August 2014: Peg and Awl, Quarry Hill Farm and “We Could Be King”

Quarry Hill Farm, Harvesting Health

Art of Food — Produced by Monica Rogozinski

When she bought Quarry Hill Farm in 2007, Sloane Six combined her passion for sustainability with her vision for preserving the land and guaranteeing a better food supply for future generations. Her goal was to create a place where she could showcase organically grown produce and pasture-raised meats. As a life-long environmentalist, Six’s goal was to raise the most nutritionally dense and delicious food possible. Just before the sale of Quarry Hill to a real estate developer who was going to build tract housing, Six stepped in and bought the land. She has redeveloped it into the breathtaking farm it is today. As a modern day farmer, Six strives to make Quarry Hill a place you can trust, where agricultural production is safe, and food is raised naturally, without any additives, pesticides, or preservatives. All of the animals are grass fed and raised on organic soil. Sloane works the farm, religiously checking to make sure everything is growing and all the animals are happy and healthy.

In addition, Six is in the process of renovating the historic Mainland Inn, in Harleysville, PA. It is set to open soon and will showcase everything raised on Quarry HIll Farm. Quarry Hill Farm is located at 620 Quarry Road in Harleysville, PA.

Peg and Awl

Art of Life — Produced by Karen Smyles

Margaux and Walter Kent are married and both artists. Margaux is a photographer, makes jewelry and handmade leather journals, and Walter can make just about anything from wood. When Walter returned from serving in Iraq, Margaux presented him with the idea that they begin a company and share with the world the beautiful things they had for years been making for themselves, family and friends. The only catch was that now those pieces had to be made from recycled materials.

Their work is made from old things, treasures found and recovered from misfortune and neglect, relics of the unusual, the confused and the macabre, cut and pulled and built into wearable curiosities, inscribable keepsakes and useable, long lasting treasures. And it is all made right here in an old Philadelphia casket factory.

This month Art of Life sits down with them to discuss how it all began and how their business continues to flourish, not only here in Philadelphia, but around the world. We also visit the factory, bustling with life and the activity of their two young boys, Soren and Silas, to see how they make it all work.

We Could Be King

Art — Produced by Michael O’Reilly

In 2013, after 99 years, Germantown High School closed its doors forever. Budget cuts had forced a merger between Germantown and Martin Luther King High, who until then had remained long time rivals – both in academics and athletics. The football teams were merged as well, and players who had opposed each other on the field, had to huddle together and figure out how they were going to work together to win ball games. An astute director, Judd Ehrlich and his team of filmmakers saw the potential for a documentary, and with the support of a foundation from a major chain of sporting goods stores, he and his team actually moved to Germantown for the 4 months of the MLK Cougars football season to film and edit WE COULD BE KING. What they produced is remarkable, no less for the intimate access granted to the camera crew, but also remarkable for the many firsts documented by the film. Without giving the ending away, this film documents the largest class of student athletes in all of Philadelphia that received scholarships to play football for college in 2013. WE COULD BE KING is done with a great economy, telling the stories of a number of individuals who are also interviewed in this segment, that proves the old adage that you can often do more with less.