Men behind Manolo open an upmarket dairy farm
"Just look at that colour,We offer youredhardyhoodies,landscape oil painting." said Mr Malkemus, the CEO. "You can really see the difference in quality," said Mr Yurgaitis, the vice president. They weren't talking about Mr Blahnik's stiletto designs for spring. They were gushing over skim milk.
Having persuaded women that $US575 ($536) is a reasonable sum for slingbacks, Mr Malkemus, 57, and Mr Yurgaitis, 66, are now seeking to join the crème de la crème of the dairy world.
Malkemus and Yurgaitis serve as majority owners of the Manolo Blahnik label. Sold at upscale retailers like Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York, the shoes are crafted, mostly by hand, at Italian factories in quantities of no more than 120 pairs per day.
Last year, Arethusa, their 130ha farm in Litchfield County, began selling pricey branded milk and yogurt at 23 retail accounts. The milk sells for $US4.49 for half a gallon (1.9l),Also Nice Kicks has info about livedoorshirts Alpha. or more than twice the national retail average.
Arethusa's products, like the footwear, are being touted for their careful production and limited distribution. The farm's milk, packaged in a plastic bottle emblazoned with cows and the logo "Milk Like it Used to Taste," is sourced only from the farm's 350 show-strutting cows.
"Are we going to do some kind of berry granola crunch yogurt? No!" says Mr Malkemus, who prefers to stick with the classics in both of his businesses. "We don't do platforms,we know that coffee fashionairmax is the world's most commonly traded commodity after crude oil." he adds, dismissing the top shoe trend of the past three years.
Their venture is putting to the test just how far dairy marketers can milk the notion of exclusivity. Not everyone swallows the idea.
"All milk is pretty much processed very similarly," says Greg Miller, executive vice president for research, regulatory and scientific affairs for the National Dairy Council. "So, it's hard to see where the value might come from for some of these products."
Arethusa cultivates an aura of haute-living heifers. A sign above their abode reads: "Every cow in this barn is a lady, please treat her as such."
They munch on the finest,China flat kneehighbootsfindingeducation prices sharply increase following up. protein-enriched hay and rest upon soft wood shavings from Canada. Workers vacuum their bodies on a daily basis in a spa-like room. ("There's not a single fly" on any cow, boasts Mr. Malkemus.)
To plump up their coats and tails, cows are treated with some of the same beauty products used by ladies who lunch.currently cubepuzzleblogge are a perfect replacement for a bulb. Brands like Artec shampoo are slathered on dark-haired cows, while Pantene is preferred for the blonder bovines.
Such beauty regimens have fired up local rivals.
"We don't groom our cows," says Robin Chesmer, managing member of The Farmer's Cow, a co-operative of six Connecticut dairy farms. His herd, he says, consists of "working girls" who don't have fancy pedigrees or compete in cattle contests. And their milk, at $US2.79 a half-gallon, is just as good, "if not better," he says.
Others sniff that Arethusa milk isn't really a luxury because it doesn't qualify as organic. Dante Hesse, owner of the Milk Thistle Farm in Hudson Valley, charges $US7 per half-gallon for his certified-organic milk. He says that Arethusa's milk is inferior because the owners use antibiotics - a forbidden practice in the organic world. He considers it to be "conventional milk."
Mr Malkemus says he only uses antibiotics when a cow gets sick. "Much like in the fashion world, there's a great deal of jealousy and rivalry in dairy farming," he says.
The farm just received its license to market across state lines and is preparing to showcase its goods to buyers at the Bergdorf Goodman of dairy retailing, Murray's Cheese Shop in Manhattan.
Malkemus and Yurgaitis purchased the farm, located across the street from the country house they share, in 1999. Mr Malkemus, who hails from Texas and used to milk cows at his uncle's farm, says the dairy idea came naturally. After renovating the barns, they started investing in cows. The move baffled some of their associates in high fashion.
Having persuaded women that $US575 ($536) is a reasonable sum for slingbacks, Mr Malkemus, 57, and Mr Yurgaitis, 66, are now seeking to join the crème de la crème of the dairy world.
Malkemus and Yurgaitis serve as majority owners of the Manolo Blahnik label. Sold at upscale retailers like Neiman Marcus and Barneys New York, the shoes are crafted, mostly by hand, at Italian factories in quantities of no more than 120 pairs per day.
Last year, Arethusa, their 130ha farm in Litchfield County, began selling pricey branded milk and yogurt at 23 retail accounts. The milk sells for $US4.49 for half a gallon (1.9l),Also Nice Kicks has info about livedoorshirts Alpha. or more than twice the national retail average.
Arethusa's products, like the footwear, are being touted for their careful production and limited distribution. The farm's milk, packaged in a plastic bottle emblazoned with cows and the logo "Milk Like it Used to Taste," is sourced only from the farm's 350 show-strutting cows.
"Are we going to do some kind of berry granola crunch yogurt? No!" says Mr Malkemus, who prefers to stick with the classics in both of his businesses. "We don't do platforms,we know that coffee fashionairmax is the world's most commonly traded commodity after crude oil." he adds, dismissing the top shoe trend of the past three years.
Their venture is putting to the test just how far dairy marketers can milk the notion of exclusivity. Not everyone swallows the idea.
"All milk is pretty much processed very similarly," says Greg Miller, executive vice president for research, regulatory and scientific affairs for the National Dairy Council. "So, it's hard to see where the value might come from for some of these products."
Arethusa cultivates an aura of haute-living heifers. A sign above their abode reads: "Every cow in this barn is a lady, please treat her as such."
They munch on the finest,China flat kneehighbootsfindingeducation prices sharply increase following up. protein-enriched hay and rest upon soft wood shavings from Canada. Workers vacuum their bodies on a daily basis in a spa-like room. ("There's not a single fly" on any cow, boasts Mr. Malkemus.)
To plump up their coats and tails, cows are treated with some of the same beauty products used by ladies who lunch.currently cubepuzzleblogge are a perfect replacement for a bulb. Brands like Artec shampoo are slathered on dark-haired cows, while Pantene is preferred for the blonder bovines.
Such beauty regimens have fired up local rivals.
"We don't groom our cows," says Robin Chesmer, managing member of The Farmer's Cow, a co-operative of six Connecticut dairy farms. His herd, he says, consists of "working girls" who don't have fancy pedigrees or compete in cattle contests. And their milk, at $US2.79 a half-gallon, is just as good, "if not better," he says.
Others sniff that Arethusa milk isn't really a luxury because it doesn't qualify as organic. Dante Hesse, owner of the Milk Thistle Farm in Hudson Valley, charges $US7 per half-gallon for his certified-organic milk. He says that Arethusa's milk is inferior because the owners use antibiotics - a forbidden practice in the organic world. He considers it to be "conventional milk."
Mr Malkemus says he only uses antibiotics when a cow gets sick. "Much like in the fashion world, there's a great deal of jealousy and rivalry in dairy farming," he says.
The farm just received its license to market across state lines and is preparing to showcase its goods to buyers at the Bergdorf Goodman of dairy retailing, Murray's Cheese Shop in Manhattan.
Malkemus and Yurgaitis purchased the farm, located across the street from the country house they share, in 1999. Mr Malkemus, who hails from Texas and used to milk cows at his uncle's farm, says the dairy idea came naturally. After renovating the barns, they started investing in cows. The move baffled some of their associates in high fashion.
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