First, thank you for stopping by.
Much like the pieces of our story at our online journal, The Arcadian Revivalist, it feels appropriate that this corner of our site be told in first person. As with many stories, pinpointing a beginning can seem nearly impossible. Here I will attempt to set the scene and focus on the momentum that has brought us to Arcadian Revival.
Growing up in a century home on land that my family has known well for more than a century, I not only became passionate about design and architecture, but also in connecting to the land. The plants, the trails, the water, the sunrises and sunsets…I was raised so intimately alongside these beautiful things. Unsure of how it would take shape, I knew that one day I needed to return to these things.
OUR STORY
In time, I moved to New York after college and ended up meeting my husband while we worked at the City’s Department of Environmental Protection. Jamil grew up in Brooklyn, a far cry from the lens through which I was raised. The son of immigrants from Bolivia and Pakistan, we have always valued the varied perspectives that we each bring to the table.
We bonded during our time working in public service at the Mayor’s Office, particularly in the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Sandy hitting the city. The night of the storm we were stationed at a call center in Lower Manhattan, fielding the 911 overflow as the gravity of the storm surge and its impact to people and our infrastructure sank in. We care deeply about our changing environment and each went on to continue pursuing these passions. Jamil followed his career in renewable energy, and my approach was always focused on buildings in some capacity.
We enjoyed and made the most of our time living together in the city, but had been thinking about a change of pace for quite a while after adopting our dog, Hudson. We didn’t know it at the time, but change was on the horizon.
Adventures in New York City
An antique landscape that I uncovered from my family’s farmhouse attic during the summer of 2020. This piece reminds me of ‘The Arcadian State’ and sparks a curiosity about its origins. The landscape has been restored from its found state and adorns our kitchen. This piece is often found in photographs taken in our home.
Creating Space to Grow
An early photo of my grandfather as a young boy standing with my great-grandfather outside of the childhood home where my father and I also grew up in northeast Ohio. The large second-floor window was my bedroom.
Our family property was likely the site of the first log cabin in Claridon Township. Our region belongs to the former Western Reserve of Connecticut, that brought many New England-inspired town square designs and styles of architecture to the area.
Our family at our home in Upstate New York, 2022
One of the questions that I sometimes receive - and love to answer - is how I came up with the name Arcadian Revival. “Revival” was easy and fell into place when we found our current home, which is designed in the Greek Revival style of architecture. "Revival”, meaning to bring something back and to make something better also holds significance. Let me explain.
“Arcadian” came first. I have sketches of potential company names that filled space in notebooks for years. It was during the early months of 2020 that I had an epiphany about this creative endeavor that I felt drawn to pursue.
I have long been a fan of many of the Hudson River School artists, including the Hudson Valley’s well-known Thomas Cole. And so it wasn’t a surprise when in early April 2020 I was contemplating the chaotic state of the world and thought of Cole’s series ‘The Course of the Empire’ emerged. The paintings take viewers through several phases of civilization, from pure wilderness to the rise and fall of great empires. The second painting in the series, ‘The Arcadian (or Pastoral) State’ represents man achieving perfect harmony with nature.
Regardless of whether or not this harmony was actually ever achieved, the idea of returning in a way to that state, where we can live more connected with the earth - and take this idea a step further to better connect with one another as well - is what I mean by striving toward an Arcadian Revival.
Enter Arcadian Revival
Like many of us, 2020 brought about much change. We left our 53-story Brooklyn apartment building in Fort Greene and found refuge at my family’s property that spring. We lived alongside my parents for ten months while they watched our then seven-month-old daughter as I stuck with my job in real estate development for the duration of our stay. I worked outside facing the hillside that led up to the field, and would often take conference calls while weeding or watering the garden that we built that year. I reconnected to my roots, to nature, to gardening, to the bones of the old house I had watched my parents bring to life for us.
And so, I was ready for this change. As a young mother, I had the motivation to create space to design a lifestyle that prioritized my values. I had the confidence to step into this season of life confidently, equipped with tools I had gathered during my time in the city. And I slowly began to create, and have yet to stop.
I hope you’ll stick around to see what is next.
Bethany
