root hill meets ivy bakery

About eight years ago, Daniellan opened up Ivy Bakery (www.ivybakery.com) in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn.  It was the tiny bake shop off of third avenue that pumped out amazing small batches of organic sweets like nothing Bay Ridge had every seen before.

She also sold some really good coffee.

And the coffee is what brought Michelle, from Root Hill Cafe and Daniellan together.

Root Hill was still about a year away from opening –

   Michelle had a lot more time on her hands.

She was always on the lookout for a good cup of coffee in her neighborhood.  On her daily walks with her dog she would stop for coffee - everywhere.

It was with great pleasure that she finally discovered Ivy Bakery.

A friendship was born.

Once Root Hill opened, Ivy Bakery and Root Hill tried to work together.  The timing was never right.

They kept up on each other's goings on and time passed.

One day Daniellan stopped by Root Hill with big news - she was closing up Bay Ridge and re-opening in a big brand new space on Houston Street - just blocks away from where she grew up! - Ivy Bakery was going home.

Ivy Bakery & Root Hill lost track of each other for a while. Each busy doing what small businesses do -

   growing, stretching, creating, struggling..

Then one spring-like night last March while Michelle was walking her dog on Third Ave, at the exact corner where she had first met Daniallan eight years earlier– she walked right into her.

It had been a long time.

Daniellian had just closed her SOHO shop and was thinking about her future.  Michelle, was doing the same.

Cut to: Five months later when Maria, Michelle and Andrew started planning root hill’s return. 

They wanted to partner up with someone that they knew, someone that had a similar vision. 

Hmmmm. 

  Daniellan?

Michelle hung up and called Daniellan. 

Daniellan said she had spent that entire morning calling realtors about spaces. She was ready to start again.

Funny how things work, huh? 

Think of us now as a hybrid of amazing desserts and kick ass coffee and then some..

Root Hill Cafe is front of the house, come in and enjoy amazing coffee, loose teas, breakfast, sandwiches, smoothies and pastries.  Ivy Bakery is back of the house, baking her famous Butter Gooies, Tres Leches, Pies, and desserts that are rotated into Root Hill Cafe's Daily Menu. 

For Ivy the primary focus will be custom orders, catering, and classes. So drop in to say hello, have  an espresso drink (check out our roaster! http://www.nobletreecoffee.com), try our amazing sweets, place an order for your holiday pies, birthday cakes or take a cooking or baking class!  And by the way - MORE TO COME!

Hope all is well and look forward to seeing you at IVY@RHC.

Gift certificates available!

root hill in transition

It's Summertime
It's been a long Winter

It's a good time to Breathe
And that's what we're doing

We're taking a break from the daily Grind.

Check here, our front window, twitter or facebook for Updates.

Lov.

                                                

About two years ago while sitting with some friends in root hill cafe the topic of our next 'thing' came up.  As all things do at root hill, one thing led to another, the idea was born and these friends became our partners. We found the space to do it in - and it happened to be three doors down.

Many hours of planning and eating and building later - two days before Thanksgiving and a week after NYC's worst storm in any of our memories -  we opened our doors.

We're making handcrafted burgers using the area's finest breads, highest quality meats and freshest vegetables to evoke timeless flavors..all inspired by each of our family histories.

Have a look at our new website and stop on by when you're feeling like having something special...

www.roothillburger.com 

WAVES and OBJECTS in SPACE

With the lazy days of August bringing our summer to the finish line we thought we'd take a pause to stare out at the waves and dream about the places we've been and the ones we'll go to next.

Rebecca Wolf and Lisa Kaiser, the two artists we have chosen to take us on this last summer's journey are long standing Gowanus and Park Slope residents.

Waves. the sound of waves on a shore. The circular motion. The strength of motion from soft water. Motion of light across a surface. Stillness within motion, motion within stillness. Color sliding into color. Art is the choices that are made in each moment, making a whole. Balance. Art is part of  life. Sometimes more sometimes less. Clay or drawing or painting or mixing it all up. Sometimes just looking, absorbing. It ebbs and flows. It is easy, it is hard. 

 
Rebecca Wolf, the artist behind WAVES describes herself as "an artist and a mother living in Gowanus and playing at Tai Chi." Her pieces have been seen in many individual and group shows throughout New York: in Catskill, Windham, Athens and Cooperstown; the Salamagundi Club, Tompkins Square Library, 80 Washington Square East Gallery and the Hudson Guild Gallery; her work has been sold at such places as: the G.K. Framing Group, Objects Of Bright Pride and the Whitney Museum Store Next Door.

Rebecca's work is for sale and she can be contacted through her email: Bexwolf@verizon.net

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Lisa Kaiser,  the creator behind OBJECTS IN SPACE ponders "why we make marks on walls and attempt likenesses and pretend to trap time?"  Objects in Space are magical moments. They portray the mystery of the objects/subjects, the layered feelings that the artist feels. Her quest to make them into an image outside herself, to preserve her interpretation of an intangible reality. Trying to figure out pigment enough to portray light brings her closer to understanding the mystery and emotional power of color.

Lisa's work has been shown throughout New York, The Netherlands, France, Italy and Ohio. Lisa's paintings are for sale, please visit her website: http://www.lisakaiser.com/index.html

You can see WAVES and OBJECTS in SPACE in Root Hill through the middle of September.  

PRESENT

Fabian Palencia is an American photographer based in Brooklyn, New York.  His work is a daily recording of life in the city.   He seeks to capture people as they are going about their lives.

"This collection of work is titled 'Present', as it is subjects I was able to photograph by constantly staying present in the moment as I went about my business, always with my finger on the shutter release.  Street photography is the foundation of all my work, it is connecting with people and establishing a relationship through the lens that drives my creativity."

Fabian's work can be seen at root hill through the beginning of July.

You can follow Fabian's work at www.fabianpalencia.tumblr.com and www.bondwerx.tumblr.com

COLD-brewed vs. HOT-to-ice brewed ice'd coffee

http://culture.wnyc.org/articles/features/2012/jun/04/hot-debate-over-cold-brewed-coffee/

ROOT HILL CAFE'S FEATURED ARTIST: KATHERINE GRESSEL REARVIEWS: BROOKLYN

Katherine Gressel's scenes from moving vehicles aim to show the tension between the safe, stable inside of a vehicle and the fluctuating, transient, and sometimes unrecognizable landscapes seen over the course of one ride. The work in Rearviews: Brooklyn investigates issues of development, nostalgia, and branding in her current home of Brooklyn (and in particular the changing neighborhoods of Park Slope/Gowanus and Downtown Brooklyn/DUMBO). Katherine juxtaposes views of contemporary transitional public spaces seen from car windows with images of new buildings in progress and their visual advertising campaigns. She appropriates historic Brooklyn images (including old Brooklyn real estate ads), to show both contrasts and connections between past, present, and future perceptions of Brooklyn. 

Katherine is an artist, writer and curator based in Park Slope, Brooklyn. In addition to painting the Root Hill Cafe mural in 2009, Katherine has exhibited her artwork at such venues as the Brooklyn Arts Council gallery, Brooklyn Public Library, City Without Walls in Newark, and the 2010 FIGMENT season-long sculpture garden on Governors Island. She was a 2008 Abbey Mural Fellow at the National Academy of Fine Arts and a 2009 CEC ArtsLink travel grantee to do public art projects in Russia. She currently serves as Programs Manager at Smack Mellon gallery, and is also currently curating exhibits at Brooklyn’s Old Stone House and FIGMENT 2012 on Governors Island. Katherine also works as a live event painter, capturing scenes of weddings, fundraisers and other private parties. 

Please visit www.katherinegressel.com for more information.

Gowanus Corners

In honor of Root Hill Cafe's upcoming 4year anniversary, the RHC Arts Series is celebrating not only the neighborhood's vibrant local arts community, but also the unique industrial landscape that inspires it.

This month, don't miss "GOWANUS CORNERS," a photo exhibit by local artist  Donna Schneiderman, whose love for Gowanus grew over the past 10 years.

"Along my daily travels between home, school, work and back again, I adopted particular corners and buildings as quiet companions," said Schneiderman. "Most of these structures no longer stand sentry – having been demolished or renovated as part of the ongoing (re)development of the neighborhood."

Her exhibit at Root Hill captures a moment in Gowanus before many changes took hold, with a focus on light, color, shapes and shadows during "a fleeting phase when children were younger and days were defined by crossings of the Gowanus Canal."

ABOUT THE ARTIST
Originally from Ohio and then New Jersey, serendipity brought Donna to Carroll Gardens in 1986. Her photos combine two loves – vintage cameras and neighborhood discoveries, utilizing low-tech cameras, forgotten film formats and large darkroom prints to best capture the treasured pockets in and around Red Hook, Gowanus, and Coney Island. For more on Donna Schneiderman, visit her website.

Artists previously featured as part of the RHC Arts Series include Caleb Crawford, Frank Ishman, Lourdes Sánchez and Percy Aguayo

Rose-Emma is a contender!

Photo by Stefano Giovannini

Rose-Emma uses a sword to make latte art

Love is in the Air

Love is in the air in Gowanus, Root Hill Cafe continues its ongoing series celebrating local art with a new exhibit by Brooklyn-based artist and architect Caleb Crawford. His collection of hand-drawn Valentine’s Day cards, saved over the past 10 years, began as a tribute to “the two women in his life,” his wife Annie, and 14-year-old daughter, Madeline. 

“The cards are a parallel to a series of drawings I variously call Form Poems, Autodidactic Drawings, and Useless Drawings,” Crawford said of his work. “These Valentines are confections. Their sole intent is delight.”  

Because they were gifts, the original drawings displayed are not for sale, but framed copies, as well as postcard sets of 10, are available for purchase at Root Hill through the end of February. Custom drawings can be commissioned for Valentine’s Day, birthdays and anniversaries.  

Caleb Crawford is a practicing artist and architect living and working in Brooklyn. He is a graduate of Pratt Institute and SCI-Arc in LA. To learn more about Caleb Crawford, or to commission his work, visit his  blog and website.  

Crawford’s wife of 18 years, renowned artist and designer Annie Coggan, recently displayed her own work as part of the RHC Arts Series in a 3D exhibit, "The Chair Show." Other local artists previously featured in the space include  Frank Ishman, Lourdes Sánchez and  Percy Aguayo.