tricks of the trade | by mark aiken
Cold Hollow Cider Mill Doing business the Vermont way
Vermont is a small state with a huge personality. Cold Hollow Cider Mill reflects its state; locally owned, the company’s success has come by doing things its own way—with good humor, hard work, and conscientious business decisions.
T
ake Erdine, Mac, and Ethan, for example. Erdine (“Sugar Sweet. Farm Tough. Can bake. Can rake”), Mac (“Knows everything. Fixes anything”), and Ethan (“Owns a tractor, rides a Harley. A real VER-mont-A, as the locals say”) are playful caricatures called “Hollowers” dreamed up by co-owner Gayle Brown
and drawn by Waterbury artist Sarah-Lee Terrat. Visitors will see them as they browse through the shop with word bubbles inviting them to try a free sample or to check out an attraction. Are the Hollowers real people? “They’re based on real people; sometimes they’re a combination of people,” says
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