Susan G. Scott is a Canadian-American artist living in Montreal known for her figurative paintings. In art book La peinture au Quebec depuis les annes 1960 , Scott is described as having an 'extraordinary capacity for reinventing herself while preserving the rigorous nature that marks her entire body of work.' Her work can be found in many permanent collections in Canada and Europe. And Ms. Scott carries our BBB and has so for many years.
In our BBB questionnaire we asked Susan how and when did you come upon your first BBB:
I was given my first BBB in 2016 from a dear friend, who has always given me the gifts I deeply treasure.
What do you most like about the form & function of your BBB Maxi:
The backstory to Susan's BBB started with her requesting a day at the BBB spa for her dear old Maxi in Tabac. Here is before restoration pic looking a tad dog-eadog eared.
And post BBB spa looking all spiffed up and ready to go back to art book toting! I had no idea about Susan's professional background. I just thought it was a good 'Coronavirus' deed - the virus closedown had just started, that I would give her a complimentary BBB. She was just thrilled to receive this surprise gesture of goodwill along with her restored BBB.
And then look what I received in the mail!!!! One of Susan's watercolour sketches. Speechless. I later learned we both went to art school at about the same time ....
As you can see SCALE is everything. The en plein air sketches that she makes, like the one she gave me, are then turned into a large scale oil painting, like the one pictured in the postcard above.
Thank you to Susan for her elegant painterly style and waxing eloquent about our BBB.
]]>
Sorry, Gino Vanelli, this black car would not look better in the shade!
RM Sothebys is celebrating their 40th anniversary this month in their/my hometown of Chatham-Kent. Aside from the local agricultural fame of corn and soybeans, you might say founder Rob Myers has put C-K on the map for antique car auctions on an international scale!
BBB had the honour of doing totes for RM Sothebys a couple of years ago branded with their corporate logo.
An inspiring company that purveys beautiful antique cars all over the world but at the same time has made C-K a more beautiful place to call home. To read more:
https://rmsothebys.com/en/home/media-center/press-releases/40th-anniversary/757234
And of course black cars look better with a BBB. Ho Ho! Look forward to being part of their celebration on June 22.
]]>Our Thanksgiving is in early Oct. However, it's hard not to get caught up in our southern neighbours spirit of giving thanks for harvest - modern and traditional. Be it the season of cooking and therefore cookbooks, I am more overwhelmed by the digital photography than the food itself. The resolution of the images look more real than in real life. I mean I dont see as clearly as the camera lens when my eye 'shoots' its image if you will. And the current fashion of up close in focus shots with the blurry background; I am a bit weary of it (probably a tad jealous as it requires talent to create this effect or an expensive wide angle lens). Hmm, this sounds more like complaining than thankful! Well, taking out an old Bon Appetit cookbook, I was thrilled to rediscover the photography of Tessa Traeger . If you're having fish this holiday you might consider the above 'fishlady'! It's hilarious. A skirt of real smoked salmon? And clam gams owith oyster shoes?
Traeger composes her images like old world paintings. Sometimes it's hard to tell where the stage set ends and the real food begins. The above is very 'MSL' or actually Martha Stewart was no doubt influenced by her work.
Unfortunately the colour film of that day fades over time into morbid orange overtones ,especially if it's a photo of roast beef. Ugh.
I recommend this pasta map photo for colour longevity this Thanksgiving! See I got so engrossed in her photographs, I forgot to put the turkey in. Have a great Thanksgiving.
]]>
Thanks to my cousin Stewart who lives in nyc for introducing me to the F&S show this past Columbus Day weekend - also our CDN Thanksgiving weekend. The show is the vision of interior designer Bradley Ford. Tis a modern makers craft fair, beautifully edited with a range of products and prices but all singing the same song of unusual quality. The first show featured 12 artisans and has grown exponentially to just over 200 this year. Having viewed the slideshow I wonder how it happened that i missed seeing many of them; no doubt I was focused on selling BBB.
]]>
Thanks to my cousin Stewart who lives in nyc for introducing me to the F&S show this past Columbus Day weekend - also our CDN Thanksgiving weekend. The show is the vision of interior designer Bradley Ford. Tis a modern makers craft fair, beautifully edited with a range of products and prices but all singing the same song of unusual quality. The first show featured 12 artisans and has grown exponentially to just over 200 this year. Having viewed the slideshow I wonder how it happened that i missed seeing many of them; no doubt I was focused on selling BBB.
First the stunning location - on the west bank of the Hudson River about 100 miles north of nyc in the Hutton Brickyards. Kingston, once an industrial town, is slowly regaining its artisinal roots as part of a wider craft and arts diaspora from city life. There was an indi-arts fair and a huge Italian barbecue going on at the same time as the F&S show; so lots of activity on their Columbus Day weekend.
When we arrived, the first structure one sees is this hulking skeleton of a deceased brick factory- left behind like a poetic nod to Shelly's Ozymandias: Behold, look upon my bricks now we support weeds and good design!
Our display was in the main pavillion very close to the main entrance. A great location. I also had great help with Sandra on display and Hanni, a native New Yorker, chatting it up with customers and handling sales.
Sister Lee Ann from Florida also joined us and covered the 'yachting market'. Funny story: a customer, a designer working on a special project for the largest 'Feadship' in the world enquired about our Grande Catchall. Guess that would be a niche market of 1. My sister has a yachting background, so she almost fell over when the designer mentioned 'feadship'. The perfect tote for its guests Apparently there's a reality based tv show called Below Deck for the crew who run these luxury yachts. Stay tuned, we're working on this one. As it turned out the Grande Catchall was our best selling bag at the show.
Next year fingers crossed when we return I will make a point of taking the vendor boatcruise up the Hudson. My only fear is I might not get off the boat and keep cruising on up the Hudson - a journey befitting a Columbus Day and CDN Thanksgiving weekend.
]]>
Mid-September to mid October is the season for puffballs where I live and also around my birthday. Perhaps this is why a rather large one appeared at my front door to greet me! I regret to say I did not get a picture of the plethora of puffball that appeared in a shady fir tree grove near by..... at least 30 of them all popped up overnight. Quite magical.
This definitley was one of the largest unspoiled puffballs I have encountered. I'm trying to give you a sense of scale.
Or better yet, let's say it's about twice the size of my head. A reminder not to get too puffed up on one's birthday. Ho. Ho. They're super eating: fried in butter with lots of salt and pepper and worcester sauce. Some connoisseurs refer to them as 'puffball steaks'. However, this might lead to the misnomer of a puffball breed of cows like the joke about where spaghetti comes from - the spaghetti tree.....
]]>
Approximately a year ago Four Fathers Brewing Co. (formerly nestled in a barn in bucolic Rockwood, Ontario) found a new home at 125 Guelph Ave in Hespeler. I moved the bag biz from Toronto to this location in 2004 and the building stayed pretty much the same as when I moved into this 70,000 sq ft industrial building - a mish mash of structures spanning a 150 years. I stand to be corrected on my local history, but I am fascinated with the 'archaeology of the building and the site if you will. Maybe it's the smell of hops roasting that has spurred my curiosity.
All I know, is the transformation of the this old chestnut is like watching an archaelogical dig. I knew my studio space on the second floor was the testing area for washing machines made by the CDN Simplicity company. Here's tidbit of archival info I found www.ancestry.ca on William Kribs who I believe built the first building here.
]]>
Approximately a year ago Four Fathers Brewing Co. (formerly nestled in a barn in bucolic Rockwood, Ontario) found a new home at 125 Guelph Ave in Hespeler. I moved the bag biz from Toronto to this location in 2004 and the building stayed pretty much the same as when I moved into this 70,000 sq ft industrial building - a mish mash of structures spanning a 150 years. I stand to be corrected on my local history, but I am fascinated with the 'archaeology of the building and the site if you will. Maybe it's the smell of hops roasting that has spurred my curiosity.
All I know, is the transformation of the this old chestnut is like watching an archaelogical dig. I knew my studio space on the second floor was the testing area for washing machines made by the CDN Simplicity company up until 1971. Here's tidbit of archival info I found www.ancestry.ca on William Kribs who I believe built the first building here.
Here is my BBB alcove Before and After
I am reading a book called The Map That Changed the World: William Smith and the Birth of Modern Geology by Simon Winchester. The restoration of this building, albeit a building, reminds me of Smith and his journey through looking at the surface under his feet, mostly taken for granted then and I think now too. The endless layers of history in 125 Guelph from the ground up: the native footprint, then the industrial, each industry following its market source and demise from lumber to textile, from flour to washing machines, to a distribution arm for dogfood and autoparts. And now the pendulum has swung back, returning the purpose of the building back to a more artisinal one so popular these days - the art of craft beer. A favourite moniker of the 4 Fathers Brew Co is to 'stand for something good'. So the building is once again making a stand and comeback for the handcrafted tradition from whence it grew.
View of building from street looking South East and below from the front looking East - the most striking facelift!
Then came the " I see a red door...." on the North side of building...
and superb graphics!
and a nice circular sign for the Retail store entrance.
and remember it looked like this!
And finally on the South side where the building is brick - I suspect the oldest part of the building, the entrance to the Four Fathers tasting room.
The sandblasting begins.
New windows installed.
The beginnings of the outdoor patio
Just waiting for the city approvals which came in early Aug and it's been 'hopping' ever since. Inside is another story. I hope if you live in or are travelling through the area you will stop by. Come see the transformation inside , meet their mascot the friendly honey badger and enjoy and Four Fathers brew.
]]>
The May Court Club of Chatham (I'm a 'out of town' member continuing the long tradition of my Mother and my Grandmother) recently held their annual awards dinner for the winners of the Women of Excellence event.
The photo above is the May Court of Chatham ladies talent show; this was my Mothers generation circa 1960. I knew almost every one of these wonderful mothers. Starting at the top left :Mary Bradley, ?, ?, Fran Obrien, June Easton, ?, my aunt Ruth Lapp, Helen Ough, Francis Higginbotham, Hester Brisco, Ann Watson, Betty Tatton, ?, Shirley Furlong and finally my Mother, Dorothy McKeough. Funny, June Easton we called Aunt, although not related and when we misbehaved, 'Typhoon June'; Helen Ough aka Mad Maudy and my Mom Hurricane Dot. This talent show was performed for the annual dinner dance held around the holiday. Ann Watson front centre was the queen of choreagraphy - Madonna watch out! As kids we got to watch all the hullabalo, really a big to do, an occasion to dress up, drink and dance and dance and drink! I lost track when they stopped the dinner dance & talent show.
Wow, have we evolved. Today the charitably correct form to celebrate and showcase our womens acheivments and talent is a somewhat more reserved Awards of Excellence event. So the May Court ladies recently had their sold out dinner this May. BBB donated a bag in a our Green Jardin. I thought this was fitting as the very first May Court event held by its founder Lady Isabel Aberdeen, the wife of Canada’s then Governor General was a garden party. Maybe next year, wouldnt it be funny if they asked the men to put on a talent show. They could walk the runway in their speedos.... something to replace the nixxed Bikini segment in the Miss America contest. Ho Ho. I'm sure it would be a sold out event.
I salute the ladies of the May Court Club of Chatham then and now for all their charitable work and talent.
]]>
First, they joined SKITSCH - an upscale Ikea look brand- with many other famous designers. Then they opened Pianoprimo in 2007. And now they've gone full circle and its back to 'you know where we are' I am very excited to be working with Fabio and Luigi again. http://www.dovetusai.it
They have a beautiful line of glassware that they design and produce - simple elegant vases and carafes.
And then these breadboards with handles; I thought they were brave brown bags! Amazing what an asymmetrical shape can do for an otherwise mundane rectangle that we are so used to for a cutting board. How fun.
Welcome back, Fabio and Luigi. Hope you know where your BBB is!
]]>They were like Valentine's Day cards only better. I was so amazed and excited to receive these notes this February from 2 very special BBB customers. Consider the old fashioned form of letter writing. Today, the function of instant delivery seems to control our choice of communication through the so called 'Cloud' with endless emails, tweets, texts, hashtags, pins, emojis...... Albeit, fast has it's upside but can there be anything better to receive or communicate appreciation with than a handwritten note.
Artist Emily Zell from California sent this wonderful note and collage. How nice to know that people enjoy using their BBB as we do making them. She ordered our Mini bag in Vintage Wax Cedar as gifts for family and one of course for herself. Emily has a super blog called ZELLOUSLY , of course. Tres inspirational. http://www.zellously.com
The other letter I would love to share a photo of here, but am waiting for the approval of polite protocol. It was beautifully handwritten and signed. The back story is last July around Canada Day celebrations, my sister who does not even live in Canada ( but still has patriotic fervor) was visiting and picked up our Globe and Mail newspaper on my kitchen table and began reading about Ms. Sophie Gregoire-Trudeau. ( Note I do not introduce her as the wife of...... rather Justin, Canada's Prime Minister is the lucky husband of!) The article was extolling Ms. Trudeau's championing of Canadian design. My sister said with a drolll tone of voice: "I assume you have sent her one!! No?!!! Well get on it!"
So, as a special thank you in honour of Canada's 150th, we sent Sophie our Classic Wax Marche in Cranberry befitting of our national flag colour and hoping she too would enjoy this colour. She did! With the bag i sent a letter thanking her for being such a wonderful ambassador for Canadian design. I ps'd that I thought the PM would look very cool carrying one,too. Could she suggest a colour? She did! Blue. Hopefully we can show off her beautifully handwritten note as she is showing off our BBB. And maybe hubby too?!!! I will let her know that her letter will be in the good company of Ms. Zell's.
Like, Follow and Share have there place but nothing compares like a hand written note. BBB Happy Valentine's Day to all.
]]>
What a way to start the year.....Do not usually dream in colour, first if I am lucky enough to recall dreaming at all. The last time presaged a major turning point in my life; I dreamt of flying pink pigs and purple sheep. A curious combination as sheep are reknown followers and I've heard pigs are highly intelligent. I concluded this meant I was about to become a very smart follower. Some 24 years ago - wow time flies, at 42 I decided to get on board the teetotaller boat. I should note my 'success' in doing so was due to some special family and friends and the wisdom of AA. I discovered the boat was a pretty big one!
And now, my New Year technicolour dream is of a brightly painted flying turtle! Cannot remember the plot but image of turtle remains vivid. It's back was pattered with a distinctly Imari English china glaze in the deep blues and burnt orange.
Dream interpretation 101: for the Chinese it may be the year of the dog, pour moi its this flying turtle that I think symbolizes thoughtful execution and out with all procrastination......Hmm. Here are a few of the many projects that I have on the back burner to be realized this year at BBB studio.
*Flora and fauna fabric patterns, designs from my own backyard that celebrate the Carolinian forests from where I grew up.... start drawing!
* learn to play the damn ukelele
* is that enough....other than huge gratitude to continue the Brave Brown Bag journey
Get on with it flying turtle!!!
]]>
Always room for one more chair, that is. This is my ode to dear friend Sandra, consummate collector of interesting furniture and fabrics, often discarded as not of interest by others. I visited Sandra last New Years Eve in Perth Ontario. She was in the midst of divesting herself of some her great finds as she was selling her 'urban farmhouse' - more on that later. I left with these 4 metal patio chairs complete with upholstered vinyl (ugh) seats probably from the forties stuffed in my Volvo wagon. Driving back to the lake, ruminating on the chairs , I calculated that I would now have an assortment of 34 chairs in various stages of use and disrepair. Why on earth was I getting more? From her shed into my garage collecting more dust and moss. Oh, but I love moss!
]]>Always room for one more chair, that is. This is my ode to dear friend Sandra, consummate collector of interesting furniture and fabrics, often discarded as not of interest by others. I visited Sandra last New Years Eve in Perth Ontario. She was in the midst of divesting herself of some her great finds as she was selling her 'urban farmhouse' - more on that later. I left with these 4 metal patio chairs complete with upholstered vinyl (ugh) seats probably from the forties stuffed in my Volvo wagon. Driving back to the lake, ruminating on the chairs , I calculated that I would now have an assortment of 34 chairs in various stages of use and disrepair. Why on earth was I getting more? From her shed into my garage collecting more dust and moss. Oh, but I love moss!
Then, voilal, lightning had hit a 60 ft spruce tree on my front lawn near the house. It didn't take the tree down but slowly it died and became very scraggy. I always thought if and when I got around to it, the forked trunk would make a lovely platform for yet another bird house. Finally, the tree was topped this Spring. And putting two plus two together or rather 2 plus 34 chairs, I envisioned the perfect place for those 4 patio and chairs and the next thing you know I kind of flung them up like Spaghetti el dente... if they stuck let them stay there. Wonderful they just seemed to fit and the ideal was to hang with no tinkering or nails. Just one nicely weathered metal spring at the crotch of the tree. Like giant orange legged insects ascending a staircase, my chair sculpture with my thanks to Sandra.
]]>
Have not met Lisa Ventre personally except by bag, so to speak. Lisa got in touch at the beginning of the summer to say that her Brave Brown Bag , otherwise her 'go to bag' was still holding up after, I hate to say 15 years or so!!!! Lisa is a hat designer based at the tip of Cape Cod in the artsy community of Provincetown. Toyo is the material and weaving technique she uses to construct her hats http://www.lisaventrehats.com/ in her studio boutique where customers - tourists and locals alike- love to don her hats to add character and charm as well as give sun protection..... but who cares when they are so terrific looking. Here's a great article describing her artistry http://www.american-crush.co/lisa-ventre-hats/
Lisa decided to try a few BBB for her shop and we're certainly honored to be in such fine hat company. And apparently Lisa said once she received her order that someone came into shop, bought a bag and had one with her, again purchased many years ago and it still looked great. So the BBB has fans in ole Provincetown. I have put my order in with the suggestion that it has the same colour scheme as the pic below of me hamming it up in one of my lost and found hats...... something a bit Dr. Zeusssish will suit me just fine. Always lean to the side of amusing....
I recounted an amusing story to Lisa about my parent's and their sailing enthusiast caravan from Ontario bound for the Americas Cup. Ever since I can remember starting in the 60s they travelled from Canada to watch the racing yachts battle it out amidst the cocktail banter and often seasick spectators. One cup summer the plan was to rendezvous in Providence - as in Rhode Island. Some were driving, others flying into local airport, then they would all head down to Newport harbor together. One couple was rather late.......no cells back then and it wasn't until a day later that they called from Provincetown - as in Massachusetts. Ha they overshot the mark read the sign wrong and took the scenic route about 6 hours out of there way.... and I think they wanted to stay there!
Recently I heard that a new trove of drawings and letters has been discovered belonging to the artist Edward Hopper and his wife Josephine. These are now being exhibited at the Provincetown Art Museum. So worth a drive - intended or not - to Provincetown.
Thank you Lisa for carrying our BBB.
]]>I am not one to attend local BIA meetings; my BBB studio is a bit off the main drag of Hespeler. However, I do belong to the association to keep abreast of developments which of late are many: the old of many windows iconic American Standard building where they used to enamel bathtubs is about to be 'condoized' along side a new 11 story apartment building, the Fashion Museum now hangs its hat in the former post office building, a fab artisinal olive oil shop O&V, a great vinyl record /book shop Millpond and recently my building sold and has new owners who will open a kraft beer brewery! Hespeler is hip!
So when the BIA said they were going to hold their annual meeting and social at the Fashion Museum - current exhibition is about Canadian fashion - how could i not go? The museum founders Jonathan and Norm have done an incredible job, both cutting their fashion teeth at the Bata Shoe museum in Toronto before moving to Hespeler.
The debate on the local parking lost out to the hordoeuves in the reception area where their fashion library/shop is also located. I noticed an elegant silver haired lady presumably doing the same. She looked so much like my dear Oklahoma born friend Sandra Todd, I could not help starting up a conversation. Her name was Anita Davis from Little Rock Arkansas. Now what in the fashionable hay is she doing at the Hespeler BIA meeting not listening to the parking debate? So I asked. Well, Jonathan and Norm have an extensive shoe collection. She for some reason needed it. They drove it down to Little Rock and Anita had just arrived the day before driving this shoe collection all the way back to Hespeler.
Perhaps she was equally surprised when I said I had visited Little Rock in 2006 - not a BIA meeting - but a meeting for vendors of the Dillard department store where I had landed a big BBB order. It was also my first experience of cell phone culture. I remember the head office was on the river with a big veranda-like patio where we all dispersed for a break. I thought I would chat it up with the others but all had hand to ears in deep conversation with their phones. I chatted with the birds instead. But I digress. Back to Anita. Why did she need a carfull of museum quality shoes? But of course, to go with her collection of museum quality purses. Anita Davis it turns out is the founder of the Esse Purse Museum. Devoted to the history of the handbag throughout the ages. I believe there are 3 others worldwide like it of its kind.
All this because of the vision and initiative of Anita Davis; apparently she started collecting purses 30 years ago. The handbag is more than just a handbag but rather a lens on the social fabric of our culture (with more variety of looks than a cell phone!) And in creating the museum she has transformed and put a particular area of Little Rock on the map engendering a community atmosphere. Her own artistic background as a sculptor has indeed sculpted the environs. I learned she is also the creator of the Bernice Garden a sculpture garden close by to the museum. Hespeler take note! The next day after the meeting, Jonathan, Norm, Anita and her assistant arrived at the my BBB studio for a tour. And the rest I guess is bag history. Two weeks later we shipped our first order to the Esse museum shop. We also donated our most iconic paper like tote the maxi in tabac wax cotton to their permanent collection. Wow. Such an honour. Pic below is of Esse Museum Director, Abby Olivier showing off the ebony check BBB https://store.essepursemuseum.com/
I wish I could've driven my order down to Little Rock but perhaps I will convince friend Sandra Todd she must meet her doppelganger in person. And the 'ESSE' wisdom of the day is : one never knows who one will meet at the local BIA.
Thank you Anita!!!
]]>
About a month later a longtime BBB customer Carolyn Dempsey popped into the studio with her friend Barbara Cove. Barbara is an ER nurse at Grand River Hospital. You can put 2 and 2 together. The BBB in the ER belonged to Barbara. She says its a great tote for her carry the tools of her trade such as the stethscope etc when she is on high alert. It made me think of the amazing job ER nurses and nurses in general do. How do they stay calm and cool surrounded by our various states of our emergency?
Barbara was very happy with the BBB spa results and it was a pleasure to administer some much needed TLC to her BBB; restoring her tote for more appearances in the ER but looking bit more lively! Our good deed for Earth Day.
If you would like to do some Spring cleaning and send your BBB to us until May 15 all restorations are on the house!
]]>
Charlotte and Castel Sea Salt Soap: beautifully made, beautifully packaged and an exquisite experience to use. Who are Charlotte and Castel? Well not the names of the founders, 'charlotte' refers to a delicate dessert and castel? Is that a star .. The 'voyage' of the creators behind C&C is as intriquing as their collection of organic sea inspired products.
]]>Charlotte and Castel Sea Salt Soap: beautifully made, beautifully packaged and an exquisite experience to use. Who are Charlotte and Castel? Well not the names of the founders, 'charlotte' refers to a delicate dessert and castel? Is that a star .. The 'voyage' of the creators behind C&C is as intriquing as their collection of organic sea inspired products.
As happenstance would have it, about a year ago I met their friend Wayne in Toronto who works in the interior design trade and reps an Italian line of leather which was of interest for my BBB. His story was intriquing : originally from Capetown, South Africa he emigrated to Toronto with his wife via Dubai having where they worked and lived for a number of years. Somehow we got on the topic of sailing and he said I should meet his friends Melinda and Quinton, here now in Ontario but whose background for many years was doing sailing charters aboard the world's largest catarmaran! aboard the boat is how his friends met - Melinda the chef and Quinton the diving instructor. Perhaps, like my Caribbean experience of doing yacht charters and tiring of serving yet another rum punch, they debarked the yacht and embarked on the creation of their sea salt collection First location was in Vancouver and then heading west to Midland,Ontario where Melinda's family are from.
Ironically, Quinton told me that turn of the century his great grandfather got on a ship heading south, docked in Capetown, got off and never returned to his homeport. Guess where? Midland. So they both bring a wide circle of experiences to their new business. Quinton also has a background in printing, packaging and graphic design; he and his friend Wayne both attended the same technical college in Capetown as Elon Musk. Blue Whale above is Quintons' silk screen prints
Melinda is trained as a gourmet chef with a passion for patisserie. Their C&C journal showcases many of her recipes. Ergo,the sea salt soap looks good enough to eat! They have just move into a new studio in Midland. Hopefully this sumer I get to take the tour. and in the meantime, if you want to enjoy a complimentary Charlotte & Castel Sea Salt Soap as a gift with purchase, visit our Shopper & Sea Salt Soap Sale. Bon voyage!
]]>
Starting from top row left to right are buttons made from branches of yew, maple, boxwood, black cherry, birch, black walnut, mystery driftwoord, tulip and ash.
I confess I know very little about trees, even though growing up surrounded by them like birds, I considered them commonplace and paid little attention to their distinguishing features. Looking south out my bedroom window - my favourite view and the best part about waking up with the sun rising over Lake Erie thru the trees. Like watching a negative develop into colour , tree trunks and branches emerged from the pitch becoming charcoal silouettes against a salmon pink sky...
]]>Starting from top row left to right are buttons made from branches of yew, maple, boxwood, black cherry, birch, black walnut, mystery driftwood, tulip and ash.
I confess I know very little about trees, even though growing up surrounded by them like birds, I considered them commonplace and paid little attention to their distinguishing features. Looking south out my bedroom window - my favourite view and the best part about waking up was with the sun rising over Lake Erie thru the trees. Like watching a negative develop into colour , tree trunks and branches emerged from the pitch becoming charcoal silouettes against a salmon pink sky...
A couple of years ago I decided to pitch the plastic toggle we attached to the BBB- (the original idea was to play off the plastic handle tubing – an essential feature for comfort) in favour of a more natural look using wood. I think I am not alone in remembering that all this plastic stuff is a bi-product of the oil industry and the sythetic polymer manufacturing explosion of the 40's. Imagine the world before Tupperware? The history of plasitc is fascinating http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-27442625 Neither oil or plastic is is very fashionable today but we would be hard pressed to completely eliminate either. Personally I think choosing natural over manmade is not the issue but the scale of useage. For example, if plastic water bottles were only allowed in emergency situations, the problem of them on the side of the road, the plastic gyre in the middle of our oceans or closer to home on the beach along the shores of Lake Erie would probably not exist. Instead, we have an emergency caused by over use. So recyclable plastic, wood, indeed recyclable anything is a very good approach today.
So back to buttons: I wanted the button accent to be about the paper-like story of the BBB. And logically wood has more to do with paper than plastic. ( Although one could argue with the invention of Tyvek , essentially plastic paper using a composite of wood chips and plastic resins that modern day paper has more to do with plastic than wood). So where to source these buttons was the challenge. The button below came from a local Yew tree. Looks amazing on the Tabc colour wax cotton.
However, my first source was like bringing coals to Newcastle. China for god sakes. The obvious was why not source them literally from my own back yard. First objection, was what do I know about trees. A twig is a twig….. I have enough trouble identifying a tree by its leaf. I will use non-local source if merited. If you happen to have a stash of Bermuda Cedar - guard it! So the branches were calling out to me, if you will. Last week while packaging a bag with a tulip tree button – my favourite tree – I realized how over the past couple of years our source of wood tells a fascinating story about the colour and texture of various woodl Here's a few of the button/wood source parade:
Boxwood: slow growing and wonderfully hard and hard as hell to cut. Learned there was actually a Boxwood Society in England where the wood is prized for these qualities.
The lovely Yew bush: relatively hard and lovely colour when varnished.
Black Walnut: highly prized for woodworking. The branches are not the lovely brown colour yet, so this is taken from a large trunk split into smaller pieces. You can see the grain.
Tulip tree: without a doubt my favorite tree. The wood from the branches is quite hard and lovely pale yellow colour.
Driftwood: a never ending source from the flotsam and jetsam on the beach
Now that does not look like a tree on the left..... Hope you don’t think this is cheating using a shovel handle. But this is actually ash and not just any shovel handle ash. Now it is here , I say to the reader, if that damn button could talk!!! 6 years ago, my sister decided to create a Potager on apporximagely a half acre of land in my back yard. She dug the entire garden with that shovel. https://www.gardendesign.com/canada/ontario-formal-herb-garden.html
By the time she finished, it, the shovel, had a spoon and a hoseclamp holding the handle together. A couple a weeks ago I was using the same shovel to repair a drainage ditch down a ramp to the beach and the shovel handle finally succumbed. I was ready to toss it like the plastic toggle … and a button/recycle light went off in my head. It's probably made of hardwood, probably ash or oak… slice it up…..add some oil and wax to it. And you may very well be carrying the end result. So when I was packaging the bag with this button, again I thought if buttons could talk.... Ergo this button blog entry. But really if you think about, pick any item up and really wonder at the story of the material. Like a family tree it's a never ending story and as long as one’s imagination.
]]>
No, that's not a drink... but it could be. Rather I am referring to Blair Seagram's photography. www.blairseagram.com. Yes, Seagrams Whiskey ( remember the famed Crown Royal and its purple gift bag aka best marble bag ever) is one of the pillars of Canadian spirits. Photographer Blair happens to be the great great granddaughter of Joseph Emm Seagram (link) who founded the distillery in the Waterloo Ontario area where my business is located. Blair shoots water that quenches our aesthetic thirst! Blair is also a great BBB customer who lives in Sag Harbor, New York and focuses her lens on its ocean vistas.
]]>No, that is not a drink... but it could be. Rather I am referring to Blair Seagram's photography. www.blairseagram.com. Yes, Seagrams Whiskey ( remember the famed Crown Royal and its purple gift bag aka best marble bag ever) is one of the pillars of Canadian spirits. Photographer Blair happens to be the great great granddaughter of Joseph Emm Seagram (link) who founded the distillery in the Waterloo Ontario area where my business is located. Blair shoots water that quenches our aesthetic thirst! Blair is also a great BBB customer who lives in Sag Harbor, New York and focuses her lens on its ocean vistas.
I met Blair several years ago when she visited my BBB studio with a friend. Then, I had no idea about her art or her family roots so connected to where my bag studio is. In chatting we discovered her friend’s mother was a favourite customer of mine from my first bag company called Thalassa. Oh that ocean connection goes on….
This past Dec I spoke with Blair and took a peak at her website and was transported into the watery abyss. Now it's January and as a new years resolution, like many, I revisited my commitment to do a weekly hot yoga session. Encountering hot yoga is not unlike ones first swig of whisky - I remember as a 14 year old saying I would never do that again. An upward slog for me as i suspect it is for many. Focusing on that so called serene face in the mirrrored distance in a blur of sweat . Afterwards I sing its praises, during I curse. However, in my recent admiration for Blairs photos , especially the time lapse surfing - I discoverd a mental trick while holding the interminably long yoga pose caled " asldfhalsfjladsf' In my mind’s eye I picture one of my favourite Blair photos of surfers frame frozen at the top of the wave ... and hold that damn pose. Then gracefully - well that's the intention -collapse to the floor in a heap - as one would fall off the wave. How funny? But there is something oddly cartoonish as well as meditatively beautiful about her time lapse images.
And as I mentioned, it helps me keep my balance and breath in those onerous hot yoga classes. A way better New Years resolution would be this summer to actually be on top of one of those waves off Montauk . And I wouldn’t be thinking about hot yoga... but okay I concede it will help me keep my balance and breath. Or I will settle for a Blair Seagram photograph framed and hanging 10 on the wall - equally exhilarating. . Thank you Blair for your inspiring and beautiful work..
]]>
BBB HOLIDAY BEZAAR STUDIO SALE with lots of BBB specials and DIY gifts with 10% going to Trinity Community Table. For event info: https://www.facebook.com/events/720327764801840/ Hope to see you.
]]>
This one I call : it's bark is as soft as its bite. Doesn't it look like the majestic profile of a lion's head letting out a roar! But the roar from the driftwood chime is the gentlest most charming clatter .
Thank you Founders Garden Club of Sarasota for having me and the Brave Brown Bag collection at your Green Forever luncheon last Wed. One never knows what the display arrangements will be but this worked out wonderfully with a bit of artful tromp d'oeil greenery as my background. Very forever green. And loved the red/white and blue parapluie and the silent garcon. He didn't charge for the espresso!
]]>
Thank you Founders Garden Club of Sarasota for having me and the Brave Brown Bag collection at your Green Forever luncheon last Wed. One never knows what the display arrangements will be but this worked out wonderfully with a bit of artful tromp d'oeil greenery as my background. Very forever green. And loved the red/white and blue parapluie and the silent garcon. He didn't charge for the espresso!
The featured speaker was landscape architect Mario Nievera who was not so silent on the challenges of siting home and gardens. The outside grounds of a house he calls 'the last room' and often it is an afterthought. Here is link to review in the Sarasota Herald Tribune http://realestate.heraldtribune.com/feed-items/the-last-room/
He spoke about the homes he has transformed and illustrated in his monograph 'Forever Green'. All very fascinating and hopeful: the house, the lot, the outer buildings, the last reno, the neigbour's view may NOT be the perfect ideal. Are they ever? But plant a tree, or take one down, grow a hedge, build an artful wall with a grass burm to disguise a too close road. Clever suggestions and tricks from Mario. Then escape to the laast room, sit back with a cocktail and enjoy the wonderful illusion of green forever space. It works!
]]>
Last night at the annual Toronto Design Exchange DX Intersection party/fundraiser, our Antique Wax BBB was auctioned off to the highest bidder? Were you there? Did their honorary guest Monocle editor, Tyler Brule buy it? Oh such wishful thinking. Every year since 2003 we've donated a BBB to the event.
In 2003 the BBB received the Gold Award in the sustainable/fashion category; an oxymoron if there ever was one - Sustainable means to last and the latter is always changing.... Oh well. Wish I could've been a fly on the wall and watched the bidding. Or did someone think a paper bag was being auctioned as a high design joke.
Now this is not a joke but an example of fashion and sustainability. Recently a customer bought a new BBB and gave us this treasured daily companion for a day at the BBB spa. The expression "give it up" comes to mind. But we will see what we can do and it might just be unsustainable.... On the other hand one should never give up hope. And everyone has their pet 'cant throw it out yet' experiences. I should talk.
I could not say no to this wheelbarrow of 50 geraniums destined for my neighbour's compost last weekend. Where am I gong to put 50 pots inside this fall. Or one deadheads them and into cold storage, if I had one.... I am sucker for geranium pink; luckily there were not 100 of them.
]]>The ole chestnut as I like to call it on the left was the first ever bbb made; the one on the right our 20th anniversary version. I would always bring the first as a mascot to shows etc and the same chat would occur: I would like that one. It's not for sale just show..... So finally I woke up. The technique has changed but the overall affect of weathered paper is hopefully the same. At a recent art fair I sold all 4 that I had !
The logo which grew out of my family crest - reminds one of the boars head on a Gordon gin label? morphed into the black lab with wings and the latin moniker remained. Fortune favours the brave brown bag of course.
Pop goes the BBB!
so po goes the bag
]]>Hello/goodbye Rio! Now that the Olympics are over, I am recalling that seeing the waterfront/ coastline of this city was as much a highlight as the event itself. So unusual: both steeped in its European ancestry and yet very modern. However, the backdrop of the natural beauty of Brazil, the amazing rainforests and the immensity of the Amazon river and the jungle adds mystery to its exotic beauty. Well, for us North Americans exotic, for Brazilians it's their backyard natural.
Many years ago through my designer friend Trish Ewanika of the Toronto fashion boutique Ewanika I was introduced to NAWA: a natural rubber textile made by an indigenous tribe of indians by the same name who still call the amazonian jungle their home. I am still researching how it came to be but briefly the process is cotton sugar sacs are coated with the milk like sap of the rubber tree; then smoked over an open fire and the end result are these 'hides' of gorgeous brown material. It is finicky to work with and reacts over time as any natural material does.
Hermes made a bag of this material, I have made several attempts using it as trim and I am now working on entire bag ........ hopefully completed before the next Olympics!!!
]]>
Missoni mangia your heart out! I love your knitwear and sense of colour but this is what happens when one leaves wool out in the garden for the Baltimore Orioles.
The weaving technique is remarkable. Found hanging precariously high up in a maple limb that was quite exposed to the wind off the lake. A Missoni throw are so luxurious and may cost thousands. Maybe if we left more wool out and some instructions ..... In any event, if I were a Baltimore Oriole chick this would be a pretty nice place to call home.
]]>
I have always wondered who took the photo? Circa 1942, the men were overseas and the ladies on the shores of Lake Erie at Erie Beach behaving themselves! Erie Beach incidentally will host a 100th anniversary reunion this August with fireworks and festivities. Think this photo would cause some fireworks. Here's my mother and her friends. I grew up referring to them as aunts even though they weren't actually relatives: Aunt June , sometimes 'typhoon June', Aunt Barb, Aunt Phyliss and Rosie who always , no matter what the occasion looked perfectly posed!
]]>I have always wondered who took the photo? Circa 1942, the men were overseas and the ladies on the shores of Lake Erie at Erie Beach behaving themselves! Erie Beach incidentally will host a 100th anniversary reunion this August with fireworks and festivities. Think this photo would cause some fireworks. Here's my mother and her friends. I grew up referring to them as aunts even though they weren't actually relatives: Aunt June , sometimes 'typhoon June', Aunt Barb, Aunt Phyliss and Rosie who always , no matter what the occasion looked perfectly posed!
Now I am reticent about their identity but in the early days of the BBB I actually with the help of photoshop did up this poster for my various trade shows. Always amusing when a gent would walk by our display and say 'lovely'bags'. One aunt was a bit taken aback when someone mentioned seeing this poster in a window display at a swish boutique in Toronto. The last showing was on Martha's Vineyard where I was doing a trunk show. Highlight of this show was selling a Mini bag to Oscar winning actress Patricia Neal; when I think of it she would've been a contemporary of my Mom's generation. Trunk show ended and took the ferry back to Newport. Deboarded the ferry and watching it leave the dock realized someone would find a cardboard tube with my bathing beauty poster rolled up inside. Would they wonder who took the photo too? More likely who forgot it. Oops.
]]>
Colour, sunlight, texture, the stunningly beautiful shawls of textile designer Catherine Berka, seated on the left amidst her wool felted 'family' describing the artistic process to my family friend, artist/sculptor Pixie Shaw. I,m taking the photo) I met Catherine for the first time last year at the Upper Canada College holiday market in Toronto, an annual fundraiser for the school where she and I were both vendors. Catherine's exhibit was across from mine. Our first point of conversation was admiring each others work and then there was a discussion on wooden toggle buttons. Call it show small talk. She uses wooden buttons on her textile pieces and I as a casual fob closure on the BBB. We both agreed sourcing them from China was absurd even embarassing! Oh if we only knew someone who was an avid stick/button collector and we could make our own with a bit of ingenuity. With that Catherine said y'know I should ask my neighbour, we often meet, I walking our dog in the ravine and she, an artist collecting interesting shaped branches wood. I did not miss a beat and promptly chirped with a rhetorical raised eyebrow: Pixie???? I had no idea she was Catherine's neighbour. Talk about it's a small world story ..... Catherine said why yes! So thanks to Pixie and the search for buttons we have all met. And Pixie like myself, has had the wonderful experience of seeing Catherine's beautiful work.
]]>
Colour, sunlight, texture, the stunningly beautiful shawls of textile designer Catherine Berka, seated on the left amidst her wool felted 'family' describing the artistic process to my family friend, artist/sculptor Pixie Shaw. I'm taking the photo) I met Catherine for the first time last year at the Upper Canada College holiday market in Toronto, an annual fundraiser for the school where she and I were both vendors. Catherine's exhibit was across from mine. Our first point of conversation was admiring each others work and then there was a discussion on wooden toggle buttons. Call it show small talk. She uses wooden buttons on her textile pieces and I as a casual fob closure on the BBB. We both agreed sourcing them from China was absurd even embarassing! Oh if we only knew someone who was an avid stick/button collector and we could make our own with a bit of ingenuity. With that Catherine said y'know I should ask my neighbour, we often meet, I walking our dog in the ravine and she, an artist collecting interesting shaped branches wood. I did not miss a beat and promptly chirped with a rhetorical raised eyebrow: Pixie???? I had no idea she was Catherine's neighbour. Talk about it's a small world story ..... Catherine said why yes! So thanks to Pixie and the search for buttons we have all met. And Pixie like myself, has had the wonderful experience of seeing Catherine's beautiful work.
Catherine's tradename is Nili slow thread - nili is Persian for purple and slow thread attests to the artisinal nature of each piece. She is currently betwixt and between her own studio space in Toronto, so I included some her work at my recent May Day sale at my lakehome last month which was a great success.. I also invited Catherine to show some of her Nili slow thread shawls on our BBB website as a guest Bespoke designer. Deciding which colours to show was near impossible.
The shawls are magnificent in the light...... but one should not take colour too seriously ...
Mostly a whole lot fun viewing and choosing the colours for our BBBespoke collection featuring her shawls.
Now trying to organize a model.... well we had fun there too! I have this wooden mannequin which I set up in my sunroom and took the pics below. My sister out for a stroll wondered who this lady in the shawl was visiting me ?!!! Very funny that's Maxine Mannequin....
So a great way to welcome the summer with our Mini is Back sale and I would have to say the shawl is back too!
]]>