KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Christopher Spitzmiller

 

Christopher Spitzmiller is known to his friends and Instagram fans as the ultimate weekend farmer, who raises his own handsome chickens, grows his own flowers, and puts up his own jam, cider, and honey.

 

Christopher’s lamps, tableware, and other ceramics are found in every chic A-list interior, including the White House, and are regularly featured in celebrated publications including Architectural Digest and the Wall Street Journal. He is on the board of the Garden Conservancy and the Lenox Hill Neighborhood House.
 
In his book A Year at Clove Brook Farm, Christopher treats readers to a full year at his idyllic but always-active country retreat. Naturally organized into four seasonal sections, the book begins with Spring where Spitzmiller evokes the chilly quiet of March before the farm bursts into the bloom of lilacs and apple blossoms, takes us behind-the-scenes in the dovecote with his Indian fantail pigeons, hosts an Easter lunch with a table laden with daffodils and his prettiest plates, and shares his recipe for freshly harvested rhubarb pie. Summer brings hydrangeas and dahlias, readying the chickens for the Dutchess County Fair, honey-gathering, and planting bulbs. The ultimate Fall feast of Thanksgiving pulls out all the stops. Winter closes the book with inspired holiday decorating, a holiday buffet to celebrate the bounty of the farm, and uniquely wrapped gifts to treasure.