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I couldn't be happier that the hand-engraved paper luxuries from Mrs. John L. Strong are finally available on a newly launched website. These tranquil Buddha notes were given to me by a dear friend and I think they are the epitomy of craft, luxury, simplicity and spirit. There are also wonderful gift ideas such as a fresh crop of cedar pencils, exquisite calendars and boxes for every room of the house.

The Big Easy

"Essential paper for artful living" is the motto of SCRIPTURA on fashionable Magazine Street in New Orleans. Postmark New Orleans is the latest in the Celebrate New Orleans line of cards that the shop has developed to honor the city that Katrina threatened to take away.

Fall Feet First

These hand-embroidered slippers from Bonnie Heart Clyde will keep you stylishy grounded or (ahem) ready to branch out. They're available at DOE in San Francisco.

Charmed I'm Sure

You've no doubt seen jewelry designer Maya Brenner's stately state necklaces but for all sorts of luck and a reminder to be zen in the face of twisted traffic, conniving co-workers, irritating in-laws or whatever else might threaten to unruffle your feathers, I love the Watch Over You necklace .

Out of Africa

"As this Swahili proverb says, all things are possible if you just take it little by little, step by step. And, little by little, we can make a difference, one person at a time." begins the introduction from Beth Peterson on her website, Haba na haba, hujaza kibaba, which translates into "Little by little, fills the pot."

The site spotlights a collective of artisans from Tanzania and portion of the profits support job training and educational opportunities for at-risk youth in Tanzania.

Sipping Spirits

Melkon and Litty developed Modern Spirits Vodka because Litty didn't like the medicinal taste of vodka. The sophisticated infusions of flavors such as celery peppercorn, tea, chocolate orange, candied ginger, black truffle and grapefruit honey elevate this enlightened spirit to sipping status.

Sea Light

Soothing sea lights glow warmly from Amy Cooper’s studio in England, where she masterfully crafts these otherwordly lights that are inspired by, “coastal life, as well as 'hidden nature'- microscopic biology such as pollen, spores and seeds.”

"Pollen"

"Sea Urchin"

The Knights of Knit

These Autumn Winter hat designs from Angelika Klose Design make me smile. Felt helmets, perfect for delivering comments like,
”Your mother was a hamster and your father smelt of elderberries!”

Read Between the Lines

Origin, The London Craft Fair is currently going on in, well, London. Though I am not there, I have picked a few favorites from their exhibitors. I will roll these out over the next few days.

SU BLACKWELL is a wonderful artist in England. These book-works are beautiful and evocative, playful and just lovely! Normally I wouldn’t advocate cutting up a book, but these are something else:
From her artist’s statement:
“I use non-art materials such as books and clothes to create work which evokes a sense of dreamy melancholy or magical enchantment. I'm interested in the realm of fairy-tales and folk-legends and have been working on a series of book-works exploring these themes, externalising the pages of the book and allowing it to be read in another way.”

From "The Ice Maiden" 2006


From "The Snow Queen" 2006

Monday Rune: Fehu

Runes are a wonderful way to get a quick bit of wisdom, advice or opinion. The ancient Viking oracle functions the way the tarot does. Your "question" is answered intuitively and the interpretation of the meaning and how it applies is up to you or whomever is reading for you. The primitive symbols and soft rounded stones are more earthy than the tarot. I often just pick one rune instead of doing a full spread. That is called Odin's rune. I use Ralph Blum's wise book and runes. Highlights of today's rune:
"FEHU is a rune of fulfillment: ambition satisfied, love fulfilled, rewards received. It promises nourishment, from the most worldly to the sacred and Divine. "As above so below."

Meaning from Tara Hill

On Tortoise Time

Wandering down Abbott Kinney today, I stopped into TORTOISE. Started by Taku and Keiko Shinomoto, who moved from Tokyo to L.A. in 2003, the shop is filled with simply stunning objects of precision. Just being in the shop makes you slow down and appreciate the thought, detail and process involved, even indirectly, with each object--its creation, its purpose, function or meaning.
In their own words:
“The longevity of human life is getting longer year after year, led by the advanced nations. But on the other hand, the life of man-made products is getting shorter as if it's in the inverse proportion.
What do we do with this irony?
Wisemen have been questioning themselves, trying to figure out the answer.
We also have been wondering how we can take part in this.”

The shop is infused with elegant shapes, materials tamed, purposeful products made by hand and with extraordinary attention to the past and the present. Here are two of my favorites:

UBUGI


“Ubugi is the first kimono which the mothers used to make for newborn babies back in the old days. What is so clever about this ubugi is that it can be worn up to 24 months! When the baby is newborn, this ubugi is used to wrap the whole baby. When the baby grows, take the stitches out at the shoulder part so it extends and becomes a kimono shirt. To appreciate one item for a long time is easily forgotten these days but with a product like this, you can enjoy the baby's growth as the fabric turns into a softer cloth.”

FUROSHIKI from 9BRAND





FUROSHIKI is a cloth used to wrap things. The inspiration for stylish, thoughtful and unexpected laptop case comes from the Japanese tradition.

9BRAND has a wonderful philosophy:
“Pronounced 'KYU-JIRUSHI' in Japanese, '9brand' benefits from the number 9 which has special luck according to the wisdom of the East. 9brand is a design team by Keita & Naoyo Seto.

The all of our products has the conceptual background. The concept for our product line is "Evolution and Roots". "Where do we come from?" "Where do we go to?" These are universal and eternal questions. We think of that the path to the answer can be explored through creativity.

In our daily life, we learn from the creation and its process while creating. What we create and study range from the graphic arts to fabric products, and our studio is in KICHIJOJI, TOKYO.”

Happy Birthday Raven!

Left, Swigg has Snow Crow Star pillows at Brooklyn Flat
I wrote this a few days ago, when it really was a foggy morning. Since today is my birthday and raven is the Native American Animal Totem for Libra, I thought this was fitting:

This morning I was awakened by the familiar, slightly haunting, incessant caw of the raven. The trill sound transported me from the dreaming state to the waking state and gave the morning a hint of mystery. I dreamily peered outside the windows above my bed to see the silhouettes of Palm trees, as they similarly emerged from an early morning fog. It wasn’t nearly bright enough outside to be 6:30am. Time to get up. Fall is coming.

The raven, because of its striking black feathers, large size, intelligence and capacity to mimic human sounds, has long been a symbol for either good or evil. I believe that ravens are good luck (there isn't much I believe to be bad luck) and a reminder to look beyond what you see, to be aware, to remain open.

Following the raven:

From Brooklyn Flat, Perch! has these shake-a-leg salt & pepper shakers.

A stunning silhouette of raven-like bird from the Thomas Paul pillow shop at Velocity, $60.

A Wish For You Comes True

Thoughts. Vibes. Energy. Whatever you call it, the more focus and intent that you put on or into something, the more likely it is to come true. Journal the dream, collage your world. Rework it, revise it and refine the dream, as what you want changes. Be specific, be clear and wait. What is yours will come to you. This is my wish for my world. What's yours?

"Imagination is more important than knowledge."
- Albert Einstein

Balance is Key

Libra, libra, libra.
Decisions, decisions, decisions. September 24 - Ocotber 23. Air sign. Opal. The scales of justice. Balance, beauty, ruled by Venus. Diplomatic, idealistic and romantic on one side and gullible, free-spirited, indecisive and self-indulgent on the other.

Remind yourself which half of the scales you want to keep tipped in your favor. An early-European market scale from Lucca Antiques Happy Birthday!

Aries is your opposite

Verdant

The early morning ocean air smelled like seaweed. Heavy, green and wet. Decidedly verdant. Don't you love words that sound like what they mean?

UPDATE: There is a new mag on the green scene, called (natch) Verdant

A verdant roundup:

A grass scented candle from Sprout Home
Paradiso in Honeydew from LULU DK
Anna Sova's organic paint

Rabbit Rabbit

October 1, 2006 seems as good a day as any to begin. I've had this idea, Sacred City, for many, many years and for whatever reason (reasons), I never got around to doing anything about it publicly--until now. This will be for me in the beginning and then, hopefully, others like-minded, will check-in now and again. This is a place for mindful living. For living a stylish, authentic life that acknowledges the mystery of ritual and things we can't see. The goal is to live a complete life that allows for the seen and the unseen. This is for the skeptics and the true believers. Have fun and enjoy the journey!

Why Rabbit, Rabbit? Who doesn't need a little luck . . .