midwinter
I’m readying all things cozy at the studio as the winter darkness pulls close around us. A time of year for creature comforts, beautiful scents and rituals to buoy the spirit. In the studio this month, I’ve been pouring endless batches of our golden beeswax candles, blending up tons of soothing salts for the bath, and tending our little indoor windowsill garden, full of paperwhite narcissus and amaryllis. Simple things to see us through to the other side.
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reading + looking at:
the work of Cristina Bartley Dominguez
Between Autumn Equinox and Winter Solstice, Today
the fascinating “Florilegium” collection of paintings by Fatima Ronquillo
Dark: Seed Saving, Solstice and Evergreens
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listening:
to Sequentia singing Hildegard Von Bingen
and again to Alice Coltrane's Transfiguration, after hearing it on the radio recently, played in memory of the passing of the great jazz drummer Roy Haynes
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above, from top left:
a favorite from the recent vintage pieces I’ve sent out the door recently. you can always find our current vintage selection here.
I’ve been keeping a bit of mood lighting on throughout the afternoon to keep the energy up.
some seasonal treats on their way out in orders placed by our newsletter subscribers this month. be sure you are on the list to receive our complimentary shipping gift promotions, as well as lots of lovely exclusive offers and discounts. you can join here.
blending up ever more of our tea for dreamers. a beautiful formula for helping us to imagine what’s possible in these times.
A few scents of the season: warming golden beeswax, a beautiful fresh batch of honey frankincense from Oman with notes of brown sugar and propolis resin, and the bright, uplifting mood of our rose & bergamot bathing salts to offset the dreariest of days.
I’ve also created two new tea assortments, perfect for this season of gifting. The restorative tea sampler gift set features 3 mini packets of 14g each of our dusk, tea for dreamers and rose & chamomile white tea blends. The flowers & spice tea sampler gift set is a collection of 3 mini packets of 35g each of our rose & cardamom assam, tulsi & jasmine green tea and golden cacao blossom tea blends. These make a wonderful host or hostess gift if you are traveling for the holidays!
“Take a tape of the sound of the snow falling. This should be done in the evening. Do not listen to the tape. Cut it and use it as strings to tie gifts with.”
Yoko Ono, Grapefruit
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A little snow this month, after several winters without. The garden is lovely and our little city ecosystem will be all the better for it. The native plant seedheads we’ve left up are providing the loveliest structure in the snow while also sheltering our overwintering insect friends. And I continue to save seeds, reveling in the abundance. Below are the seedheads of celosia and moonflower. What a gift to collaborate with our neighbors and our more-than-human kin in this treasure of a space.
Wishing you a cozy & restful season ahead,
I’m readying all things cozy at the studio as the winter darkness pulls close around us. A time of year for creature comforts, beautiful scents and rituals to buoy the spirit.