letters to a back

my dear friend erin tore some ligaments in her back last year, on a bike ride to school. totally out of nowhere, in what we, in the back injury world (and the doctors who 'diagnose' us), call 'freak accidents' (that was my fave diagnosis of my back injury). since then, she's been through the whole  process of back rehabilitation, and we've had much to chat about... and it's been nice (in a sick, twisted, weird world way) having someone to lament with, over things that only a person with a random and serious back injury can relate to. things that people can empathize with, but can never really understand until they are there.
erin wrote some letters to her back on her blog. and man... could you have captured the feelings that people with back injuries go through, more accurately? maybe it's just that i enjoy them... and they may not be appropriate for a blog that is for a variety of people... but they're also an interesting insight into what chronic pain makes you do (hint: the answer is "crazy things"). 

Dear Physiotherapist,
Actually, that’s not my full range of motion. Nice try.
I’m not going to be happy about this until palms are flat on the floor and
I’m running 10ks five times a week.
Sorry,
Erin

Dear Advice Givers,

It’s hard for me to hear your good intentions.

I really do try.

But.

Your “you shoulds” and anecdotes hurt.

I know what I need, am telling you what it is. Help a girl out and listen to me.

kthxeveryone,

Erin

Dear Future,

Please don’t let this come back to haunt me.

Seriously.

I’m scared.

Fingers crossed,

Erin

Dear Erin,

Shit happens.

Suck it up.

Please & thanks,

Erin

i love love love jules leather.

through obsessing over whistler, i found this dope duo who kills it in the leather goods department. how could i NOT share?

love jules leather is a joint venture for jules vagelatos and josh blodans from whistler. in 2008, jules started making handcrafted leather shoes after an apprenticeship with a leathersmith in Dartmouth (after graduating from NSCAD). in 2012, josh joined her and they have been working on an evolving line of amazing leather goods ever since. based out of their studio in whistler, they focus on classic inspiration, but as with jules and josh, their goods have a bit of an edge. and, it’s exciting to hear that they’ve moved from not just shoes, but necklaces, belts, and collaborations for new stuff this season (hint: ties, bowties and suspenders).

(from them) "a little handcrafted leather shoe company here in town.  we live pretty charmed lives, creatively paying the rent in one of the most beautiful places in the world.  when we’re not skiing/ biking/ dog walkin’ we’re crafting custom kicks & other accessories… and we’ll sleep when we’re dead."
they're currently working on shoes, a collaboration with sitka. and, to be perfectly honest, anyone who also uses the term 'we'll sleep when we're dead' as often as i do, must be perfectly kick ass.

and my ABSOLUTE favourites....

hopefully next time i'm in whistler, i'll get to meet these two rad leather geniuses. until then, i'll keep sighing over their goodies (originally found via whistler is awesome).

shop their etsy store here //  check out their amazing website (with swear words!) here  //  follow them on twitter here  //  buy their goodies in person here  //  check them out on facebook here  //  and they have a blooooooog. here. 

ooooh!! guys, guys! jules has these belts on sale right now, to clear out their workshop... BUY SOME!

photos from top to bottom:   teal and tan   //   brown camera strap   //   tan brown leather with etched eagle   //   guns-n-(victorian) roses boat shoes  //   navy & faux denim-n-tan leather boat shoes

things i'm digging lately

just some goodies that lately i have been drooling over... totally inspired by all of these makers.

i am totally infatuate with falconwright's card holder & wallet pouches... as well as everything else they make. love the screen printing on leather. AND they're from toronto!

love this huipil blouse by shabd from wiksten

want want want this raw nature poster.

have loved this vu de l'exterieur print forever; and fieldguided has some AMAZING scarves now... stunning.

LOVE LOVE LOVE this knitting shop on etsy. desperately pining for the pastel green mint triangle scarf

and, of course, the best friends heart charm necklaces from camp + quarry... because. well. obviously.

camp + quarry

i've been torturing myself again via internet exploring.... i find myself entrapped in the maze of spectacular jewellery designers and photographers, and generally amazing people who share loves that i do. and through this maze, i somehow stumbled onto this wonderful wonderful blog - a lady who i want to be friends with, and hike with, and play with antiqued metals and gemstones, and silk and cotton scarves with. i think i'm in love with her, and it's taking everything in me to not stalk her (sarah, if you read this, i'm not creepy. i swear).

her blog - shop - camp + quarry - is a wonderful mix of all things i am in love with. hikes in the great west coast, jewellery design by the lovely sarah - including gemstones, antiqued metal, and dyed silk scarves - small bits of graphic design, sharing of art work, and general musings on life.
first, please observe the stunning beauty that is vancouver and the surrounding area. she posts photos of her hikes, her daily adventures, and simply absorbing all that is her lifestyle on the great west coast. this was where the torture came in - how can you look at these photos, and not want to be part of this landscape.... ALL THE TIME.

(for the record, i need to be on the west coast more than once a year).
second, guys - SHE MAKES AMAZING TO-DIE-FOR jewellery!!! see, soulmate. she utilizes fantastic, natural materials, with great chain (man, the mix of her chain usage is off the charts), and awesome wintage charms or findings - like brass posts, and fantastic shapes. i adore her work.

and then music. like this. drool. (uh, hello... james blake's 'i never learn to share' on her 11-11-11 playlist? amaze).

soooooo i basically love her. you will to. check her out in a few ways.....

great interview with sarah here   //   her etsy store here   //   her blog of awesomeness (where all the photos are from) here   //   twitter here   //   her 8tracks (which are kickass) here

all photos from sarah: sunday walk   //   sunday walk   //   whyte lake   //   disconnect   //   best friends necklace   //   petrified wood necklace   //   pink agate geometric triangle stone

uhhhhh - hello erin. thank you for your jewelry.

ohmygoodnessi'msoinlovewith erin considine.

she takes the most simple designs, and implicates them withthe most subtle and complex weaving. i'm so appreciative of ANYONE who can take the simple, and make it far too complex for recreation. who takes something so intertwined in our daily life, and instils beauty and artistic compromise into it's nooks and crannies. who takes accessories to life, and make them accessories to art.

so hence. when i fell upon erin's pieces in a showcase of a store in portland (which i can no longer - for the life of me - recall), i had to pick my jaw up off the floor, peel my eyes off my computer screen, and continue to pour over every photo i could find of her work.
as the fader said, she makes statement jewelry, for the understated. she works out of new york, and after attention north carolina's penland school of craft, she went on to follow her interest in metal work in washington at the evergreen state college. she then ventured back across the country to new york, where she focused on sustainability in her (then) new line.... combining fibrework and metal.
she dyes her own textiles with things like turmeric, logwood, onion skin - all natural ingredients. she reuses vintage metals to repurpose into shapes to be incoporated into her pieces.
beauty. sheer perfection. erin - i think i may be in love with you.

check this shit out. some of my faves. 

check erin out. please. you won't regret it.

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