Hello Fall!

*I had meant to post in September! But this got lost in the shuffle!*

Hello friends!

I'm sorry that it's been so long; but I needed a bit of a departure from my blog to focus on the beautiful summer weather and the many tasks we had to accomplish. 

I thought that it would be nice to reconnect, and every time the season changes It gives me pause to reflect;  sort out what's working; what isn't and where to focus my energies.

Today marks the first full day that we spent in our new home! A full year ago we drove up in our massive moving truck, car in tow and took a long look at our new home. It really felt just like a dream; and still does in many ways.

We spent the summer working on the house, working away in our studios and exporing the province with lots of road trips.  It is so nice to have immediate access to the ocean; the forests and hiking trails; and despite all of the work that needed to be done; we wanted to see a lot of our new home province this summer and enjoy the weather.

I am however, missing a lot of things about my home (t.) and my community there; and loving a lot about my lost and found/abandoned home (ns)...it's definitely been an interesting experience. Mixed feelings and all of the feels with the non stop intensity of the last year.

I've always felt more comfortable in urban environments...and as an introvert really miss the comfort and company of the streets of Toronto.  It's like the charasmatic, troubled bff you can't quit; when it's time to move on.
I completely miss the quiet in that chaos; but something I never anticipated was the calm that was to come from being here.

That calm is something that I wasn't really ready for,  but turned out to be the biggest gift of this entire experience. I could have never anticipated the impact that background stress was having on me; all of the experienced;  yet
unacknowledged background noise that would eventually shrink to a dull hum.  I am so happy to report that my shoulders are almost back to a more natural position; and my neck barely hurts anymore. 

But time to work!

I've been developing some new work for my fall/winter 2016 line and will be posting soon.
I have been trying to work on more one of a kind pieces; and have been a bit more playful in the studio which has been fun.  

I've been obsessed with large, statement earrings; bold strong pieces that are a departure from the teeny, minimalist stud earrings that I spend a lot of my time making.

I have been combining rough, black tourmaline with freshwater coin pearls, smooth pebble forms combined with irregular shapes and the scale is quite a bit larger.

Here are some photos is of what I've been developing and working on...as well as the world I find myself in...
hope you enjoy....and want to know; how do you find calm in your world? What's your secret? Report below :)

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Work. Work. Work. Work. Work.

In the works for, um. ever, I'll be launching a NEW WEBSITE~!
Stay tuned, this time, next week, for the launch...on June 9th.
There will be surprises, and of course, dancing.

Photo Credit: Chantal Anderson.  Super inspired work.  http://chantalanderson.com/

Spring Changes.

Hello All!  It seems an eternity has passed since my last update.  It has been so incredibly overwhelming, chaotic, exciting and all of the feels over here.  So many changes, and so much to take care of with our new life on the East coast.

The winter was peaceful, and we spent a lot of our time checking out restaurants, coffee shops and bars along the South shore, and in Halifax.  The rest of the time we spent checking out the local hardware stores, paint departments and sourcing inspiration online, working on the house, and shining her up a bit.   

We were grateful for the very mild winter, it was so warm, we even had a couple of campfires in Feb. so for that we were grateful for the gentle welcome....and the kind neighbour who came by EVERY time it snowed (which thankfully was not often), with his giant tractor, and plowed our driveway.

Cameron and I participated in the Halifax Crafter's Society Holiday show as well as the Spring show, and were happy to meet so many talented artists, and friendly people that organize this show to make it such an incredible experience.  We're really looking forward to next year, and hope to make this a tradition!

I wanted to share some of the surprises here on the homestead, mostly in the form of floral ones....we seem to have inherited some amazing gardens on the porperty.  There are quince bushes, extremely old lilacs, highbush blueberries, many wild and cultivated roses and a very ancient apple and plum orchard.  It's been so inspiring to take time away from the studio, to just be grateful, soak it all in and slow down a bit.  

I've got some very exciting news, which I'll be sharing soon, so stay tuned!

Hope you are enjoying the Spring weather, and finding inspiration where you are!

The Wintersleep.

Hello All!

I've been having a bit of a winter rest, taking time to recharge and reflect after the very busy holiday season.  It's been a working rest, however, as I've been slowly picking away at home projects and renos.

We are currently in the midst of refinishing and repairing our plaster walls and discovering the mysteries beneath the many, many layers of wallpaper.  It's been a bit of a wallpaper time machine, and we even discovered a section of the house with what appears to be the oldest paper (likely late 1800's or turn of the century) as it has been block printed.

It's been a beautiful, very mild winter so far, so I've been spending a lot of time exploring the property, walking through the forest and soaking up the quiet.  Making a move from an extremely different environment definitely shifts your perspective...for me the peace..and the darkness of night have had the most impact.  It is so incredibly still and there are oh so many stars!  

Thought I'd photo journal the last month or so around here, as it's been difficult to find the time to write with all of the home renos and projects going on here.  Follow me on Instagram to join me on my adventures: https://www.instagram.com/touchthedutch/ 

Finding the way...

Greetings all!  It's been a very busy couple of months, and It still seems completely surreal at times that I've moved studios, and began this adventure in a new province, by the sea.

Things are starting to come together, and we've been picking away at projects in order of priority, splitting our days working in the studio and on the home.

A lot of cosmetic changes need to be made, as well as serious things that need to be addressed.  We realized pretty quickly that the kitchen floor was freezing, the room was so cold that it was likely not insulated. The hunch proved correct after some exploratory work, so we've ripped out the kitchen flooring, are insulating the floors, and are bringing the kitchen back down to it's original wood floors which we are saving in the process.  

There have been some curious and unexpected discoveries on the property which has been exciting to explore...a creepy hidden well in our kitchen, fruit trees behind the house, a handmade wooden rake, and amazing flooring under all of the unfortunate linoleum and shag carpeting.

I think I've resigned myself to the fact that my future will involve a lot of wallpaper removal, and plaster repair, which I'm hoping to work on soon.  Our intention is to bring the home back to it's original state, and fortunately the woodwork, flooring and walls are all here, just hidden under many many layers which all have their own stories to tell.

So, we're making progress, but in the midst of our busiest season for our studios, we have to keep on top of our custom projects and orders....so we're not moving as quickly as we would like, but try to celebrate the small accomplishments.  

Going down the road...

Can I catch my breath?

Whew! It's been one hell of a summer, and I've got some exciting news to share!

After years of carefully looking, home viewings, flights to the east coast, offers and anticipation, we've found the perfect new home for us and our studios!

For a couple of months after the wedding and holidays, we began packing, organizing our studios for the move, and selling or donating things we no longer needed.  

We packed everything up in massive truck, and began our arduous journey across the county, and headed for the coast.  

We've arrived in Lunenburg county, Nova Scotia, in a community called Conquerall Mills, and are settling in, and working on our 1880's home.  It's amazing, overwhelming and so very exciting!  I hope to keep my blog updated a bit more frequently when things have calmed down a bit.  

We began by setting up our studios, working on the electricity, painting, and setting up one of the outbuildings as a studio space.

Leaving the city for life in the country is an adventure that we are so excited about, and I hope to share more thoughts on that later.  It's been very busy, with wood stacking, hanging drywall, altering the electricity, painting, removing unfortunate wood paneling and wall paper....stripping wall paper is brutal!

There have been some surprises...(locating a creepy stone well inside our house), yikes! And, finding that the floors are beautiful old growth pine...which we will refinish and work on.

Thought I'd take a moment to connect, and share a few pictures of the place.