monday morning music

i have not posted music in awhile. i hope you enjoy this one.

it's an odd one, but it grows.

(photo by nicol vasquez)

friday fuzzy

hello again darling bloggy friends. here is a friday fuzzy for you. here is also an expression of my hangdog shame at being a crap blogger lately. ugh, sorry.

sometimes the internet is the most inspirational place. it's just so damned full of ideas and questions and resources and answers. it's a myriad of lilypad wandering through so much beauty. and then all of a sudden it gets overwhelming ... dull and heavy and lifeless. or maybe that's just the spring (that's finally showing some signs of thinking about getting around to arriving) telling me to unplug. i'd tell you the trees are budding but i don't want to jinx things.

but still, it's friday, so let's be fuzzy.

my computer needs a restart. my coffee cup needs a restart. and i'm starting to think i need a restart, too. i'm off to take care of the first two and ponder the third. i hope you have a wonderful weekend.

xo. r


(photo by emily)

new and news

oh, yes. there are some new pieces due in the shop (very) soon. i am always excited when there is a fox on the work table. unfortunately, it seems i have been too busy to get to my favorite pieces lately. this is sort of an uncomfortable topic to talk about, but as this "busyness" is to be happening more and more often, it seems the idea that's been dwelling in the back of my mind and growing day by day must be put upon the table.prices. i haven't changed them much in the last five years, but my work has changed quite a bit. (i've never even charged extra for custom work, which is obviously just a bit silly.) deep inside, i am so honored and grateful that so many of you have chosen to buy an oh, albatross handmade piece for your home or for a loved one, that i tend to forget about the value of my own time and process. after many late nights of bloodshot eyes and aching fingers, as well as a nagging unrest in the back of my mind... yes dears, prices will be going up a bit.but there's a shiny little glimmer of good news... the new prices will include free domestic shipping (and a much-reduced international rate). and, as a wee gifty to my return customers (because i think you're amazing, and i am so, so thankful for you), send me a convo for 15% off your next handmade piece.

in semi-related news... a pierrot bear!! i've been thinking about him for ages and i couldn't be happier about how he turned out with his antique baubles and matelasse cap. in semi-unrelated news... i spotted a fox in our front yard yesterday! i had no hope of ever seeing one, because i didn't think they lived in this area at all. and yet, there he was... red and black and clever as can be. FOX!

okay, enough rambling from me. i'm off to pop these wee brethren in the shop. remember... hit me up for your discount!

xo. r

shelved

there were just three things i really, really needed from this house when we designed and built it. light, space and a wall of bookshelves. and all three boxes are finally checked. really, really checked.

above are the bookshelves in their near-final state. there's still a little clean-up to be done. and a few more bits and pieces to add here and there (yes, of course there are still a few more boxes to be unpacked. i think it will be that way forever.) but i can't help but walk over and stare at them every hour or so... just because i'm so excited they are finally there! books, yay! (i will never be a kindle person.)

a few people asked for a how-to via instagram. i'm not terribly qualified as a building-things-instructor, but i've got a few before and afters that might help explain things a bit. to start with, i am not a fan of formal entry ways, nor am i a fan of entryways that dump you right into the living space. so we landed in between... our front door is just opposite the bookshelves, making a sort of library gallery / main entry. (of course everyone comes in through the garage, but that's just real life.)

we knew where the bookshelves were going since the design phase, so we had the opportunity to hide some of the bookshelf structure inside the walls. patrick spent a day blocking and adding flanges in between studs to help support the weight of the bookshelf structure (which conveniently eliminated most of the vertical supports that would normally be needed to support a bookshelf this size).

we left in the 3" stubs (which the drywall crew was thrilled to work around), and we've basically been looking at a blank wall with a grid of holes for the last three months. i freaked out a bit about two months back because all the books were packed away, so this happened... (you can see a few of the holes in the wall just above the books.)

here are the bookshelves halfway done. bookshelves on one side, hole grid on the other. there was a lot of impatient pacing on my part at this point because i couldn't put any books on until the whole thing was finished. sigh.

the actual materials for the bookshelf are pretty darned simple. ikea butcher block counters for the shelves (cut in half lengthwise - we got two shelves out of each counter) and black pipe with standard fittings for the structure. lowe's and home depot will cut and thread black pipe for free, but expect a lot of cajoling on your part and a bit of grumbling on their part.

and then finally, finished bookshelves!

for the curious organization&arrangement folks... fiction is alphabetical and non-fiction is arranged by topic. (with the exception of my twenty some copies of alice in wonderland which are grouped on their own.) my next project will be cleaning up an old orchard ladder for easy access to the top shelves! but i might have to take a reading break first. happiness is a full bookshelf.

xo. r

friday fuzzy

just the wee-est bit of cute for you today... 1.5" of baby hamster.

have a lovely.
xo. r

(photo via khilendel)