Every other week, Bluedot Living Martha's Vineyard will share stories about local changemakers, Islanders’ sustainable homes and yards, planet-healthy recipes and tips, along with advice from Dear Dot. Did
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SIMPLE / SMART / SUSTAINABLE / STORIES
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Dot’s dressed seasonally these days — heavy socks and a turtleneck sweater. We look at this illustration (by Elissa Turnbull) and think Dot’s probably answering questions from readers in Brookyn (our latest Bluedot satellite!) or maybe from … wherever you are! Got questions about how to make those eco-friendly
New Year’s resolutions stick? Write her at deardot@bluedotliving.com.
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Quick Links
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Skip scrolling! Here's what you'll find in this edition of the Bluedot Newsletter:
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Thank You, Martha’s Vineyard!
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It’s a champagne moment for Team Bluedot as we close our second year as a growing publishing company. We are grateful to all our readers, (and to Liz Taft, who painted this image "Menemsha Channel with Red Buoy.")
Our big news from 2022 started with our Bluedot Living Martha’s Vineyard magazine winning seven top prizes from the New England News and Press Association, with our advice columnist Dear Dot taking first prize for Best Column for her Dear Dot column. Not a bad start!
We co-sponsored well-attended events during Climate Week and will continue to feature stories about the groups and local heroes dedicated to protecting our Island.
We spread our wings in 2022, too, with a national “Hub” website and
newsletter that now goes out to more than 5,000 readers. It features dispatches from all over North America, inspirational stories of local changemakers and entrepreneurs, and good companies for you to check out.
Also this year, we teamed up with the Brooklyn Eagle to launch Bluedot Living
Brooklyn with a newsletter that now goes to 70,000 Brooklynites bi-weekly. Our dream is to bring Bluedot Living to dozens of communities, working with local journalists and publishers to tell important stories about where they live, connecting the dots as we go. Stay tuned!
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Thank you to the Martha’s Vineyard Times who helped us get on our feet. We are grateful. We will now be publishing on our own and readers will find print magazines at all the regular places. Please note that you will need to confirm your email address to keep getting this newsletter.
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Thank you to all our loyal advertisers and sponsors, many of whom have been with us since before our first issue. We couldn’t tell these stories without your support.
I raise a glass of bubbly to all who contributed to Bluedot this year with their writing, ideas, designs, art, insights, recipes, and editorial skills: John Abrams, Randi Baird, Ollie Becker, Suzan Bellincampi, Tim Boland, Annabelle Brothers, Cleo Carney, Julia Cooper, Karen Covey, Geoff Currier, Laurie David, Jenny DeVivo, Mollie Doyle, Jeremy Driesen, Kate Feiffer, Leslie Garrett, Abigail Higgins, Luanne Johnson, Jamie Kageleiry, Anne Kelley, Tara Kenney, Sheny Leon, Angela Luckey, Anne Mazar, Gwyn McAllister, Kevin McGrath, Adam Moore, Hannah Moore, Sam Moore, Whitney Multari, Mary Sage Napolitan, Dr. Peter P. Neilley, Lily Olsen, Ray Pearce, Matt Pelikan, Kelsey Perrett, Sophie Petkus, Vanessa Seder, Susan Safford, Kyra Steck, Madalyn Taylor, Elissa Turnbull,
Lisa Vanderhoop, Monina von Opel, Lily Walter, Catherine Walthers, Elizabeth Weinstein, David Welch, Lisette Williams, Irene Ziebarth, and all the artists who we featured in our “Art of the Great Ponds”
story.
Happy Holidays and have a wonderful 2023.
–Victoria Riskin, President and Publisher
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By using a reusable water bottle, you could save an average of 156 plastic bottles annually. Martha’s Vineyard’s Take Back the Tap is creating a network of refill stations across the Island, thanks to the Vineyard Conservation Society.
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Wild Caught: So Many Fish in the Sea
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“My grandfather built this boat in the mid to late ’30s,” Denny Jason, Jr., told Catherine Walthers in “Wild Caught.” “He started fishing in Menemsha Bight and fell in love with this Island and the rest is history.” Jason’s a second-generation fisherman who takes
The Little Lady out most mornings from Menemsha in search of fluke. Jason’s boat (it’s almost 95 years old) is one of close to 100 working fishing boats based on Martha’s Vineyard. Fluke is one of eleven species, along with nine types of shellfish, that local fishermen catch from waters surrounding the Island. Read more about local fish (plus recipes!).
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BUY LESS/BUY BETTER
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Sandy Bernat’s Seastone Papers
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So you might be done wrapping things, but right about now you’re probably ready to write some thank-you notes. Sandy Bernat creates all her papers using a variety of plant materials (many of them grown on the Island) — corn husks, gladiola, iris and daffodil leaves, even phragmites! While she sells at the Farmer’s Market in-season, you can still buy some homegrown thank-you notes (or journals, gift bags, and more) at her studio.
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Area Rugs Rule
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An area rug is like art work for your floor, writes Room for Change columnist Mollie Doyle. And we’ve got lots of rooms, rugs, and works of art (including a holiday rug from Mary Rentschler). Area rugs are also healthier and less wasteful than wall-to-wall, but still comfy, cozy, and soft on your feet. Here’s what to look for (and what to avoid).
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MV Sea Scallops
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Scallops are a New Year’s tradition. On Martha’s Vineyard, local fishermen haul in pristine sea scallops daily. They make a delicious and easy meal — cook them about 2 minutes per side. In this recipe from Catherine Walthers, scallops are paired with an easy lemon herb sauce that cuts the richness of the scallops.
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Dear Dot: How can I stop the onslaught of catalogs?
Dear Dot,
Can you help me figure out how to stop all the catalogs I get in the mail? A terrible waste of paper!
–Virginia, Santa Barbara
Dear Virginia,
It can feel like something of a mystery in our Internet age how catalogs have not only refused to die but continue to pile up through our mail slots, often unbidden. After all, a marketing email costs mere pennies to send while full-color catalogs cost up to 100 times that. But the Harvard Business Review reported in 2020 that catalogs had been growing in popularity since 2015. Companies continue to send catalogs because they work. But if you are done with them piling up at your house, there are some
pretty simple steps you can take.
Read the rest of Dot’s response.
See more Dot
here. Got a question for her? Write her at deardot@bluedotliving.com.
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You can study up here.
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HANDBOOK
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Is getting involved in the community on your list of resolutions? Consider the myriad ways to become a citizen scientist (maybe start with the annual Christmas Bird Count, which is happening today). Or for more volunteer options, consult our Ultimate Simple, Smart, Sustainable Handbook to Martha’s Vineyard.
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FOLLOW US
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Bluedot Living magazine and marthasvineyard.bluedotliving.com are published by Bluedot, Inc., and distributed by The Martha's Vineyard Times. Visit our new national website here: bluedotliving.com
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