Shop, Eat, and Drink Local with Sweetgrass Farm Distillery

Don't get us wrong, we certainly appreciate a black tie affair, but we can get just as excited about that other facet of craft spirits, promoting local production and commerce. So our hat is off to Sweetgrass Farm Winery & Distillery of Union, Maine, who is hosting the fifth incarnation of their annual Holiday Bazaar on December 13 & 14.

Those attending the bazaar will find local food and provisions paired with this year’s Sweetgrass wines and micro-distilled spirits. Samplings include award winning artisan cheese from Appleton Creamery and fresh oysters from the Pemaquid Oyster Company. WaldoStone Farm will be sampling its fine line of oyster sauces and Bloody Mary Mixers and will provide Bloody Mary cocktails by the glass with your favorite. Other food vendorsat the bazaar include Bixby Bars, Transfiguration Hermitage, and Bleuberet Artisanal Jams.

In addition to these great pairings, attendees will find local gift items from a number of guest artisans. G & L Float Rope Creations will be selling their uniquely designed float rope baskets and mats. Just in time for Christmas, Brae Maple Farm has created needle felted ornaments; sheep, donkeys, golden retrievers, and cats all made from wool raised on their farm, and Qdloon Repurposed Bird Feeders will be on hand with a wide selection of unique bird feeders that will please even the hard to shop for on your list.

Sip wine, sample spirits, and enjoy a truly one of a kind holiday shopping experience at this archetype of New England craft culture.

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Hooligan Hoedown 3

There are few events in America that capture the true essence of the modern West Coast scofflaw better than the Hooligan Hoedown. The crew at Iron & Resin don't just talk the talk, they walk it, living pura vida with their signature mix of rebellious motorcycle and surf culture. The Hoedown is a physical culmination of that deliberate effort, an opportunity to get back to the basics, blow off a little steam, and embrace your inner Hooligan with a group of like-minded individuals. That, and a whole lot of throttle twistin' fun!

This year the Hoedown has returned to Camp Sheideck and the Reyes Creek Bar, and will feature live music from The Far West and Moonsville Collective. There may even be a little micro-shine on hand!

So get your bike ready, grab your girl (or guy), dust off your sleeping bag and head into the hills for a weekend to remember.

$30 per person (if registered by October 21st) - includes camping, music and all you can eat barbecue dinner. $35 per person for late registration (after Oct. 21st)

The first 75 early bird RSVPs will receive a free event T-shirt!

Hooligan Hoedown Fall Campout from Iron & Resin on Vimeo.

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Buy Local: Montana Ski Company

We're always looking for opportunities to promote small scale production, particularly those in our own backyards. Montana Ski Company, a small batch producer of custom skis, makes a great case here for why you should always be deliberate about your conscious consumer choices.

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MicroShinerTV

For those who love to experience the world of craft through motion pictures, we have created MicroShinerTV, a Vimeo video channel filled with amazing works of art that tell the stories of the craftsmen and women who are taking this movement to whole new level.


Norseman Distillery from Voice Media Group on Vimeo.

Please follow us and support these incredible artists and craftspeople in their efforts to change commerce as we know it.

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Pewter Cocktail Shaker

If you are looking to channel your inner James Bond, this pewter cocktail shaker we found via Silodrome is a great place to start. Each piece is handmade by master craftsmen in Italy and brought to us by Match, purveyors of matchless pewter, stone, wood and iron furnishings. Its the ideal tool for crafting your gin martini - shaken, not stirred.

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UnStuff Christmas

We've been getting a lot of love lately from a website called UnStuffGifts.com so we thought we'd give some back. The premise behind UnStuff is certainly worthwhile and can be summed up by their tag line "Gift ideas that aren't more stuff."

The team responsible for the site has really done a good job in brainstorming and researching unique gift options that are experiential or content based rather than material, and their presentation on the site is both witty and straightforward. See something that catches your eye, click on it, and you are redirected to a third party site that will assist you in securing the particular service in which you are interested. In the case of MicroShiner, this manifests itself in the form of a block labeled "Tour de Man" which links to our map of micro-distilleries. Other favorites of ours are "Farmer Mystery Box" - a community agriculture subscription - and "Dolphins are Forever" - the gift of a tattoo.

Digging a little deeper into the UnStuffGifts website, its worth nothing the fine print. At the bottom of the page is an inconspicuous bit of text that reads "THE ONLY STUFF WE LOVE IS STUFF THAT'S AMERICAN MADE" and following the jump leads one to the Made Collection, an aggregate of made in the USA products. And while not all of the featured items are small batch or handcrafted, they are all representative of the high quality merchandise being produced by companies, new and old, who are committed to maintaining the manufacturing legacy in America.

Most importantly, both these specimens serve to forward the ideal of deliberate consumption. Where rather than simply buying the latest trend being forced down our throats by mass media marketing, people are taking the time to consider their purchases in a holistic sense, and ruminating on the implications across a broader spectrum than just how many boxes they've place under the tree. It is a concept that we here at MicroShiner embrace wholeheartedly, and we are proud to be partnered with UnStuffGifts and the Made Collection in championing it.

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Craftsmanship for Christmas

Of course, there are a million companies vying for your Christmas dollar, but few of them are offering you products with the same degree of craftsmanship as we have come to expect from our favorite craft spirits. However, there are a handful companies out there who are. Here are 5 of our favorites:

1. Steinway Pianos - If you want to know what lengths Steinway goes to in making the world's standard in pianos, listen to this great story from NPR's Morning Edition.

2. Kaweko (via Motart) - Manufacturing precision writing instruments since 1883, Kaweko focuses on the thin line between tradition and innovation, securing the favor of those who would like to impress their values and esteems on paper.

3. Shinola - Advertised on their website as "the perfect gift for those who have everything except a Detroit-made wristwatch", Shinola watches are hand assembled from 84 Swiss-made components. Attempting to single-handedly return Detroit to its manufacturing glory, Shinola itself is a company worth watching.

 4. Chippewa Boots (via Silodrome) - Chippewa products use only premium raw materials and are hand crafted in the USA. Sounds like the tag line of some craft spirits we know.

 5. Behring Made - This custom cutler strives to make the best knives in the market. The team of craftsmen build their knives and their reputation around four cornerstones: innovation, quality, craftsmanship, and functionality.

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