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Each season as I sit down to write our newsletter cover, I reflect on what’s happening at Hammertown and in our region, the Hudson Valley and Berkshires. I follow my stream of consciousness from one topic to another, looking for a theme that connects to Hammertown, entices and entertains our readers, and reflects our hopes and dreams for our community. After a long and quiet mid-winter, I’m very excited that spring has finally arrived. It is an especially inspiring time of year and my thoughts center around hometown events and activities as our communities celebrate the arrival of warm weather and the colorful blossoms that mark the return of spring.

One thing all Hammertown Customers have in common is that they love their homes. We love the diversity of design and creativity we see in these unique and diverse houses and wanted to share it with you. For this inaugural profile we chose Jill & Steven London’s home in Garrison, NY which was recently featured in our Newsletter. Just check out these pictures and you will see why.

As readers of these pages know, the past year has been one of reflection for me both personally and professionally (ok, maybe the past two or three years). I am pleased to report that more recently I have noticed a shift in my perspective. We have a rich history here at Hammertown, but more and more, I’m interested in what’s happening right now and doing what I can to ensure that my actions today contribute to a better future for my family, my community and our world.

As I prepared to write our cover story this month, I sat down to look through our past newsletters (don’t want to repeat myself you know). I’ve looked through them before, usually with a chuckle and a roll of the eyes here and there, but always with an appreciation for this printed record of Hammertown history. Yet this time around, I was uniquely struck by the stories we have shared over the years in the context of some things that have been on my mind of late…in particular the future of Hammertown and Hammertown’s hometown, Pine Plains.

“Home. The place that helps us to define how we see ourselves and how we choose to make our way in the world—the blueprint of our lives.”

John Edwards, from his book THE BLUEPRINT OF OUR LIVES

As the owner of Hammertown, I have always had a passion for home decorating. To me, however, the word “decorating” doesn’t seem to suffice as I believe the art of making a house into a home is something much more than choosing pieces that go together and placing them into the rooms of your home. Our homes are a reflection of ourselves and how we choose to decorate them is truly an expression of what we feel is important in life.