You’re in for quite a treat this year. As part of our celebration of the shapes of the season, we have transformed our iconic Music Room into a playful, fanciful upscale confectionery shop … and the result has us feeling like, well, a kid in a candy store. We’ve swathed the Music Room in layers of pastel colors and a spirit of enchantment, from rainbow lollipops to apothecary jars brimming with goodies to vibrant clear toy candies placed among vintage candy molds. Our vision has come to life with the help of Philadelphia’s own Shane Confectionery. As America’s oldest continuously operating confectionery shop, Shane has made it their mission to interpret the historic candy and chocolate-making traditions of Philadelphia, and we are delighted to showcase their craft this season.
Located at 110 Market Street in Philadelphia (where confectioners have been on premise since 1863), the present-day Shane Confectionery carries on a generations-long tradition of hand-crafted confectionery long associated with the Shane Family, a name that became synonymous with quality-made treats in Philadelphia’s historic hotbed of confectionery.
After 99 years of 110 Market Street operating under the Shane family, in 2010 Shane Confectionery owners and brothers Ryan and Eric Berley purchased Shane Candies. The Berley Family has maintained the Shane name to commemorate the candy-making family and has and preserved the heritage of this Philadelphia tradition while introducing the art of confectionery to a whole new generation.
Shane’s confectioners boil sugar in copper kettles every day for their hand-crafted candies and source ingredients locally whenever possible. Every week Shane’s chocolate maker selects a crop of responsibly sourced cocoa beans from all over the world, which are then crafted into a variety of candies and drinking chocolate.
In fact, Shane Confectionery crafted a bean-to-bar 68.5% dark chocolate medallion featuring Longwood’s emblematic rosette, which can be purchased in our GardenShop this season. These hand-crafted treats began as carefully selected beans, which were then hand-sorted, crushed, roasted, ground, and then tempered using a combination of traditional and modern techniques.
Which brings us to our Music Room. Plenty of Shane’s goodies are on full display in this magical space, amid many other delicious surprises. The pastel colors throughout the space beautifully complement the Music Room’s ceiling and add to a sense of whimsy and enchantment as you explore the room.
From the colorful confectionery in our Music Room to a shimmering tunnel of lights near our Meadow Garden, it’s shaping up to be A Longwood Christmas to remember. Experience the magic from November 22 through January 5.
