Charming Herriott & Grace
Herriott and Grace epitomizes love in motion through craft. They are a Canadian father and daughter team, specializing in exquisitely hand carved wooden objects for the kitchen/home. Their offerings are always made with the utmost quality by Lance, styled and photographed by Nikole that oozes charm and attention to detail, and packaged with great care (even comes with a wax-sealed thank you note)… I love everything about HG. Sign up to their mailing list to get notified when they restock but you’ve got to act quick if you want one of their special pieces… they go fast!
From HG’s website… here’s their story in their lovely voice:
“Lance and Nikole Herriott live 3400 kilometers apart: his workshop is in Victoria, British Columbia, and her studio is in Toronto, Ontario. When she first made her home more than halfway across the country, they started to send packages back and forth.
In some of those packages, Lance began to include his own hand carved spoons. He had been collecting wood since the early seventies, and used his best pieces for these gifts. Nikole loved them; their balance and shape, the pieces were made with unmistakable care. She knew they were something special.
One day it dawned on her that others might appreciate her father’s talent as she did, so Nikole asked if he would ever want to share his work. Lance took a few days to think about it. And, after some convincing, he agreed to her plan, but only with people that understood and cared about the time and effort spent on each piece.
She told him, “Leave it to me, I know just the sort.”
And with that, Herriott Grace was born.
In the three years since, their small shop has grown to selling an array of hand carved and hand turned wooden objects, including spoons, bowls, pedestals, candy dishes, serving boards, rolling pins, plates and mortar and pestle sets. All are one of a kind and made entirely of salvaged, chemical-free wood, ranging in type, age, and origin. None are exactly the same, and thus none are perfect. But the slight imperfections are an affect of the handmade quality. They’ve also introduced a select line of exclusive porcelain dishware. The ceramic pieces are cast in small runs, and boast the rustic, tactile beauty for which their brand is known.
They also make, by hand, kitchen linens, cake flags, birthday candles, beeswax salve and cookie cutters.
Lance still lives in Victoria, and still sends packages to Nikole in Toronto. Now, she styles and photographs those pieces he sends, and together they are Herriott Grace.”
Supplemental perfectly captures HG with the short film here.
(All images by HG )
Sandast: a new American Classic
I have utmost respect and admiration for artisans; people or shokunins who have followed their passions and honed their craft to an art form. Their devotion and persistence, is inspiring. My interest is especially piqued when I discover high quality designs handmade in the good ol’ USA. Hence my excitement when I discovered the Los Angeles based accessories line Sandast.
Co-founder and industry veteran Milan Franeta began “dirtying” Swiss Army bags found in vintage shops to suit his worn-in aesthetic years ago. This inspired a growing interest in leather and the idea of distressing them to “look and feel vintage—soft, durable but elegant in its imperfection.” The Montenegro-born visionaire saw a market for high-functioning accessories made with the best quality leather, finished with extreme care imbued with his signature rugged sensibility, and established Sandast in 2006.
“All Sandast bags are carefully and expertly hand-finished in the USA and Italy by the world’s most skilled craftsmen. In Sandast workshop, the most common sound one will find is the deafening hammering sound. Each Sandast bag and its each component has to go through the distress and polish process which takes hours to complete. When one sees the Sandast bag, He or she can feel and admire our sweat, love, and passion put in each bag. Each bag is unique and each bag is the masterpiece.”
A new timeless American Vintage is born. Sandast flagship store opening soon in downtown LA.
Sit back, relax and enjoy the ethereal lightness captured in Issey Miyake’s “Bloom Skin” window installation. Designed by visual design studio WOW for Miyake’s SS ’12 Elttob Tep Collection, the installation at the Tokyo Ginza boutique consists of eight computer-controlled fans that rhythmically propel a long piece of Organdy fabric into ecstatic dance…
Technology + Simplicity at its best.
May this add a dash more lightness into your day…
Master Italian photographer/graphic designer Alberto Seveso shoots high-speed photographs while ink mixes with water. His sinuous ink photographs are vividly mesmerizing and capture the imagination. I hope he prints these on large canvases and will be available for purchase!
Below works are from the a Due Colori series:
(all images by Alberto Seveso)
Louie Schwartzberg’s TED talk below is simply beautiful and a great reminder to slow down, get centered, feel gratitude and enjoy our lives.
His time lapsed photography is breathtaking powerful in its natural beauty… enjoy!
Sublime Curious 