Amaris Sachs
The August Table’s Garden yellow and gray cotton/linen blend napkin is a favored shopper’s selection.
Teenage love may be an adventure resulting in a journey of self-discovery and growth, but teenagers aren’t always the best communicators.
When Krister and Carrie Allen met at Wintergreen Resort, she was 15, he was 16 and sparks flew. They dated for a while before there was a typical teenage miscommunication when a phone call message didn’t reach the other, leading to confusion and a breakup in 1987.
A chance meeting in 1988 did nothing to clear the air between them—Krister was in Charlottesville at UVA and Carrie lived in Richmond—so distance added to the confusion. Life went on and eventually they married other people, and each had two children, but their marriages ended in divorce. Years later while living in Boston, Carrie heard a Jefferson Airplane song, was instantly reminded of Krister and did what any self-respecting 21st-century woman might do: went looking for him online.
There, on LinkedIn, she found the man she hadn’t seen in decades, now a prominent architect in the Pacific Northwest living in Idaho. “I’d been really sad since my divorce, and I wanted to find true love again,” Carrie says. “Krister and I started talking from across the country and in 2016 went sailing for a week and we were married two months later.”
The question then became where the bicoastal couple would put down shared roots, and they focused on Virginia. Because their sailboat Talelayo needed a home too, Carrie let her thoughts drift back to the summers she’d spent at her grandparents’ waterfront home on 10 acres in Weems. “Those summers left such an impression on me: the cherry and peach trees, fishing for crabs, making jam,” Carrie says, smiling. “I wanted that, I wanted to recreate what my grandmother had.”
Amaris Sachs
Krister and Carrie Allen, owners of August Table.
Her grandmother hadn’t been your standard-issue grandmother, either. She’d grown up in Norfolk, the daughter of a man who was president of a railroad and went on to marry a World War II hero. “She was different; she was so sophisticated and wore these fabulous turbans and always used a cigarette holder,” Carrie recalls. “And she’d throw the most amazing parties. In Weems.”
With a clear idea of what she wanted in a sense of place, they began house-hunting in the Northern Neck. In 2017, they’d found an 1860s farmhouse on 10 acres in White Stone and purchased it from the Perkins family. “They practically had a mini arboretum here with all the unique things they’d planted,” Carrie says as she walks the property. “There’s a grove of hemlocks there, three giant figs and trees we haven’t even identified yet. Plus, these magical walkways between the trees.”
By 2020, Carrie knew that she wanted to have an orchard planted so she could harvest and make jam like her beloved grandmother had done. They began with a dozen fruit trees and now have more than 60, including five kinds of apple trees, as well as peach, pear, plum and, to honor her beloved grandmother’s legacy, cherry trees for making her signature sour cherry jam. They named it August Table Orchards.
The property feels like a mini paradise just off Route 3, but with no sense of the nearby activity. Honey River Farm beehives are synergistically lined up beside the orchard, a large herb garden was added and a flower and vegetable garden soon followed, planted with zinnias, poppies, peonies, daffodils and tomatoes, among other things. “We purchase all the honey made on our property from Honey River Farm to sell in our store,” Carrie says. “We hope to get tons of fruit from the orchard and since I love making jam, the fruit will be used for that. I’d like for the orchard to get bigger with time.”
Amaris Sachs
The last comment elicits an eye roll from Krister, the one responsible for the upkeep of the orchard, which is surrounded by an electric fence to keep hungry deer out, a lesson learned the hard way. “Everything has to be done organically so as not to interfere with the bees,” Krister says. “There’s pruning, weeding, fertilizing and applying insecticide to manage the bugs and blight. And I prune to make the trees root-heavy so wind doesn’t knock them down.”
Strolling the grounds reveals a potting shed, a smokehouse, a chicken coop and a stylish tractor shed, all built by Krister, and a bridge he fashioned to cross the creek that leads to a pond that empties into the Rappahannock. A wooden swing hangs from a tree, awaiting an occupant with outstretched legs seeking a view of the sky. “Keep going and you’ll come across an abandoned still or pigsty and it’s rumored there was a mill,” Krister says, gesturing toward the woods.
It didn’t take long after moving in to discover that every time the dog came in from outside, she was covered with ticks. To address the issue, the Allens bought 19 chickens after learning of their penchant for eating ticks. Later, problems arose when they discovered that a six-foot black snake had taken up residence in the chicken coop and was responsible for eating both eggs and baby chicks.
“I helped the snake get relocated,” Krister says. “It’s something I’d had to do more than once in Idaho.”
For a treat, Carrie would give the chickens blueberries, which only became an issue once the blueberry bushes Krister planted began bearing fruit. How were the chickens to know that these blueberries bushes were off-limits to them? “The chickens did a great job with bugs and ticks, but they ate my blueberries, and then the foxes ate the chickens,” Carrie says with a wry smile. “We were learning to be farmers.”
Amaris Sachs
Carrie Allen designs all of August Table’s prints and brings her own aesthetic mix of luxe farmhouse and boho chic to the timeless art of block printing.
Carrie Allen is passionate about two things: art and entertaining. A lifelong artist, she paints, draws and designs tabletop and bed linens for their company, August Table. During her freshman year at Randolph-Macon Woman’s College, she took a foundational art class. “From the very first brushstroke, I fell in love with painting and decided to pursue an art degree alongside my economics degree, so I’d have a double major,” she says. “The head of the art department told me he saw something special in my work and encouraged me to take art seriously. That encouragement changed the course of my creative journey.”
Over the years, she’s used both her art and business savvy. In 2008, she cofounded an innovation education program called the ArtScience Prize with a Harvard professor and grew it to 23 sites across the U.S., Asia and Europe. In 2016, she cofounded an innovation consulting firm in Boston.
Although she now works remotely running the company, some of her creative energy is devoted to drawing the designs that are then printed on items such as napkins, tablecloths, pillows, reversible quilts and dishtowels. “I want to bring beauty and design to every aspect of life,” she says. “A friend recommended a woman in India who could take my designs and work with artisans to carve them into the wooden blocks for our block print fabrics.
Krister weighs in on the color choices and names our prints. It’s a joint effort for sure.”
The couple dubbed their line of linens August Table and in 2018 launched an online store. By 2020, small boutiques in more than 25 states were carrying August Table linens and a boutique as far away as France was asking to carry their products. “We managed all aspects of packaging and online sales just got to be too much,” Carrie explains. “So, in 2020, we opened the shop in White Stone. It took a while, but now people know we’re here and we’re a regular business.”
The name August Table was inspired by three meaningful reasons, all tied together by the vision of a warm August evening spent outdoors in the garden. Picture a rustic wooden farmhouse table adorned with vibrant flowers and fresh vegetables, surrounded by friends sharing a meal, laughter and joy. Not only is August the time of year when gardens are at their peak, brimming with an abundance of fruits and vegetables, it’s also Carrie’s birthday month. “Most importantly, it’s a tribute to my late brother, Robert August Earle III, who passed away at just 23 in 2001,” she says. “This name honors his vibrant, full-of-life spirit and keeps his memory alive.”
After years of splitting her time between Boston and White Stone, Carrie now resides full time in the Northern Neck. It’s a welcome change for her because now she has more time to curate the shop, which she finds to be a satisfying part of her creative process.
The August Table shop is softly lit for an overall sense of graciousness and hospitality. “We change up the rooms’ themes by the season, rearranging everything so that a different color predominates,” she says of moving merchandise from one room to another. “It’s a way to give customers a different point of view as the season shifts and new items arrive.”
Amaris Sachs
The Allens opened the White Stone August Table in 2020. Carrie takes pleasure in curating the shop to create an atmosphere of graciousness and hospitality.
Krister created the hand-painted August Table sign in the shop when it first opened. An old black-and-white aerial photograph of Carters Creek hangs on one wall, while another is used to display one-of-a-kind cutting boards made from locally harvested reclaimed wood, crafted by Ron Litwinski of Mathews County. “Part of my dream is to carry more of other artists’ work too,” Carrie says.
Mitchell Black, a wallpaper company out of Chicago, contacted Carrie about licensing her block print designs as the basis for wallpapers that combine a luxe farmhouse aesthetic with elements of boho chic and are available as traditional matte wallpapers or peel-and-stick versions. It was an unexpected but welcome outlet for a woman of boundless creativity.
Besides Carrie’s hand-designed linens, the shop carries an eclectic array of goods for home and entertaining. From lavender-infused olive oil to Woodford Reserve Bourbon Cherries and from mint julep sugar to tinned fish, a hostess could find the makings for a casual get-together or a sophisticated soirée.
“I’m passionate about entertaining and every time we have overnight guests, we encourage them to make a sign to add to our signpost showing where they’re from,” she says.
Upstairs from the shop is Krister’s architecture office and a fair amount of back-up stock for the shop. Prints of his architectural drawings mingle with quilts as sunshine pours in the windows. An assembly line is set up to handle the wholesale shipping to boutiques and online orders from across the country, a task that needs to be taken care of on a daily basis and requires both Allens to manage. “There’s not enough time because we both have other full-time jobs and Krister has to do all the orchard management,” Carrie says. “He’s an organizer and can see a process through to the end, while I’m more open and thrive in more ambiguity. That’s why we’re such a great match.”
Amaris Sachs
Part of Carrie’s vision has been making August Table jam from the fruit of their orchard. During the summer, she makes jam every other week, a process she thoroughly enjoys. “I’m now working with a packaging company out of Georgia to test my recipes for mass production and package my jams because we can’t keep up with demand,” she says. “Sour cherry, adapted from my grandmother’s recipe, is the most popular flavor and biggest seller.”
With an abiding interest in entertaining, it’s not surprising that Carrie engages her audience through food regularly on Instagram. Additionally, she maintains a blog on the August Table website featuring easy recipes she posts every Saturday for home cooks and hostesses. Recipes for dishes such as smoked salmon toasts with herbed cream cheese and spiced pear upside-down cake entice readers with artful photographs of the dishes accompanied by August Table linens. “It’s so great to hear from readers saying how much they love my recipes,” she says.
Another way to experience the magic of August Table is through a quarterly subscription to their Dandy Bundle Box, a curated array of August Table napkins, a different jam flavor for each season, an artisan candle and recipe cards or other items, along with an option to include a FLOW planner, designed by Carrie’s friend Mia Moran for managing a woman’s life and bound in an August table print. “The Dandy Boxes make a wonderful gift, but some people order them just for themselves,” Carrie says.
For a woman who already has plenty of irons in the fire, Carrie Allen’s creative vision is still not complete. She and Krister own the property next door to August Table and where some might see nothing more than a little white building there, Carrie sees a European-style café. “I envision strings of lights from the café to August Table, with community picnic tables laid out between the two and music piped outside,” Carrie says. “I like to connect people and bring them together, so we’d host community events, too.”
The Allens are big believers in the power of beautiful design, delicious healthy food and the connections made while gathering at a table. Creating community is at the heart of everything they do. “By hosting events and welcoming guests to our shop—and envisioning a future café where people can gather—we aim to create spaces where people can slow down, savor special moments and build meaningful relationships,” Carrie says. “It’s about celebrating the everyday beauty of coming together and inspiring a lifestyle rooted in connection, creativity and joy.”
Amaris Sachs
She laughs when sharing that Krister has voiced a strong veto to yet another project, but admits that if she can find staffing, she’d love to make the café happen. “I’ve already got the menu mapped out,” she says and there’s no reason to doubt her. “I could use our Granny Smith and Honeycrisp apples to make tarts and muffins, and I’d find a way to use our peach jam on the menu.”
For now, the building is full of the extra furniture typical of when two households are consolidated into one, but it sits there, ready for its closeup at whatever point Carrie—and the reluctant Krister, who’s already eyeing retirement—decide to make it happen. “I love to stay busy, but I make a lot of work for Krister,” she acknowledges. “He’d like us to do more sailing, and my idea of retirement is more of August Table and making art.”
Until retirement becomes a reality, Carrie is filling her free time with artmaking, cooking and baking, activities she’d like to be doing full time. Her personal philosophy can be summed up in her own words. “Fake it till you make it, that’s the story of my whole life. Once I’m not consulting anymore, I only want to paint, garden, make jam and be creative,” she says with certainty. “And smell the apples when I walk into the orchard.”
August Table | 434 Rappahannock Drive, White Stone | 617-529-5606 I augusttable.com
