Today we’d like to introduce you to Ramona Ridge.
Hi Ramona, so excited to have you on the platform. So before we get into questions about your work-life, maybe you can bring our readers up to speed on your story and how you got to where you are today?
I was born in Lubbock,Texas as a 5th generation Texan. My father was transferred to Washington, D.C. when I was a young teenager and I finished high school in Northern Virginia. My parents knew my heart was in fashion and design, so as a high school graduation present, they gifted me a trip to Paris with a group led by Princess Obolensky that my mom found advertised in Madamoiselle magazine. It was organized to tour all of the “ateliers”, or studios of the big Parisian designers at the time; Dior, Lanvin, Ungaro, Yves St. Laurent, Courregés, Mugler, and Balmain, among others. We were a group of about 20 teenage American girls and attracted a lot of attention from the French boys! The Princess chaperoned us vigilantly . One evening, during a dinner at La Coupole, a young man approached me and introduced himself as a modeling agent. The Princess told me he was legitimate and it was okay to speak with him, so I made an appointment to go meet at the modeling agency the next morning. They offered me a contract, but I still had 2 week of high school classes left before graduation and I wasn’t going to lose 13 years of work! They offered, me a plane ticket to return in 2 weeks, once I graduated and my parents gave me the okay, so it was a deal!
Upon my return to Paris, the agency put me in an apartment with 2 other American girls who became lifelong friends. Jerry Hall and her sister Rosie lived in the apartment next door. It took a lot of go-sees and test shots, but one of the main photographers at Elle magazine took a liking to me and I zoomed into being booked every day with French Vogue, Elle, and all of their worldwide counterpart magazines. The big designers always used me in their Ready To Wear and Haute Couture Press Shows in Paris, Milan, Rome, and London, and the photo shoots were usually in some far-off land; Morocco, Seychelles, Canary Islands, Corsica, Tuscany, Marbella, Kenya, Japan, Jamaica and so many more exotic locales.
Contrary to popular belief, models do eat! Most shoots had a couple of models, the photographer, their assistant, hairdresser, makeup artist, stylist, and editor, so after a long day shooting, we would always seek out a great local restaurant for dinner. This led to an appreciation for all sorts of different foods. Our apartment in Paris had a farmers’ market on the street below every Saturday and it was a wonderful feeling to be able to ask about the food we were buying and learn about different growing practices, or how a Tarte Tatin was prepared, and oh, those fresh-from-the-oven croissants.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
I had been to farmers’ markets all over the world, but had no idea how to start, much less run one. The local health department was my biggest hurdle. I thought they would be happy to have locally grown and prepared food, but they looked at me as if I had just asked to sell body parts and fentanyl! The health department in question had never been approached about a opening farmers’ market, so they were very reserved about giving me a permit to open. After lots of talk, sweat, and tears, they gave me the okay.
I also formed a wonderful Board of Directors for guidance. Then, where would we set up? One of our Board members, Doug Konopka, stepped in and generously offered to let me use his empty field of 5 acres, so we had a location in the heart of Fulshear!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about your work and what you’re currently focused on?
The Fulshear Farmers’ Market first opened in 2014 with 15 vendor booths. We have grown to about 40-50 vendors each Saturday and only allow food, food products, and agricultural products that have been made, grown, or produced within a 200 mile radius of Fulshear. A couple of year ago, our Board of Directors decided to allow a very small percentage of local artisans, too.
Any given Saturday, you can find seasonal fresh vegetables and fruit, bread baked that morning, local honey, tamales, herbal teas, bean-to-bar chocolate, pastries & cookies, cold-pressed juices, micro-greens pastured beef, lamb, and pork, jams & jellies, prepared Indian cuisine, salsa, and specialty items like natural bath & body products, fun crochet items, handcrafted jewelry, woodwork, fruit trees, and biochar for your garden.
At the Fulshear Farmers’ Market you can find so many distinctive cultural foods; Mexican tamales, Nigerian bread, Indian/Pakistani curries, Venezuelan empanadas, Arabian stuffed grape leaves, French macarons, Italian focaccia, Lebanese baklava and some all-American cinnamon rolls. We’re always adding vendors who are a good fit, so you never know what kind of surprises you may find!
Some of our vendors have been with us since the beginning and everyone works to support each other. More experienced vendor help the new ones and everyone looks out for each other. This shows in the overall super friendly tone of the Market.
Before we go, is there anything else you can share with us?
The Fulshear Farmers’ Market is open every Saturday, year-round, from 9:00a.m.-1:00p.m. at 9035 Bois d’Arc Lane @ FM 1093 in Fulshear, TX. Vendor inquiries can be sent to foreverfulshear@gmail.com.
Contact Info:
- Website: http://fulshearfarmersmarket.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fulshear_farmers_market/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foreverfulshear/
Image Credits
Alain Robichon, Olympia Ridge, Horst P. Horst, Norman Parkinson, Paloma Ridge
