Earlier this week, Manhattan with a Twist was honored to attend the second annual American Made Awards hosted by Martha Stewart and Andy Cohen at Grand Central’s Vanderbilt Hall. American Made is a movement for individuals and communities that have turned their passion for handcrafted, well-designed goods into small businesses! Martha Stewart created the American Made initiative to celebrate this new generation of great American entrepreneurs. The exciting evening honored nine innovators selected by Martha and the editors of Martha Stewart Living.
The evening kicked off with a surprise video recording from NASA Astronaut Karen Nyberg, who is commonly known as the ‘crafternaut.’ The program continued with fun banter between the hosts, and more surprise presenters such as Christie Brinkley, Bobby Flay, Colin Cowie, Sean Avery, Sam Talbot, Carla Hall and Joy Bauer.
The honorees of the evening were Spike & Amy Gjerde, owners of Woodberry Kitchen in Baltimore, Maryland; Lindsey Adelman, owner of Lindsey Adelman Design Studio; Heath Carr, Chief Executive Officer of Shinola; Colin & Karen Archipley, founders of Archi’s Acres, Inc.; Alejandro Velez & Nikhil Arora of Back to the Roots; Maura Grace Ambrose of Folk Fibers; Camas Davis, Founder of Portland Meat Collective; Gart Davis and Stephen Fraser of Spoonflower; and Charles Pinnell, founder of Pinnell Custom Leathers. SVGCuts.com of St. Louis, Illinois was also honored as the 2013 Audience Choice winner.
Before the award ceremony began, we were able to catch up with Christie Brinkley, who we chatted with about the American Made Awards. “I think it’s fabulous because it’s Martha Stewart highlighting all these businesses and giving them that ‘Martha’ seal of approval. It’s wonderful for them to be recognized. Martha’s all about creativity and ingenuity and that’s what these companies are all about,” said Brinkley.
When speaking with Martha about her vision for the future of American Made, she stated, “I think it’s a growing and vibrant movement in America. 57% of Americans are makers and I think we will just keep seeing more and more of that and we will celebrate it. Don’t forget that it’s happening elsewhere, too, in other countries around the world.”
That it is! As mentioned earlier this week, Grand Central’s Vanderbilt Hall played home to an artisanal fair featuring over 100 purveyors and crafters handpicked by Martha and today is the last day to check it out! After the awards ceremony wrapped up, attendees were able to sample food and drinks, as well as shop at the fair. But before the night was over, Martha Stewart made an exciting announcement, along with Richelle Parham. Starting his week, Martha Stewart’s American Made Market will be available exclusively on eBay, with makers who sell their products in categories such as crafts, food, garden and more! Cheers to American makers!
