WASSAIC — Tucked into the hills just off Old Route 22, Douglas Broughton operates an indoor cannabis farm — and this spring, he plans to open a dispensary in downtown Millerton.
The Wassaic-based grower signed a lease Dec. 1 for the former Demitasse storefront at 32 Main St. He plans to reopen the space as the Black Rabbit Farms cannabis dispensary following modest renovations.
The work will include cosmetic updates and the installation of freestanding, custom-made display cabinets.
Broughton said he hopes to open in April, but red tape at the New York Office of Cannabis Management could delay the opening.
The Millerton storefront will mark another milestone for the 63-year-old farmer, who has been cultivating cannabis since the 1990s, when the plant was still illegal.
Cannabis branches hang after being weighed.Photo by Nathan Miller
“I just loved the plant and how it grew,” Broughton said. “It’s a very alien plant — it seems like it came from a different planet.”
In the early 1990s, Broughton was bartending in Brooklyn and couch-surfing after becoming disenchanted with the television broadcast industry. As an Asian American, he said his dreams of becoming a leading man or primetime news anchor were dashed by what he described as discrimination in the industry.
Broughton, who was raised in Washington state, initially moved to New York City in the late 1980s, when a series of internships brought him out east. Rather than return home to complete his degree, he opted to stay and try to make it on his own.
By 1995, Broughton was regularly growing multiple plants on the roof of an apartment building in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, selling small quantities of the plant on the black market to customers at the bar where he worked.
“Bartending in the city is pretty good,” Broughton said. “It was just that I didn’t want to bartend.”
His chance to leave bartending came in 2000, when he met Joe Murray, known in New York City’s cannabis scene as “AJ Sour Diesel” for pioneering the Sour Diesel strain, prized for its strong effects and pungent odor.
Broughton said Murray helped expand the operation, allowing him to rely on cannabis cultivation as his primary source of income beginning in 2000.
Broughton moved to his home in Wassaic in 2016, where he operated a black market farm until New York state legalized cannabis and began accepting license applications in 2021.
A crop of cannabis at the end of its growing cycle waits to be processed into wholesale products for sale in southern New York.Photo by Nathan Miller
He said his age was a factor in deciding to get a license and form a legitimate enterprise. Broughton, nearly 60 at the time New York legalized cannabis for recreational use, had been running illicit grow operations for decades and said the anxiety of avoiding law enforcement had worn him down.
“Every aspect of what you did had to be hidden,” Broughton said. “You couldn’t tell anybody.”
After legalization, however, he said he faces a different set of challenges brought on by bureaucracy and corporatism in New York’s cannabis industry.
Broughton said New York’s tax scheme hits small growers the hardest. He said he has to pay taxes on each plant he grows, and then again when he sells to retailers or, eventually, directly to consumers.
Despite those hurdles, Broughton said he is eager to bring a high-quality product to consumers in Millerton.
Over the past 30 years, he has developed a growing technique that relies entirely on artificial light and strict control of nutrients and moisture. He said he maintains a level of oversight that borders on obstinance.
“I’m more of a purist when it comes to this stuff,” Broughton said. “I’m not very forgiving.”
That rigidity pays off with better product, he said, even when it means destroying an entire harvest.
“We cut down an entire crop of amazing Sour Diesel like two years ago because we got mites,” Broughton said.
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Stephanie Haboush Plunkett
“The field of illustration is very close to my heart,” she said. Inspired by that example, she studied illustration at Pratt Institute and began her career as an illustrator before shifting toward museum work. An internship at the Brooklyn Museum proved pivotal. “It was inspiring to see the children come alive in front of art,” she recalled.
In addition to her curatorial work, Plunkett is the author of two children’s books, “Kongi and Potgi: A Cinderella Story from China” and “Sir Whong and the Golden Pig,” and has written or co-authored numerous books on illustration, including “Drawing Lessons from the Famous Artists School” and “Leo Lionni: Storyteller, Illustrator, Designer.” She earned an MFA from the School of Visual Arts and built a museum career that included positions at the Brooklyn Museum, the Brooklyn Children’s Museum and the Heckscher Museum of Art before joining the Norman Rockwell Museum, where she has worked for 31 years.
But elevating illustration has meant challenging decades of critical skepticism.
“The goal has been to shine a light on this important American art form and to elevate public awareness of its artistic and cultural importance,”Plunkett said.
As a popular and widely circulated art, illustration is sometimes thought of as inferior to fine art, such as painting and sculpture. Plunkett considered why. She theorized that the 1913 New York Armory Show, the International Exhibition of Modern Art, with works by artists such as Picasso, Matisse and Duchamp, initially contributed to this evaluation. In the 1930s and ’40s, abstract expressionism became the art of the nation, and the rift widened further.
“Norman Rockwell became the antihero for many art critics of the time,” said Plunkett. “Illustration was viewed as too commercial and sentimental because of its emphasis on visual storytelling.”
Plunkett calls illustration “art with a job to do.” She explained, “Illustrators are adept at solving visual problems for their clients while expressing their own aesthetic and artistic vision.”
Visitors consider Norman Rockwell’s paintings on Civil Rights for Look Magazine, “New Kids in the Neighborhood” (1967) and “The Problem We All Live With” (1963.) L. Tomaino
She noted that the line between the fine and applied arts “is much more porous now, with many artists working across platforms and styles.” She cited late-20th-century illustrators like Marshall Arisman, Barbara Nessim, Robert Cunningham, Bernie Fuchs and Mark English as illustrators who forged unique approaches to working and seeing.
Plunkett commented that people want to see the original illustrations. “Generally, Rockwell exhibitions bring high attendance. Currently, our traveling exhibition, ‘Norman Rockwell: From Camera to Canvas,’ is at the New Britain Museum of American Art, but we’ve traveled Rockwell and illustration to 45 states and several countries, including Japan, France, Italy and Germany.”
Nowadays, illustrators take on subjects that are important to them. “The children’s book industry is committed to sharing the richness and diversity of people and cultures with young readers.” Plunkett cited the late illustrator Jerry Pinkney’s commitment to this goal. As a boy, Pinkney found no books portraying children like him, and “his life’s mission as an artist was to present inspiring, positive images of children of color.”
The Norman Rockwell Museum and Rockwell Center seeds were sown when “Rockwell placed the first 199 artworks in the care and collection of the Norman Rockwell Museum upon its founding in 1969, some of which he personally acquired for the fledgling collection,” said Plunkett. “The museum’s current Rockwell holdings include 865 original artworks, the artist’s Stockbridge studio and an archive of 400,000 photographs, letters, props and first uses of the artist’s work. We also hold about 25,000 illustrations by other artists, from the historical to the contemporary.”
“We call ourselves the home for American illustration. We have a real commitment to illustrators and what they’ve accomplished,” said Plunkett.
The Norman Rockwell Museum is located at 9 Glendale Road, Stockbridge. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit
nrm.org
A tray can help group items in a way that looks and feels thoughtful and intentional.
A tray creates a moment. It gives the eye a place to land and turns everyday objects into something intentional. More importantly, it’s approachable. There’s no measuring, no commitment, no pressure to get it “right.” It’s a small, easy project — affordable, functional and even a little fun — that can be tailored entirely to you.
One of the things I love most about styling trays is that your cozy “moment” becomes mobile. Everything you love is gathered in one place and can be easily moved from room to room as your day unfolds. A tray that starts on an entry table can later migrate to a coffee table or kitchen counter, adapting to how you’re actually living in your home.
In one client’s entryway, we styled a tray that sets the tone the moment you walk in. A simple pair of brass candlesticks adds warmth, a blue-and-white chinoiserie vase brings character, and two vintage books ground the arrangement. It’s not decorative for decoration’s sake — it feels collected, welcoming and personal, all while keeping the surface from becoming cluttered.
In another home, a coffee table tray became the quiet anchor of the living room. We included a strand of wooden beads for texture, the TV remote tucked neatly into a small vintage box, and a plant nestled in a pottery bowl. The tray keeps everyday necessities close at hand while making the space feel relaxed and lived-in rather than chaotic.
Styling a tray can give a home or room a re-fresh.Kerri-Lee Mayland
Kitchens may be where trays work hardest, especially in winter when we’re cooking inside more and gathering more casually. For one client, we styled a tray with a pepper mill; a shallow bowl for garlic, shallots and onions; and a white Italian ceramic container filled with olive oil. It’s practical and beautiful, and it makes cooking feel intentional instead of rushed. The tray warms up the counter while keeping essentials within reach.
Another version I often create is the cocktail, mocktail or tea-and-coffee tray — endlessly useful for friends popping over to say hello. A few cups, a teapot or carafe, honey or sugar, and a candle create an inviting setup that’s ready at a moment’s notice. It says, “Stay a while,” without any fuss.
What makes trays so effective this time of year is that they respond to winter’s quieter rhythm. Winter decorating isn’t about bold color or dramatic statements — it’s about texture, warmth and restraint: wood, stone, ceramic, linen, candlelight. A tray helps you edit rather than add, grouping items so they feel thoughtful instead of scattered.
When the seasons shift, the same tray evolves with you. Heavier elements can be swapped for lighter ones — fresh flowers, glass, pale ceramics — without starting over. One tray, styled seasonally, becomes a constant that gently changes rather than something that has to be replaced.
Remember, good design doesn’t have to come from big gestures. Often it comes from small moments done well — a surface that feels intentional, a corner that feels cared for. In winter’s stillness, creating a simple tray may be just enough to make your home feel calm, personal and complete.
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