one of my La San Marco espresso machines. Each one is thoroughly cleaned and tested. This one is in my guest house studio kitchen. This machine is a commercial model – much larger than residential espresso and coffee makers, but the care is essentially the same. A good machine should be thoroughly cleaned after each use and regularly maintained to ensure that important cup of coffee is perfect every time.
This machine has two stations. Donald wipes all the exterior components and then runs the basic functions of the machine to assess what parts, if any, need replacing. Here at the farm, we make a lot of cappuccinos – up to sometimes 10 for any given business meeting, maybe even more if I am entertaining.
This is one of the machine’s two push button panels. It has five key buttons. The star like symbol on the far right is the continuous and programming button. The other four are volumetric keys which set the amount or strength of the beverage being made.
This is the pressure gage. The top indicates the pressure of the steam, while the bottom displays the pressure of the water. When it is in use, both areas should always be within the green limits.
Donald runs the water. These machines are also connected to the plumbing system. Clean water moves through the machine and flushes out the components that come in contact with the water and coffee grounds.
Donald also inspects the steam wand. It is important to purge and wipe the steam wand after each use and run a shot of clean water through it after every brewing session.
And always make sure there is an empty bowl or cup to catch the water that runs through the machine in order to keep spillage to a minimum.
These are the portafilters. On the right, one can see the fixed spout on the bottom. These portafilters hold the ground espresso coffee from grinder to machine. These should also be cleaned after every use. Whenever cleaning any kind of espresso or coffee maker equipment and parts, avoid using dishwashing detergent, which could affect the taste of the beverages. One can use a white vinegar and water solution instead.
Donald checks the group heads of the machine. The group head is the part of the espresso machine where water from the boiler is dispensed into the portafilter and screen. This only takes a few minutes and can be checked every few months when maintenance visits are conducted. Any worn or dirty gaskets and screens feel stiff when the portafilter is used.
This screen shows the dirt and residue that accumulated over the last few months. It can be cleaned, but Donald will just replace it for a new one.
These are the new screens.
Other components are in good order – Donald makes sure any holes are clean and clear.
Flushing residue out of the system through the portafilter also cleans the valve of grind deposits, so it seals properly when used. This is how the water should look after proper cleaning and several backflush rinse cycles – very clear.
Donald also lets the steam out of the wand to ensure it is not clogged in any way.
Next, Donald grinds some coffee beans to test the machine.
This is a doser grinder. This type of grinder has a container, a doser, that catches the coffee after it is ground. At the bottom of that container is the doser mechanism that portions out the grounds into individual, identically-sized compartments. A flip of a lever dispenses one dose at a time whether it be an espresso machine portafilter or a drip-machine filter basket. This type of grinder is good for high volume areas. Most homes only need the individual residential coffee grinders.
Additionally, the doser chamber is divided into segments that rotate and deliver around 7 grams of ground coffee into the portafilter.
This grinder also has a tamper which allows one to tamp down the ground coffee with an even pressing force.
Donald chooses to use the double shot function.
Two shots of espresso, equivalent to 50 milliliters, will have approximately 136 milligrams of caffeine when brewed with an Arabica coffee.
A double shot uses 14 grams of coffee and produces around 60 milliliter of espresso.
And here it is. The crema on top is made up of tiny bubbles which provide balance to an espresso. Good crema is when there is a thin layer of it that lasts for a couple of minutes. Bad crema is when it’s too thin or too thick, too light in color, disappears within a few seconds, or has a lot of big bubbles. This is excellent crema. And an excellent cup of espresso. A good, thorough cleaning makes a big difference. I hope this inspires you to take a closer look at your coffee machine, and give it a good cleaning. Your next cup of “joe” could depend on it. Thanks, Donald.
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