Foundlings is a collection that has come to life through the layering of hands that make: those that have caused to exist that which has been made and remade.

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 children during The Great Depression, fairly pulsed with scintillating energy upon nests of scritchy, scratchy handwritten ledgers, lessons, and language, impeccably penned by their grandparents, or great-grandparents.

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, others have been selected to adorn walls, desk caddies, and journals.

Now, in the 21st century, you bring your story to each piece, thus intertwining yours with theirs. What will future generations add to this great tapestry?

Are we The Foundlings or are they?

Journals

Foundlings Harper Journal: Dahlia	Foundlings Harper Journal: Ash

Desk Caddies

Foundlings Medium Desk Caddy: Amaryllis	Foundlings Small Desk Caddy: Poppy

Art Prints & Frames

Foundlings Art Print: Opal | Peg and Awl	Foundlings Art Print: Juniper

BloodMilk Botanical Market

Come visit us on April 20, 2019 at The Botanical Market presented by BloodMilk!

Sphinx and Snakeskin
Saturday, April 20, 2019
12–5 pm ET

March 19, 2019

Etsy featured our Shepherd’s Purse botanical ring (also see on Etsy) in their Etsy Spring Accessories Trends video!

Our new Spring Essentials Pouches combine antique textiles inside and waxed canvas outside or vice versa. Each is paired with a springy vintage zipper. Another Choose Your Own Adventure!

Last summer we found a little stack of antique German textiles that was irresistible – there were blues and reds, a variety of plaid pillow shams and bedspreads. They were used to pack antique furniture en route from Germany to America, and after transport, were sitting neatly folded and severely neglected – until I spied them.

If you love pouches then you are in for a treat! We cut up the textiles and incorporated them into our Essentials Pouch. Use one for pens, pencils and art supplies and another for balms and tinctures. Pouches help to organize our bags and lives into satisfying little pockets – it is hard to be without them and you can never have too many.

Scarlet No. 1	Scarlet No. 2

Blue No. 1	Blue No. 2

Scarlet No. 3	Scarlet No. 4

Shop our other pouch styles!

The Studio is our favorite room. It is filled to the brim with paints, brushes, pens, pencils, journals, blank canvases and possibilities. Books of artists who have struggled through paint and brush long before us lay open to inspire and mentor. Each material and tool is waiting to be used, standing impatiently in their caddies, artist rolls and pouches. Our journals, beckoning from our desks, extract what is trapped in our minds as each day begins with hopes of greatness!

Need Inspiration to help fill your blank pages? Join us as we participate in two instagram challenges: #marchmeetthemaker and #100dayproject.

Lewis and Clark Expedition Stool	Waxed Canvas Tote

Medium Desk Caddy in Maple	The Harper Journal

Anselm Landscape Journal	Landis Wall Caddy

Beatrix Artist Caddy	Drafter Pouch

Sendak Mini Artist Roll	Mini Artist Sketchbook

I have been determined to write outside of my journal more and share on our blog, but paralyzed with this need to find a beginning. There is no beginning, just an ongoing. I have to jump in. It feels a little like double dutch, which I was never very good at.  But here it goes...

Last Monday — a bitter cold and damp Monday — Søren, Silas, Jacey, Ted, Shep, and I went in search of a mineral dump from the French Creek Mines at St. Peters Village. We heard of Magnetite and Calcite and Malachite buried there — unwanted minerals from the old iron ore digs. We found a deer skull (the entire deer skeleton buried beneath a blanket of rotting leaves), Jacey fell in the frigid creek, and we met a Woodsman Uncle with his niece and nephew – he was teaching them how to find shed antlers. He told us all about collecting things from the earth - from Native American arrowheads on the farm he grew up on in Phoenixville, Penna, to bottles from privies, naturally shed antlers and rocks. He went on about his love for digging and the past and the woods, and how he lines his multi-coloured bottles on his windowsills so that when the sun comes through multi-coloured light spills into his house. He boasted of a collection of thousands of bits and ended his monologue exclaiming, “I love this world.” What a joy it was to meet Carl.

After 5 hours of wandering through endless Japanese Barberry, Multi Flora Rose, and brambles, we exited through the corn field and ended our search with a much needed cold picnic.

This is our first year of homeschooling, but we've been explorers all along. The search for minerals began with Silas finding quartzite in a flea market parking lot* and quickly also became one with a Peg and Awl project in the works (for 2 years!) I shall not yet divulge our plan, but for now wish to share our adventures.

We would love to hear about your expeditions near or far! The blog thing is new to me, let's see how this goes... It feels like a journal — without the satisfying scritchy scratchy of pen and paper.

-Margaux

*3 May, 2018 Instagram @thebrotherskent

Stepping out of our car on a breezy Sunday morning into a parking lot full of regular parking lot rocks, Silas spied a slightly green one. He put in in his pocket and upon returning home put some lemon juice on it. He and Søren identified it as Green Quartzite and that marked the beginning of our new adventure – or re-adventure – into the world of rocks! This summer will now include a gem show and a dig in North Carolina. It will involve handmade Rock books and magnifying glasses and an even closer look at the ground. And, as always, heavy Hunter Satchels. I cannot wait. And the best part of this journeying is we need not stop when summer is over. #homeschooling , we’ve got this. 

We often joke that in our ever busy lives the bathroom has become the only place left. The only place left to find a moment of solitude, to ponder and think, a place for ideas and reason – so why not make it amazing! With our full collection of bathroom essentials now available in four wood types – Maple, Oak, Walnut, and Blackened – to curate your bathroom to perfection.

Apothecary Cabinet

Step Stool

Bathtub Caddy

in Maple	in Walnut

Landis Wall Caddy

in Blackened Maple with 2 Jars	in Walnut with 4 Jars

Apothecary Caddy

Large in Maple	Small in Oak

With the short, cold, and dark days we are reminded to make an extra effort to take care of ourselves. It is in this spirit that we are pleased to offer our new Uma Yoga Mat Carrier – to help you get out of the house and into the yoga studio – and our Rishi Tea Caddy for a steaming hot cup of tea to fend off the chill!

Uma Yoga Mat Carrier

Our Uma Yoga Mat Carrier is the perfect case of, “We used to make them for ourselves and now we make them for the everyone!”

Yoga mats can be unwieldy creatures – I struggled with my mat to and from class before Walter took notice and surprised me with a Peg and Awl yoga mat carrier for my birthday. Hauling my mat has been a dream ever since!

Constructed from waxed canvas and vegetable tanned leather, this carrier will be the last one you need. Roll it up, buckle it in, toss it over your shoulder, and make your way to class – and if you are walking, make sure you take the long way! The straps are adjustable for all shapes and sizes of people and mats.

Rishi Tea Caddy

The only thing more enjoyable then sipping a warm cup of tea is sipping a warm cup of tea with someone you love. When Rishi Tea emailed us to collaborate we couldn’t have been more excited! We LOVE Rishi Tea! One of the treasures we worked on together, the Rishi Tea Caddy has found its way into hotels and restaurants around the world and has connected us with so many tea lovers. Because of all the requests from happy customers wanting to bring the Tea Caddy home, we are finally offering them to everyone! Take a well needed break to relax and reflect and enjoy.

Constructed from sustainable Walnut, the Tea Caddy is good for 1 – order it with a glass steeper and a glass mug – or 2 - order with two steepers. As for us, we love making two kinds of tea and bringing the caddy and mugs into our studio where the whole family gathers around to enjoy a cozy hot cup!

Waxed Canvas Tote SALE!

We are simplifying our Waxed Canvas Tote options to all include a zipper. As a result, our remaining stock of zipper-less totes are all on sale! If you had your eye on one, scoop it up before they run out.

November 21, 2018

Gardenista featured our Shanty Man Log Carrier in their log carrier roundup 10 Easy Pieces: Firewood Log Carriers!

The Shanty Man Log Carrier is made of waxed canvas and leather straps from dead stock WWII leather gun slings. Brass grommets lend an extra layer of support; 18 inches wide by 38 inches long and $142 from Peg & Awl.

See their full roundup here.

When we make new objects for Peg and Awl, we don't set out to make. They come about through exploration and need. We pull from life. There is rarely a moment when Walter and I get together and say, "what should we make next for Peg and Awl?" 

The same is true for our lives. As I look through my photographs from 2018, this year seems to be all about art, journaling, exploring, curiosity, and finding our way together, as a family, as small business owners, and as makers. We were clearing a path for ourselves and didn’t even realize we were on the move...

Stepping out of our car one breezy Sunday morning into a flea market parking lot full of regular parking lot rocks, Silas spied a slightly green one. He put in in his pocket and upon returning home, he put some lemon juice on it. He and Søren (with the help of the internet) identified it as Green Quartzite and that marked the beginning of our new adventure – or re-adventure – into the world of rocks! Our Summer and Fall and on came to include gem shows, mines, hand stitched books and identification cards, magnifying glasses, and an even closer look at the ground.

And, as always, heavy Hunter Satchels. 

Most importantly, as I think back, that green rock seemed to confirm our decision to jump into the world of homeschooling. 

And homeschooling, it seems with the help of these rocks and the histories they hold, seemed to have lead the way to our deciding to vacate city living and officially become Country Bumpkins! We are moving house! Soon - and completely unexpected. I shall share more in time, but expect to see a whole new world of Peg and Awl treasures in 2019!

A little moment from a summer adventure to Calvert Cliffs, MD, where we found fossils and rocks and nests and bugs and dragged our bodies across unfamiliar landscapes to uncover the tiniest sampling of the world’s treasures. The endlessness of it all is breath taking. I want to explore more than I could possibly explore in a life time and find myself often - literally - not breathing. 

Kempton, PA. Another close-to-home adventure! We encourage our boys to keep journals. Søren made his own whilst Silas went shopping at Peg and Awl!

Drawing in VA, the end of our summer road-tripping.

PS: We listened to this on the way home: http://freakonomics.com/podcast/creativity-2/

November 7, 2018

The Kitchn included our Bake House Bread Bag in their gift guide The 25 Best Gifts on Etsy for Home Cooks!

This bread bag can be used two different ways: Your friend can bring it with her when she goes to the bakery to buy bread (no waste!), or she can put her own homemade bread in it when she brings a loaf to a dinner party or picnic. As long as it's being filled with bread, that's what counts.

See the full gift guide here.