Interview - Greenwich Historical Society

At House to Home Organizing one of the habits we encourage is a switch from focusing on stuff towards experiences. We spoke with Stasha Healy from the Greenwich Historical Society about their mission and why you should stop in for a visit.

For the busy person, what is the Greenwich Historical Society?

We connect the community and the world to the important history of Greenwich by telling its stories through items in our collections, lectures, museum exhibitions, educational programs for school children and teachers, championing historic preservation, media outreach, and more. We are the stewards for the circa 1730 National Historic Landmark Bush-Holley House, which survived the American Revolution and became the site of America’s first American Impressionist art colony from 1890 to 1920.

What was the recent renovation?

We restored a former hotel and saloon that had been used more recently as a residence, back to its former architectural integrity and seamlessly added a new building to it that is home to new state-of-the-art, climate-controlled library and archives and museum galleries. One gallery presents rotating exhibitions relating to Greenwich’s history and art; the other gallery has a short film and timeline that explain the history of Greenwich at a glance as well as an area that showcases some of the beautiful works of the former residents of the Cos Cob art colony.

The GHS conducts many programs what are some of your favorites?

Candlelight is a wonderful, free event where the community gathers for live music, a visit from Santa, treats, and seasonal crafts for kids. People can also take tours of Bush-Holley House decorated for the holidays. I also really enjoy the Landmarks Recognition Program: Every year we identify buildings with historic value and tell their stories. This past year my favorite was a home on North Street that was built nearly as an exact replica of the Petit Trianon of Versailles!

What are the archives?

The repository for documents and items relating to Greenwich history.

If someone has something they want to donate, what is the process?

If people have documents to donate they should contact Christopher Shields. If they have items other than documents they should contact Karen Frederick.

Interview - Pretzl

Whenever one of our clients says, “what do I do with all this stuff?” one of our suggestions is to recommend focusing on experiences. This practice works especially well when it comes to feeling overwhelmed by children’s toys. We spoke with Olivia Leon from Pretzl about ways to easily find activities if you don’t want to add to the playroom.

For the busy person, what is Pretzl?

Pretzl is the OpenTable for kids’ activities, a site for parents to search through thousands of classes, camps and birthday party options and book on the spot. Without any fees ever, parents can search on criteria that matter most to them like the child’s age, location, activity type, day of the week/time, making it easier than ever to find just what they are looking for and discover new activities they didn’t know were out there.

Whether a parent is looking for a class or a camp for the summer, planning a child’s next birthday party, or just wants to try something new over weekend, Pretzl is here to help.

What is the company's origin story, how did you pick the name?

My co-founder and I were sharing our frustrations about how difficult it was to find new and different activities for our kids. We knew that there were amazing offerings out there, but no easy way to find them and compare options. We knew that there had to be a better way and Pretzl was born.

According to some historians, the earliest pretzels were dubbed “pretiolas,” meaning “little rewards.” We want to, “give kids the reward of amazing experiences and give their parents the reward of easily finding and booking those experiences.”

How is Pretzl different than calendar of event sites?

Most directory sites will list options, but parents can’t book the activity on the site. They have to go to the venue’s site or call the venue during the hours of operation. On Pretzl, customers can search through thousands of kids' classes, camps, birthday party options and events and book anytime day or night. Unlike man “calendar of event sites,” we don’t just list dozens of activities and happenings (which can become unwieldy and overwhelming for parents). We enable Pretzl users to filter and sort our thousands of offerings on criteria that matter most to them like date and time, location, age, activity type, etc. and then book on the spot. Lastly, booking through Pretzl also allows parents to keep kids' busy schedules organized all in one place.

What are some of the most popular events?

We are finding that there is no “most popular” event or class. Our bookings range all of the options one would expect - from Fine Art to Martial Arts to the Digital Arts and sports like Soccer, Tennis and Golf and all types of dance. But some our most popular bookings are the unexpected activities such as a Paleontologist Camp, an Earring Making Workshop and even an Ice Cream Making Class. We have also seen a spike in the demand for single day activities with the recent school holidays.

Interview - Decimated Designs

While most of us don't think about Halloween during summer, at House to Home Organizing we are always on the look out for locally made quality items. We spoke with Kyle from Connecticut's own Decimated Designs about all the cool things they do and make.

What’s your background and what is Decimated Designs?

Decimated Designs is a full-service design and fabrication shop in New Britain, CT. We specialize in making large foam creations with our 4’x8’ CNC as well as makeup FX, costumes, masks, signage, and the occasional blueprint or fire-exit plan. I've always been a Halloween fanatic, up to the point that my sister's birthday is November 1st because my mother refused to miss seeing me in costume. I did my first (laughably bad) prosthetic makeup when I was 9, and then discovered the Theater when I moved to Connecticut at 10. I went to school for Tech Theater and when I got out landed at a professional Haunted House only to realize that between the sets, costumes, makeup, lighting, sound, actors, etc., haunted houses are just a different type of theater! From there I started the company and it has grown and taken on more and more new and interesting projects.

What is the haunt community?

The haunt community is a group of like-minded individuals who come together for the purpose of scaring the socks out of the public. Many of us are charity-oriented in one way or another, plenty of us are strictly business, and a good chunk are purely for-the-love-of-it types who don't want to muddy things up by having to charge for tickets one way or another. You've got Home Haunters, Semi-Pros, Professional Haunters, Actors, Designers, Costumers, Makeup Artists, Animatronic Fabricators, Sculptors, Web Designers, and absolutely everything in-between. We come from incredibly diverse backgrounds and yet when we meet up one haunter can almost always spot another in a crowd. There's an energy to it, and a community built around it.

Can regular people shop with you or is it only for professionals?

We cater to just about everyone! We've sold cosplay items to Dr. Who fans in Malta, noisemakers to a haunt in Dubai, and 6' beating hearts to one of the largest amusement parks in the country! We do high-end makeup for films and quick face paints at local Comic Cons. It's a bit of a give-and-take because I love being reachable at all ranges of the spectrum but we often run into budgetary issues when clients don't realize just how much the truly high-end work actually costs.  It never hurts to contact us and ask about something you’re interested in, and we always try to come up with creative ways to do a project and stay within budgets.

I assume Halloween is your biggest season, what do you do the rest of the year?

Halloween is absolutely our busy season, but we don't slow down very much. Over the winter we're prepping new products for a Spring release. Most of the big haunted houses in the country are actually buying their larger products in March so that the companies have production time and they're able to get their items with enough time for setup and testing before the season begins. Since installing the CNC, we've also begun taking on more commercial work which keeps us busy through the Spring and Summer and there are plenty of conventions and shows we hit in-between.

Do you teach others to do what you do?

We do quite a bit of education actually! We are the only iWata certified airbrush educators in the Northeast and regularly teach classes on makeup FX. One of our favorite recurring classes is “How to improve your Halloween Makeup” which we teach about 6-8 times a year at various libraries throughout Connecticut. Halloween is how I got into all of this and if I can help up-and-coming future artists get better at their craft then I’m there! We teach things like how to make eye makeup scary without resorting to “racoon black-out” eyes. There is plenty that we do which we cannot teach because of the depth and complexity of it, or the large tools involved, but we’re always looking to add on new classes!

Over the years, what has been the coolest things you have done?

We’ve worked with celebrities, large companies, tv shows & movies, and gotten to create giant versions of some of our favorite characters. We’re currently working on a 10’ Thanos statue as well as some giant PEZ and a dream project to convert a certain artistic space into a Halloween themed nightmare (sorry, but can’t share too too much on this one yet!) Some of our favorite projects have been the Halloween Weddings we’ve done turning brides into zombies and grooms into werewolves! With our new CNC Machine, we’ve also been able to expand the kind of size and detail we’re able to output, so as someone who loves seeing art come to life that has been incredibly awesome. We’re always up to something new and interesting and it’s so hard to pick! It’s probably best to follow us on social media where we keep everyone as up-to-date as possible and let everyone pick their favorite for themselves!

Interview - Filling in the Blanks

House to Home Organizing always encourages our clients focus less on stuff and more on experiences. There are many great organizations in our community to volunteer your time. We spoke with Hannah with Filling in the Blanks to find out more about how to help.

For the busy person, what is Filling in the Blanks?

Filling in the Blanks provides weekend meals to children in need who are eligible for the free or reduced lunch program. This program is available throughout the year, including the summer months. For just $5.25 a weekend, each child is provided with a bag of non-perishable, easy to prepare food items and a fresh piece of fruit.

What is the organization's origin story?

In 2013 Co-Founders Tina Kramer and Shawnee Knight began feeding needy children on the weekend under the nationally known organization Blessings in a Backpack. Shawnee Knight is a passionate chef, community activist, board member, wife and mother. Classically trained at the French Culinary Institute of NYC, starting this work and eventually co-founding FITB allowed her to marry her love of food, community and charity. Tina is a member of the Stamford Food Collaborative, a United Way program, whose mission is to improve access to food, quality of food and sustainability of food for all members of Stamford. She is also a member of the Stamford Public Schools Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, which focuses on ways to improve the educational well being of the district’s students. What began with the Connecticut chapter of Blessings in a Backpack 5 years ago has grown into an organization based on a strong sense of social responsibility to nurture the community’s needy children and inspire others to do the same. In 2014 Filling in the Blanks officially filed for their 501-c3 to be its own independent non-profit, who's mission would be to feed children in their own backyard. Filling in the blanks began with 50 students in one school in Stamford CT and has grown to now serve 825 students weekly across Lower Fairfield County and New York.

What areas of Connecticut do you serve and how does a family that is food insecure get assistance?

FITB currently serves Stamford, Greenwich and Norwalk CT as well as Bedford Hills New York.

FITB reach out to new schools and programs based on their percentage of students on the free and reduced lunch program. From here its at the discretion of school social workers and psychiatrists to determine which students/families are eligible for the program. FITB does not turn away students, we serve schools with numbers as low at 10 students and as high as 115 students weekly.

Can you share a success story (or more if you would like)?

The letter below is a testimonial from our backpack program which is done each holiday season. FITB provides each kid on the program with a brand new backpack filled with toys, clothes, books, food and more.

If someone wants to get involved, what is the best way to get started?
Check our website for volunteer opportunities and upcoming events or email our executive coordinator to see how you can get involved!

Website: fillingintheblanks.org/volunteer

Email: hannahpaddock@fillingintheblanks.org