Beekman Brand Brings New Life, Events to Sharon Springs

Beekman Brand Brings New Life, Events to Shar on Springs

BY ALLISON COLLINS

Th e Schoharie County village of Sharon Springs has distinguished itself as a real-life Schitt’s Creek, with a beauty brand and steadily reviving Main Street to match. Beekman 1802 launched its Schitt’s Creek-inspired product line last year, along with a pop-up Rose Apothecary façade at its 187 Main St. storefront, and is also behind many of the village’s popular festivals and events.

Alan Edstrom, events manager with Beekman 1802, said fans of the show will continue to fi nd products at Beekman 1802 Mercantile and fans of the brand can expect a late spring and summer stacked with nature-loving, farm-paced events.

“Th e Rose Apothecary façade ended last February, but we have been selling and premiering many Rose Apothecary products and will continue throughout the summer,” he said. “We’ve just added gift boxes and Rose perfume.”

Th e brand began, Edstrom said, after Josh Kilmer-Purcell and Dr. Brent Ridge, stars of Th e Fabulous Beekman Boys and winners of the Amazing Race, Season 12, discovered Sharon Springs and a goat farmer in need.

“Josh and Brent are two gay men who were married recently, but Josh was a marketing executive in New York City and Brent was one of the youngest doctors to run a unit at Mount Sinai. In 2007, they came to upstate New York, as a lot of city people do, and said, ‘Let’s go apple picking.’ Th ey bought this mansion and said, ‘We’ll come up and renovate it to run away from the city.’

“Th en 2008 happened, and they both lost their jobs,” Edstrom continued. “A neighbor in Sharon Springs was closing his farm and had 100 goats. Th ey started googling, ‘What can you do with goat milk?’ and another neighbor in Sharon Springs taught them how to make goat’s milk soap. Th ey sent that to Martha Stewart as a Christmas gift – Brent was (her) go-to person for medical things – and she said, ‘You know, you’ve got a product here.’”

Th eir soap-making eff orts expanded rapidly, Edstrom said, thanks to a 10,000unit order from Anthropologie in the business’ early days and help from hundreds of neighbors. Th at inclusion of and reliance upon their adopted upstate community, he noted, has become an integral part the Beekman brand.

Th at same community has spurred several Beekman events, Edstrom said, even through the COVID-19 pandemic.

“One thing we always had, up to 2019, was the Harvest Fest,” he said. “Twenty thousand people would come to the village and 150 diff erent artists and artisans. Th en we would have people at the farm, to go visit the baby goats, but what we did with COVID is say, ‘let’s lean in to the restrictions.’ One of our neighbors has a lavender farm, so we invited people to come and experience the lavender fi elds and harvest and go away with an armful of lavender.”

Lavender Weekend, a ticketed event, Edstrom noted, will return on July 10 and 11.

“Th en on June 5, we’re doing garden tours,” Edstrom continued. “We’re working with Proven Winners and inviting 40 people at a time, a few times a day, to come tour the farm and have a lunch. Th ey can spread a blanket on the lawn and see all the fl owers blooming and see the baby goats.”

Other season highlights, he said, include a recurring ‘Capture the Beauty’ nature photography tutorial series with B&H Photos, of New York City; baby goat tours; hops harvesting events on Aug. 28 and 29; and ongoing kindness workshops to, according to beekman1802.com, “explore, discuss, practice and refl ect on your ability to cultivate and share kindness.” Workshop tickets include a farm tour, lunch and a kindness kit, featuring exclusive merchandise.

Edstrom said Beekman 1802’s eff ect on Sharon Springs and area tourism has been reciprocal.

“Josh and Brent came up here as New York City guys and they embraced the community, so it’s impacted people, knowing who we are and the fact that, within 10 years of them coming, they went from having a harvest festival of a couple hundred people to 20,000 and the Home Shopping Network coming there to broadcast from the fest,” he said.

“We always work with all the people on Main Street in Sharon Springs to do things; Josh and Brent are a part of that community and it’s impacted them in lots of ways, but they’ve impacted it in ways,” Edstrom continued. “One thing Beekman 1802 has done is grease the wheels of what it means to truly be a community, and we do it authentically. We’re working with Schoharie County Tourism and I Love NY to highlight (Sharon Springs), so it’s the rising tide for all boats thing; we all can help each other. Th e way we’ll all survive is by collaborating.”

Sharon Springs Mayor Doug Plummer said he’s witnessed, and furthered, the village’s turnaround. Together with his husband, Plummer owns the American Hotel.

“One thing I’ve always known about Sharon Springs … is that it just screams possibility,” he said. “I told my board when I got elected mayor … if we can dream it, we can absolutely achieve it; that’s the beauty of small-town American and that’s been Sharon Springs all along.

“Coming in being 30-year-olds, we came in and were like, ‘Let’s do stuff ,’” Plummer continued, noting that he relocated to Sharon Springs in the ‘90s. “At the time we got here, a whole bunch of other new people got here and that was kind of the fi rst wave of the renaissance.” Plummer, too, said the brand aligned itself immediately with its community.

“Th eir whole thing is, ‘Hi, neighbor’ and they really did utilize everybody – local people to create and promote their product,” he said. “Th ey were doing well, so all the people they were utilizing were doing well.

“Josh and Brent couldn’t possibly think too big,” Plummer continued. “It was a great fi t … and a wonderful boon for the village. And you can do all the marketing and hype you want, but at the end of the day, if your product isn’t good, it’s going to be short-lived. But with them, the product is wonderful.”

For more information or a list of ticketed events, visit beekman1802.com.

The Lockport Locks open for the Lockport Locks & Erie Canal Cruises boats taking tourists on a tour.