After eight years of planning, the French luxury label Hermès is now open for business at its new flagship store in New York City.
Last week, I joined hundreds of others to celebrate the opening of Hermès Maison Madison - a 20,250-square-foot, five-floor store carrying the full range of Hermès products and collections. The celebration featured a tour of the space, a three-part musical commissioned for the event, food and drinks, followed by dancing at the former flagship, which was transformed into an all-orange speakeasy. It was definitely a fun and memorable party - leave it to Hermès.
Here are some photos, enjoy.
It was a beautiful evening for being out in New York City. This was my view looking west on 57th street in Manhattan. I posted this photo on my Instagram page @MarthaStewart48 – I hope you follow me.
In the window of the new Hermès flagship, one could see dozens of the iconic orange-hued boxes.
The store features a smooth and curved stone staircase. Kevin Sharkey, who took many of these photos, captured this image looking up all the way to the fifth floor. An adjacent 49-foot-high wall was decorated as a vertical gallery with paintings and equine themed photographs. Follow Kevin’s Instagram @seenbysharkey.
Looking down, there were beautiful speckled terrazzo floors.
Here is a view of the high ceilings and decorated curved walls.
The store is comprised of a series of salons, giving it a more intimate and special feeling for customers. Here I am in front of the beauty items on the first level. This floor also features jewelry, silk scarves, and Hermès perfume.
I stopped for a quick photo with Hermès VP of Press and Influence, Michael Carl.
There was a musical performance, “Love Around the Block,” where actors sang and danced while wrapping orange Hermès boxes through the store.
The first of the three-part show was performed indoors.
Actors performed in the aisles as guests toured the store’s clothing, accessories, furniture, and homewares.
The costumes were colorful and quite direct in its messaging.
On this wall, there was a scarf designed after artist Josef Albers’ “Interaction of Color: Homage to the Square” painting.
I admired this turkey scarf hanging nearby.
Colorful belts were also artfully displayed.
… Along with many cashmere blankets and throws. This front design is from their Parcours de Sangles Collection.
It matches this Parcours de Sangles pillow.
Here is another beautiful geometric blanket by Hermès.
After the first act of the performance, guests were instructed to head outdoors for Act II. Several streets were closed to traffic just for the event.
Several food trucks were on hand, offering an assortment of dinner bite options such as pizza, tacos, cheesecake, pies, pretzels, burgers, hot dogs, fries, dumplings and falafel – one can find all sorts of food in New York City.
The final act was held at the old Hermès location, which was turned into an all-orange nightclub for the evening. Here I am on the stairs of the former store. It was a fun event and a very interesting way to celebrate the store’s opening. The store officially opened for business this week, so plan a stop at Hermès Maison Madison the next time you’re in New York City.
The next time you're in the New York City area, I encourage you to visit Untermyer Gardens.
Last weekend, I attended a Mehregan gala, an ancient Persian harvest fair, hosted by the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy. The event was a fundraiser honoring celebrated photographer Firooz Zahedi. The evening included delicious Persian foods, music, dancing, and a performance by Iranian singing star, Sattar. Untermyer Gardens is an historic 43-acre park located in Yonkers, New York, not far from my home. The gardens were named after lawyer and civic leader, Samuel Untermyer, who purchased the original land from former New York State Governor, Samuel Tilden, in 1899. During the first 40-years of the 20th century, Untermyer, who was passionately interested in horticulture, developed the property with help from architect, Welles Bosworth, and made it one of the finest private gardens of its time. Today, the gardens continue to be lovingly revived and restored by the Untermyer Gardens Conservancy.
Enjoy these photos.
This is the entrance to the Walled Garden of the Untermyer Gardens. It was inspired by the great Indo-Persian gardens of antiquity – originally intended to resemble a “paradise on earth.” Above the doorway is a carved stone plaque of a recumbent Artemis sculpted by Ulric Henry Ellerhusen.
Just inside the entrance is the first of four crisscrossing canals of the Walled Garden. Here, one can see the overhanging boughs of two majestic weeping beeches, Fagus syllvatica ‘Pendula’. The wide marble fountain basin spills into this central canal.
Here is a view of the same canal looking back to the entrance and the grand beeches.
This is called the Temple of the Sky, a roofless crown with its columns of Alabama marble, where legendary Persian singer Sattar performed later in the evening. The mosaic floor encircles a portrait of Medusa, the winged demon in Greek mythology.
Here I am in the Temple of the Sky with Drew Schuyler, assistant head gardener at Untermyer.
This is a view from the Walled Garden’s Lower Terrace looking out onto the Hudson River and the Palisades.
Below the Temple of the Sky is the ruined Persian Pool, once the swimming pool of the Untermyer family. Construction is underway to transform it into a reflecting pool.
Along the East Border of the Walled Garden is this Auraucaria auraucana, also known as the monkey puzzle tree or Chilean pine. I also have one in the greenhouse at my Bedford farm. There is also Dasylirion longissima, a Mexican grass tree on the left and azaleas on the right.
This section of the East Border features oakleaf hydrangea, Hydrangea quercifolia, and Persian silk tree, Albizia julibrissin ‘Summer Chocolate’ – showing the contrasting colors to the mostly green foliage of the early fall plantings.
Here, one can see the dried flower heads of Hydrangea quercifolia in front of an espaliered southern magnolia, Magnolia grandiflora ‘Edith Bogue’ which is flanked by two crape myrtles, Lagerstroemia indica.
This is a stoa, a covered portico or walkway according to Greek architecture. It is embellished with a group of potted tropical specimens including a container planted with various ferns: emionitis arifolia, Selaginella, Impatiens repens, Pteris cretica ‘Albolineata,’ Pteris ensiformis ‘Evergemiensis,’ and Pellaea rotundifolia.
Here is another canal leading to the garden’s Amphitheater with gorgeous green foliage along both sides.
Here I am in the open-air, Grecian-style Amphitheater where guests are often entertained by musicians, dancers, and other events. Seasonal container plantings line the back wall and include elephant ears, Alocasia, bird-of-paradise, and mixed containers with tall fuzzy fronds of dog fennell and Eupatorium capillifolium ‘Elegant Feathers.’
These Alocasia plants which were planted in the canal beds last year grew quite well and were repurposed into some massive planters in the Amphitheater this year.
In front of the Amphitheater are two sphinxes by noted Art Deco sculptor, Paul Manship, who was also famous for Prometheus at Rockefeller Center in New York City. The sphinxes are sitting on top of cippolino marble columns. The mosaic floor of the Amphitheater stage refers to designs at Tiryns and ancient Roman villas.
A reflecting pool below the sphinxes is filled with assorted aquatics and framed by a border of annuals that attract butterflies in warmer weather.
In this bed – Nandina domestica ‘Seika’ OBSESSION on the lower terrace contrasts nicely with the various hydrangeas.
This is the Hydrangea Border on the Lower Terrace with arching stems of Patrinia scabiosifolia reaching toward the path.
Here, the Hydrangea quercifolia is starting to show its signature fall color.
This is a stunning view down the Vista Stairs. It is enhanced by the 99 Cryptomeria japonica ‘Radicans’ and ribbons of Japanese forest grass, Hakonechloa macra ‘Aureola’.
After our tour of the Garden, we sat down to a delectable Persian entrée of grilled jujeh kabob and kabob barg; a bundle of sabzi, or greens; timbale of sabzi polo, which is herbed rice; grilled red, orange & yellow peppers, and plum tomatoes.
A lavish dessert buffet includes a selection of summer fruits, my own lemon meringue tartlets, assorted mousse shots, homemade chocolate barks, chocolate dipped fruits, chocolate clusters and truffles, Persian sweets baklavah, bamieh, sholezard, and graybeh, stuffed dates, marzipan fruits, knafe, koluchen yazdi, chay and rock candy, and a Persian tea station.
And here’s a night view of the Temple of the Sky looking out onto the Hudson River and the Palisades. It was a beautiful early autumn evening. For more information on the Untermyer Gardens, please go to the website, or just click on this highlighted link. If you are able to visit Untermyer, I know you will enjoy it as much as I do.
As many of you know my schedule is very busy, but every few months I always set aside time to make my beautiful dogs a big batch of home-cooked food.
I've been preparing my own dog food for years. It has many benefits - fewer preservatives and additives, more varied and better ingredients and, of course, more of what I know my dogs like to eat. I also know the food is from wholesome, organic, reputable sources - and that is very important to me. This past weekend, I prepared a giant amount of food filled with excellent quality quinoa, beef, fish, poultry, and lots of nutritious vegetables.
Enjoy these photos.
It always makes me so happy to be able to provide the best meals for my pets – they love all the fresh vegetables and meats I cook for them. I currently have four dogs – my Chow Chows, Emperor Han and Empress Qin, and my French Bulldogs, Bête Noire and Crème Brûlée. Having multiple dogs means there’s a lot to prepare. Here are two of the sweet potatoes – great for digestive health because they’re high in dietary fiber. They’re also low in fat and contain vitamin B6, vitamin C, and manganese, and they’re rich in the powerful antioxidant beta-carotene.
The butternut squash is cooked until soft and then cut into chunks. Butternut squash is also filled with antioxidants, including vitamin C, vitamin E and beta-carotene.
Here’s a giant bowl of peas and quinoa. Quinoa is an amazing gluten-free superfood with high levels of essential amino acids. It is a high protein grain type food, so give it in small amounts. When preparing homemade diets, be sure it is well-balanced. Always be sure to research and discuss with your veterinarian what your pet needs.
These broccoli heads are cooked until fork tender and placed in the big stainless steel bowl. All my food is completely organic and full of flavor.
Here are the added carrots. My dogs love carrots. They are low in calories and high in fiber and vitamins. Occasionally, crunching on raw carrots can also be good for their teeth.
On top of this bowl of vegetables is some cooked fish. And watch out for bones. While some of the bones will be ground in a processor, it is a good idea to always carefully check for potentially dangerous bones.
Here, more vegetables including cabbage and turnips.
All the foods are cooked thoroughly and distributed into the large bowls. Look how much we’ve prepared.
Next, everything is run through a food processor. This step may seem extraneous; however, I have found that my dogs prefer their food ground up rather than in big chunks.
For my dog food, I use quart-sized containers. This step of filling the containers is done in a production line process, so it can be completed quickly and efficiently. Can you guess how many containers we filled? If you saw my Instagram post @MarthaStewart48, you know…
40-quarts in all! It’s very important that dogs also get adequate amounts of calcium, and omega-three fatty acids – add supplements if needed. And, whenever changing a dog’s diet, it’s a good idea to do it over the course of a few days.
I freeze my containers until they are ready to use. If planning to freeze, only fill up to the first line around the container so it has room to expand. Here, the quarts of food are left to cool a bit before securing the lids.
Each lid is marked properly, so there is no confusion.
Here are the quarts ready to freeze.
This quart was put aside in my fridge, so it’s ready for the next meal.
Here’s Enma scooping some food into the dog bowls for supper. We mix high quality kibble with a scoop of their home-prepared food. Enma mixes it thoroughly with the dogs’ additional vitamins and supplements.
And then it’s meal time! My dogs eat two meals a day – once in the morning and once in the evening. Splitting meal times is good for their digestion. Cooking for one’s dogs is a personal choice, so if you have time, and are interested in giving it a try, I know your pets will love every meal. Han, Qin, Crème Brûlée, and Bête Noire are always excited to eat!
And from above, one can see that Han is in excellent shape. With a healthy body weight, one should be able to see its waist tucked behind the ribs – one can see that on Han, even with his dense coat.
For Crème Brûlée and Bête Noire, I use dish drying trays under their bowls in case any food spills out – but they always clean it all up.
Within minutes every bowl is licked clean.
Han even checks out Qin’s bowl to see if there is anything left – even my dogs don’t let anything go to waste.
Next, it’s back inside for a nice evening nap before I return home from a busy day at work. Cooking nutritious and delicious food for your dogs… it’s a very good thing.
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