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  • Specimen Cards and a Closer Look Around

    Specimen Cards

    I look forward to the coming weeks here, the hopeful explosion of plants! Until then, here are some Specimen Cards that Søren (15) and Silas (13) made for me for Christmas, which include a variety of plant friends and creature friends who share the land with us! 
     
    See more of their work on Instagram: @sorenscoutkent and @koshooniart

     

    We have Garter and Northern Water Snakes here...
    And a variety and abundance of frogs and toads!
    We also have a family of Painted Turtles!
    All of these creatures live by and in the untended to ponds.
    Our Pearl!
    Piplup is the last of our many chickens and guineas. She has somehow survived the many attacks of foxes, &c.

    At Home Exploration

    We’ve returned home from Florida, where winter’s end, hormones, lawn talk, and chain stores wreaked havoc on my mood the first day. Fortunately, for myself and everyone around me, a walk around Wakodahatchee Wetlands quickly settled my inner chaos. Florida, like anywhere, can be so many things at once!

    Back home, at the Five Acre Wood, Pearl and I awoke early to sunshine and went outside to visit all the plants’ changes during our weekend away. The three small Witch Hazel transplants survived: their tiny yellow flowers small and sparkly in the woodland. A few Squill, Hellebores, and Crocuses have flowered. Snowdrops have bloomed by the thousands, the snow drop math proving successful here though when I step back, the little clumps have a lot of multiplying to do before they change this comparatively expansive landscape! Even more Daffodils are about to burst, whilst Hepatica, Foam Flower, Geraniums, and other greenies have sent their distinct tops out of the soil and into the sun! A few years ago, I couldn’t have identified these plants by their flowers, and here I am, calling them by their names so soon. It feels magical, this ever-learning.

    I’ve planted thousands of plants since we moved here five years ago. Some will take five years to bloom; others have already started on their journey, only to be destroyed by my rambunctious Pearl or over-eager deer families, hopping the fence when Pearl is elsewhere.

    Snowdops by Silas
    Jack-in-the-Pulpit by Søren
    May Apple by Søren
    Daffodils (most abundant) by Silas
    Bamboo by Silas
    Virginia Bluebell by Søren

    * * * 

    Shop Our Specimen Cards!

    Our Specimen Card Notebook!
    Story on the back!
    Some of the boys’ early drawings on the end pages!
    It fits inside our Sendaks!

    Our Boys Document Creatures and Plants with their Specimen Card Notebooks!

    Specimen Cards I look forward to the coming weeks here, the hopeful explosio...

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  • Sendak for Knitters!

    Like everything we make at Peg and Awl, we made the Sendak first for ourselves, and then for everyone. Our objects most often arise as something we desire, something missing in the world.

    As one who writes and draws, it was easy to share with other writers and drawers — and the Sendak exploded. But we are often asked if it will work for chefs, make-up artists, knitters, crocheters, sculptures, &c. as well. We love seeing photographs pop up sharing these other uses — but it isn’t often.

    The question of knitting comes up the most, so with the help of Brooklyn General Store, one of our stockists, we set up a Sendak for a beginner knitter.

    If you use your Sendak for other things, please share with us – we’d love to see.

    Share with us on Instagram, Reviews, YouTube, or whereever you spend your screen time – we’d love to see!

    waxed canvas storage case filled with knitting needles, stitch markers, and other tools
    Single Subject, Soft Cover Notebook for Knitting Project Ideas
    A Mini Sendak works too!
    An Orra Portrait notebook – perfect for project ideas and notes. 
    A Classic Sendak in Slate.
    I made this for stitch markers from scrap. We had a great response so are working on Leather Scraplings now!
    See our Waxed Canvas Scraplings here!
    A Pouch for Littles!
    The back pocket is great for notebooks.
    Pockets filled with knitting tools from Brooklyn General Store
    Lavender Treasures from Warwick Furnace Farm

    Starter set-up in Our Knitting Sendak


    * * *

    Some Shared Sendaks!

    Sendak Mini for Knitting Needles and Supplies
    Photograph by Alice O.
    Sendak Mini for Storing Crochet Needles!
    Photograph by Maryse M.

     

    * * *

    Sendaks in Clay Studios

    Handmade Waxed Canvas Pottery Tool Case

    My clay set up in a Moss Sendak. Still rather clean, as I've not made time to frequent the local clay studio. 

    My introduction to clay was inside of this big yellow clay pot!
    Cara Graver’s Cob Studio, a time traveling adventure.

     

    * * *

    Here is my friend Darla Jackson’s Sendak in All Black. A well-loved and daily used clayey wonder! 

    Darla Jackson's Sendak Artist Roll filled with Pottery and Clay Tools
    A couple of Darla’s magical creatures...

    * * *

    Your Reviews!

    @tijanadraws has been sharing her Sendak as she’s completely stuffed it with art supplies! I especially love seeing her magical work along with it.
    Shop Tijana’s original illustrations in her shop, here!
    “Beautiful artist roll is from @pegandawl and it’s a keepsake piece to get you round with everything you need in one place, it fits whole sketchbooks, papers and palettes in, next to all the other usual stuff that you can get into these. And if that is not enough it’s extremely beautiful.” –@tijanadraws

    Sendak for Knitters, Potters, and Others ✨

    Sendak for Knitters! Like everything we make at Peg and Awl, we made the Sen...

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  • Of a Kinds, Radish, Ink...

    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!

    I love the weirdness of quilts – especially those that appear to be constructed of spectacularly odd combinations of colour and pattern, perhaps the result of making with what was on hand! 

    Scholar Pouches (Sold Out)
    The Small Hunter Satchel (Sold Out)
    The Mini Tote (Sold Out)
    The Maker Pouch (Sold Out)

    ***

    Jewellery

    Solvitur Ambulando Ring
    Opal Earrings
    Terran Necklace 
    All the Names Collection

    ***

    Some Classics Reframed

    Specimen Cards
    I received these cards from Søren and Silas for Christmas and they are wondrous. They’ve celebrated aspects of the Five Acre Wood. Gift them blank, or fill them in!
    The Sendak Mini
    Ah, the many ways to fill a Sendak. Here is a Spice Mini, with a new project palette, ready for an outdoor adventure.
    The Finch Satchel in Red Maple
    We are down to the last few Red Maple Bags including The Finch!
    Foundlings Prints
    Foundlings originals and prints in a frame or out add mystery to any space!

    * * *

    A Rural Pen Ink is Back in Stock!

    A Rural Pen Ink made from guns!
    I love how this ink mixes with others – the granulation is an experience!

    ***

    Everywhere, Astonishments!

    Movie: Poor Things! Have you seen it? It has created quite a tension in our house with dramatically different interpretations!

    PI started reading Kaveh Akbar’s new book, Martyr! It is the first book in ages that I’ve had a hard time putting down.

    “He studied himself in the mirror, thought his teeth looked sharper.”
    and
    “For as long as he could remember, Cyrus had thought it unimaginably strange, the body’s need to recharge nightly.” 
    The Snowdrops started to bloom a month and a half-ish early. Here they are, the morning after the snow melted away.

    Small, Small Batch and Valentine's Day Gifts!

    Happy New Year!“Turn it and turn it,for everything is in it.”–Ben Bag Bag Gr...

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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!

    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!

    * * *

    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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  • portrait of family standing in a creek

    HOME, AGAIN.

    portrait of family standing in a creek

    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.

      • Journals and Kits and Tutorials! We’ve been working on some unusual new designs and look forward to sharing them.

     

    Time Traveling Through the In-Betweens...
    Handmade Library Necklace with Leather-Bound Mini Journal Pendants
    2009
     
    Before 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.

    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.
    Reclaimed Wood Project for Handmade Products
    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. 

    2014
     

    The 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.

    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!

     
     
    2019
     
    Walter, 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!
     
     
    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!

     
     
    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.
     
     

    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’ ConnectionsCode 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 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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  • As a family, we tend to go against a lot of currents in our world, and are fortunate to have built our own business, which gives us the freedom to do so. We’ve shared fragments of our recent decision to smallen Peg and Awl and move from a massive city building on an acre of land to our barn in Chester County, but I haven’t yet articulated on paper or screen, the whole of it – if there is a whole of it. My exhaustion of the words efficiency and busy certainly played a role. But here, the new-to-me word salutogenesis comes to mind.

     


    Back to School!

    “I will draw in class!”

    Søren and Silas have always been draw-ers, and that they draw has always felt like a good thing to us. But when they went to public school, (and me before them), the message was different: drawing is distracting, or it shows you aren’t listening, or, just don’t draw because I said so!*

    My guys actually had a relatively good public school experience, but this message persisted. When six year old Søren came home one day and told us that he was punished for drawing, we decided to do a little Back to School campaign with our recently launched desk caddies, chalk tablets, pouches, and journals. Søren partook in a magical alternative version of the punishment writing lines with “I will draw in class.”

    I still love this.

    That was then, this is now. We have been homeschooling for five years, which means that our creatures have a lot of free time to do what they love, as homeschool is very rarely (if at all) all of us at a table with textbooks and lined paper.⁠⁠ Søren, 15, is now dual enrolled in our local community college. Dual enrollment is open to most high-schoolers in America and very common for Homeschoolers.⁠ His first class is drawing!

    As a family, we tend to go against a lot of currents in our world, and are fortunate to have built our own business, which gives us the freedom to do so. We’ve shared fragments of our recent decision to smallen Peg and Awl and move from a massive city building on an acre of land to our barn in Chester County, but I haven’t yet articulated on paper or screen, the whole of it – if there is a whole of it. My exhaustion of the words efficiency and busy certainly played a role. But here, the new-to-me word salutogenesis comes to mind.

    Simply put, we smallened Peg and Awl for our mental and physical well being. We started Peg and Awl as a way to adventure and bring objects to life, and we ended up becoming managers of a business much bigger than expected. In smallening, we are gaining our freedom to make and explore once again.


    Let us remember The Lorax:

    “I went right on biggering… selling more Thneeds. And I biggered my money, which everyone needs.”
    –Dr. Seuss


    If you have any questions, I’d love to try to answer them. Perhaps here is where I open a Q+A. I think our story is an interesting one, unfamiliar, but also the kind of story that is gaining confusing and wondrous commonality these days, so I’d love to share!

    *after sharing this on IG, some delightful souls came forth telling their stories of how they encouraged drawing in their classes. Absolutely not to be missed – there are always exceptions!

    Shop Our Shop!
     

    I will draw in class.
    I will too.

    Our Pouch Collection

    A Poem by 7 year old Søren.
    Anselm Bookbinding Kits

    Our Desk Caddies

    The Sendak Artist Roll


    See Søren’s work here!

     
     


    Everywhere, Astonishments!

    99% Invisible Podcast: Roman talks with Brian Merchant, author of Blood in the Machine, about the Luddites – a story that I, along with so much of the world – have misunderstood! PS: I first learned about them a little over a decade ago at a museum in Philadelphia that also had the story all wrong. I am on a wildly swinging pendulum around the conversation of AI, and this was the most compelling connection for me yet.

    The Doctor’s Farmacy Podcast about Function Health: the other side of the efficiency conundrum! What is wrong with our healthcare system, and how we cannot seem to abandon the stuck channels for costs and fear of the unknown, and how Function Health is aiming to redirect our understanding of ourselves as impacted by the common standards of living, eating, &c. into a healthier future!

    Live to 100: Secrets of the Blue Zones: We all enjoyed the first episode, as Dan Beuttner, a familiar name in our house, visited Okinawa and some of their many centenarian inhabitants.

    As always, if you have any questions, just comment below! 
    –Margaux

    “I Will Draw in Class!” Back to School | Biggering and Smallening!

    Back to School! “I will draw in class!”Søren and Silas have always been dra...

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  • “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.” –Tanzanian Proverb

    My friend Katie and I started writing a poem a day on the 25th April of this year. I’ve been filling my Orra notebook with them. We have well over 200 poems between us! Each day I put an envelope in my mailbox and lift the flag, feels like a solidly good start. As always, there is so much magic in the little things!


    On My Desk, Potatoes!

    A little On My Desk for this weekend! I usually use an Almond Mini Sendak, but today I borrowed spice – a new one – crispy clean and on my messy desk.

    “Little by little, a little becomes a lot.” –Tanzanian Proverb

    My friend Katie and I started writing a poem a day on the 25th April of this year. I’ve been filling my Orra notebook with them. We have well over 200 poems between us! Each day I put an envelope in my mailbox and lift the flag, feels like a solidly good start. As always, there is so much magic in the little things!

    Potato Dreams

    In my dream,
    there were potatoes.
    Not in my dream, too.
    Potatoes.
    I moved the dirt,
    and found a potato.
    Red. Red. Dirt. Potato.
    Red. Yellow. Dirt. Potato.
    Abundance, from old,
    forgotten potatoes.
    Under the horseradish,
    potatoes.
    In the sea of dirt,
    and slugs,
    and roots,
    potatoes.
    Red. Red. Dirt. Potato.
    An endless abundance
    moves into dreams,
    like Tetris.
    Potatoes.

    I wanted to write about
    death,
    grief,
    illness,
    but instead,
    I write about potatoes.
    Sometimes we must follow the current is all.
    We can’t always make waves.

    18 August 2023

    Shop Our Shop!

     

    Solvitur Ambulando Ring
    The Saver Pouch
    Iris Painter’s Palette
    Orra Sketchbooks

    Keep your notebook next to your bed for midnight scribbles!

    Autumn Colors: What Remains! 

    After a sweltering summer, we are feeling the cool of Autumn near – near you?
     

    Shop Last Chance!

    Fog
    What’s Left: Autumn Colors

    The Classic Tote

    The Keeper Pouch
    The Marlowe Carryall

     

    Red Maple

    Shop Our Shop!

    The Small Hunter Satchel

    The Maker Pouch
    The Finch Satchel

     

    Birch

    Shop Our Shop!

    The Seaside Tote

    The Hunter Satchel
    The Mini Tote


    Everywhere, Astonishments!

    This Chestnut Delight was left in our Philadelphia building with other delicious pieces of old furniture in various states of over-use and decline. This one was missing her bottom rails, and the drawers drifted down, heavy with neglect. I scrubbed her clean and Bartram-Balmed her, whilst Walter chiseled out broken tenons and sistered antique oak and chestnut in place.

    How I love Frankensteined objects, and how they live on! Hoorah!

    And whilst celebrating potatoes, I am reminded of the chapter celebrating them in Michael Pollan's The Botany of Desire.

    As always, if you have any questions, just comment below! 
    –Margaux

    On My Desk, Potatoes! Little By Little, A Little Becomes a Lot.

    On My Desk, Potatoes! A little On My Desk for this weekend! I usually use a...

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  • We’ve returned home from a summer of endless on-the-going to bountiful messes. I look forward to being here for a while, to making sense of the mayhem, to writing about our adventures, and to making new treasures. I welcome walking, gardening, and autumn cleaning, and all of the head clearing that they bring! It feels a lot like our early days again!


    Settling in at Home, after a Summer Full of Adventures!

    We’ve returned home from a summer of endless on-the-going to bountiful messes. I look forward to being here for a while, to making sense of the mayhem, to writing about our adventures, and to making new treasures. I welcome walking, gardening, and autumn cleaning, and all of the head clearing that they bring! It feels a lot like our early days again!

    The Barn
    We are slowly making space and (too) quickly piling up possibilities inside and out. It all reminds me of one of those plastic number games – move this here, so that that can move there...


    Shop Our Shop!

    Our palettes!
    Charming old systems.
    Lots of Scout Plein Air Boxes!
    Classics remain!

    Last Chance Bags! 

    With our recent move from our Philadelphia Shop to our West Chester Barn, we have discontinued many of our classics. What remains is in stock and ready to ship.

    Our bags are always the first to leap off of the shelves, so despite making a large inventory of Weekenders and Rogues before leaving our Philadelphia workshop, the numbers are dwindling!

    Shop Last Chance!

    The Rogue Backpack
    The Weekender

     

    What’s Left in Our Home Collection! 

    We started Peg and Awl with so many of these home goods meant to amplify the small spaces in our Philadelphia row home. When we moved to the Five Acre Wood, we brought everything with us, as they are timeless and work in a variety of spaces. Click through to see what remains and pick up something you've been contemplating – once something is sold out, we will not make more!

    Many, but not all, of the the wood products are on sale.

    Shop Last Chance!

    Mess Hall Knife Rack
    Baguette Board
    Cutting and Serving Boards
    Apothecary Caddy


    We have some Mystery Boxes left!

    Shop Mystery Boxes!

    The Essentials Kitchen
    Silas sorting treasures for Mystery Boxes!

     

     


    We launched our new ring!

    Solvitur Ambulando: “It is solved by walking.”

    We thank you for the warm reception and delightful emails – we've already started to make a second batch of rings!

    Our Solvitur Ambulando ring is inspired by the endlessness of walking’s cures. I am ever in awe of how walking helps bring forth thoughts thought to cure idea-lessness, and conversely, how it distills abundance into a place to begin. How it settles listlessness, dulls irritation, and softens anger, and how it extracts tears when needed – walking always knows. Most of all, I am delighted daily at walking’s ability to illuminate the magic in everyday things!

    Also, Gold is back! Now that we are settling into the new workshop at the barn, we are making gold jewelry again! All gold jewelry is made to order, which may take up to 4 weeks before shipping.

    Shop Our Jewelry!

    Solvitur Ambulando waxes.
    This cozy basement jewelry studio is a dream. Walter is wearing our Franklin Maker’s Apron.


    Everywhere, Astonishments!
     

    Since moving to the 5 Acre Wood, I’ve been going to local plant swaps*. I’ve learned so much and have traded a variety of plants. These Black and Brown Eyed Susans, which have now replaced thousands of Day Lilies, came from an incredibly rainy swap weekend in early Spring. *I’ve had to partake in Facebook for this – a worthwhile sacrifice.

     

    As always, if you have any questions, just comment below! 
    –Margaux

    Returning to Home and Studio After a Summerful of Adventures!

    Settling in at Home, after a Summer Full of Adventures! We’ve returned home...

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  • Movement brings words to life, ideas to life, and life to life! It clarifies and distills and cleanses. It extracts and then magnifies the magic. How different I would be without all this walking! How different would you be? Pray tell.

    Here at Peg and Awl, we celebrate the little things – we always have. We celebrate stories, craftsmanship, materials, old things, fragments, movement, thought, wondering and wandering. Everything we make has a story; we hope you enjoy this one!


    NEW Solvitur Ambulando Ring!
    “It is solved by walking!” 

    I am a walker. I’ve always been a walker. My mom was a walker, too. We walked to get groceries (Monkee’s walk there, awkward schlep home), we walked through the woods on road trip adventures, laughing uncontrollably, and we meandered through our neighborhoods. I put miles on my legs before that, walking back and forth betwixt my parent’s homes – my grey, pointy-cornered, double-cassette player bruising my thighs and knees as I walked and sang with The Ramones, The Cure, and The Violent Femmes. Later, I’d uncover that walking whilst reading would make me a better reader. How I’d gulp down volumes and laugh and cry and talk out loud to my books having discovered details that stayed with me as I read, unlike before when I’d drift... I simultaneously strengthened my other senses, becoming hyper aware of obstacles as I ambulated. I know which books I’ve read in the rain, or whilst traveling, as they are swollen with the experiences of movement and weather. When Søren was a baby and Walter was in Iraq, Søren and I walked for miles together as I read out loud, Søren’s little face betwixt mine and the book.

    But somehow, in our country, it still feels like a secret only a few of us are in on. As a family, we walk to ease our full bellies and ramble on about the day’s explorations or discoveries, and we bicker. For all the homes we pass, we see the same few movers wandering about: there are the dog walkers who are most abundant, the couples who’ve been walking together for decades, the rapping runner, and the lone walkers. There are bikers and joggers and mothers with babies in strollers, too, who pass by now and again, but they change.

    Movement brings words to life, ideas to life, and life to life! It clarifies and distills and cleanses. It extracts and then magnifies the magic. How different I would be without all this walking! How different would you be? Pray tell.

    Here at Peg and Awl, we celebrate the little things – we always have. We celebrate stories, craftsmanship, materials, old things, fragments, movement, thought, wondering and wandering. Everything we make has a story; we hope you enjoy this one!

    This is long – over two years – in the making! Be it reminder, celebration, both and more, our Solvitur Ambulando ring is finally here in recycled Gold, Silver, and Bronze*.

    *Gold: (14K yellow gold)
    Silver: (hypo-allergenic 925)
    Bronze: (an alloy that can give your hands a flair with tinges of green, less in cooler months)


    Shop Solvitur Ambulando!

    Working through the art and the lettering for the ring.
    My walking companion finds her way in, of course.

    Shop Solvitur Ambulando!

    Our ring is made by hand – carved from wax, engraved, cast, and finished in our Barn Studio. Each ring and size has different nuances giving them the feeling of having been dug up after centuries underground!

    We are making all of our jewelry in our Barn Studio now!

    Shop Our Jewelry!

    This ring comes in a Muslin Bag with belly band...
    ...or inside an engrave-able jewelry box!
    The silver tree coming out of casting with the investment ready to be fizzled away!
    A tree of Solvitur Ambulando rings ready to be cut away and finished!

    Gold is Back! 

    Now that we are settling into the new workshop at the barn, we are making gold jewelry again! All gold jewelry is made to order, which may take up to 4 weeks before shipping.

    Shop Our Jewelry!


    Everywhere, Astonishments!

    Night Walks: The ring works! I put one ring on Claire, an aspiring walker, (mine was already on), and we were off for a 3 mile night walk! These photographs are from our summer night walk — misty and even coolish, despite the day's sodden and heavy heat. I didn’t capture the creature sounds, which were perhaps even more astonishing!

    Book: The Walk by Robert Walser

    My Dad: Though I didn’t walk with him until this decade – my dad, who will be 80 this year, is also a walker. Or has become one – walking 50 miles a week!

    Our NEW Ring is Here! Solvitur Ambulando – “It is solved by walking.”

    NEW Solvitur Ambulando Ring!“It is solved by walking!”  I am a walker. I’v...

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