fresh prints

My obsession with graphics is well pacified at the moment. So many great prints in the store! One of the best things about vintage. Hands down.

pura vida

After the catastrophic workload of March and April, what could be better than leaving the country for some much needed sun and rest on the Caribbean Sea? Nothing! So, with daydreams of sand, breathtaking sunsets, delicious food, and hammocks... I am bravely leaving my laptop behind and I bid you adieu for the next 3 weeks.

But don't worry... I'll bring you something back. Gorgeous beaded jewelry maybe? See you soon!

internal

Since moving to our Belmont home there has been SO MUCH going on and so much change in so many forms. It's awesome. The most unexpected of which might end up being my waistline, due to the fact that I've consumed more bacon and coffee from Bongo Java in the past 2 months than I did in all of 2010, but the BIGGEST change by far is our rapidly growing crew of interns! We're busting at the seams! They bring so much enthusiasm, style, and talent to the family and the tally is now up to 6. As of this week our newest lovey Treona will join the family alongside Corey, Nina, Grace, Julie, and Megan. So I thought I'd pay a little homage because having them has been a joy! Even though each has their respective dedication... Corey Michael and Nina Coppin to T&P, Julie Gross to Jamie and the Jones, and Grace Hargroder, Megan Wilson, and Treona Hunter to Local Honey and WHITE RABBIT... they are all loved and adored by everyone in the house and bring their own bit of flair to the store. Check out these babes! Right?! I am so lame for doing this. I feel like a mom.

eat. sleep. work. create.

After what feels like a year of time passed, today I'll start settling back into a "normal" routine. Relocating the shop over the course of the past 4 months and the workload that entailed was completely consuming. I lost sleep, lost weight, and barely had time to think about anything else. So I was only spending time on the internet on a need-to basis and the blog has been a little abused. This will be my attempt to get it up to speed!

Once I had been officially chewed up and spit out by the mental strain of getting together a solid plan during October and November, I was ready to begin the actual physical labor of the move. At the first of December I began transforming the new building and making a new home for the store... painting each room top to bottom, replacing, scraping, cleaning, and planning. A lot of 12-hour days. I worked so much for so many consecutive days that I felt crazed. Like maybe how you feel when you're on the verge of death? But just like clockwork the January grand opening came... with more than 200 friends and dozens of pleasant conversations about new plans and projects. It was great! Then I had a moment to breathe a little. Just to sit down the following week and do a regular days work was so relaxing. I spent a few days doing the books and emailing. I chipped away at a pile of work that had been neglected and attempted to regain some sort of familiar life. However, there was one more pretty huge hurdle before putting my feet up... a week in Central America to be exact! In December, amidst a tornado of work, I had secured a job as a tailor on a photo shoot in Costa Rica. At first it seemed a bit of a farce to consider jetting away to a tropical destination. I was sure I'd be exhausted and leaving town while not being settled at the shop would DEFINITELY stress me out. But honestly, the timing wasn't totally terrible... so I figured it couldn't hurt to apply for the position. When opportunities like this one come along you go for it. Well, I got hired! So my leisure days of tying up loose ends and nesting were numbered and soon to be replaced by sunny days in a treehouse community in the jungle. What?

Now, after flying home not one but TWO weeks later, I'm trying to make sense of this maniacal life I've had for the past 4 months. Holy cow! I can't even explain how my brain feels and I have to attempt a smooth transition back into my day to day juggling! My 12-step program back to mental health will include, but not be limited to: making the most inclusive and stupidly long to-do list in the world, committing to a nourishing diet and getting my rest, catching up with my friends and my city, settling in to this big beautiful new house! and last, but certainly most important, I need to purge creatively. I've got a serious clog in my right brain and although that sounds really stylish... I intend to work it out post haste. Here goes Spring!

pour one out on the ground

The Linden house was oh so good to us. As I emptied the contents of the shop a box at a time, the memories were abundant. Even though I had seen the same blank walls before, they looked completely different- barely worse for ware considering the million good times. I wish I had more pics, like some of the night we all got snowed in with Sisters and Emily Hines had a huge black eye... I lost a ton when my old computer died, but I still had some good ones.

Here are the last few I got on new years eve when I moved the last of the stuff out. Goodbye friend...