Please stay

Recently, I changed the name of my blog from 'Burrow' to 'No. Don't go.' and I have a reason for this. Initially, my reason for using the title 'Burrow' was purposeful. Firstly, I love rabbits, so that had a little something to do with it, but it was also something I thought of when I returned from travelling around Europe for 3 months. I missed home while I was away, but I realised this even more so when I got home. I spent hours in my bedroom surrounding myself with home comforts and reading and being surrounded by all the things I love and that inspire me. I realised that the place I am most inspired and fed is at home, in my burrow. It is here that I sit and reflect on all my outside experiences and I dwell on how beautiful life is and how blessed I am. This is all still true...

Over the past few months I have been reflecting on loyalty, both in relationships (as I mentioned in my previous post) and with the things we encounter everyday. I started to think about how design can be loyal. How we can choose to buy and use products that we can keep and use for longer, and that have a positive impact on their surroundings. For me, loyal design is simple and honest...it is what it is. It doesn't try to be something else. It's about quality not quantity. It's about timelessness and not glamour. It makes you feel like you're home. It takes you back to special moments in the past but also holds promise and hope for the future - because you know that it will still be there in 5 years time. To the more glamourous person, this probably sounds boring and unexciting. These people love trend, and they love what is transient and fleeting. They believe that nothing lasts forever so why try make it. This is true I guess, but how do you make memories in or with something or someone who you believe will be gone in a few months? I'm thinking about relationship - with people AND with design.

So, why 'No. Don't go.'? Well, while I was having these sporadic epiphanies about loyalty and honesty, I thought back to a trip my friend Natalie and I made to a Charity store in Somerset West one day after class. I found this tiny pair of striped, high-waisted denim shorts. I mean it when I say tiny...so I knew I would never be able to fit into them (even though I really wanted to try). But while I was analysing them, I found a little woven label on the back pocket that said 'No. Don't go'. I remember taking a photograph on my phone because I thought it was the cutest little label I had ever seen. I think I loved it because of how random it was. But I also loved what that statement meant - loving something or someone so much that you didn't want it to ever leave you. And this completely encapsulates how I'm feeling about basically everything right now. 

Below are just some images of things I love and think are timeless and beautiful.

Pursue what is true and honest

I've been thinking a lot lately about relationships. Times swing round when you begin to realise that certain relationships are either mutually fruitful or just plain toxic.

A few months ago, Ali was telling me of a story she read about a Swedish girl who was diagnosed with Uterine cancer. Her doctors told her she only had a short time to live and her only option was extreme courses of chemo and radiation therapy. Even that wouldn't cure her, but rather just make her live that little bit longer. She looked her doctor in the eye and said: "Do you know the cause of my cancer?" and when  he answered that he couldn't detect the exact root of her illness, that it could be any number of things, she said, "Well I can. It's two things! Toxic food and toxic relationships." She divorced her sap of a husband and removed herself from fruitless friendships and flushed all the toxins out of her body with juicing detoxes. Within a year, her uterus was cancer free and she was pregnant with her first child.

Over the past year or so, I have been focusing a lot on removing toxic food from my diet. I have been trying to identify the reasons why sometimes I feel so terrible about myself and why this affects the things I put in my body. During this process however, I have realised that this is runs parallel to my relationships with people. Why do I let some people treat me so terribly and who benefits from these relationships? While we try to feed our bodies with all things good and healthy, we should also try to feed our souls with friendships of the same caliber. 

Movies and romantic novels fool us. They tell us that love is supposed to be tumultuous and dramatic. They tell us that it isn't real if we aren't feeling fleeting moments of bliss alongside bouts of heartbreak. They tell us that we need to either be confessing that we cannot live another second without this other person in our lives, or that they drive us so insane that we can't stand the sight of them. They also instill the idea that love is fleeting and that we need to grab hold of it with both hands and MAKE. IT. STAY. Why should we beg those we love to remain in our lives? Surely that's not love?

The first line of 'Renegade' by Kings of Convenience spells it out: "I'm letting go, to see if you hold on to me." I think we've all done this at some point. We've just had enough of trying so hard to keep someone in our lives and we begin to test them to see if they really care. It's a hard place to be in, but it's also the point where you realise, "I'm worth more than this! I'm worth being cared about and having an effort made for me just as I care and make an effort for others." It's powerful...that moment where you really and truly believe it. It's powerful because it's the moment you look yourself square in the face and say "I am enough." And only great things can happen from being in that space.

So, this is the challenge, pursue what is real, steadfast and true. I find that in my Heavenly Father and in my family. The challenge is also to keep loving and investing in people's lives. Don't let your heart grow hard and cold. Don't isolate yourself from the world for fear of hurt or rejection. But rather, realise that you are enough and you are loved by those who truly matter, and whatever happens as a result of trusting in someone new - like water off a duck's back, move on and keep being loved and pursued by those who matter.

The loyalty of an old friend

Last night, a few of us attended the open studio evening for the newly renovated Woodstock Industrial Centre, now called 'The Woodstock Exchange'. It is such a powerful space, inspiring collaboration between creatives of all fields. Each floor houses skilled and talented artisans from illustrators, graphic designers and architects, to fashion and furniture designers. It did raise quite a few questions in my mind though. I found in walking into a few of the studio's that some of what they did was extremely undefined. Maybe that's cool!? Maybe it's a great thing to be able to tackle a bunch of projects, whether it be a simple, cutesy wedding invitation or a more conceptual brand management project. However, what I've been obsessing over, over the past few months is the idea of focussing on doing one thing and doing it so well that people wouldn't want to go anywhere else. Knowing that you have honed your skills in that one area and that you know every nook and cranny of that field. Sure, over time you will have the ability to branch out and be more creative with more things; but isn't it more admirable to know that you've expelled blood, sweat and tears to do that one thing so well that customers wouldn't want to go anywhere else?

A friend and I were chatting about this. About consumer loyalty and how we cannot expect to generate a loyal base of consumers if we don't offer a brand with all the same loyalty we expect from them as consumers. How can we expect them to keep coming back every month/season/year to buy our next great idea if we don't offer them something that they will love and cherish for years without fear of it losing quality or value? The general view of 'beauty' is often quite transient, but I choose to find beauty in something more - like an old pair of jeans that I will love and keep forever despite the way it slowly wears with age. That could be because of the memories it holds, or simply because those jeans have been an old, loyal friend for years and years.

Utility and function

While browsing the ever-addictive Pinterest, I came across a store I would love to pop into if I manage to visit the beautiful London soon. I am all about utility, functionality and simplicity, and this store ticks all the boxes! It's called Labour and Wait and it is found in the lovely Shoreditch district, London. If I tried to describe their ethos in any words other than their own I would do them the greatest injustice, so read what they say about their store:

"We believe in a simple, honest approach to design, where quality and utility are intrinsic.

From hardware to clothing we offer a selection of timeless products that celebrate functional design and which are appropriate in a traditional or contemporary environment.

We have assembled a carefully curated collection of new and vintage items, some of them familiar, others waiting to be discovered. These everyday classics will not date but will mellow with age and are destined to become favourites."

Below are some images taken from their website that make my toes curl in happiness.

Togs

So, I had this idea for a very simple tog bag recently, and I decided to use my dad's birthday as an excuse to try it out and give it to him as a gift. It's only the best for daddy, so I bought a very expensive pure Belgian linen for his version. He loves it and so do quite a few others, so I have decided to perfect it a bit more and make it in a few more affordable versions to sell along with my range of shirts. Today, I finished off a denim version which I'd like to get a heavy stonewash on to give it a soft, worn-in look. The one below is dad's linen style. Pictures of the denim tog will be up soon!

featsockco.com

I haven't posted in forever it seems. Been busy but also just extremely lazy - naughty! Some great developments have taken place with the little sock venture my friend Alison and I started at the end of last year. We have been accepted into Design Indaba 2013 as 'Emerging Creatives' and we are so excited to show the world our socks! Last week our great friend Sam (web portfolio) helped us put together our online store. As a result, we have not only made some sales but also been receiving emails from some wonderful stores around Cape Town who would like to stock our socks. All this love and support makes me grin from ear to ear. Below are some shots that you can also find on our online store taken by another wonderfully talented friend Cheyne.