Love Frequency: Carter Harrington + Todd Carr of Hort and Pott

Creatives tend to find one another. Maybe it’s the shared obsession with ideas, the low tolerance for small talk, or the quiet thrill of being understood mid-thought. Makers often feel most at home loving someone who speaks the same strange dialect of curiosity, risk, and relentless noticing.

There’s a particular magnetism between people who build in parallel—or better yet, build together. We love a power couple for the same reason we love a great story: the chemistry, the collision of perspectives, the fantasy of brilliance multiplied. We imagine their debates as spirited salons, their dinner conversations as lightly unhinged brainstorms, their homes as part studio, part sanctuary. Is any of this entirely true? Probably not. But a little creative projection has always been part of the romance.

In a month devoted to hearts, arrows, and grand gestures, INSIDE+OUT highlights a deeper, quieter bond—four creative partnerships between like minds that shape the cultural texture of the Hudson Valley through what they imagine, make, and sustain together. 

And however you spend this month—in romantic love, self-love, chosen family, or the devoted companionship of a four-legged muse—we hope you feel it everywhere. From all of us at INSIDE+OUT, consider this a little love letter back.

LOVE FREQUENCY

CARTER HARRINGTON + TODD CARR

When you open the door to the studio in Freehold, New York, you may feel—briefly, deliciously—as if you’ve wandered into a secret garden, a pocket of Narnia disguised as the Hudson Valley. Hort & Pott, the seasonal studio and living emporium created by partners in life and work, Carter Harrington and Todd Carr, unfolds like a slow reveal: sculptural vessels nestled among moss and branches, garden relics layered with botanical art, light filtering across texture and shadow. It is wild to the eye yet exquisitely composed—a place where beauty feels discovered rather than designed.

Rooted in horticulture and pottery (hence the name), their partnership blends deep craft with intuitive storytelling. Todd, formerly a Senior Garden Editor at Martha Stewart Living, brings a lyrical command of plants, photography, and seasonal narrative. Carter, trained in interior design, architectural fabrication, and sculpture, anchors the vision with spatial intelligence, structural rigor, and operational fluency. Every element—from the objects themselves to the imagery, environments, and atmosphere—is created in-house, resulting in a world that feels cultivated yet alive, poetic yet grounded.

On weekends, Hort & Pott becomes a quiet pilgrimage site for seekers of beauty. The space shifts with the seasons—from winter dreamscape to autumn abundance, from foraged wreaths and mossy arrangements to heirloom ceramics and rare vintage finds. Visitors come not only to shop, but to wander, linger, and recalibrate their sense of wonder—a gentle reminder that the everyday, when tended with care, can still feel enchanted.

Below, Carter and Todd share how love, craft, and collaboration intertwine—and what it means to build both a life and a world together in the Hudson Valley.

THE MEET-CUTE

Carter Harrington: We met at Brooklyn Nightlife—literally at a water cooler. I found my moment to introduce myself, and we ended up chatting the night away.

Todd Carr: I invited Carter to the beach with my friends the next day. We felt an instant connection, but the promise of working and creating together didn’t manifest until a few years later, when I returned to New York City for a position at Martha Stewart Living. We rekindled the spark from two years prior, moved in together, and we’ve been on a journey ever since.

HOW THE MAGIC GETS MADE

Carter Harrington:  We like to foster fantasy—the dramatic, atmospheric, and intriguing are our favorite barometers for the world we’re creating together. I take a more architectural, material-based approach, while Todd leans into folklore and richly layered styling when building out concepts and collections.

Todd Carr:  I’ve long thought of our collaboration as Carter building the stage, and I’m here to set it. He creates a strong framework for Hort & Pott.

WHAT STILL ASTONISHES

Carter Harrington:  Todd has an uncanny ability to see past the surface of an object, an interior, or even a botanical material growing in the wild. He finds and distills beauty from things that might seem banal to others. Sometimes it feels like he has a gift of deeper sight that escapes many people—myself included. I love it when he says, “Trust me.”

Todd Carr:  Carter works incredibly hard. He pushes boundaries, obsesses over details—some so small most people would overlook them—and he reads constantly when he wants to truly understand something. He brings a logical, rational way of thinking that’s been instrumental to our business development. I love it when he says, “Is this crazy?”

WHERE WORLDS COLLIDE

Carter Harrington:  Todd’s work often represents a kind of culmination—the moment when time and effort resolve into something complete. Plants are harvested and arranged. Clay is glaze-fired and ready for flowers or food. My role tends to live more in development, so he offers me a glimpse of the finished vision. Even during renovations, he’ll create a beautiful floral arrangement among a table saw, paint buckets, and scrap piles—a reminder that beauty is on the way.

Todd Carr:  I love it when we conceive ideas together. Sometimes I have a concept I can’t quite articulate yet, and Carter brings sensible solutions to the table. He also creates architectural forms that sit outside my natural domain, which pushes me into new expressive territory and experimentation.

GROUNDED IN PLACE

Carter Harrington:  We’ve developed our property—humbly named Arkwood—into a live/work environment. Hort & Pott is an extension of our creativity, so our routines blend almost seamlessly. It’s been a crash course in rural living and problem-solving. I never owned machinery before. I’m now a very happy tractor owner. Building a small Hudson Valley “estate” together has modeled how we approach both our professional and personal lives.

Todd Carr:  We get to create the dream gardens we’ve always wanted and spend so much time outdoors. The rhythms and cycles of the seasons deeply influence my creative work. Nature feels fully integrated into our daily lives. We even adjust our schedules based on the weather. We never let a beautiful day go to waste.

THE ART OF ORBITING

Carter Harrington:  Even though we work closely, we make space for separate creative zones. Todd has his ceramic studio. I might be in the office or casting concrete in the shed. We orbit each other.

Todd Carr:  It’s about balance. Our ability to smooth out friction has evolved through learning when to step back and give each other space.

THE QUIET RITUALS

Carter Harrington:  At the end of long days, we share our trials and triumphs, light whatever candle we’re currently obsessed with, get cozy, and maybe make it through the first thirty minutes of a movie before drifting off.

Todd Carr:  All of that—and sometimes the best moments arrive unexpectedly. We grab them when they appear. It’s the ephemerality that makes them special.

THE PERFECT DAY, ACCORDING TO US

Carter Harrington:  High summer in the Hudson Valley. Blue skies, friends, water.

Todd Carr:  Mocktails in hand, lounging by a glistening body of water. Music playing, dragonflies buzzing, the garden glowing.

THE LOVE FREQUENCY SPEED ROUND

INSIDE+OUT: Sweet or savory?

Carter Harrington: Savory

Todd Carr: Depends on the mood.

Hugs or kisses?

Both: Hugs

Early mornings or late nights?

Both: Early mornings

Summer or winter in the Hudson Valley?

Both: Summer

Your forever food?

Carter Harrington: Pasta

Todd Carr: Smoothies

A smell that feels like home?

Carter Harrington: Freshly laundered sheets

Todd Carr: Balsam incense

A song you both love on repeat?

Carter Harrington: “Cities in Dust” — Siouxsie and the Banshees

Todd Carr: Same answer

One small thing your partner does that means everything to you?

Carter Harrington: Todd decorates our home for each season and fills it with warmth in ways I could never imagine.

Todd Carr: When Carter is sick, I take care of him — slow everything down, nurture, tend.

Photos courtesy of Hort & Pott + Mia Allen (Featured)

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