Hello there! 🌊

Sam here! While our baked goods have been the deserving subject of many newsletters, we haven’t had a chance to talk at length about our ever-evolving retail selection. There’s still time to stock up on some lovely gifts for family and friends before Christmas. I’m here to walk you through what you see on our shelves.

Coffee ☕️

We’re proud to offer beans from Elixr and Rival Bros, two excellent and established roasters, but we’re especially excited to be working with our friends Cody (from Poem/Thank You Thank You) and Max and Em (from Brainwave Coffee). Both are new roasters using carefully sourced beans with interesting backstories and processes, all roasted within 5 miles of the bakery. They’ve each navigated the ups and downs of tariffs and the global supply chain and are producing some really special coffees.

One interesting tidbit that I learned from my conversations with Cody is that light roasts are often best starting around 1 month after roast, since they spend much more time off-gassing and settling. Don’t be afraid to grab a bag and let it hang out until it’s had some time to mature!

Maple Syrup 🍁

I’ve known Mike Euphrat since 3rd Grade at Green Street School in Brattleboro, Vermont. He and his family produce this truly delicious syrup at Bunker Farm in Putney, VT and we pick it up at the farm and bring it down to Philly with us when we go to visit my parents. As you probably know, maple production is highly weather dependent and due to climate change every sugaring season feels more tenuous, so we really savor this product. It comes in beautiful, gift-ready packaging – the bourbon barrel-aged version is a real treat.

Merch 👚

Printed by Marc Murphy at Bombardment Printing in Kensington, our shirts feature art by Hannah Robinson and Jessica Kat Miller, and a design by our dear bud Dayan D’Aniello. Our cool new hats were embroidered at Panther Printing in New Jersey — we think the lilac is particularly good.

Pasta 🍝

Made by a husband and wife team (love it), Pasta Lab is produced right here in Philadelphia from the same locally milled flour we use in many of our breads. It’s deliciously nutty, artistically shaped, and cooks quickly compared to other artisanal pastas. We love it with homemade pesto and roasted mushrooms.

Ceramics 🫖

As you’ve probably heard many times, my mother-in-law Stephanie makes all of the plates and mugs we use at the bakery, under the name Stephanie’s Ceramics. She also produces lovely, cheerful vases, plates, and other servingware that you can buy right off the shelf, all from her studio in Salem, NJ.

Wood 🪵

Our friend and neighbor Charlie Moss made beautiful serving boards from local cherry, walnut, and maple, perfect for your holiday table or wrapped under the tree.

Books 📚

Dayna has been working with Geoff KixMiller, the owner of Tomorrow/Today at the Manayunk Timber Yard, on a curated selection of books and zines that reflect issues and topics that are important to us. They include books from local authors as well as food- and nature-related zines, and will change seasonally.

Honey 🍯

Jeff and Joel, the brothers in We Bee Brothers honey, keep their bees and make their honey right in Germantown. They’ve got 100 hives and their honey is 100% raw and 100% delicious.

😘,

Sam

Sam’s What’s Up Corner

I’ve been playing a lot of music lately – piano and acoustic guitar, mainly, but also exploring synth world a bit because I’m #40. For jazz inspiration I’ve been listening to Mal Waldron, thanks in large part to a friendly customer who loaned me a couple of his albums. After our visit to the Martin factory in Nazareth over the weekend, my love of acoustic guitar has been reignited, and I’m getting comfortable with DADGAD tuning – and not just because it’s a delightful word to say. And finally, I had a bit of free time on Saturday and tidied up the music room, so I’m looking forward to some mind-bending synth explorations nights after Dayna goes to bed (at 8pm). Bandcamp link coming soon…

That’s all for now, folks!