Business & Tech
At Blue Sky Bakery, Jewelry and Art for the Environment
Jewelry maker and bass player, employees of Blue Sky, team up to raise funds and awareness of mountaintop removal coal mining.
Little might you realize, as you groggily collect your morning cup of coffee and baked delights, the talents of the people working behind the counter at . Beyond the talent to bake exquisite muffins, that is.
On Wednesday evening, however, Laura Sheinkopf and Chris van Voorst van Beest, who work at Blue Sky, marshall their creativity to benefit an environmental cause. While van Voorst van Beest entertains the crowd with his bass playing, Sheinkopf will sell her jewelry and other artwork to raise funds for The March on Blair Mountain, a five-day hike to raise awareness of mountaintop removal coal mining.
“When I learned about the threats of drilling for ‘natural’ gas via horizontal hydrofracturing, or fracking - a highly polluting process which uses, and ultimately contaminates, immense quantities of water - I was appalled and compelled to take action,” Sheinkopf said via e-mail.
Consequently, Sheinkopf co-founded the Safe Water Movement (SWiM) a few years ago to represent “the voices of people who value clean water over supposedly ‘cheap’ energy.” She began educating, lobbying and designing actions to prevent gas drilling in New York State.
“While 36 other states are already suffering from fracking, we have a unique opportunity in New York State to stop this process before it starts,” she said. “Here in New York, we have enough people, power, political sway, and media presence to push for a statewide ban of gas drilling. But we’re running out of time.”
In keeping with her environmental activism, Sheinkopf’s jewelry takes inspiration from nature. She uses shells, stones, beads and found objects to form necklaces and earrings delicately wound with wire. Her pieces make good gifts in an affordable price range: $7 to $25. Profits from her jewelry sales usually go to local environmental causes, but on Wednesday will support the March on Blair Mountain. Sales of prints that illustrate mountaintop removal and of “Glory to the Mountains” chapbooks will also benefit the march.
The march, June 5 to 11 in West Virginia, commemorates the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Blair Mountain in 1921, when 10,000 coal miners rose against the rule of coal operators and fought for the right to live and work in decent conditions. Today, Sheinkopf said, Blair Mountain is threatened with obliteration by mountaintop removal mining. Marchers will take to the hills to preserve Blair Mountain, abolish mountaintop removal, defend worker’s rights, and encourage a sustainable economy in Appalachia.
The 50-mile hike will wind from Marmet (near Charleston) to Blair Mountain in Logan County. Music, speakers and workshops will enliven the camp grounds each evening. On the sixth day, June 11, there will be a mass rally in the town of Blair and a “Day of Action” on Blair Mountain. Prior to the march, on June 5, all marchers can participate in a day of training and preparation in Charleston.
Before embarking on the more strenuous expressions of activism, however, those who drop by the Blue Sky benefit on Wednesday will find themselves soothed by the sound of deep strings.
van Voorst van Beest typically plays bass with songwriters and rock, bluegrass and classical musicians around the city, most notably with an original jazz and chamber music group, the Danny Fox Trio. The group is about to release a CD in June.
“If the art, music, and important local causes aren’t good enough excuses to bring you out on Wednesday,” Sheinkopf said, “at least come for the free mini-muffins.”
The benefit will be from 6:30-9 p.m. Wednesday at Blue Sky Bakery, 53 5th Avenue between Bergen Street and St. Mark’s Place.
