Modern Pioneering with Georgia Pellegrini

>> "Modern Pioneering" is made possible by... >> Welcome to Total Wine.

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>> My personal fave is this new French ros.

>> Find wine, beer, and spirits from around the world at Total Wine & More.

>> At Muir Glen, we believe that organic farming benefits consumers, farmers, and ecosystems.

>> And made possible by Michael and Susan McGwire, Zina Bash, and many other generous donors.

A full list is available at GeorgiaPellegrini.com.

>> I started to raise bees maybe four years ago.

I'm still a novice beekeeper.

I'm learning every time I go into the hive.

I wanted to learn about the species that we are making a living using their product.

I'm fascinated by the colonies and their organizational skills, their efficiency, their order in the hive, and I think it's really important to spotlight them and promote them.

Beeswax is the only wax that we use because it's all natural, slow-burning, it burns bright, it has a beautiful ambience when it burns.

There's no scent except for the natural scent of honey.

So it's -- And it's very subtle when it burns.

It's known to give off negative ions, which neutralize odor and mold and dust in the air.

So it cleans the air.

And it's really suitable for molded candles, and it's very easy to work with.

So that is one reason we use it.

Another reason -- it's a natural product.

I like it in upstate New York because it's simpler, it's slow.

It's not as congested as in the city.

You kind of do what you want up here, really dive into your passions.

There's a community of people that are artists, writers.

>> My dad often spoke about what he called manual literacy.

It has always rung in my ears as I earned a college degree, but found I lacked skills that were an essential part of human life.

It also formed my belief in the importance of creating beauty.

For to create beauty is to bring goodness and inspiration into the world.

It awakens my primal senses to possibility and hope and optimism.

It makes me believe in the importance of beautiful, well-made objects, ones that are produced in a way that allows their makers to remain connected to their products and to other people.

The story of handmade crafts is the story of human creativity, ingenuity, and perseverance.

It's a story of a movement toward products that are made with integrity and in a less dehumanizing way.

Today, we'll meet two women who are practicing manual literacy by creating beautiful objects that enrich our lives.

In the small hamlet of Treadwell, New York, a group of women are busy in a workshop, spending their days making beeswax candles by hand.

They are led by Jennifer Green, who, with her husband, began as a furniture maker.

Soon, her candle designs became so popular that she transitioned into giving them her full attention.

I've come to pick up candles for my dinner table and also get a peek into their craft as they work in their busiest season of the year, quietly yet methodically making thousands of candles by hand to send across the world.

>> I think it's really important to honor the traditions and the traits of the past, especially here, because that's what we're doing.

We're honoring candle making, and I feel strongly that there is a connection with the hand, the heart and the head.

I think it's rewarding to work that way.

We are all creative.

It's kind of brainwashed out of us a little bit as we get older because it's like, you know, you have to do this, make a living.

I think it's so important to harness that and do that.

The people that work here, they're really good at that.

They genuinely love to produce items that will be utilized by people and enjoyed.

So I think that's what we're doing.

We're honoring tradition.

So, here's the wax.

This is yellow slabs.

They're 20 pounds each.

>> Oh, my gosh, can I smell?

>> Yes.

>> I love the smell of beeswax.

>> Good, good.

>> Ah, it's like this floral... >> I know.

>> It's nature.

You're smelling nature.

>> Do you want to carry it over?

>> I would love to carry it over.

Thank you.

It would be my honor.

>> You can just put it -- put it like that.

>> Right here?

>> Yeah, just because we're gonna crack it.

>> I gotcha.

Take a turn.

>> Okay.

And I'm going to let you go.

I don't know if it's ready to...

Okay.

>> I definitely am applying for a job.

This is a -- >> Let me try to get it cracking.

>> Nice.

The large bricks of wax take a few hours to melt in their pots and reach the perfect temperature for pouring.

The wicks are set in molds where the wax is poured and then topped off as it cools.

You do sort of wonder, where is this candle going to end up?

Whose house is this going to be in?

The designs for the candles are first created as wood models by Jennifer's husband, who has years of experience as a furniture maker.

Once they settle on the design, the wood models are then cast into molds.

>> I'm inspired by many things, by textures, by nature, architecture.

When I travel, I love sculptural items and I love how the forms work together.

For example, the vintage bottles were from my mom's bottle collection, and I loved the way they just look displayed and then the negative space that's between them.

So that's a found object that we would cast and make into a little candle collection.

I don't want to compete with industry.

We really try hard to make our own designs here so they're unique.

This style is an elderberry twig, and that is native to Upstate New York.

They're just very beautiful.

These are column.

This is our square taper.

Now, this is one of our oldest shapes.

Another inspiration from nature was this.

My sister lived in Hawaii for 10 years, and... >> Bamboo.

>> ...I wanted to do a bamboo, so -- >> It really looks like it.

>> This is actually a giant drill bit.

>> So were you inspired by a giant drill bit that you came across?

>> This is all my husband.

He loved -- He had this shape, and he was like, "This will make a great candle."

And I was like, "I don't know about that," but it does.

>> The shop is a Technicolor dream of wax drippings, and none of them are wasted.

Whatever spills is recycled.

After about 45 minutes of cooling in their molds, the molds can be opened and the wicks trimmed.

>> And this taper, this is the only taper that we have that's a two-part mold, and that's why it takes a long time.

So you can see it just won't come straight out of the mold.

>> You really need to split them.

>> Yeah.

>> Each candle requires a remarkable amount of handwork.

Poured, unwrapped, trimmed, finished, rewrapped.

None of it is automated.

>> So this... >> Oh, wow.

>> You can feel.

This is what Kayla was saying, how it's warm.

>> And that -- that warmth of the mold helps it have a more solid texture, less air bubbles.

>> Exactly.

>> To make a sculptural candle, it is a similar process, but they have a longer cure time.

The designs are inspired by antique store finds, found objects, and her imagination.

>> So that's that.

Now, if there are holes in it -- like that's a hole that was not really acceptable -- because the wax is still a little warm, we can fill it.

>> Wow, so there's a lot of handiwork on this.

>> Yeah.

So that's what -- >> It's very manual to make each candle perfect.

>> Definitely.

Yep, yep.

>> In one month they make 14,000 individual taper candles by hand and 1,000 sculptural candles, almost 150,000 individual taper candles a year and 12,000 sculptural candles per year.

She sends her candles all over the U.S. and internationally, from Iceland to Canada, Australia and Japan.

After the candles cure for a day or more, the bottoms are finished on a melter, a warm, flat surface that gently melts and smooths the base of the candles so they fit perfectly in a candlestick holder.

They manually check and match the height of each candle.

>> And we're done.

>> How fun!

>> You have a pair -- a pair of 12-inch squares.

>> And then it's time to pack the candles.

>> Do you want me to take the tray, or do you want to take the tray?

>> I'll take the tray.

I like having responsibility here.

Well, maybe not too much responsibility.

Each candle gets wiped down and buffed with a special cloth before it is packaged to remove the white bloom that a beeswax candle naturally produces.

>> Looks good.

This is a -- It's a recycled material that we use.

You're going to lay it down like that.

Yep, and then just roll it.

I think making work with your hands is very satisfying and rewarding.

It's one thing to do it every day for yourself, making something from nothing.

Mm-hmm, and then -- >> Pop it right in.

>> Mm-hmm.

The satisfaction is also in the vision in your mind that someone is going to enjoy this item.

Now a label.

There's a sense of pride when you pull a taper out.

You're kind of birthing this item, and then it goes through our whole studio.

Everyone touches it.

It is a joint effort, this one candle, and then the thought that someone is going to light it and make their dinner more meaningful or special or relieve them or -- or it's a gift or it's in someone's wedding, you know, it's -- it's that kind of satisfaction that keeps us going.

>> It's amazing how much physical touch happened with each part of this process.

>> Definitely.

>> There's just nothing machine-made about it.

>> No.

>> From the first melting of the wax to taping on the label, there's so many fingers that have to touch it.

>> Yep.

So there we are.

We're all done.

>> Amazing.

>> You did it.

>> I did it.

I'm ready.

I'm applying for my job.

This is such an incredible thing that you're doing.

>> Thank you so much.

>> And now, with candles in hand, I'm going to make something of my own.

Now that I have these beautiful candles from Jen at Greentree, I was inspired to cook a little dinner party.

So I'm going to make some red wine poached pears for dessert tonight.

And for the main course, I'm going to have some salmon, a beautiful wild whole salmon that I'm going to crust with pecans and dried dill and a little melted butter.

And I'm going to make a little parsley sauce to go with that as a condiment.

So to start, I'm peeling some slightly underripe pears.

And with that, I'm going to add all of my delicious aromatics.

And then, of course, very important is the red wine.

I recommend a dry red wine because we're adding sugar.

So you want to start with something dry.

So I've peeled all of my pears.

I have the stems still intact and the core still intact.

And I am going to add them to a pot.

I'm gonna sprinkle the sugar over the top.

I'm going to add in a tablespoon of black peppercorns, about six whole cloves.

I've got my two-inch stick of cinnamon.

Smells great.

And then I'm going to put in the peel of an orange.

Go very gently with your peeler on this orange peel.

You want to avoid all of that white pith and get just the outer shell if you can.

And then I'm going to add some thyme.

I'd say maybe six sprigs.

Fresh or dried also works.

And most importantly, I've got my red wine.

Going to pour that over the top.

Gonna turn on my heat.

I'm going to let this come to a boil, turn it down to a simmer for about 30 minutes so that all of that wine infuses and soaks into those pears, and I'll turn them every so often.

Alright, while that cooks, I'm going to work on my salmon crust.

I've got some butter that I've melted, one whole stick, and I've got 1 1/2 cups of whole pecans.

Mmm!

I love the sweetness of pecans.

I've got about 2 tablespoons, maybe 1 1/2, of dried dill.

It really pops.

And just a pinch of salt.

I'm going to add my melted butter to that.

Pour that right over.

And I'm going to blitz it so it's a nice crusty paste.

I would say a pulse would give you that crust without pureeing it.

Let's have a look.

This is perfect.

You still have that crust.

It's all combined.

It's not a paste, so it'll give you a nice crust, almost like breadcrumbs would, with a little bit more flavor.

Now we're going to pile this on.

Good fish needs very few ingredients and a very low temperature.

Wild fish will just melt in your mouth.

I don't cook it any higher than 300 degrees.

Okay, I'm piling that on here.

Spread it on, press it in nicely.

Get your hands in there.

You could use salted or unsalted butter.

I just like to control the salt, so I always use unsalted.

Nice.

I have my oven preheated at 300 degrees.

I'm going to pop this in for about 20 minutes.

You don't want it to be too firm.

You want it to give a little bit when it's in the oven.

That'll tell you whether it's done or not.

If it's too hard, it means it's been overcooked and you lose that buttery texture that wild salmon has.

Alright, this is looking good.

Okay, let's make our parsley sauce.

I have one large bunch of parsley, and I'm just going to sort of swipe at it with my knife to scrape off the leaves and leave the stems behind.

If you have a little stem in the end, that's fine, too.

Okay, I'm going to transfer all of this.

Gonna set my stems aside.

Now I'm going to add a garlic clove.

And I'm going to add a little bit of chili powder.

I'm going to slowly drizzle in some olive oil.

Mmm, it smells good.

I'm going to serve it on the side with my salmon.

Little spice, little garlicky.

Gonna add a little bit of salt just to the top.

Give it a mix.

Alright, I'm gonna let this sit in the refrigerator.

This is something you can make in advance very easily.

The flavors will develop with time and get even better.

And now I have one more stop to meet an artisan I've admired for a long time as even more inspiration for the dinner table.

>> My name is Nonna Hall, and I'm a potter.

Candlesticks are very fun to make because the way how I make candlesticks, I have more fun, actually, to make like -- like a little mold first, and then I'm having fun doing trimming.

>> Nonna Hall born in Turkmenistan when it was part of the Soviet Republic.

Then her family moved to Siberia.

>> I always was fascinated by ceramic world.

When I was growing up, I liked Turkmenian culture about tea.

I always was fascinated about dining ware or tea sets from different cultures.

Based on those aesthetics, I think I created something that looked contemporary and simple and at the same time it's bold, and I always want people to not feel too precious about pieces that I create.

>> She went to college in Moscow, where her interest in ceramic arts lingered and continued to linger even after she eventually moved to New York City.

>> I always wanted to explore, but I didn't have access in Moscow, as I mentioned.

But here, I started to explore more.

I got to pottery in a serious way probably in 2010.

>> After seeing a ceramic show in New York City that moved her, Nonna went home and decided to commit herself to taking her craft seriously and hasn't looked back, now collaborating with designers on product lines and teaching the art and craft of pottery to others from her studio in Upstate New York.

I have some experience at the pottery wheel, but learning from an artisan like Nonna is a privilege.

So we roll up our sleeves together as she gives me her tips on how to make a French butter keeper, one of my favorite things to have at a dinner table.

We start by wedging on a wheel, getting the clay to center, which for me is a little struggle at first.

It's been a while.

I guess I've been off the bicycle too long.

Once we stabilize and center the clay, we open it up.

Now I'm bending it to go down.

>> Yeah, mm-hmm.

Bending over your fingers.

Beautiful.

You got it, yeah.

So opening -- We just, again, supporting with left hand and see -- and with the right middle finger... >> Okay.

>> ...see, kind of like pushing down.

And the way how I want to know the thickness, I stop the wheel, poke the middle two, and see.

This is actually good.

I don't want to go any -- >> Is that a half an inch you're looking for, quarter of an inch?

>> Half inch is good, yeah.

Now the goal is to keep the same thickness, but we're opening with the middle finger.

>> Got it.

>> We're opening towards you.

>> Okay.

>> So full speed again.

>> Full speed.

>> Full speed.

You just go, like, along the floor.

>> Mm-hmm.

>> And you want to keep the thickness.

>> Oh, this is very therapeutic, I will say.

And then we pull up the clay to make the walls of the butter keeper.

>> Sometimes I like to use sponge.

>> Yeah, it gives you a little more support.

>> It helps us to make the pull smooth, you know.

Make sure you're using, like, point part of needle tool.

>> How's my speed?

>> Very good.

>> And then a little trim of the top to remove the wobble.

>> You did it.

>> And one final smoothing of the edge.

Voil.

Okay.

>> Nice.

Ta-da!

>> [ Laughs ] And now we make the bell tops, with a little measuring to make sure it fits inside and another turn at the wheel.

>> I like to make tower.

It helps us to center.

>> Mm-hmm.

In life, too.

>> Oh, yes.

>> And then we measure the height of the bell to make sure it is just enough length to touch the water that will be inside the butter keeper.

Gosh, you make it look so easy.

[ Chuckles ] Here goes nothing.

Pottery seems to be a metaphor for life in so many ways.

Just the slightest little adjustment can make all the difference.

Amazing.

It's making me zen.

I'm getting there.

I'm not ready to open up my studio yet, but -- [ Laughs ] >> Almost there.

I hope that lots of people asking that question, that why it's important to have handmade things, not only pottery, but other handmade things.

But when I see something handmade, it's inspired something in me.

And I think it's very important, especially for young generations, because we surround ourselves with lots of manufactured stuff that there is no soul behind.

>> With more handmade pieces for my table, I'm ready to share these treasures with friends over dinner.

Let me check on my pears.

Ooh, they're nice and purple.

They're ready to get taken out of this beautiful wine liquid.

And transfer these pears into each bowl.

Going to leave this liquid behind, and I'm going to turn the heat up very high and start to reduce that until we get a nice thick syrup.

So here we go.

While that reduces, I'm going to leave the lid off or ajar so that the steam can come out and it can reduce.

I'm going to take a paring knife and cut the bottom of these pears so that they stand upright on the plate.

It's all about presentation.

Beautiful.

Alright, I'm going to let my liquid reduce.

And then we're going to finish these desserts.

Our syrup has reduced.

I'm going to ladle it over these pears.

About 1/2 cup onto each pair.

It's giving it another extra little bath.

And that syrup, it's a little bit sweeter than the poaching liquid was.

So it just finishes off that dessert nicely.

I'd recommend serving this with a chilled dessert wine, and you can make these in advance and store them in the refrigerator and just reheat the poaching liquid.

That's it.

Now, as a little bit of a garnish, I'm going to put in some pomegranate seeds.

Just adds some texture, a little bit of crunch.

And then to finish it off, I love the tartness of crme frache.

You could also use heavy cream or ice cream, and these can just sit and get to room temperature while everyone has their dinner.

They don't need to be served piping hot.

Now we're going to go check on our salmon, throw together a quick salad, and my dinner guests are about to arrive.

And now it's time to light the candles.

I believe that the most valuable currency someone can give you is their time, by making something for you by hand, by breaking bread with you around a table.

Human connection is our greatest gift to give and receive.

It's also the greatest gift we can give ourselves.

>> To learn more about the topics featured on this episode, log on to GeorgiaPellegrini.com or follow along on Georgia's Facebook and Instagram pages for weekly "Modern Pioneering" adventures, tips, and recipes.

"Modern Pioneering" is made possible by... >> Welcome to Total Wine.

Doing okay?

>> My buddy says ros all day.

>> My personal fave is this new French ros.

>> Find wine, beer and, spirits from around the world at Total Wine & More.

>> At Muir Glen, we believe that organic farming benefits consumers, farmers, and ecosystems.

>> And made possible by Michael and Susan McGwire, Zina Bash, and many other generous donors.

A full list is available at GeorgiaPellegrini.com.