A small obsession with little trees.

I've spent a lot of time staring out of car, train, and aeroplane windows, and it might be my years spent in the middle of Ontario forests with my family nostalgically catching up with me, but I've got hundreds of photos that I took from these cars, trains and aeroplanes of northern European forests. I love the way birch trees look in the snow and clumps pine trees look from the air. I even bought a giant piece of locally woven linen in Tallinn, Estonia last winter after I was inspired by the landscape of wintery Finland as we flew over it and wanted to embroider what I saw. Well, that or the icy water that clogged up the small channel that separates Finland and Estonia. I can't decide so that chunk of fabric remains in a box.

Instead, I've been doing a lot of this.

I sold a couple these before I could even photograph them - my own fault for archival laziness - but, I kind of love the way they're turning out so there'll be many more.

So Much Road

Sometimes so much happens between the posts I make here that I find it a little overwhelming to 'update'. Sometimes I'd rather just go for a bike ride than unload my camera. I've really only done one thing since that September post, but it has left me with a million pictures I need to sort, an apartment to clean, and mountains of laundry. AND, I'm not quite finished.

This last tour had us criss-crossing Germany, in Belgium, The Netherlands, France, The United Kingdom, Norway, Latvia, and Lithuania. Next week we're off to Greece, Serbia, Macedonia, Croatia, Slovenia, Romania, and Hungary. Oh, and we'll be spending part of the first week of December on the island of Madeira. Our schedule has been a little mental, with just enough time in Berlin between trips for a nap in our own bed and a bowl of Aidan's comforting gruel. At this point, I would be wallowing in my fatigue had these last weeks not been very good. [knocking on wood] Also, I'm pretty excited as the rest of our time on the road this year has us going to places we've never been.

Here's just a few pictures from a few of those places...

in order: Kavka - Antwerp, Belgium; Kafe Kult - Munich, Germany; walking around old Nürnberg, Germany; Frappant - Hamburg, Germany; old fort ruins on the Baltic in Liepaja, Latvia; mossy ground swallowing me up in Durbe, Latvia; Durbe, Lativa; Aidan rehearsing with his Latvian band in 400 year old church; a piece of medieval Lithuania outside the cathedral in Vilnius

Hi, Again.

I haven't been here for a while now. For most of the last few months, I've been spending 3 days a week over at the Etsy Labs tending to my little project, The Wunderkabinet/Reading Raum - you might have heard me mention it. It closed with summer, but my brain is still churning so it will resurface one day soon.

What else has been goin' on? Well, we moved from the crazy gentrification of Kreuzberg to the watery calm of Rummelsburg. Where's that, you say? It's (probably) east of wherever you are.

Moving also meant that coldsnap bindery got to have a studio again - this has meant that time at home has been spent in production!! All those books (and even more!) are going to be available at Renegade London this October. I'm going to share a stall with my super pal Tania! If you are reading this and you are in London this October (that is, the original one in the U.K., and not my hometown), you should come and say hello.

Let's see, what else? Well, tomorrow we leave on tour! This is shaping up to be a very busy fall as we're on and off the road for most of the next few months. We start off tomorrow in Amsterdam with our friends, Picastro! Speaking of which, you should totally check out a little record we did together.

I'll try to keep up with everything happening in the real world, in this one. Bis bald!

Where's Leah?

HERE!

Of Boris & Becky

 

photo by Becky Johnson

There are just a handful of people left in the western world that lead rare and amazing lives. Often, their sustainability is threatened by the forces of man, nature and sometimes both.

If you've ever brushed past the surface of this blog or my own life, you are no stranger to Becky Johnson. There are even a hundred (or so) Nadja fans out there sporting a Becky Johnson designed t-shirt. What many of you don't know is that Becky and her partner, the Reverend Aitor - another Nadja collaborator - do a substantial amount of their work on the road. In the past, they have criss-crossed North America in the crocheted-afghan-interior of beat-up Dodge station wagon, Boris Karloff, but like everything manufactured in the early 80's (take note 'Cosby' sweaters) expiration dates are imminent.

Along with working along and with the road, Becky also runs a blog that not only chronicles their life, but also serves as a huge resource to crafters, artists, and makers across the continent. The so so sad demise of Boris has put a serious kink in this year's schedule and help is needed to make sure The Sweetie Pie & Reverend make it out again this year. I could go on and on, but I think you should just watch this video and let Becky tell you all about it! Then, visit her Kickstarter project and back this project while getting something great in return!

Some Time

I went to Canada for 2 weeks. It seemed like 4 days.

So many facets, so little time.

My waking life is strewn in many directions, often all at once, so catching up on things and posting on others is a task often filed at the end of my to-do list. I'm working on a better organization system, but honestly, that's been in the works for YEARS.

That said, this week The Wunderkabinet IS my life, but not without a bit this.

By 'this', I mean, picture Aidan and I folding, stamping, and numbering these. All letter-pressed by the amazing Sabrina of small caps:

New-ish

This is something new to me. Not completely, but mostly. What this also is, is just for me. Well, and Aidan when he feels like joining in. I'm not doing this for any other reason other than to do this for the sake of doing. Something I'm not used to doing.

That little wonder up there, found at a Berlin flea market, along with another little wonder arriving via post from somewhere in the Ukraine will be a wholly extra-curricular activity for A and me. This one in particular will have me unraveling 35mm film and rolling it into little cartridges to be usable.

Although this plan has been in the works long before this new year, it does come with a resolution: take fewer pictures.