Back in February, we went on our very first Design*Sponge team retreat. It was a wonderful few days full of ideas and getting to know everyone in person (since we work remotely with each other). We all live scattered around the country, and a couple out of the country, so it was a really great […]

Back in February, we went on our very first Design*Sponge team retreat. It was a wonderful few days full of ideas and getting to know everyone in person (since we work remotely with each other). We all live scattered around the country, and a couple out of the country, so it was a really great weekend together to say the least. We stayed at the beautiful Hasbrouck House in upstate New York which is so cozy, none of us wanted to leave. One afternoon, we all went on a walk through their nature trails and I noticed some mushrooms growing on a tree that had colors I had never seen in nature before. It had rings of light and dark grey, a thin line of gold or brass, a little ochre on a few pieces and was velvet to the touch. I took a small piece off of the fallen tree and brought it back to our next brainstorming session. I quickly identified it, with the help of a friend back home, as the Turkey Tail Mushroom. I was so drawn to the colors of its rings that it made me want to create a whole room around it. I found some great information on Turkey Tail mushrooms here, if you would like to learn more about their uses. I still have the mushroom and look at it daily. My son and I coll...