On the Verge: Celebrating Emerging Talent
On the Verge highlights the rising stars from various creative realms, including fashion, food, music, art, and design. This year, the cozy dining-room fires of Stissing House, the charming restaurant located in Pine Plains, New York, were ignited on September 26. In contrast, last year, the fires were lit a week later, on October 4. Chef Clare de Boer, who took the helm at this historic tavern in 2022, always marks this date; it signifies not only a shift in seasons but also the commencement of an essential pre-service ritual. The restaurant, housed in a building dating back to 1782, boasts five fireplaces, including one so expansive that you could comfortably fit a queen-size mattress within it, according to de Boer.
Lighting all these fireplaces during the cold months requires a dedicated effort, taking about 20 minutes each day. With this in mind, de Boer, now 35, has cultivated a deep appreciation for fire tools. This month, she proudly unveiled her own collection of fireplace accessories — a robust steel poker, a shovel, and a pair of andirons — through her furniture brand, Roseland, which she established with her husband, entrepreneur Luke Sherwin, last year. “I aimed to design pieces that are not only simple and architectural but also large in scale while incorporating thoughtful details that enhance their functionality,” she explains, savoring a slice of rosemary apple pound cake at their home in Brooklyn’s Park Slope neighborhood.
- The shovel features a width of six inches, minimizing the number of scoops needed to clear out a fireplace.
- The poker measures about three feet long, allowing users to effectively manage even the largest hearths. “You can really get in there,” de Boer notes.
- Both tools include scrolls at their tops, enabling them to be hung elegantly from the mantle.
- The andirons are adorned with faceted ball tops and feet that curve upward, reminiscent of jester shoes, adding a playful touch to the design.
The pieces were meticulously crafted by Matt Foster and his talented team at Black Dog Ironworks in Enfield, Maine. They also designed a stunning martini table for de Boer and Sherwin, which is currently in use at Stissing House and available for purchase through Roseland. This sinuous, three-legged steel table draws inspiration from an 18th-century piece the couple discovered in the digital archive of the Winterthur Museum, situated in the historic Delaware mansion of Henry Francis du Pont, a renowned collector of American furniture and art. “Everything we create is rooted in the American design canon,” de Boer asserts.
Lighting the fires at Stissing House is a cherished morning ritual that takes about 20 minutes each day, creating a warm and inviting atmosphere for guests. The shovel and poker, beautifully displayed next to the martini table, can either be hung conveniently near the hearth or stylishly leaned against a wall.
De Boer envisions Roseland as a means to “draw people into an experience,” particularly the comforting feeling of being at home in the picturesque Hudson Valley, a lifestyle that she and Sherwin, now both 35, have embraced since 2018, when they purchased a home in Dover Plains. At the time, de Boer was working tirelessly, six days a week, at King, the restaurant she co-founded in Manhattan. However, the couple began to spend every available moment upstate, adorning their home — and later, Stissing House — with vintage American furniture. They developed a special affinity for the Shaker style, a minimalist design aesthetic originating from a religious group that settled in New York in the 18th century, known for its emphasis on simplicity and durability. With three children under the age of six, de Boer reflects, “everything in our house must be as robust and practical as it is visually appealing.”
