rituals for february

This month brings with it the celebrations fo the Lunar New Year outside our studio doors in Chinatown & the Lower East Side. Flowering quince branches and bundles of colorful carnations (the inspiration for our Grand Street botanical perfume!) fill the shops, as family and friends reunite for the festivities. Here in the studio & at home, I’ve been digging back into some favorite analog practices over the last few weeks, and leaning into the little joys of the season, ready to welcome spring.

Since I’m mostly away from Instagram these days (more on that, here), I wanted to be sure to remind you here about our monthly subscriber exclusive special for February, which is the magical Fleurs + Cacao tea, a lovely blend of roses, cacao, vanilla and jasmine green tea leaves. Subscribers receive 15% off this blend all month long, be sure to check our latest newsletter for the coupon code, and thank you so much for subscribing! If you’re not yet on the list, you can join here. I’m so grateful for your kind support.

I was a bit late in purchasing my pocket calendar this year, as January was such a busy month. I’ve evolved a peculiar way of using these little notebooks since about 2014, when I began using a digital calendar for appointments and scheduling. Despite the convenience of that, I found that I couldn’t quite stop myself from buying a little Moleskine datebook each year. It was a ritual. In a very loose fashion, I began to use them instead for making small notes about the day. Some years, I’ve made only a handful of notes, perhaps 6 or 7 days worth. Other years I’ve indulged in a flurry of activity in one month or another before abandoning the practice entirely. Over the last year or so, I’ve been a little more consistent, writing perhaps a note or two per week about an odd coincidence here or a fleeting observation there. I find at this moment of my life that I have no interest in keeping “a diary” per se, but these little notes feel just right.

As the corporate online world becomes ever more consolidated and life-force-sucking, I’ve been reflecting quite a lot on what analog beauty means in these times, and how I can share a bit more about my philosophy on that through my work here. What interests me most right now is the idea of imagining something better, and then working to bring that into being through our daily living. I don’t think that we have to unquestioningly accept that the future is bigger, louder, more environmentally destructive, more commodifying of our attention and our relationships. Our use of the various new tools available can be less inevitable, more intentional. We can simplify and allow more breathing room to open up. Personally, I’ve been meditating on this during quiet moments in the bath, with a cup of tea, while unraveling the nuance of a botanical scent, and then trying to take that connection and centered attention back out into the world with me, in order to live differently.

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very much along those lines, reading:

meet the neo-luddites warning of an AI apocalypse

Jesse Paris Smith reflects on the recent National Handwriting Day

on my to-do list at the moment: replacing my typewriter ribbon

but also, February Evening in New York

looking:

through seed catalogs, online & otherwise! Floret’s seed shopping guide is very comprehensive…

listening:

to Marie Nishiyama plays Mamoru Fujieda: Patterns of Plants + some background on the compositions

to the Mystery Sonatas of Heinrich Ignaz Franz Biber

to these lovely seasonal playlists inspired by the Japanese concept of the 72 Seasons, via Kettl Tea

to Nina Simone, on her birthday (February 21st)

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below, clockwise from top left:

the pretty little vintage botanical postcards I’ve been sending out with orders this month, perhaps inspiring you to send a handwritten note of your own?

somewhat delayed by the nighttime chill at the studio, our amaryllis are finally beginning to bloom, with great drama. this white variety is called “Snow Drift”, and opened just in time for our first bit of snow in over 700 days

a few treats & treasures on their way out the door this week

this just in! the sweetest little batch of vintage ceramic teacups

A few favorite rituals for the longest/shortest month:

{one}

take plenty of warm baths. our lavender + hinoki bathing salts are my current go-to 

{two}

do not skimp on the bodega daffodils!

{three}

 stop in the afternoon to simmer up a little tea. right now our rose & cardamom assam is on repeat at the studio. make it extra special by microplaning in a bit of fresh ginger, and add a splash of rosewater at the end. I love Mymoune for this, and it's relatively easy to find 

{four}

lots and lots of fresh citrus. I've been snagging all the pink grapefruits, cara caras and mandarins I can get my hands on. there's absolutely nothing more cheerful and nourishing

{five}

a trip to your local botanical garden glass house

A few flowers from this month, around the studio and beyond. We recently walked up to the Flower District just to take a look around. One of the shopkeepers greeted us and we told her we were on vacation from downtown, she laughed and we got to talking about our cats. If you know, you know: the resident cats are one of the sweetest parts of visiting the flower shops. That and the gorgeously humid air scented with jasmine & orange blossoms!

Spring will be here soon,

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more winter musings