We’re Moving Out of Philadelphia, and It’s Bittersweet!
We’re Moving Out of Philadelphia
...and it's bittersweet!
We are very fortunate – as a family and small business owners – to be able to follow our curiosities to wherever they may lead. Here we find ourselves in another major transition! We – Walter and I, Søren and Silas too, have decided to sell the Peg and Awl building in Port Richmond Philadelphia, and move our business into our Barn here in Chester County, Penna. It felt like a quick decision, but it was the culmination of much quiet consideration. I have always been spontaneous – or so it seems – so much is accomplished in our sleep.
Yesterday was warm and wondrous. As I walked from Port Richmond to Old City for a last minute hair appointment at Barnet Fair, and to treasure hunt at Vagabond Boutique, I felt the weight of nostalgia for what we would soon be leaving, and a lightness too, as I imagined floating, for the first time in a while, into a new unknown.
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Some Things to Look Forward to in the Coming Year!
- New Website! We’ve been working on it for a long time – we don’t have a launch date yet, but soon!
- New Jewellery! If you’ve been following along on Instagram – you may have seen some glimpses of these projects over the past few years.
- New Of A Kind Adventures! (accompanied by more Flea Market adventures, read here!)
- Exciting Pivots!
The Foundlings (Peg and Awl) Building: Before and After
Read about the Shop Renovation Project, here!
We’ve put a lot of work into our workshop since we bought the dark and closed-up building in 2016 – from opening cinder-blocked windows and tearing down walls, to transforming the gravel and pavement into gardens. We built and set up a storefront (that we never officially opened) just before the pandemic. We poured concrete floors and filled the wide open space with an abundance of tools and machines and worked with our wonderous crew to design, make, and ship all of the treasures that we share around the world.
We look forward to the next adventure for Peg and Awl and, too, for the building! The dream is always for some magic makers to take the reins and re-imagine a better, brighter, greener, and cleaner corner of Philadelphia.
A lot happens through word of mouth — if you know someone who may be interested, please share!
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Storefront, trees, plants, and windows! |
A lightless old space full of stuff. |
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Employee gardens and honey bees~ |
Concrete slab (though locals told us it was a wading pool in the summers and an ice hockey rink in the winters!) |
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A part of the woodshop! |
Pouring the concrete floor. |
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Knocking down the in-between wall. |
Renovations and the inhabiting of the nearly abandoned building in Port Richmond, Philadelphia.
The Barn: Our New Shop
Read On: Our Barn Restoration Project
We will continue to make treasures in Philadelphia over the next few months. In May, we will be opening our new workspace to the public for a Studio Tour in May! There we will share our art, showroom, and the goings on of the new iteration of Peg and Awl.
This space will be a gallery and showroom.
Walter’s cozy loft studio will remain Walter’s cozy loft studio.
Our Barn Restoration Project
Read On: Our Barn Restoration Project
“...By the time we had finished removing the rotted bits, the trusses, the rafters, and the floors, it was hard to say if we were reclaiming an old barn, or building a new one in its image. The barn shape – the space within the frame – became one of the few parts I could solidly say remained from the historic place. But over the next few weeks, as I observed the delicate skeleton of the old barn standing strong but precarious in the wind and rain – with day now inside and night inside too – I grew suspicious of this boundaryless thing I wanted to keep. What were we preserving, and more, why?”
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Suggested Blog Posts
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The Scout Plein Air Box was inspired by our endeavor to make art every day. Each one is handmade in our Philadelphia workshop. Watch our video showing how we make the Scout Plein Air Box!
The Scout Plein Air Box was inspired by our endeavor to make art every day. Each one is handmade in our Philadelphia workshop. It compactly secures all of your essential art supplies for painting outdoors. Fill your box with your favorite colors, paintbrushes, and sketchbook. Find your spot and quickly transform the box into a mini studio. Set it on a flat surface or mount it on a tripod, snap the liquid jars, brush holder, and easel in place, clip on your canvas and you are ready to paint. Watch our video showing how we make the Scout Plein Air Box!
Original Plein Air Oil Paintings by Walter Kent
“It has been nearly three years since I returned from a painting workshop in Italy, taught by Jeremy Mann and Nadezda, hosted by Art Escape Italy. This was my first experience plein air painting and once I returned home I immediately made my own pochade box, the Scout. During the last three years I have gone out on many painting adventures, both alone and with my family, with the Scout over my shoulder.
When I wander out into the world to paint, there is a game of tug of war twisting knots in my stomach, with my hopes and fears digging their heals in on either side. After the first few strokes of paint, the excitement of possibility takes over. These attempts at capturing the fleeting moments of the world around me line the windowsills of our studio.I’ve selected some of my favorite Plein Air oil paintings, breadcrumbs of my path as an artist, and we are excited to share them with the everyone. Each painting has been varnished for protection and is signed and marked with its location and date and is fitted with a ready-to-hang frame made of reclaimed blackened walnut.” –Walter
Indian Lake, New York 2022 Shaw’s Bridge, Pennsylvania 2021 
Delaware Water Gap No. 3, Pennsylvania 2021
Barnegat Bay, New Jersey 2020 Starr Farm, Pennsylvania 2021 
Kaaterskill Falls, New York 2022
Lake Superior, Wisconsin 2020 Kerhonkson, New York 2022 
Ready-to-Hang frames are made of reclaimed blackened walnut.
How We Make the Scout Plein Air Box and Original Paintings by Walter Kent
The Scout Plein Air Box was inspired by our endeavor to make art every day....
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After many prototypes, countless customer requests, and an endless search for sustainable leather, The Franklin Makers Apron is finally here! Our Apron champions the virtues of hard work, curiosity, ingenuity, and industriousness, and it has quickly become one of our favorite companions while working in the studio or at home.
After many prototypes, countless customer requests, and an endless search for sustainable leather, The Franklin Makers Apron is finally here!
On our first trip to England together, Margaux and I discovered a magical art supply shop on a small cobblestone street. Like something pulled out of Diagon Alley, it was lined with dark oak, floor-to-ceiling shelves overflowing with pigments of all kinds: oil paints, pastels, watercolors, and more. Ladders and spiral staircases led to stacks of dusty boxes each holding the possibilities of masterpieces yet to be made. We spent hours exploring the nooks and crannies, and amongst all the treasures, we discovered two artist aprons, the last from a company no longer in existence. They looked like relics of a bygone era, plucked from the studio of Sargent or Klimt. We left the shop, each with an apron, and though Peg and Awl hadn’t yet begun, the seed to someday make our own version, had been planted.
Our Apron champions the virtues of hard work, curiosity, ingenuity, and industriousness, and has quickly become one of our favorite companions while working in the studio or at home. Its durable canvas armor protects against dirt, paint, liquids and debris, and with multiple waist and chest pockets it provides ample storage so tools are secure and conveniently accessible. The Franklin is available in two sizes, and the suspender-style vegetable tanned leather straps and belt have multiple settings to comfortably fit a variety of statures. Once on, The Franklin Maker’s Apron becomes a part of you, bringing the perfect mix of order, utility, and aesthetics to the creative chaos of a maker’s daily routine!
The Franklin Maker’s Apron
After many prototypes, countless customer requests, and an endless search fo...
Read The Post -
I am drawn to making jewelry as objects that continually flow through human hands – all symbolism and storytelling and marks of use from imagined pasts and futures. Explore the inspiration behind each of our jewelry collections and the lost wax casting process...
After years of working with local jewelers who cast, finished, and sized our jewels, which was after years of my finishing the jewelry in our dining room, we finally set up our own jewelry shop at the Peg and Awl building! In addition to designing the jewelry and packaging, we now do the entire lost wax casting process in house – making molds, waxes, casting, and finishing!
Jewelry remains a Peg and Awl outlier (we all need outliers!) as it is not useful like our other objects are useful. It is symbolic, representative, adorning, and meant to be part of an ongoing narrative. I am drawn to making jewelry as objects that continually flow through human hands, like objects at a flea market – all symbolism and storytelling and marks of use from imagined pasts and futures.
We love digging into history and happenstance for our collections, and have been working on a few tricky ideas which we hope to be able to share with you soon! Until then, peak inside our workshop and collections.
Rubber molds. Waxes of Foundlings Earrings! 
Flasks for plaster molds. Nitrogen regulator to keep the casting operator oxygen-free! 
Getting ready to cast! Our first in-house silver tree! 
Liver of Sulfer to blacken the details. How to (re)oxidize your jewelry below.* Ready for finishing and polishing. The details will hold onto the black/oxidized finish. 
Polishing the insides of the rings. Stamping the Peg and Awl mark in our rings! 
Finished pendants from our Botanical Collection. Epic Desk Caddy atop my first and still-used jeweler’s bench — a gift from my dad after receiving a high school scholarship for a summer art program at Moore!
Foundlings Collection
Foundlings is a collection that has come to life through the layering of hands that make.
One end-of-winter morning, we ventured out into the last grey of the season-leaving, amongst sagging time-worn tables that house trash and magic. Flea markets are often secret repositories of history, and we were about to dive backwards some 200 years, as sparkly creatures, patiently waiting out their decades of idleness, nearly rose up from their tattered box to greet us. Farm animals, imagined animals, flowers, and other wonders of the natural world – painted by unknown hands in an unknown time, fairly pulsed with scintillating energy upon nests of scritchy, scratchy handwritten ledgers, lessons, and language, impeccably penned by generations past.
Our discovery of these mischievous old fellows has led to yet another transformation. A select few have been carved and cast to retain their child-like style and to celebrate the expressional whimsy of each nurtured creature.
Terran Necklace, a tulip! The original flower ledger art that we discovered at a flea market. 
Adding details to the cat creature Ash from clay for molds. Sculpted cat face models of Foundlings Earrings. 
The original tapir that we named Fern. Fern Earrings cast from the found artwork. 
I love working on the packaging for jewelry, ‘tis where we add the layers of story! Sketching the design for the Foundlings booklet. 
Foundlings packaging in the works. Dip pen on this lavish paper, a little bleedy, a lot magic! 
Foundlings, boxed! The perfect addition of the little jewelry boxes that Walter made from our scrap pile. Final Foundlings packaging, printed locally by Fireball Printing.
All the Names Collection
All the Names incorporates small brass frames from mid-1800s Daguerreotype and Ambrotype hinge cases that once framed faces whose names are forever lost.
In 1847, preservers or brass frames, were added to hinge photograph cases. They wrapped the glass, mat and image to protect the delicate photograph from oxygen. We have taken the cases apart and transformed them into jewelry.
The hinge photograph case that became Eulalie. Silicon mold from brass frames. First step of transformation. 
Silver frame pieces, next rounded and recast into a variety of sizes. Finished! Here is Eulalie, named for Edgar Allan Poe's poem. 
All of the names, with the exception of Beatrice, after my grandmother, have come from characters in books. Creating the faces for the packaging! 
This packaging happened while and because of a class I was taking at the time – a children's book illustration class by Make Art That Sells. A stack of Dorian rings, named for Oscar Wilde's The Picture of Dorian Gray – the first book Walter shared with me when we met!
Poison for Breakfast Collection
I have been lost in a magical world that I can barely believe isn't all in my head. Black and white with lots of exploration and learning. And eggs on repeat. Tis a place I can go when the sun goes down—scribbling, scribbling...
These pieces were made to accompany Poison for Breakfast, written by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by me, Margaux. Pretty sure this was one of the most extraordinary projects I partook in…the reality is coming in and out of focus.
Inspired to continue on, we decided to move the marks on paper into metal pieces for this small collection, which pertains to this enormous philosophical question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"
I love this photograph of Søren. He was so pleased with the final version. Seeing his face made it real-er to me!
My model, Ragnar as a chick, perched on my journal on the kitchen table, where chicks belong. My original drawing. 
Lasered stencils from procreate tracings of my drawings. Shaping clay minis after pulling them out of the stencil! 
Our first in shop mold! Waxes to be built into a tree and cast in silver, gold, and bronze! 
Wax tree prepared for mold making. Chicken + Egg Necklace in our Walnut Jewelry Box.
Botanical Collection
Often times our most wonderful discoveries are merely the recognition of what is before us – and in this case under foot! Our botanical jewelry collection was inspired by our unearthing of the usefulness of weeds and pays homage to its winged cultivator.
*How to (re)oxidize your jewelry!
If you are drawn towards the fully oxidized silver variation on the left, it is easy to do yourself (as we no longer offer this version in our shop) – start with smashing a hard boiled egg in a container. Next put the ring into the container with the egg. Close it and let it sit in the fridge for several hours. Take it out when the darkness suits your fancy — the longer it stays in the sulfur, the more oxidized it will become.
Then polish with a cloth or the ankle part of your jeans — no one will notice the black spot down there...
Seed packet packaging! My journal page from April 2014... 
Dandelion – the entire plant is edible! How many ways can you prepare Dandelion? Botanical rings, pickled after casting. Our Handcrafted Jewelry Process and Collections in our Philadelphia Shop!
After years of working with local jewelers who cast, finished, and sized our...
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Happy New Year!
“Turn it and turn it,
for everything is in it.”
–Ben Bag BagGrowing and flourishing are not always analogous.
Join us for a quick wander through 2023, the year we smallened Peg and Awl, and moved out of Philadelphia. Also the year where we found ourselves finding ourselves again. The ‘smallening’, as I’ve been calling it, is a bit vague. I’m an open book when it comes to most things, and would love to engage in conversation on the topic, but mostly, I know neither where to begin, nor how to distill it. The simplest version is this: Peg and Awl was a thriving small business with twenty-five people at our height, reaching sales numbers we’d never imagined nor planned for. But the joy of having a small business, being curious, and exploring this weird world with family and friends, became secondary as our responsibilities to maintain this monster perpetuated. Somehow growing and flourishing are not always analogous.
And here we are in 2024, returning, already, to what matters most! We’ve ventured south for a little warmth and a lot of biking, I went north for a mini retreat in the snow. We’ve been working on new Peg and Awl treasures, building our barn storefront and workshop, and working on the land.
We cannot wait to share our progress – there are so many stories to tell!
Our 14th Anniversary was January 10th!
Søren and Silas made me a bunch of Specimen Cards of the Five Acre Wood for Christmas! I continue to fill sketchbooks and journals, and am designing some new books and journals that will be available soon! 
One of the most thrilling parts of 2023 was finally launching our long-in-the-works Solvitur Ambulando ring – and with much success! We appreciate all of your shared stories. Thanks to Claire of Warwick Furnace Farm for modeling for me!
We opened up our barn shop which we look forward to stocking with Peg and Awl treasures and more. We are heading to New Orleans for the NAMTA show in March! We made new treasures out of Sendak scraps, and small batch colours, a puzzle of a kind! 
We spent a week on a cargo ship during a storm on the North Sea – there were two visible twisters at one point! By the fourth day a calm settled over the sky, and the water, and the few floating birds, and we jumped into the cold sea. (no showers on board!)
So often I wish to jump back in, to return to the cold depths in that utter post-storm quiet. We went from thinking we’d made a big mistake in booking this trip, to longing to do something like this again – such a harrowing and magical adventure!
Here in Whitby England, where we wandered in the glorious and misty rain. Before the storm and the reality of our upcoming adventure, Walter painted and Søren drew. ps: Walter began to work on a larger Scout! 
We discontinued 3/4 of our catalog – both daunting and freeing! Inevitably, once we sell out, the inquiries start pouring in. We still have some Rogues and Weekenders and more available in our Last Chance! section.
(Here, in Amsterdam on gigantic rented bikes!)
Søren, Silas, Pearl, and I moved our studios back into the cozy Springhouse! We opened our barn for the Chester County open studio tour. Come visit us May 18 and 19! 
We traveled! Here we are, on the other side of our wild cargo boat trip after wandering down the coast of England. We spent a quick couple of days in London!
We cold plunged in Virginia when it was 29 degrees outside and were tingling and spectacularly warm when we climbed out onto the previously cold rock to shake off. Walter bringing flowers over to the barn to brighten the wet and wintry gloom. 
Solviture Ambulando (It is solved by walking)! A Christmas Eve post dinner walk and view of the Peg and Awl Barn from the street.
I started 2024 with a retreat with my friend, Deb, in CT during a snowstorm! Making progress of a kind on a project. I share bits on my Substack and @beingmargauxkent We did a few shows – here we are at Wintherthur, which we shall partake in again in 2024! 
One of our last family photographs in our Philadelphia workshop!
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Everywhere, Astonishments!
I was working on this newsletter at Lentil & Co, and this song came on. It comes and goes as songs do, but this one every time, crawls into that place where only certain songs crawl.
No Hard Feelings by The Avett Brothers
When my body won't hold me anymoreAnd it finally lets me freeWill I be ready?When my feet won't walk another mileAnd my lips give their last kiss goodbyeWill my hands be steady when I lay down my fears, my hopes, and my doubts?The rings on my fingers, and the keys to my houseWith no hard feelings.
This paired well with the essay Who Will Mourn Them When They Are Gone? from Margaret Renkl’s new book, The Comfort of Crows.Also reading Planting in a Post-Wild World which is a really hopeful and process heavy take on regeneration!
Planting in a Post-Wild World The Comfort of Crows Our Year (2024) in Photographs and Words!
Happy New Year!“Turn it and turn it,for everything is in it.”–Ben Bag Bag Gr...
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HOME, AGAIN.
HOME, AGAIN.
A joyous new-place photograph that you’ve seen if you’ve been with us for any amount of time. Every year we promise ourselves a new family portrait, but the year ends and I find myself reaching for this one again.This shall be a kind of public self-nudge!14th Anniversary Pondering, a Power Outage,and a Coffee Shop Pause
Walter and I started Peg and Awl on the 10th of January, 2010. My journal – which was blank – suggests nothing miraculous. Last night’s power outage from yesterday’s deluge means a coffee shop in-between which rouses the unexpected, always. As I walked and wrote in my new journal*, the in-between felt grounding, as each footfall, each letter, and the sun warming despite the cold, settled me.I was thinking that we should share a timeline of Peg and Awl successes, but it occurred to me as I walked, to share bits of the in-between days instead.
Thank you for being here!
As we do our best to plan for this coming year (I am notoriously spontaneous, but appreciate the need for a weaving), I look forward to so much. So here, a little looking forward to 2024:-
Our Shop! We recently opened it up to visitors for a few days with great success – we met so many wonderful people, which reinforces how lucky we are to connect, through Peg and Awl, to such humans. 2024 will see our shop filled with new treasures from us along with treasures made by others. We are heading to NAMTA in New Orleans in March, on the hunt for art materials.
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Journals and Kits and Tutorials! We’ve been working on some unusual new designs and look forward to sharing them.
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Of A Kind Collections (accompanied by more Flea Market adventures)
- New Collaborations, New Colours, and New Found Treasures!
Time Traveling Through the In-Betweens...
2009Before starting Peg and Awl, I had a little slow and steady business called The Black Spot Books. I made journals and jewelry and a gathering of my favourite scraps lead me to make the tiniest books, which I eventually strung together into the Library necklace. Boing Boing featured it, making it my first experience with spiraling, viraling.2010We started out making treasures for our Philadelphia Row Home, including our Tub Caddy out of reclaimed wood and materials gathered from nearby construction sites. At that point, people were thrilled that we were rescuing the materials from them or the deconstruction sites, saving them time and money with trips to the dump.
2011Now with two boys and a business, and needing a diaper bag that wasn’t paislied, flowered, or pre-gendered, we decided to make a bag that would suit all of us. Thus, the first Peg and Awl bag – The Tote – came to life! This may be when we realised we could keep making things first for ourselves, and then for others.
2014The Black Spot Books and the early days of Peg and Awl treasures were mostly comprised of reclaimed and found materials. As our business evolved, we started using new materials for a variety of reasons, primarily as a shortage of reclaimed materials arose. In our first couple years, we decided to officially launch our Of a Kind collections which harkened back to those early days.
2016I went to Spain for Picture Camp, a picture book workshop with my art supplies in various pouches and bags. On the way home, realizing i needed something more conducive to traveling, I started to design an artist roll unlike any artist rolls I could find at the time — one that would hold a variety of art materials, could hold small necessities in a zip pouch, as well as small notebooks. Thus, our most popular treasure to date — The Sendak — was born!
2019Walter, feeling compelled to find his way back to making art as well, went to a painting workshop lead by Jeremy Mann and Nadezda in Tuscany, Italy. On the supply list was a plein air box. Not knowing what this was, Walter ignored it and found himself taping his canvas to his hand to paint. Thus began his developing of the Peg and Awl Scout Plein Air Box!
2023Growing weary of Philadelphia and the business success story of growinggrowinggrowing, we sold our Philadelphia workshop and moved everything to our land in West Chester, rebuilt the dilapidated barn, set up shop, and are now enjoying our new adventure!
2024Journals! I am always eager for change and currently working on new journals*, tutorials, and kits for Peg and Awl. If you’ve been following along, I started this unusual creature a few years ago, and they are nearly ready for take off! This one I made for my friend Deb, using her Pinocchio illustrations on the cover.
Just Yesterday
When the power went out, we found a box of unused Hannukah candles, sunk them into decade old organic black rice and farro, and lit our way through a few rounds of one of our favourite games, reminiscent of The New York Times’ Connections, Code Names! Søren and I started out strong with Roadtrips for 5.
Workspace:
I moved around a lot in 2023 and started this year the same! We’ve already found our way to Savannah, GA and I meandered up to snowy Canaan, CT.
I’ve been moving around The 5 Acre Wood looking for spot that is just right.
Sophie Blackall’s, Milkwood in New York, Photograph by Sophie. Our Cabin in CT, photograph by Deborah Stein. 
A salvaged flat file turned standing desk! A beloved new corner of my studio.
Everywhere, Astonishments!The Flynn Effect and “kids these days...”
I don’t know about you, but I hear a lot of mischief about kids these days and see a lot of memes that don’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
This morning in Turk’s Head Coffee Shop in West Chester, Penna, there was a young person – he must have been 5 – who sat near us and lit up upon seeing a gigantic book of maps on the table and immediately asked “Where is Israel? Where is Japan?” as he navigated the book’s systems. “Mommy, I want to go to Japan.” She considers then realizes he means Japan in the book. Pages turn. “Where is Taiwan. What is this island? Georgian Bay, Ontario. Lake Superior. Where is Minnesota?”
He reads and pronounces places I am still learning, and goes on to explain what makes 75 an interstate.
I could have sat and listened all day, but I had to go fetch my own two creatures, full of wonder, curiosity, and magic. I wanted to leave my name and number, to connect this 5 year old map lover to my 13 and 15 year old map lovers. But maybe they aren’t unusual, these curious young people. Maybe they are everywhere.
Leave us a comment!
–Margaux✨ This Year, We Celebrate 14 Years of Peg and Awl!
HOME, AGAIN. A joyous new-place photograph that you’ve seen if you’ve been w...
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Our Shop! We recently opened it up to visitors for a few days with great success – we met so many wonderful people, which reinforces how lucky we are to connect, through Peg and Awl, to such humans. 2024 will see our shop filled with new treasures from us along with treasures made by others. We are heading to NAMTA in New Orleans in March, on the hunt for art materials.
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Our Barn Shop is Open, Now by Appointment!
Come Visit Our Shop!
Come say hey and pick up a treasure if you are in the area. Email us to make an appointment.
Morning Light! Cozy Corner and Our Bags! 
Vignettes of our Actual Messies!
Walter Hanging Photographs Silas Setting Up Track Lighting 
Walter’s Original Oil Paintings
Scout Pochade Box Handmade Ink! 
Our Bookbinding Kits
Vintage Pencils and Dip Pens! Bioplastic Pans from Poems About You that fit our palettes! 
Of a Kind Book Necklaces Along with Our Classics.
Everywhere, Astonishments!Søren, Silas, and I went to Philosophical Hall in Philadelphia with Katie to hear Catherine McNeur talk about her new book Mischievous Creatures. The title was enough to draw back to the city – and my homeschoolers are up for most adventures. Catherine, Margaretta, and Elizabeth’s stories were full of magic and wonder, local history and mischievous creatures! The erasure of these two women scientists came undone through Catherine's excavation, as one unexpected finding after another revealed their story.
Mischievous Creatures by Catherine McNeur on my desk! Catherine’s Desk Caddy from Peg and Awl, which she’s had for a decade(!), on her desk. Come Visit Our Barn Shop!
Come Visit Our Shop!Come say hey and pick up a treasure if you are in the ar...
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Suggested Blog Posts
The Scout Plein Air Box was inspired by our endeavor to make art every day. Each one is handmade in our Philadelphia workshop. Watch our video showing how we make the Scout Plein Air Box!
The Scout Plein Air Box was inspired by our endeavor to make art every day. Each one is handmade in our Philadelphia workshop. It compactly secures all of your essential art supplies for painting outdoors. Fill your box with your favorite colors, paintbrushes, and sketchbook. Find your spot and quickly transform the box into a mini studio. Set it on a flat surface or mount it on a tripod, snap the liquid jars, brush holder, and easel in place, clip on your canvas and you are ready to paint. Watch our video showing how we make the Scout Plein Air Box!
Original Plein Air Oil Paintings by Walter Kent
“It has been nearly three years since I returned from a painting workshop in Italy, taught by Jeremy Mann and Nadezda, hosted by Art Escape Italy. This was my first experience plein air painting and once I returned home I immediately made my own pochade box, the Scout. During the last three years I have gone out on many painting adventures, both alone and with my family, with the Scout over my shoulder.
When I wander out into the world to paint, there is a game of tug of war twisting knots in my stomach, with my hopes and fears digging their heals in on either side. After the first few strokes of paint, the excitement of possibility takes over. These attempts at capturing the fleeting moments of the world around me line the windowsills of our studio.
I’ve selected some of my favorite Plein Air oil paintings, breadcrumbs of my path as an artist, and we are excited to share them with the everyone. Each painting has been varnished for protection and is signed and marked with its location and date and is fitted with a ready-to-hang frame made of reclaimed blackened walnut.” –Walter
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Delaware Water Gap No. 3, Pennsylvania 2021
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Kaaterskill Falls, New York 2022
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Ready-to-Hang frames are made of reclaimed blackened walnut.
How We Make the Scout Plein Air Box and Original Paintings by Walter Kent
The Scout Plein Air Box was inspired by our endeavor to make art every day....
Read The Post
After many prototypes, countless customer requests, and an endless search for sustainable leather, The Franklin Makers Apron is finally here! Our Apron champions the virtues of hard work, curiosity, ingenuity, and industriousness, and it has quickly become one of our favorite companions while working in the studio or at home.
After many prototypes, countless customer requests, and an endless search for sustainable leather, The Franklin Makers Apron is finally here!
On our first trip to England together, Margaux and I discovered a magical art supply shop on a small cobblestone street. Like something pulled out of Diagon Alley, it was lined with dark oak, floor-to-ceiling shelves overflowing with pigments of all kinds: oil paints, pastels, watercolors, and more. Ladders and spiral staircases led to stacks of dusty boxes each holding the possibilities of masterpieces yet to be made. We spent hours exploring the nooks and crannies, and amongst all the treasures, we discovered two artist aprons, the last from a company no longer in existence. They looked like relics of a bygone era, plucked from the studio of Sargent or Klimt. We left the shop, each with an apron, and though Peg and Awl hadn’t yet begun, the seed to someday make our own version, had been planted.
Our Apron champions the virtues of hard work, curiosity, ingenuity, and industriousness, and has quickly become one of our favorite companions while working in the studio or at home. Its durable canvas armor protects against dirt, paint, liquids and debris, and with multiple waist and chest pockets it provides ample storage so tools are secure and conveniently accessible. The Franklin is available in two sizes, and the suspender-style vegetable tanned leather straps and belt have multiple settings to comfortably fit a variety of statures. Once on, The Franklin Maker’s Apron becomes a part of you, bringing the perfect mix of order, utility, and aesthetics to the creative chaos of a maker’s daily routine!
The Franklin Maker’s Apron
After many prototypes, countless customer requests, and an endless search fo...
Read The Post
I am drawn to making jewelry as objects that continually flow through human hands – all symbolism and storytelling and marks of use from imagined pasts and futures. Explore the inspiration behind each of our jewelry collections and the lost wax casting process...
After years of working with local jewelers who cast, finished, and sized our jewels, which was after years of my finishing the jewelry in our dining room, we finally set up our own jewelry shop at the Peg and Awl building! In addition to designing the jewelry and packaging, we now do the entire lost wax casting process in house – making molds, waxes, casting, and finishing!
Jewelry remains a Peg and Awl outlier (we all need outliers!) as it is not useful like our other objects are useful. It is symbolic, representative, adorning, and meant to be part of an ongoing narrative. I am drawn to making jewelry as objects that continually flow through human hands, like objects at a flea market – all symbolism and storytelling and marks of use from imagined pasts and futures.
We love digging into history and happenstance for our collections, and have been working on a few tricky ideas which we hope to be able to share with you soon! Until then, peak inside our workshop and collections.
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Foundlings Collection
Foundlings is a collection that has come to life through the layering of hands that make.
One end-of-winter morning, we ventured out into the last grey of the season-leaving, amongst sagging time-worn tables that house trash and magic. Flea markets are often secret repositories of history, and we were about to dive backwards some 200 years, as sparkly creatures, patiently waiting out their decades of idleness, nearly rose up from their tattered box to greet us. Farm animals, imagined animals, flowers, and other wonders of the natural world – painted by unknown hands in an unknown time, fairly pulsed with scintillating energy upon nests of scritchy, scratchy handwritten ledgers, lessons, and language, impeccably penned by generations past.
Our discovery of these mischievous old fellows has led to yet another transformation. A select few have been carved and cast to retain their child-like style and to celebrate the expressional whimsy of each nurtured creature.
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All the Names Collection
All the Names incorporates small brass frames from mid-1800s Daguerreotype and Ambrotype hinge cases that once framed faces whose names are forever lost.
In 1847, preservers or brass frames, were added to hinge photograph cases. They wrapped the glass, mat and image to protect the delicate photograph from oxygen. We have taken the cases apart and transformed them into jewelry.
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Poison for Breakfast Collection
I have been lost in a magical world that I can barely believe isn't all in my head. Black and white with lots of exploration and learning. And eggs on repeat. Tis a place I can go when the sun goes down—scribbling, scribbling...
These pieces were made to accompany Poison for Breakfast, written by Lemony Snicket and illustrated by me, Margaux. Pretty sure this was one of the most extraordinary projects I partook in…the reality is coming in and out of focus.
Inspired to continue on, we decided to move the marks on paper into metal pieces for this small collection, which pertains to this enormous philosophical question, "Which came first, the chicken or the egg?"
I love this photograph of Søren. He was so pleased with the final version. Seeing his face made it real-er to me!
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Botanical Collection
Often times our most wonderful discoveries are merely the recognition of what is before us – and in this case under foot! Our botanical jewelry collection was inspired by our unearthing of the usefulness of weeds and pays homage to its winged cultivator.
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*How to (re)oxidize your jewelry! If you are drawn towards the fully oxidized silver variation on the left, it is easy to do yourself (as we no longer offer this version in our shop) – start with smashing a hard boiled egg in a container. Next put the ring into the container with the egg. Close it and let it sit in the fridge for several hours. Take it out when the darkness suits your fancy — the longer it stays in the sulfur, the more oxidized it will become. Then polish with a cloth or the ankle part of your jeans — no one will notice the black spot down there... |
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Our Handcrafted Jewelry Process and Collections in our Philadelphia Shop!
After years of working with local jewelers who cast, finished, and sized our...
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Happy New Year!
“Turn it and turn it,
for everything is in it.”
–Ben Bag Bag
Growing and flourishing are not always analogous.
Join us for a quick wander through 2023, the year we smallened Peg and Awl, and moved out of Philadelphia. Also the year where we found ourselves finding ourselves again. The ‘smallening’, as I’ve been calling it, is a bit vague. I’m an open book when it comes to most things, and would love to engage in conversation on the topic, but mostly, I know neither where to begin, nor how to distill it. The simplest version is this: Peg and Awl was a thriving small business with twenty-five people at our height, reaching sales numbers we’d never imagined nor planned for. But the joy of having a small business, being curious, and exploring this weird world with family and friends, became secondary as our responsibilities to maintain this monster perpetuated. Somehow growing and flourishing are not always analogous.
And here we are in 2024, returning, already, to what matters most! We’ve ventured south for a little warmth and a lot of biking, I went north for a mini retreat in the snow. We’ve been working on new Peg and Awl treasures, building our barn storefront and workshop, and working on the land.
We cannot wait to share our progress – there are so many stories to tell!
Our 14th Anniversary was January 10th!
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One of the most thrilling parts of 2023 was finally launching our long-in-the-works Solvitur Ambulando ring – and with much success! We appreciate all of your shared stories. Thanks to Claire of Warwick Furnace Farm for modeling for me!
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We spent a week on a cargo ship during a storm on the North Sea – there were two visible twisters at one point! By the fourth day a calm settled over the sky, and the water, and the few floating birds, and we jumped into the cold sea. (no showers on board!)
So often I wish to jump back in, to return to the cold depths in that utter post-storm quiet. We went from thinking we’d made a big mistake in booking this trip, to longing to do something like this again – such a harrowing and magical adventure!
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We discontinued 3/4 of our catalog – both daunting and freeing! Inevitably, once we sell out, the inquiries start pouring in. We still have some Rogues and Weekenders and more available in our Last Chance! section.
(Here, in Amsterdam on gigantic rented bikes!)
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We traveled! Here we are, on the other side of our wild cargo boat trip after wandering down the coast of England. We spent a quick couple of days in London!
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Solviture Ambulando (It is solved by walking)! A Christmas Eve post dinner walk and view of the Peg and Awl Barn from the street.
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One of our last family photographs in our Philadelphia workshop!
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Everywhere, Astonishments!
I was working on this newsletter at Lentil & Co, and this song came on. It comes and goes as songs do, but this one every time, crawls into that place where only certain songs crawl.
No Hard Feelings by The Avett Brothers
This paired well with the essay Who Will Mourn Them When They Are Gone? from Margaret Renkl’s new book, The Comfort of Crows.
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Our Year (2024) in Photographs and Words!
Happy New Year!“Turn it and turn it,for everything is in it.”–Ben Bag Bag Gr...
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HOME, AGAIN.
HOME, AGAIN.
Walter and I started Peg and Awl on the 10th of January, 2010. My journal – which was blank – suggests nothing miraculous. Last night’s power outage from yesterday’s deluge means a coffee shop in-between which rouses the unexpected, always. As I walked and wrote in my new journal*, the in-between felt grounding, as each footfall, each letter, and the sun warming despite the cold, settled me.
I was thinking that we should share a timeline of Peg and Awl successes, but it occurred to me as I walked, to share bits of the in-between days instead.
Thank you for being here!
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Our Shop! We recently opened it up to visitors for a few days with great success – we met so many wonderful people, which reinforces how lucky we are to connect, through Peg and Awl, to such humans. 2024 will see our shop filled with new treasures from us along with treasures made by others. We are heading to NAMTA in New Orleans in March, on the hunt for art materials.
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Journals and Kits and Tutorials! We’ve been working on some unusual new designs and look forward to sharing them.
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Of A Kind Collections (accompanied by more Flea Market adventures)
- New Collaborations, New Colours, and New Found Treasures!
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2010
We started out making treasures for our Philadelphia Row Home, including our Tub Caddy out of reclaimed wood and materials gathered from nearby construction sites. At that point, people were thrilled that we were rescuing the materials from them or the deconstruction sites, saving them time and money with trips to the dump.
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2011
Now with two boys and a business, and needing a diaper bag that wasn’t paislied, flowered, or pre-gendered, we decided to make a bag that would suit all of us. Thus, the first Peg and Awl bag – The Tote – came to life! This may be when we realised we could keep making things first for ourselves, and then for others. |
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2016
I went to Spain for Picture Camp, a picture book workshop with my art supplies in various pouches and bags. On the way home, realizing i needed something more conducive to traveling, I started to design an artist roll unlike any artist rolls I could find at the time — one that would hold a variety of art materials, could hold small necessities in a zip pouch, as well as small notebooks. Thus, our most popular treasure to date — The Sendak — was born! |
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2023
Growing weary of Philadelphia and the business success story of growinggrowinggrowing, we sold our Philadelphia workshop and moved everything to our land in West Chester, rebuilt the dilapidated barn, set up shop, and are now enjoying our new adventure! |
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2024
Journals! I am always eager for change and currently working on new journals*, tutorials, and kits for Peg and Awl. If you’ve been following along, I started this unusual creature a few years ago, and they are nearly ready for take off! This one I made for my friend Deb, using her Pinocchio illustrations on the cover.
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Just Yesterday
When the power went out, we found a box of unused Hannukah candles, sunk them into decade old organic black rice and farro, and lit our way through a few rounds of one of our favourite games, reminiscent of The New York Times’ Connections, Code Names! Søren and I started out strong with Roadtrips for 5.
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Workspace:
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A salvaged flat file turned standing desk! A beloved new corner of my studio.
Everywhere, Astonishments!
The Flynn Effect and “kids these days...”
I don’t know about you, but I hear a lot of mischief about kids these days and see a lot of memes that don’t make a whole lot of sense to me.
This morning in Turk’s Head Coffee Shop in West Chester, Penna, there was a young person – he must have been 5 – who sat near us and lit up upon seeing a gigantic book of maps on the table and immediately asked “Where is Israel? Where is Japan?” as he navigated the book’s systems. “Mommy, I want to go to Japan.” She considers then realizes he means Japan in the book. Pages turn. “Where is Taiwan. What is this island? Georgian Bay, Ontario. Lake Superior. Where is Minnesota?”
He reads and pronounces places I am still learning, and goes on to explain what makes 75 an interstate.
I could have sat and listened all day, but I had to go fetch my own two creatures, full of wonder, curiosity, and magic. I wanted to leave my name and number, to connect this 5 year old map lover to my 13 and 15 year old map lovers. But maybe they aren’t unusual, these curious young people. Maybe they are everywhere.
Leave us a comment!
–Margaux
✨ This Year, We Celebrate 14 Years of Peg and Awl!
HOME, AGAIN. A joyous new-place photograph that you’ve seen if you’ve been w...
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Our Barn Shop is Open, Now by Appointment!
Come Visit Our Shop!
Come say hey and pick up a treasure if you are in the area. Email us to make an appointment.
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Vignettes of our Actual Messies!
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Walter’s Original Oil Paintings
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Our Bookbinding Kits
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Of a Kind Book Necklaces Along with Our Classics.
Everywhere, Astonishments!
Søren, Silas, and I went to Philosophical Hall in Philadelphia with Katie to hear Catherine McNeur talk about her new book Mischievous Creatures. The title was enough to draw back to the city – and my homeschoolers are up for most adventures. Catherine, Margaretta, and Elizabeth’s stories were full of magic and wonder, local history and mischievous creatures! The erasure of these two women scientists came undone through Catherine's excavation, as one unexpected finding after another revealed their story.
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Come Visit Our Barn Shop!
Come Visit Our Shop!Come say hey and pick up a treasure if you are in the ar...
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Comments
Mary Noreen Bucklew
February 16, 2023How exciting for all of you, and down the road, all of us who enjoy Peg & Awl and all your products and stories!
And thanks for hot-footing Annie’s Harper Journal for her BD next week!
Vivian Turner
February 10, 2023Congratulations to You!! I wish you much Success as you Follow Your Dreams and Your Heart! …(from one who owns 3 Sendaks!)