 Appalachian
Naturals was founded in October 2004 by Kristin Barry and Shelly
Risinger. Kristin's grandmother, Alice King, lived in Ashfield,
Massachusetts much of her life with her husband Robert King.
Alice was an artist who worked with both clay as well as
watercolors.
Several
of the landscape portraits Alice made were of the lush pine,
maple, and aspen trees in the region. At some point Alice had a
wooden stamp made of a pine tree. This stamp is now the
Appalachian Naturals logo.
Back in 1999 Kristin & Shelly created a "casual gourmet" style
restaurant in Joshua Tree, California known to this day
as Crossroads Cafe & Tavern. "The girls," as they were
endearingly referred to in town, pooled together their knowledge
and techniques gathered over the years to create an oasis
of fine food in a rare and eclectic atmosphere.
After Crossroads had been in
operation for over a year, customers began asking for recipes of
the salad dressings, soups, sauces, and baked goods which the
girls gladly shared.
In 2003 after more and more customers made
the comment "you should really bottle this stuff!" the two women
decided to sell their restaurant and devote their efforts
towards packaging and bottling their dressings. Once Crossroads
had found its new owners the girls packed up their things and
moved 3,000 miles to the east coast and began their next
adventure, creating Appalachian Naturals.
Research for Appalachian
Naturals began in July 2003. East-coast ingredient sources were
found and extra effort was made to work with small, local farms
& businesses to launch the all natural product line. The
business was named after the Appalachian Mountain Region which
stretches as far north as Canada, and as far south as Alabama.
Northern, central, and southern Appalachia not only share the
rugged, ancient terrain but also a commitment to
Community
Supported Agriculture (CSA). The business itself
is physically located approximately 20 miles east of the
Berkshire region of the Appalachian Mountains.
 When
asked if the women's roots have anything to do with the name of
the business, the answer is yes. Shelly is the southern
influence, Kristin is the northern. The combination is what
makes Appalachian Naturals so unique.
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Mission
Statement
We are slow food artisans committed to helping sustain
our local agriculture by using pesticide-free and
certified organic ingredients from small family run CSA
farms, beekeepers, and
mustard mills. Our products are
built & bottled in small batches to ensure quality and
integrity. Our products are naturally preserved without
the use of ingredients that have been genetically
modified or that contain recumbent bovine growth
hormones. |
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