Tuesday, December 4, 2012

THE VAN WYCK HOLIDAY SHOP: GOURMANDS DELIGHT!

Photos courtesy of Overbey and Dunn
It's beginning to look a lot like Christmas at the West Village's Overbey and Dunn. Just a year old, the vintage interiors shop invites designers to showcase their creative vision in a rotating installation space. Decked out in holiday plaids in red and green, the tiny New York storefront has been transformed into The Van Wyck Holiday Shop by the uber creative event planner, Bronson Van Wyck. Inside the Modern Wallace plaid festooned space, resplendent with taxidermy and antlers aplenty, nostalgia reigns. Van Wyck has gathered English antiques and ephemera, as well as everything to decorate for the holidays. Selling swags of greenery to the tree itself, the space gets visitors into the spirit. Then comes the entertaining part. Van Wyck got so many requests for his Champagne vinaigrette recipe from friends and event attendees that he decided to bottle it and sell it.  The perfectly packaged holiday provisions that include drink mixers come from his family's Arkansas farm, Arrowhead. Sales of the tasty drink mixes and salad dressings, all 100%,  go to help Citymeals on Wheels, the charity supporting home-bound New Yorker's. If you can't get to the shop, their beautifully designed website takes orders. Take a break from the everyday, and head over to the Pop Up at 19 Christopher Street till January 3rd.  It's like walking into an eclectic Englishman's lair, albeit a shoppable one.

Gold painted Magnolia swags rest on a gold framed mirror, a cozy camel leather sofa covered in plaid pillows encourages a seat for a taste of the Margarita mixer.

The tree and ornaments can also go home with lucky shoppers.  A Scottish flag adds a pop of blue canvas and white ribbon against all the festive red and black plaid walls.

  Photos courtesy of Van Wyck/Arrowhead Farms
Named after his family's Arkansas farm, Arrowhead Farms provisions combines clever names with delicious ingredients for merriment. Small batches and local ingredients add to the special nature of it all.

For the one that has everything but likes their bar stocked and their salad dressed, this Deluxe Decadence Set that includes Hellfire Club Bloody Mary Mix, Spitfire Margarita Mix, Entente Cordiale Vinaigrette a la Moutarde de Dijon, Gaius Julius Caesar Dressing, and Railcar Champagne Vinaigrette is the way to go.

Complete with a bit of history and folksy allure the labels and ye olde packaging speak to a more genteel time. Hellfire Club Bloody Mary Mix comes by way "Of The River Styx."

For the friend that likes their Marg, Spitfire Margarita Mix is potent.

You can purchase each item individually, as I did with the Champagne Vinagrette, or in a dressing trio including a Caesar and Moutarde. It is one of my favorite dressings to lightly coat Butter Lettuce. My package said Batch #1. Oh, the artisanal details!

To dress up your holiday fete, pick from Modern Stewart Dress or Fraser Red Modern dinner napkins available in a set of four. Add on a monogram for the personal touch. To really kick it into high gear, get the contrasting or matching tablecloth too.

Sometimes the simplest things make the biggest statement. Few things are as pretty as elegant Magnolia Wreaths with shiny green and matte brown variations contrasting. If you need to decorate for the holidays, this is a great place to begin. A wreath with gilded leaves as well as swags and greenery are also available.

2 comments:

mary said...

I can almost smell the cinnamon and ginger inside the shop. The magnolia wreath is perfection. Thanks.
Mary

Allison Hennessy said...

So excited to visit - I love any creation of BVW!