Moon over Martinborough

When a 200 pound pet pig named Squiggles greets you at the front door, you know you’re at the MAD house.

Squiggles the pig (image by Leanne French - www.mad.org.nz)

I patted the pig on the head and laughed as she squealed a charming little hello.

My human friends Leelee and The Wolf stood just behind her, and I gave them both big hugs. I like these two humans a lot, and I was thankful that they were helping Rick and me out in such big way that day.

Leelee and The Wolf are the brains behind the Martinborough Art Department, or MAD for short. Walking into their charming colonial cottage is a little like walking into Peewee’s Playhouse. It’s a fun-filled place full of love and a little bit of madness in the best possible way.

Just outside their door is a pile of heart-shaped stones that Leelee has collected over the course of years, the walkway up to house is set with flower patterns, and the word ‘Love’ is the last thing your foot touches as you step up onto a front porch recently re-built by The Wolf himself.

These are people who instinctively follow Thoreau’s advice to ‘live deep and suck out all the marrow of life.’ And I like to surround myself with people like that.

I was there that day because they had generously offered to help us with our olive oil labels.

Overwhelmed

I confess that when I was first faced with the idea of making our own olive oil labels, I felt a bit overwhelmed. I didn’t know what the legal requirements were, what the nutritional information was, how to get the labels designed, or who in the area could print them. It seemed all very complicated and I had no idea where or how to start.

But MAD had already designed labels for their own award-winning olive oil, researched the labeling requirements, and were already selling it in local shops. So when, without my asking, they said, “We’ll help you,” I was overwhelmed again – this time with gratitude.

Starting out

For a long time Rick and I weren’t really sure what we’d call our olive oil, if we ever sold it. However, since starting the blog, people have sent messages via the blog email address, Facebook fan page, and Twitter account that they’d like to buy our oil. So of course it makes sense to call it ‘Moon over Martinborough’ olive oil.

Cosmos and olive grove

The first step in making labels was to jot down what we wanted. Rick was away with Uncle Oscar at the time, so I looked out on the olive grove as the last of the light faded on the far hills, then I sat down in the empty house and scribbled things on a piece of paper.

It ain’t pretty, but here are my scribbles.

Inside the MAD house

As we stepped in from the front porch, Squiggles followed us. We passed an almost life-sized papier mache and canvas sculpture of the Virgin Mary, a row of pastel colored handmade glasses catching sunlight in the window, and several of Leelee and The Wolf’s playful paintings.

As Squiggles settled down on her blanket next to the couch, we opened a bottle of local Pinot Gris, chatted a bit, and then settled down ourselves, in front of the computer. Outside in the paddock the three pet sheep were bleating and playing. We talked about colors I liked and the kind of feeling I was hoping to capture in the label.

What would we end up with? What would it look like?

I watched in awe as The Wolf drove Photoshop, transforming my scratchy scribbles into something beautiful while Leelee dreamed up words for the label.

We went from a light blue label to something that was even more lush and gorgeous, and it also met the legal labeling requirements. I loved it. See the final image below.

Final 'Moon over Martinborough' label - click to enlarge

When we were done, they gave me advice on where and how to get the labels printed, and then Leelee made us  a delicious meal of steak, chips and salad.

We finished off the Pinot Gris and laughed as Squiggles backed her big bum into the large potted tree in the centre of the room, almost knocking it over.

I left that evening with the label on a USB stick, happy as a clam. Yet again, I had experienced another great act of kindness from the locals.

What do you think of the labels?

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Read other posts about olives and olive oil.

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P.S. If you’d like Martinborough Art Department to help you with your labels, I’m sure they wouldn’t mind hearing from you at www.mad.org.nz.