Chapter 2
The mythic and the mundane
For Chapter 2, we exult in the mythic and the mundane – why making something ordinary into something extraordinary is one of the most honest paths to human happiness. The tangible pleasure in using one’s own agency, hands, feelings and judgement to meld, shape, touch, handle and craft something unformed and turn it into something beautiful. Milk becomes cheese, fabric becomes clothing and paint on walls becomes a home.
The beauty of strength
Materiality, aesthetics, and practicality are the sensitive triangle of your needs that I think about all the time. I only want to make the minimum number of products with the best ingredients, but I also want them to serve the right purpose in your homes.
Tiny places of joy
There is a cupboard at the top of my home that is the keeper of many things. It is original to the house and is humble in its attic room design, as is the way of Georgian houses.
Four books for the little and big questions on life
Lazing at home has come to an end. Students piled onto trains on Sunday afternoon, children headed back to school, and we are mostly all back into our normal life routines – whether work, caring for others, or other life choices.
Keeping magic where it belongs
We know that there is magic in the world. It is easier to feel with the smaller things in life. A magnificent cup of coffee, the first December box of Quality Street, Christmas reindeer antlers on your Labrador…..
Walking over and around the wet November streets
We begin our seasonal shift to inside living – both of place and mind. Late Autumn and early Winter is the most natural season to think of decorating.
Finding your way
Think of the maps as a friend that always gives you a well counselled ‘thumbs up’. We all need friends like this.
Painting well - Part one
People are often surprised that I actually know how to paint, and that I do paint a lot.
Your home is good enough
I think if we reframe normal as good enough, then a ‘good’ home becomes generous and possibly the best it can be. A large collective sigh…
The pleasure of making something exist that didn’t exist before
There is something profoundly human in the pleasure of making something exist that didn’t exist before.