Show & Tell: Talin Spring

ABOUT  | Talin Spring is the owner/designer of Spring Finn & Co, American made leather and canvas bags & accessories, and owner of Maison Spring, a showroom representing a small collection of unique European fine furnishing fabrics in Minneapolis.

Show & Tell: Talin Spring | CLOTH & KIND

I grew up in a house where everything was made by hand, both my mother and grandmother were very skilled embroiderers, sewers and knitters. Seeing their daily creations during my childhood made me appreciate the value of the hand, with its perfections and imperfections – that I love most.

Show & Tell: Talin Spring | CLOTH & KIND

Although this embroidered linen tablecloth is not one of my grandmothers or my mothers, the fine detail and precision is very evocative of their art. I found it a few summers ago at the Marseille flea market - where we lived before moving to Minneapolis – this is where I also found the french post office iron desk that holds my collection of mid-century Uzbek China. I cannot even imagine the number of hours of work it required to make this intricate tablecloth filled with careful details down to the crocheted corner tassels.  Every time I iron it, I picture the previous owners of the piece gathered around a table in the sunny French countryside.

Show & Tell: Talin Spring | CLOTH & KIND

The history of the object and the artisan behind is as important as the visual beauty it adds to a room.  The creator’s personal story intertwines with the object, and that mastery deserves to be appreciated for several lifetimes.

Inspired: Setting A Table With Nake Berkus

Inspired: Setting A Table With Nake Berkus | via Elle Decor | CLOTH & KIND
Today we’re loving this piece from ElleDecor.com with Nate Berkus demonstrating how to set a table. Simple + beautiful.

Coffee Toffee: Set The Table


enamelware
| glass tumbler | vintagey flatware

Did you all see Bonnie Berry‘s delicious post this morning for Coffee Toffee? How incredible does that look? Like Bonnie, I am a huge, I mean HUGE, coffee drinker. I literally can’t function before my first cup of morning joe. So the idea of this recipe which combines a little bit of sweet with a little caffeine kick had me at hello. (Note to self: keep this one away from Alex & Tahlia as the last thing they need are any extra jolts of energy).

I feel like Bonnie is my own personal cooking cheerleader, because as you know from my previous posts I’m really quite untalented in the kitchen – and that’s putting it mildly. I lack any natural talent to the extent that even when I do follow a recipe to a T, it often still comes out poorly. The idea for this column was selfishly motived, I admit it… because I desperately want to learn to be a better cook and somehow having Bonnie’s tried and true sage advice, plus hearing about her stumbles and trips along the way make trying new recipes not quite so intimidating. I’ll keep you posted on my progress, and please let us know if you’re trying these new recipes out and how they’re working for you too.

I may not know my way around a kitchen, but I do know good design and so I’ll be following up each of Bonnie’s posts with a ‘Set The Table’ post later the same day. This is the first. My hope is to share with you how to ‘get the look’ so you’ll be equally as motivated to try new recipes and find beautiful ways to plate your food.

We’re open to suggestions, so by all means – let us know which recipes you’d like to see Bonnie make and photograph. submissions(at)clothandkind(dot)com. In the meantime, enjoy your coffee toffee and try to limit yourself to one cup (er, serving) per day.

Deconstructed Kitchen: Coffee Toffee

Guest edited, prepared & photographed by Bonnie Berry

I love everything that involves coffee. I love the taste and the smell of it and even the idea of it. So when I saw this recipe for coffee toffee, I made it immediately. Of course I made it under the guise that it was for my parents and my grandmother for a holiday gift. And I did indeed send them some, but that doesn’t mean I did not devour quite a bit first myself. I have made it twice now. One time I used semi sweet chocolate chips and once I used milk chocolate. Personally I preferred the milk chocolate, but that is because in general I prefer milk chocolate. So use whatever chocolate you like, because after all chocolate is yummy in any form. And this is super easy to make and takes very little time. I have included some tips for tasting and skinning the hazelnuts as well. It seems like a monumental task, but it really is not, and this is coming form the laziest cook on the planet. Enjoy!
BONNIE

COFFEE TOFFEE
Recipe from Smitten Kitchen

 

BONNIE’S SAGE ADVICE I like to make the hazelnuts first thing in my little toaster oven at 350 for 10 minutes. Roll them around the tray halfway through the cooking time so that they get evenly browned. Take them out and let them cool. Once they are cool you can rub them in between your fingers and the skins will slide off easily. A few will not, but don’t fret about those and include them anyway.

 

 

INGREDIENTS
2 sticks of butter (1 cup / 16 oz)
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons molasses (can swap corn syrup or honey)
1/4 teaspoon salt  (I love Maldon salt for everything)
1 1/2 teaspoons instant espresso powder (I found this hard to find and I had to buy 6 jars at Amazon)
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips, or 6 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts – toasted, skinned and cooled – or another nut of your choice (see my advice above)

Line a small baking sheet with parchment paper or a silicon mat and set aside.

In medium heavy saucepan with a candy thermometer attached, melt butter, both sugars, molasses, salt and espresso together. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally with a whisk until the temperature approaches 250 F, at which point you should stir constantly until it reaches 300 F.

Pour immediately into the prepared baking sheet and spread it evenly. An offset spatula is especially helpful here. Sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee and let them sit for a minute until soft, then spread the chocolate evenly over the candy base. Sprinkle the chocolate with chopped hazelnuts and then set the tray on a cooling rack until the toffee is set.

Break into pieces and store in an airtight container. If your kitchen runs warm like mine does in the Texas summer, you might prefer to keep it in the fridge so the chocolate doesn’t get soft.

Good Reads: Billie

Today marks the debut of new kid on the block, Billie – an online mag founded by Lili Diallo (below), a former Domino stylist and author of Details: A Stylist’s Secrets to Creating Inspired Interiors and Monika Biegler-Eyers, a former editor at Domino.


The premiere issue is a small, but thoughtful and very lovely collection of  holiday entertaining images & party tricks.


Here’s what Diallo has said about her vision for Billie…

“It’s a home magazine with lifestyle content as well. There will be lots of new faces that haven’t been seen before. It will not be too ‘decorator-y’ — it’s more about a confident and natural person—but on the same note, won’t shy away from ‘It girls’ we like.”


Hey, Billie – welcome! We’re happy you’re here and look forward to seeing what you have in store for us in future issues.

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