Immerse Yourself in the Season

Fall marks a unique time of the year when so much is beginning to change. As opposed to spring which revives us from the sleep of winter with the blossoms of summer's fruits, fall comes silencing the flirty abundance, leaving us in an awkward relationship with the introverted and coy squash, roots and tubers. There is beauty here among the earthy tones and flavors. Seeing it is just a matter of immersing ourselves in the season.

When I was younger, a chef I worked for took me under his wing, offering his wisdom. Wisdom shown in bouts of rage. He really did try to impart so much knowledge. He was always yelling at me. As the season's change approached, I would prepare to rewrite my portion of the menu to the tune of him marching around the kitchen before each shift demanding, "grind yourselves in the season!" At a time when seasonal, organic and farm to table fare was still climbing out of the dark ages, he was guiding me into the natural gifts of the seasons. It took me some time to become fully open to this simple concept, which would ultimately set me free. Immerse yourself in the season.

As a chef who currently works with small farmers and farmer's markets it is quite simple for me to follow the seasons as I create my preserves and ferments. Hey, if it's not coming out of the ground or off of a tree I can't use it. However, with my other creative pursuits I still use the seasons to get an inspirational charge. "Art imitating life" is not a new concept and I know many of you out there draw upon your experiences and surroundings to feed your creativity. This is a great process but one which we can overlook.

Pomegranates bursting when ripe remind me of hidden jewels.

As with finding inspiration for being creative during the colder and sometimes drab months we call the fall and winter, as a shop owner it is imperative to find the motivation and follow the natural trends of the changes in seasons to update our crafts, listings, and possibly, shop. Changing tags to encourage search results for the season and upcoming holidays is a good idea, as is placing items suitable for the time of year in your 'featured items' slot.

The holidays will begin to fill up the space in-between the autumn days, bringing about events, plans, commitments, and family gatherings, adding much joy along with stress. The demand of orders for your items will hopefully begin to increase as well, leaving you with a lot to accomplish: baste turkey, pack orders, mash rutabaga, pinch nose, mail packages, chat with aunt Marge. Still many of you will also be taking your shops and wares out to various locations in the Bay Area, ever increasing the demand on your time and energy. In the midst of all of the festive chaos, DO NOT let all of the hustle and bustle of the holidays interfere with the opportunity for you to get out into the world and experience what the season has to show you.

Natural patinas, color contrasts and textures. Autumn brings
so much inspiration to be enjoyed.

Submitted by Klee Wiles-Pearson of Entropy the Shop.

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