12 minute read
BALDWIN PARK NOTEBOOK
WHAT A GREAT NEIGHBORHOOD WE LIVE IN! We are Baldwin Park strong
WILL CAMPBELL PRESIDENT BALWIN PARK JOINT COMMITTEE
Hey, neighbors! How’s everyone doing out there? It’s hard to believe it was only a year ago that I was first introducing myself on this page to the neighborhood that I love so much. When I wrote the article in February, I was getting ready for a trip to celebrate mine and my husband Andrew’s 40th birthdays with our closest friends. Little did we know that, as we were flying home on March 9, so much was about to change in so many different ways for everyone, even in our little Baldwin bubble.
I’m not trying to make anyone relive any painful memories here; we’ve all had enough of that. Although nothing is really “back to normal” and may never be back to pre-pandemic times, it’s important to look at what we’ve accomplished in the past year.
Some of us learned to work from home.
Many of us learned a new appreciation for K-12 teachers.
We learned what social distancing was, that hand sanitizer is critical, and that face masks could be protective and be fashion statements.
We learned patience for everyday aspects of life and gratitude for the parts of normalcy that remained.
We found new ways to connect with friends and family and make new friends, whether through work or virtual groups and gatherings.
We gained a new — and, in some cases, overdue — respect for our essential workers, from those in health care to those in grocery stores and everything in-between.
Personally, we learned to do whatever we needed to do to take the best care of ourselves in times when we never knew what was going to happen next. In the words of some famous lady, “If you can’t love yourself, how the hell you gonna love somebody else?!”
We did whatever we could to support each other. When our neighbors and friends who lost their jobs turned hobbies into businesses, we supported them however we could.
Our own businesses in downtown Baldwin Park pivoted to continue serving their customers in new and different ways. Those who were able went out of their way to shop small and support local. Personally, Andrew and I made a point to get takeout at least once a week from the local restaurants (usually more because, well, he was exhausted from work as a Publix store manager, and I didn’t want to cook).
We all have a vested interest in what happens around here, and it truly showed over the past year. We are one of few areas that did not have businesses permanently close because of COVID, and that says something about us as a community. Some of our local businesses even managed to do the same or above what they did during the same time period in a “normal” year because of that support.
“People in Baldwin Park, more than other areas, understand their individual role in the success and survival of the community,” Kristen Painter, of Lafayette & Rushford, says. “And it goes both ways: We (as businesses) were motivated to be creative and work hard to pivot because the community responded.”
The start of 2021 brought us lots of changes and hope in the form of multiple potential vaccines. As we continue to move through the new year and see how all of these changes will impact our lives long-term, let’s take what we learned and carry it forward. Let’s continue to build up our neighbors, our neighborhood businesses and ourselves. Together, we have and will continue to show The City Beautiful what Baldwin Park is all about!
Until we see each other again, be safe, be well and be kind. #WeAreBaldwinPark
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Laura Arderius began making wreaths when she and her family moved to Baldwin Park.
Danielle Hendrix
DANIELLE HENDRIX ASSOCIATE EDITOR When Laura Arderius moved to Baldwin Park years ago, one of the first things she noticed was the colorful wreaths her neighbors hung on their doors. It was a pleasant surprise for the Argentina native, who says wreaths are virtually nonexistent there. ArFLOWER POWER spring, then Easter, Christmas and for every day.” Arderius soon was on a roll creating special wreaths for her home. When she realized she had more than 10 wreaths but didn’t want to stop making them, she gifted one to her neighbor. Although she had never thought about selling her wreaths, Arderius created an Etsy shop — Unique and For You — in 2017 at her mother’s derius especially loved the floral suggestion. Since then, Arderiwreaths filled with beautiful, color- us has created, sold and shipped Baldwin Park resident Laura Arderius is ful flowers. wreaths both locally and even to She purchased her first wreath at other countries. happiest when she’s creating beautifully JOANN but then had an idea: Why However, to this day, she doesn’t not make her own wreaths? think about it as a business but unique floral wreaths and arrangements. “I always wanted to make them rather a form of therapy driven by with flowers — not the burlap or a passion to create. fabric or ribbon,” she says. “It’s “I enjoy doing the wreaths,” she always been flowers. I started to says. “It’s a hobby, but I think I am do some research on where to buy even more happy when someone flowers. I like good-quality (flow- comments something like, ‘They ers). … I started to make a wreath are gorgeous, I love it!’ Every time for me for every season, every oc- I receive feedback, for me, it’s heavcasion — for Valentine’s Day, for en. I am super happy, more so than
when I sell something. Somebody somewhere loves it, and that is what makes me happy.”
Although Arderius takes custom orders, she prefers being given the creative freedom to build a wreath herself.
“I don’t make two wreaths exactly the same, because the idea is to do something unique,” she says. “It’s not like JOANN’s where you go and see 20 of the same. I don’t enjoy making them the same all the time — that is like a business, and for me, this is not a business. This is just something that I like.”
Most people have their own particular style with things such as clothing and home décor, she says. For her, there is no particular signature style: Every piece she crafts is truly unique.
Although she finds joy in the wreath-making process, it can be arduous. She works with various bases, such as grapevine, foam, straw with burlap, and wicker. The base she uses depends on the size of the wreath, the types of flowers and the quantity of flowers.
“When I create something, I have something in my mind first,” she says. “Once I have the flowers in my mind, then I choose the base. Some flowers, you cannot put them on foam, or you cannot put them on grapevine. … Grapevine is the easy way to make them, but they are not always perfectly round. I don’t like to use grapevine too much because I have to be sure that the wreath is completely, perfectly round. I try to use foam — that is the base I like the most — but I don’t always find the one that I want.”
Arderius works mostly with silk flowers, although she occasionally uses “real-touch” latex flowers. The latter are more prevalent in her floral arrangements — another creative passion — because they tend to fade over time if used on a wreath that is exposed to sun and the elements.
Her wreaths vary in price depending on factors such as size, base type, time required to make the wreath, and quantity of flowers. The largest wreath she will make is 24 inches. Some wreaths are easier to put together than others, too: One wreath might take two to three hours, while another could take a couple days.
The money Arderius makes from selling wreaths goes toward buying supplies for new wreaths and orders. She loves when she has something to work on.
“It’s very difficult to buy separate flowers and think, ‘How is this going to (look) in a wreath?’” she says. “I have to cut them and put them together in a different way to have them straight and not all separate. You don’t know how it’s going to (look) until you finish. Sometimes I buy flowers and I start to create, and the wreath is not as I like, so I feel frustrated and I choose something different and start over.”
It’s all part of the creative process, though. In the end, she said, it’s fulfilling to see a beautiful wreath or floral arrangement brought to life right before her eyes.
“I like to make something different and something unique,” she says. “When I finish something and it looks as I wanted, I am happy.”
UNIQUE AND FOR YOU
ETSY: etsy.me/3jFHewe EMAIL: uniqueandforyou@gmail.com DETAILS: Laura Arderius loves making wreaths and sharing her creative passion with others. Currently, she has more than 70 wreaths and floral arrangements for sale on her Etsy page. For Baldwin Park residents interested in purchasing a wreath or floral arrangement, Arderius recommends emailing her to arrange for local pickup or delivery to avoid shipping costs.
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AROUND THE NEIGHBORHOOD
BECCA SCHMIDT BALDWIN PARK RESIDENT
Becca Schmidt, Baldwin Park resident since 2005, writes about lifestyle in this beautiful neighborhood.
Neighbors, let’s break bread together!
When I think of good neighbors, I think of food.
I think about all the cooks (of all abilities) here in Baldwin Park who share culinary creations as an expression of neighborly love.
Over the 16 years my husband, son and I have lived in Baldwin Park, we’ve been the recipients of countless instances of culinary love. I remember them all — not because of the way the food tasted but because of how the gesture made us feel.
I’ve jotted down a few of these sweet memories and hope to inspire you to share neighborly love in the form of food this month.
My all-time favorite food memory occurred on a hot summer night almost nine years ago. As the sun sank slowly around 8 p.m., two neighbor brothers (ages 12 and 6 at the time), sun-tanned and sweaty from an afternoon of fishing, rushed to our door to announce that their dad was “making root beer floats for everyone!” We jogged down the street with our (then) 9-year-old son. We eagerly watched the boys’ dad pour cold A&W root beer over a giant scoop of Bluebird vanilla ice cream. He topped it off with a gigantic squirt of Reddi-wip and added a long metal spoon! I’ll never forget that scene in our neighbor’s backyard of three giggling boys and four very happy adults slurping an atrocious amount of calories from mason jars. I winked at the boys’ mom, knowing this would be a summer memory our kids would always cherish.
My neighbor across the street is my go-to gal pal for odd ingredients such as self-rising flour, salt-free butter or cumin. (She knows you can’t make black bean soup without lots of cumin and is happy to oblige any request for a good recipe.) Usually, I borrow the ingredient, and then we yap on the front porch for 20 minutes or so, sharing stories about what our moms used to cook when we were kids.
And then there is a funny story about the neighbor five doors down and across the street whom I texted to loan me two eggs. That may sound fairly unremarkable. But considering that she wasn’t even home—but her painters were — she called them to let me in and allow me to rummage through her refrigerator! That was remarkable. I still smile when I see her, remembering how she’d gone the extra mile for me and my cake recipe.
My next-door neighbor, a traditional Southern cook, frequently blesses us with her insanely delicious pies, vegetables, gazpacho and gourmet cookies. This past Thanksgiving morning, she donned her mask and brought over sweet potato casserole, green beans with almonds, a Key lime pie and turkey for my husband (who is the only meat eater in my household). Hubby was very happy indeed!
The neighborhood kids cook, too. Years ago, the little ones with toothless smiles would bring us hand-decorated sugar cookies, piled high with frosting and blue sprinkles. The kids — also covered in frosting and blue sprinkles — were the best part of the visit.
But it hasn’t always been a receiving thing. Many, many years ago, a new neighbor moved in with her young son. I brought them some chocolate-chip muffins as a housewarming gift. But when she answered the front door, I saw rooms full of unpacked boxes and realized she was utterly exhausted from the move. I thought to myself, “Now, what could she possibly come up with for dinner for that sweet little boy?” I returned to her house 30 minutes later with a big bowl of ravioli, a green salad and Italian bread. It was, indeed, exactly what she needed. This neighbor and I are now close friends, and she occasionally retells that story over a glass of wine, which we share often.
There is a poignant scene in the 1946 movie “It’s A Wonderful Life,” where George Bailey presents bread, salt and wine to the Martini family as they receive the keys to their new home.
Sharing food is one of the most genuine acts of kindness you can offer. What nourishing gift can you bring your neighbor this month?
