The New Logo
My friend Jessica Farra is possibly the single catalyst that got me into mushrooms. The story goes like this:
I started teaching guitar lessons to her boyfriend Chandler (who was and is still a great friend also!). He eventually introduced me to her, and became familiar with her paintings. She had done a number of portraits of mushrooms that I thought would be suitable for my nature-themed AirBnB. I bought them and they still hang on the wall today.
This, in turn, attracted a bunch that was visiting State College for Mycofest, a mushroom festival held at the nearby Rhoneymeade. I was lucky enough to meet this bunch in person, and they just happened to be returning with a rare mushroom called Lactarius Indigo, or the Indigo Milk Cap.
I was absolutely entranced by this mushroom. The purity of the blue tones in it just stunned me. I told my guests I had to know how to grow this mushroom! They informed me that, unfortunately, this mushroom cannot be cultivated! They explained that this mushroom can only fruit in symbiosis with an oak tree, which I did not have on my property anymore (cut down to save it from falling on the house!).
I didn't exactly believe them when they said that, but the more I looked into it, the more I realized that mysteries of mycorrhizal mushrooms! The coveted Morel, Chanterelle and Truffle were all famously expensive mushrooms, and now I know why: they can't be grown on a farm!
Thus began a quest to figure out what I could grow. I followed up with Chandler again, who had done some mushroom cultivation. He and a few others helped me understand what mushrooms I could easily cultivate, but that this one would be tricky.
Months down the line, I am working with Sprouting Troops to get sawdust-based mushrooms out to restaurants and I need a logo. Who do I call...Jess, of course!
The following are drawings she did of the mushroom bouquets I was envisioning. I'll be using these for branding for now. I think they capture something of the idea I'm after.
