6 Fall Matters 2016 Matters Featuring Local People, Places and Things that Matter Since 1990 READ & RECYLE PUBLISHER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Karen Duncan MANAGING DIRECTOR Rene Conlon SUPERVISING EDITOR Joanne DiPasquale ADVERTISING SALES Ellen Donker H. Leslie Gilman GRAPHIC ARTISTS Lyman Dally Joy Markel COPY EDITORS Nick Humez Tia Swanson CONTRIBUTORS Adrianna Donat, Ellen Donker, Meg Marlowe, Erin Rogers Pickering, Edie Sachs, Tia Swanson Please address all correspondence to: Visual Impact Advertising, Inc.© P. O. Box 198 Maplewood, NJ 07040 973-763-4900 mattersmagazine.com Matters Magazine© is owned and pub- lishedbyVisualImpactAdvertising,Inc., P.O. Box 198, Maplewood, NJ 07040. MattersMagazineisfree,witheditionsdi- rectlymailed7timesayeartotheresidents of Maplewood and South Orange and distributedtobusinessesandsurrounding communities totaling 17,000. Subscrip- tions are available to non-residents for $30 (U.S.) $40 (Foreign) annually. No part of the publication may be reprinted or otherwise reproduced without written permission from Visual Impact Advertising, Inc. CIRCULATION VERIFIED BY U.S. POSTAL RECEIPTS. heart of the matter M A G A Z I N E T Appealing Aprons Go ahead and tie one on BY KAREN DUNCAN ILLUSTRATION BY ERIN ROGERS PICKERING The first thing I ever learned to sew was an apron. It was a simple 7th - grade home economics project that involved a flat piece of fabric, to which we added a drawstring edge and pockets. Perhaps because it was my first sewing project, and successful, I loved that apron. Over the years I have bought and made many aprons essentially because I find them practical as well as fun. Aprons have been around for centuries. The principal purpose was to protect the clothes underneath. Wardrobes were meager, so this was an extremely useful item. My friend Libby grew up in Europe and as a child she was often made to wear a “pinnie,” essentially an apron, to protect her clothes, of which she had precious few. My mother wore pretty full-skirted aprons, usually around the holidays or when she was entertaining, that tied just around her waist and suited her. My grandmothers wore aprons that were more practical than pretty. If a hot dish needed to come out of the oven, there was no need to search for oven mitts or a kitchen towel – the apron made a perfect potholder. It was practical for carrying cut flowers or herbs from the yard, and a perfect basket for shelling peas, or drying off fruits and vegetables. I’m sure they dusted off furniture from the hem of those aprons. “Many people have an apron story,” says EllynAnne Geisel, an apron archaeologist whose collection and related research have resulted in a book, April Chronicles. Full of nostalgic and thought-provoking stories, the book explores the people behind the aprons and gives life to the fabrics. It includes a 111-year-old mother and her only child, a Holocaust survivor, a biology professor from Mali, Africa, and a preteen and her grandmother. Aprons can tell stories and today are available in nearly any themed version for tailgating, backyard barbeques, a holiday. They can be funny (“Kiss the Cook”) or silly (“I like to cook with wine; and sometimes I put it in the recipe”) or celebratory. Buy an apron on a trip and it’s a regular reminder of that special time. Some of today’s best cooks are donning aprons rather than chef’s coats. Canadian Tanya Kelly owns Blunt Roll Apron, where she markets her own hip line of 100% cotton denim and genuine leather aprons, designed by her and all handmade. She’s been quoted as saying, “Who wears the pants is not as important as who wears the apron.” A few years ago I sewed individual aprons for my dearest friends as gifts, selecting the fabrics and designing a style that flattered each of them. Aprons continue to inspire me to celebrate friendship and the opportunity and challenge of making new traditions and sharing old ones. An apron can help tell these stories.