About

ABOUT A LITTLE BEACON BLOG

A Little Beacon Blog highlights the super great things happening in and around Beacon, NY, 12508, helping the people who live here, and the folks who are visiting, know about insider things to do and eat. We stop to smell the roses, enjoy a drink or snack, and do bouts of shopping. Then we publish it here! Small businesses are featured, from interviews to in-depth articles about the development of a project. A Little Beacon Blog's "Things To Do In Beacon Guides" are the most comprehensive set of Guides helping people know what there is to do in many areas of interest. A lot of what we cover is  pure editorial, and some of what we publish highlights our sponsor community partners and advertisers who want to bring you the best.

Below, please meet the team who produces A Little Beacon Blog on a daily basis!

KATIE HELLMUTH MARTIN
Publisher, Writer, Designer

Katie is a writer, designer, mama, and business owner. She started A Little Beacon Blog in 2011 just before her first child was born. Katie and her husband moved to Beacon from the upper upper west side of Manhattan in 2010, just before the big 3-day power outage in January - and they were not the camping out types, so did not know how to light the gas stove! Upon moving here, Katie was overcome with scattered information about Beacon. Being a blogger by nature, and a website designer, and a digital marketing strategist, she couldn't help but develop this blog to highlight the people and businesses in this town, as well as provide a central source of information for everyone to know what is going on.

 Katie is a co-founder of Tin Shingle, which reaches thousands of businesses with resources, tips and training in PR, SEO and social media strategies.  She offers consulting via her boutique firm StudioPixelated. Plus, you may have seen or purchased some of Katie's accessories, Katie James at the popup shop Cherry Bomb.

Twitter: @kjpixelated
Twitter: @alittlebeacon
Instagram: @katiejamespixel
Instagram: @alittlebeacon 
Pinterest: @katiejamespixel
Pinterest: @alittlebeacon

CATHERINE SWEET
Copy Editor, Social Media Editor, Second Saturday Guide Editor

Catherine Sweet is an editor and writer. When she’s satisfied that all of the commas have been placed just right, she might be found cooking, gardening, working on her old house, chilling out in the yoga studio, or hiking around the Hudson Valley with her two dogs. A San Diego native, she landed in Beacon in 2008 and is amazed by the changes, big and small, she sees around town every day. After years of heading south to work at The Journal News and Wine Spectator, she swapped her Metro-North pass for a good pair of walking shoes and the freelance life.
Instagram: @catherinecsweet

MARILYN PEREZ
Blog Production, Social Media Coordinator, Pinterest Curator, Annual Events + Classes Editor

Marilyn Perez was born and raised in the Bronx and made the move out of the city in 2003. After spending some time in Tarrytown and Nyack, she settled in Fishkill, NY with her boyfriend in 2009 and spends a lot of time in Beacon.  With a background in Human Resources, she quit her daily NYC commute in 2013 to work from home for a major blogging platform helping others make their blogs and blog design more awesome.  She is also the owner of Pulp Sushi, a handmade retro-nostalgic jewelry business.  Marilyn is a big supporter of small business, shopping local, and shopping handmade. Marilyn is the curator behind A Little Beacon Blog's Pinterest page and manages back-end design HTML for the blog. Marilyn also manages the social schedule for the tweets for Featured Businesses in the Things To Do In Beacon Guides.
Twitter: @pulpsushi
Instagram: @pulpsushi
 

LEIGH BAUMANN
Social Media Photographer for The Things To Do In Beacon Guides, Restaurant Guide Editor

Leigh is a graphic designer and photographer originally from the Hudson Valley. Before getting comfy in Beacon, she spent several years traveling and living in other areas of the country. It was while in Portland, Oregon, she was able to pursue her passion for design. The community, culture and sustainable lifestyle of the Pacific Northwest really resonated with her and is the same thing that brought her home to Beacon. When Leigh is not busy designing, you'll find her hiking, biking, running with her pup, Ruby, or working on her fixer-upper on Beacon's east end.

Website: www.leighbaumann.com
Instagram: @leighbemuse


ELI BARRET
Adviser

Eli is a multi-talented photo editor, writer and connoisseur of all of the cool blogs out there. If you're reading A Little Beacon Blog on your hip RSS feed, so is Eli. Eli is originally from Connecticut, lives in Beacon, and takes a special interest in the dummy light and the vibe on the east end of town.

Instagram: @i_like_moss
Pinterest: @eli_barret





ALLIE BOPP
Graphic Designer

With a name like Allie Bopp, it's no surprise she creates the cutest logos around! Allie is the talented designer for the Things To Do In Beacon Guide's logos that you see here on A Little Beacon Blog as well as the print flyer you might have seen around town. She's local, living in Wappingers Falls, and currently working full-time as a graphic designer for a company in Elmsford, New York. She's taking her associates degree that she earned at the Art Institute in NYC and ruling the freelance world. Her expertise lies in juggling projects because she's all about finding and promoting the coolest things out there. If you're curious (and you should be), you can contact Allie and see her awesomely offbeat work at alliebopp.com.

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CONTRIBUTORS

KRISTEN CRONIN
Contributing Photographer, The Family-Friendly Hiking Series

Kristen is an avid hiker, and an avid do-gooder in Beacon. Follow her Instagram, and you'll see her early-morning hikes up very tall mountains in the Hudson Valley. Kristen is the co-founder of For Goodness Bake, an annual bake sale that rivals a Martha Stewart table spread, and gives all of the proceeds to a different charitable organization every year. Kristen and 4-year-old son Cooper engage in hikes quite often, sharing the sweet, scenic photos with A Little Beacon Blog. 

Instagram: @kristencronin

BRIAN PJ CRONIN

Contributing Writer, The Family-Friendly Hiking Series

Brian PJ Cronin is editor of Hudson Valley Parent, and has also written for such local publications as the Times Herald-Record, Chronogram, Organic Hudson Valley, Philipstown.info/The Paper, Hudson Valley Mercantile and many others. He and Cooper tackle trails high and low, then share them with A Little Beacon Blog's readers in the family-friendly hiking articles.

Twitter: @brianpjcronin

Instagram: @brianpjcronin

DYLAN PRICE
Contributing Writer, The Historical-Based Hiking Series

Dylan, originally from Long Island, NY, is a writer/filmmaker and avid outdoorsman who moved to Beacon with his wife from Washington D.C., where he was working at an agricultural firm. He just finished his first novel and writes for a New York City theatre company, St. Fortune Productions, in their film wing. He has written and directed his first short film, Les Saltimbanques, now being shopped to festivals. Dylan is busy being the producer and writer for a YouTube Channel, Uncomfortable Couch, which was recently signed to a Multi-Channel Network and starting a commercial and film company. Dylan and his wife were attracted to Beacon for the unique mix of nature, art and food. He discovered this unique environment partly through the community on social media and blogs, including alittlebeaconblog.com, which first attracted them to the area.
Twitter: @Brokeasscouch
Instagram: @uncomfortablecouch
Facebook: TheUncomfortableCouch
YouTube: MyUncomfortableCouch