Adventures with Kandyce

Not only is she darling, Kandyce (our fall intern) is incredibly stylish, kind, and smart. She's been helping us out a couple of days a week with packaging, the Etsy shop, picking orders, and brainstorming our new website & branding. She studies printmaking at a local university and spent last summer in the English countryside... a girl after my own heart. 

Kandyce was nice enough to answer a few questions and share a few photos from her fabulous trip:

You got to live abroad this summer... I want to hear all about it!

This past summer was brilliant! I was able to go to the U.K. with my sister and volunteer on organic gardens and a bakery through the organization WWOOF. The first family we stayed with has an organic sourdough bakery called Tracebridge Sourdough. It's the best sourdough bread I have ever had, there is nothing like homemade bread in a wood-fired masonry oven, its divine. We helped bake and sell the bread to local shops and farmers markets and we also helped with the weekly community pizza night. I lived with English families all summer, so I really picked up on their traditions and slang like "bits and bobs", "bung it in there", "groggy", "posh", and "bob's your uncle"! I love the English culture and way of life, I have never drank so much tea, ever! We were also able to work at an estate home called Penpont, that has been in the family since 1666. I felt like I was living in Pride and Prejudice for two weeks, it was magical. We worked in their Victorian walled gardens, they grow everything you could imagine, we harvested the vege once a week, to sell in their farm shop. I have never felt so connected to food, their is something so enchanting about pulling beets out of the ground and then preparing a beetroot cake! WWOOF is the way to go -- ask Kirk and Eva -- they've done it!

You and your sister have some exciting plans in the works. Can you tell us about it?

My sister is a chef by trade and has dreamt of opening a seed to table garden cafe. Through our experiences this summer, we decided to make this a joint venture (we do everything together anyways.) Food is her passion, she makes you love food even more than you thought possible, just by cooking with her. My passion is design so we are going to put the two together and what have you got? A retreat, an escape, a place to sip tea by the roaring fire in the heath. A place to savor thoughtful and seasonal food. Everything will remind you of home, homemade sourdough bread from our masonry oven, homemade jams and chutneys from the summer harvest, and hearty soups during the long winter months. We plan on buying some land in the Pacific Northwest, for our Neverland, and build our cafe surrounded by lush woodlands. Our cafe will be vegetarian and open for breakfast, brunch, and lunch! We would love to eventually hold private parties or events for dinner, where my love for floral design and letterpress printing would come into play. It's a thrill to realize your dreams, just talking about it makes me giddy!

What do you find inspiring?

Blast from the past, I am very nostalgic, and I find simple old fashioned life so idyllic. It seems everything was made with great thought of design and aesthetic and was built to last. My favorite era is the 1950s, the cars, clothes, and oh and that hair!

Off the top of your head, what's your favorite...

 
Song: Rave On by Buddy Holly 

Book: Peter Pan 

Destination: London

Color: black

Food: CAKE

Movie: Across the Universe

Shop: I love deals, so Charity shops in England!

Although we're going to miss her a lot, Kandyce's internship ends at the end of the semester (in December). We're looking for a new intern or two for Jan - May, so if you're interested, email your resume to me: eva@sycamorestreetpress.com. Thanks!