HerKentucky Business: The Crushed Violet

The HerKentucky team is thrilled to present HerKentucky Business, a monthly spotlight on female entrepreneurs in the Bluegrass State. As soon as we started writing this spotlight, I instantly knew I wanted to interview Erin Miller, owner of The Crushed Violet, a ridiculously adorable fragrance boutique located in downtown Lexington.

1. Before being a fragrance maven, what did you do? What led you to opening your boutique?
Even though The Crushed Violet was in the back of my mind for ten years before it came to fruition, what I did prior to opening helped give me that final push. My brother bought a campground in Versailles—Camp on the Kentucky—and asked me to be involved in opening and running of it. That process showed me it's difficult, but not impossible, to open your own business. The amount of fun I had working with my brother and sister-in-law showed me how rewarding it can be.


2. Why did you choose to locate your business in downtown Lexington?
Downtown is equal parts quirk and swank. I always knew it was just right for what I wanted to do. Church Street is centrally located and yet feels tucked away at the same time. I love it.


3. What's the hardest part about being a business owner? 

Time constraints. Not having much of a social life. Not having time to cook and bake from scratch like I used to. Luckily, my husband is very patient and a wonderful cook. And if time constraint is my biggest complaint, I really can’t complain. Who doesn’t have that problem?


4. What's the best part about being a business owner?
I'm living my dream. I am very aware of that and grateful for it everyday.


5. What advice would you give to Kentucky women wanting to start their own business? I feel strange giving advice at this point because The Crushed Violet is still new, but if you have a real passion for what you’re doing, people recognize that. So as cliché as it sounds, make sure you love what you’re getting into, because you will be consumed by it. My business hours might be eleven to six, but it's a twenty-four hour gig.


6. How does someone find their signature fragrance? Come see me! Fragrance is subjective, like any art. Every person is different and has a different process. I’m here as a guide through that process, whatever it may be for you. If you want a basic starting point, check out the fragrance wheel from Michael Edwards on The Crushed Violet's website.


7. What do you see next on the horizon for The Crushed Violet? World fragrance domination? Ha! World fragrance domination. I like it—I've managed to conquer Twitter, so who knows? But it’s probably a little less intense than domination. I'll simply continue to provide the best personal service I can while adding more fragrances to The Crushed Violet as time and budget allow. I do have a couple of other additions to the shop up my sleeve and have been working on them for several months now, but I don’t want to jinx anything…here’s hoping!

And now: the quick-fire round!

1. Bourbon or martinis? Bourbon neat, martini dry.
2. One dream you still want to reach? Traveling with my husband to all our dream destinations.
3. Favorite Lexington restaurant? I’d have to say A la lucie, but Lexington has a crazy amount of great restaurants for its size. I also love Stella’s and Sugano and about ten others.
4. Favorite way to spend a Friday night. Curled up on the couch with my husband and our dog, watching a movie, having some drinks and being judged by our cats.

Thanks so much Erin for answering our questions! Find The Crushed Volet on Facebook, Twitter, and in person at 131 Church Street in downtown Lexington.

Bourbon: of Love Notes and Legal Opinions

Earlier this week, Sarah blogged about Derby Pie, the Louisville-based pastry that is so unique and wonderful that it warrants trademark protection.  While the nut-and-chocolate pie springs up under many names across the Commonwealth, there is only one pastry that can be called Derby Pie.

Image via ABC News.

Yesterday, the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals similarly found that there is only one brand of booze that can feature a seal of dripping red wax -- Loretto's own Maker's Mark.  The truth is, you don't need the Court of Appeals to tell you that the Maker's trademark is "extremely strong"; the distinctive wax-sealed bottle is unmistakable even to teetotalers.  Now, here at HerKentucky, we've spent more than our fair share of time reading legal opinions.  And, most of us have been known to mix up a bourbon cocktail or two.  Needless to say, this story stoked the geek fires around here. 

Even if legal documents aren't your thing, Judge Martin's opinion is kind of awesome. Before going into the intellectual property issues at the heart of the case, he takes a lot of time to just talk about whiskey. It reads like a love letter to bourbon.  In describing the process that yields Kentucky's signature spirit, he waxes poetic.  In establishing bourbon's role as the greatest of all spirits, he evokes imagery from Harry Truman to James Bond.  Even the footnotes are lyrical, pointing out that  "the spelling of the word “whiskey” has engendered impassioned debate." While Judge Martin and his law clerks clearly had a blast researching this issue, they also got me thinking about the uniquely Kentucky character of bourbon.

Image via KY ABC.

As every Kentuckian knows, bourbon is created from a blend of sour (corn) mash which is aged in charred-oak barrels.  The sweet caramel and vanilla notes are produced by natural sugars occuring in the wood. The process began in the Central Kentucky region known as "Old Bourbon." And, while bourbon can technically be produced outside the boundaries of the Commonwealth, most of us consider Kentucky production a key.  It's been estimated that 97% of all bourbon is produced in Central Kentucky.   (And, really, who would want to know what that other 3% is, let alone drink it?)

Most Kentuckians have a favorite bourbon, whether we use it for drinking or cooking.  I'm a Maker's girl myself; I love the smooth, smoky caramel taste in a cocktail or to provide a complex note in chocolate desserts.     But, whatever flavor profile you prefer in your bourbon,  it's a taste that's wonderfully unique to Kentucky.

What's your favorite bourbon?

Kentuckian in the Big Apple

across from Radio City Music Hall

A couple of weekends ago,  I found myself at LaGuardia Airport climbing in a taxi on my way to Manhattan. The last time I had been in New York City was when I was a senior at the University of Kentucky. Prior to that it was my senior trip from my Lexington high school (Tates Creek). The time before was with my middle school (also, Tates Creek).

The trips to NYC as a teenager left me dreaming of leaving the rolling hills of Kentucky in search of riches and fancy clothes in the concrete jungle. New York City and Lexington seemed like polar opposites: lots of grass and low house prices in Lexington; very little grass and astronomical real estate in New York City. The lure of public transportation and my imaginary apartment ala Tom Hanks in "Big" were visions in my head for years.

The Highline

When I landed back in Louisville, I headed to my car, paid my reasonable overnight parking rate, and hit I-64 to head back to Lexington. I had a great time in the city, but as I pushed the gas on the open road, I realized how glad I was to be back home. When I watched the Kentucky Derby last weekend, I smiled when I remembered how I explained to several New Yorkers that people don't wear hats to EVERY horse race in Kentucky, and that Jack Daniels isn't Kentucky bourbon (it's Tennessee Whiskey, y'all).Perhaps a piece of me wants to still be a part of the city, but Kentucky is my home and I wouldn't have it any other way.

A Verdant Oasis in the Middle of Lexington

This year, I’ve gotten the crazy idea to try and grow some of our own food. This is worrisome because I’ve been known to kill cactus. Last fall, I started some kitchen herbs and those are still (mostly) alive. In the early Spring, I sweet-talked my husband into building some raised beds for our teeny tiny front yard.

My grand plans to grow vegetables from seeds turned out to be terrible plans. Everything died just before they were to be transplanted outdoors.

On to Plan B!

Enter Michler’s – a Lexington florist and greenhouse for over a century. Originally, I planned to go to Fayette Seed for my transplants, but it turns out they have operating hours that don’t mesh with my schedule. A friend suggested Michler’s – by way of saying, “You know…that place on Maxwell Street.” I did not, in fact, know.

I wracked my brain, trying to think of anything resembling a nursery in that part of Lexington. In all my four years of living there, and having UK friends living in the Aylesford neighborhood, I never once noticed the little nursery on Maxwell tucked away after the apartment buildings of north campus but before you get to the shops near Woodland Avenue.

My husband and I visited and were in awe of the rambling old greenhouses, filled with lots of plants that I could never name. It turns out the greenhouses that were so picturesque, that my husband described as looking “like they’ve been there forever” have, indeed been there a long time! Michler’s proclaims itself as “Kentucky’s oldest continually operating florist and greenhouses”.

The staff was friendly and knowledgeable. They put up with me asking a ton of newbie questions. The variety of flowers, ferns and landscape adornments was fantastic. If I were in the market for ornamental items I wouldn’t hesitate to spend my money, locally, at Michler’s. Since the plants are grown, here, it makes sense to me that they’d thrive and flourish, here. I’m not so sure you’d have the same luck with plants grown in greenhouses and shipped hundreds of miles to your local big box store.

This was my first trip to ever look for vegetable transplants, so I’m not sure how great their selection was. They had a variety of herbs. We picked up both some mint and rosemary to add to the basil and cilantro I was able to start at home. There were many different types of tomatoes – heirloom and non-heirloom varieties. We ended up with three varieties of peppers (jalapenos, sweet yellow chilies and traditional chilies), eggplant, cucumber, Swiss chard, and three types of tomatoes (Brandywine, yellow pear, and Roma). On a whim, my husband grabbed some sunflower seeds.

Michler’s is not just a greenhouse nursery. They offer floral arrangements and plant and delivery in Lexington (with online ordering as an option). They also have garden design services and offer wedding flowers.

The next time you’re in downtown Lexington, I urge you to visit Michler’s. It really is like another world right in the heart of the city – a world where everything is green and fresh and full of life. I’m so happy to have discovered this verdant enclave.

For further reading, check out Michler’s website, blog, and a recent Herald-Leader story.

Kentucky and Trademark

I hope everyone had a fabulous Derby. I hope you sat back and enjoyed a Mint Julep. I hope your horse won. I hope you served your friends a delicious piece of Derby P---

Don't say it!

If over the weekend you cooked up a chocolate pecan bourbon concoction and called it Derby Pie®, then you my friend committed trademark infringement. Unless you purchased your pie at Kern's Kitchen, it was NOT Derby Pie ®.


Derby Pie® was created by George Kern and the recipe is passionately protected by the Kern family. The secret recipe is only known to the family and single Kern's Kitchen employee who makes the pie everyday. If you make a similar pie, you better alter the recipe and call it something else. 


Think back. How many times have you seen "chocolate pecan pie" on a menu and wondered why they just don't call it Derby Pie ®? 


In their defense, it is delicious pie. One of the best parts of attending Transylvania University is they serve Kern's Kitchen in the cafeteria. As a Western Kentuckian, I was not familiar with the finer points of pie but I have to say I now look for that little Kern's Kitchen stamp on the crust. If I see it, I know I have a treat in store. 


Now you know, Colonel Sanders isn't the only Kentuckian with a secret recipe...or a trademark to back it up!


~ Sarah Stewart Holland

Credentials

Lilly Pulitzer Derby Hat.

A couple of months ago, I got an email from my editor asking if I'd be interested in covering the Derby. Well, y'all can imagine that it took me about ten seconds to jump on that opportunity.  I filled out my application for Churchill Downs media credentials as quickly as possible.  And I waited.

Even though there was still snow on the ground, I started thinking of angles.  What if I only got credentials for the infield?  I've never been there, but I hear it's dicey.  Maybe I could do a fish-out-of-water thing -- a well-coiffed Junior Leaguer in the muck.  Speaking of muck, what kind of shoes should I wear?  The last time I did any walking at Derby, I wound up with huge blisters.  Dare I store a pair of wellies in the press locker I requested? That seems so... Steeplechase.  And do I let my handbag double as a satchel, or should I buy a chic, teeny notebook? I hoped, of course, for credentials that would give me a ritzier view.  I thought of the ways that I could play with the way that Derby portrays Kentucky's social stratum.  I planned the optimal number of mint juleps that would keep me festive and alert.  And, of course, I started to think about hats.  Maybe I'd finally get the opportunity to write the "the year Louisville girls started to make fascinators" piece I'd been envisioning since the Royal Wedding.

And then, I didn't hear back from my application.  I'm not sure what got screwed up.  I must admit, however, that I was suffering from bronchitis and pretty heavily medicated at the time of my application.  I can't overlook the possibility of user error.  I waited and waited, and I followed up a bit, and I made some preliminary plans to go, and then some things happened and then other plans for Derby Day started to materialize.  Before I knew it, the First Saturday was upon us and I wasn't remotely near Louisville.

Ralph Steadman's artwork for Dr. Thompson's masterpiece.

Before I mixed up a batch of mint-infused simple syrup yesterday morning, I sat down with a little required Derby Day reading.  There was Mr. Faulker's Three Days to the Afternoon, of course, and Dr. Thompson's The Kentucky Derby is Decadent and Depraved.  I read these both as earnestly as I do every May, and I joked to my beau that I should read them aloud to the dogs in the same manner that normal people read the Christmas Story to their children.  I was quite taken with a sense of satisfaction with myself as a writer, a sports fan, and a Southerner as I reflected on these hallowed words.  And then, those same hallowed words jumped out at me:

Finally, after giving up on Steadman and trying unsuccessfully to reach my man in the press office, I decided my only hope for credentials was to go out to the track and confront the man in person, with no warning — demanding only one pass now, instead of two, and talking very fast with a strange lilt in my voice, like a man trying hard to control some inner frenzy.

Hunter S. Thompson had flown from Texas to Kentucky on a day's notice armed only with fake tags identifying himself as a photographer from Playboy.  He hadn't waited for a confirmation email.  He'd merely insisted that Scanlan's magazine foot the bill.  As late as Oaks Day, he was still hammering out the details:

Clearly, we were going to have to figure out some way to spend more time in the clubhouse tomorrow. But the "walkaround" press passes to F&G were only good for 30 minutes at a time, presumably to allow the newspaper types to rush in and out for photos or quick interviews, but to prevent drifters like Steadman and me from spending all day in the clubhouse, harassing the gentry and rifling an old handbag or two while cruising around the boxes. Or macing the governor. The time limit was no problem on Friday, but on Derby Day the walkaround passes would be in heavy demand.

Something tells me that Dr. Thompson never really gave a thought to wellies.  Or hats.  By his own admission, he didn't "give a hoot in hell what was happening on the track."  I doubt he ever wrote a piece on how to get julep stains out of a Lilly Pulitzer dress.  I suppose that makes me far more "whiskey gentry" than "gonzo", in the rhetoric of his essay.  I certainly know that, unlike Thompson, I never hope for a mob scene in the infield; I'm too busy saying a little prayer that the horses and jockeys stay safe.  I'd never be accused of macing the Governor; I personally find him to be quite a nice fellow. 

Still, I wish I'd had a little bit of gonzo spirit in the days leading up to the race.  If I'd pushed the issue a little harder, I'd be writing a far more interesting piece tonight...

Kentucky Oaks: Ladies First!

via Kentucky Oaks.

Everyone who's spent any time in Louisville knows that Oaks Day is the holiday that locals claim as their own.  The Derby may generate millions in tourist revenue and draw international attention for its high-profile guestlist, but the Oaks is the laid-back race for Louisvillians.

via Kentucky Oaks.

Every year, on the day before the Derby, Churchill Downs holds a Grade I race for thoroughbred fillies. In recent years, this race for female horses has become a celebration of female race-goers.  The race has taken on a "pink-out" theme, serving as a fundraiser for various cancer charities, decorating the track in pink, and encouraging the race-goers to wear pink as well.  Even the cocktails are pink; the signature Oaks Lily cocktail takes a pinkish hue from cranberry juice and sour mix.

via Kentucky Oaks.

This year's Oaks drew a near-record crowd of over 112,000 people.  A portion of attendance revenue ($1/ attendee) was donated to cancer charities, as was a portion of all Oaks Lily sales.  This year, Churchill Downs partnered with Stand Up to Cancer and Horses and Hope, an initiative to promote breast cancer awareness, screening, and treatment among Kentucky's horse industry workers and their families. 

With pink decorations and drinks and a field of fillies racing, the Oaks certainly lives up to its motto "Ladies First."  This year, the 138th running, certainly embodied that motto, as Rosie Napravnik became the first female jockey to win the race.

Pretty cocktails, fundraising and a healthy dose of girl power -- that sounds like a very HerKentucky event indeed!