OK – I am NOT tooting my own horn, here. I don’t like to do that and I cringe when other people do it. What I’m talking about here is the loveliness in something – anything – that is so clearly made by hand. Yes, I did some illustrations for Wendell August but their artisans turned them into something really worth putting on your tree. I was happy with the photos I saw in their catalog and online but when I received the samples in the mail this past week, I loved what I saw. You can tell, looking at each ornament, that someone – a real, live person, touched every piece of pewter and softened the rough spots and polished the surfaces. Each piece is stamped on the back and – gasp – the stamps aren’t uniform! I love it. I am so thrilled to be a part of this great group of people in Western PA that appreciate the value of the handmade.

I have started my second love letter to Pittsburgh. (The first love letter was a project for Wendell August Forge and I’ll certainly shout from the rooftops when it’s complete.)

It is no secret that I am in love with this place. I love most everything about it and I think it’s absolutely gorgeous and, more importantly, filled with some of the nicest people I’ve ever met.

So I’ve had this idea flitting around in my head ever since I was lucky enough to have an exhibit at Wildcard (awesome shop if you haven’t been there – and if you have, you know of what I speak!) and since I’m an ace procrastinator it’s taken me this long to get on it. But I did get on it. Today. And I think I’ll even have a few pieces done in time for Handmade Arcade this weekend. Stop by the L2 Design Collective table and say hello, will you?

Naturally before building a hen house we thought we should go ahead and tear out the non-retaining retaining wall that the previous owners “built” out of broken bricks and concrete blocks. Here’s a quick BEFORE shot to make you see just how heavenly our back yard looked when we moved in:

FULL DISCLOSURE: the yard didn’t look this nice when we moved in. I took this the morning we started the new retaining wall which was just a couple of months ago. Since we moved in we added the butterfly bush and the rain barrel that will eventually catch the run off from the garage.

Anyhow – after a day of building the wall and learning that our next-door neighbors are really amazing, wonderful and generous (even moreso than we previously suspected) this is what we had to look at:

The next step was to build the hen house. Little Brother Anthony arrived (in jorts) to aid in the construction.

We made a ton of progress that weekend and then promptly walked away from the project for awhile due to work, travel, etc. You can see by the change in attire and the leaves on the trees how much time passed.

TIME WARP:

This is much nicer to look at, no?

Now the girls live out there as happy as can be. I love to look it every day as more leaves fall and it settles in to look like part of the landscape.

This project would not have been possible without the help of friends and family who donated time, supplies and food. I feel like I’m dedicating a book. Huge thanks go out to Anthony for jumping in and getting us moving on the construction; to Sierra and Tommy for helping to engineer and build the wall; to Ton and Sonja for lunch, tea service, gravel and dirt moving and all around moral support (and for giving birth to Sierra all those years ago); to Tammy, Barbara, John, Eric and Jan – neighbors who donated scrap lumber, chicken wire, shovels, etc.; to Dad, Kate L, Terry, Natalie, Cliff M and Janice D for donating license plates; to Mom for hanging out with Whistle and most of all, to Steve, who continues to indulge every crazy whim I get.

I am so happy to have built something for the hens to live in that makes our home a more interesting, fun place to live, with the generosity and kindness of so many people involved. My heart swells.

What is cuter than chubby kid-fingers reaching for baby chicks? NOTHING. End of discussion.

I am surely not going to get any work done today.

First we have to relocate the castle:

Then try to build something a lot like this:

Photo: http://thegardencoop.com

Then put this little guy into the “CUBE”

(and finish staining the deck and rebuild the retaining wall and stack the firewood and and and)

This past weekend we took a quick trip to Chadds Ford, PA and spent a few hours roaming around Terrain at Styer’s in absolute awe of it all. I know where I want to be buried. Hope the fine folks at Terrain won’t mind. Every square inch was inspiring. Maybe we will face one side of the CUBE in funnels?

More on Terrain later. Headed to the incredible Children’s Museum of Pittsburgh.

Wendell August Forge is America’s oldest and largest forge, producing hand-wrought ornamental metalware and elegant giftware in aluminum and other metals since 1923.

It’s here! I’ve been working with Wendell August since early this year and I’m excited and proud to announce the first launch: Gifts from the Sea. A hearty thanks goes out to Hilary Meurer for hooking me up with the great team at Wendell August and making this collaboration possible.

The first step was to create a thumbnail sketch for a 9×12 piece of art featuring shells and their names. Below is my sketch.

And here is the final illustration:

From there the craftsmen at Wendell August made their magic happen and hand-hammered the design to create a mold from which to cast the products in the collection. I am going to head up north soon and take the tour of the factory and learn more about the production but in the meantime their website says this: “This process includes Die Engraving by a master engraver, Material Selection and Cutting, Repousse (Hammering), Surface Anvilling, Edging, Carbon Coloring, a three step polishing process, and Forming. “

I am thankful for the opportunity to work with Wendell August as so few things seem to be made in America anymore, let alone made with care by artists and craftsmen who love what they do and take pride in it.

Today feels good.

Now we’re home and the reality of filling all those awesome orders from the Show is setting in. I also have some projects that I really want to dig into while it’s still 2011. We’ll see how it all plays out. In the meantime I just got word that one of the projects I worked on a few months back is set to launch imminently. I was hoping to have some behind-the-scenes photos and all sort of good details on said project but life got in the way. I’ll have to sit on my hands and wait to see what the company rolls out.

Until later.

The sort-of-secret project I was working on is coming to fruition and I hope to have some new photos and info about that soon.

I also swear that we have been making progress on the house. I just have been terribly remiss at posting pictures. Well, actually I’ve been remiss at cleaning enough to take pictures. No sooner than we get a room “done” we fill it with our messy life.

So – thanks for your patience and I swear to get busy on this soon. In the meantime, some NYC photos.

Whistle took this one.

(and this one)

I’m carving and inking and printing and I love it so much.

Here’s a rough version of one of the guys.

Happy Wednesday, all!