Adventures with the Scout Plein Air Box

In the beginning of September, I (Walter) felt the call of adventure, packed my Scout Plein Air Box and art supplies, a few changes of clothes and set out – this time a little further from home. An early morning Uber drive, two plane rides across the country, and a 4-hour van trip later, I found myself in the high country of Yosemite National Park, with a 50 lb pack on my back accompanied by three fellow adventurers and our guide. We were on a 5-day hike into the wilderness to escape the crowds of people and the endless demands of our busy lives, to camp under millions of stars that illuminated the night sky, to swim in the refreshingly freezing lakes fed by melting snow, to climb Vogelsang Peak, and for me to plein air paint.

Finding a nice spot to paint

Vogelsang is the one on the left

Painting by Fletcher Lake

The sunrise

A journal entry during the trip

I saw a bear yesterday! We were sitting drinking coffee and in the distant clearing a bear was moseying up the hill towards the lake. I burst out, “There’s a bear, there’s a bear!” We all jumped up and followed him. For a moment we lost him in the brush and when we got to the lake, he had somehow crossed from the left side of us to the right and he was super close! Preoccupied with breakfast, his head was down in the water. Occasionally he popped up with a mouthful of small fish. Chomping away, he looked around slowly then got back to snacking. When the water hole no longer proved satisfactory to his appetite, he turned away from us and went further into the reeds. We could see the tops of the tall grass shaking and hear the water splashing. He seemed to be having a grand time!

After breakfast we packed our day bags. With a few snacks, a rain jacket, and my paint box, I was ready. We set out through the meadow over a creek and began to climb a winding trail up to Vogelsang Lake. After a quick swim, we continued the trek to Vogelsang Summit. The going was steady but gradually slowed as the path steepened. When we reached the pass, we transitioned into rock scrambling. Loose gravel made for unsteady steps, and I stuck to boulder hopping, avoiding the gravely path as much as possible. On the final ascent we trail blazed through thick low piney brush. We bushwhacked our way up, intermittently discovering a patch of bare rock only to lose it again under the gnarly needled thicket.

The last few feet we had to hoist ourselves up onto rock ledges using the cracks as holds. As we scrambled up the final rock the world opened around us. Below lay a vast array of granite peaks dotted with ice melt lakes. The pine trees stitched each mountain together and the range went on as far as our eyes could see, disappearing into the hazy horizon. We could see Half Dome jutting up from the rest, completely bald, a formidable hunk of granite! We sat up on that razor edge ridge for a while and I attempted to capture the land below with my paints, brushes and canvas. During the descent we stopped at Vogelsang Lake for a late lunch and an invigorating swim before heading back to camp. What a day! How amazing life can be!

Rock scrambling

Painting atop Vogelsang

Leaving Vogelsang Summit

The Bear!

Vogelsang Lake in the distance

First painting of the trip

Right outside my tent

Goodnight!

Coming Soon: Postcards and Prints of the Yosemite National Park Plein Air Paintings!

Toulomne Meadows

Vogelsang Summit

Fletcher Lake

The view from my tent

The Scout Plein Air Box: A Backstory

The Scout Plein Air Box was inspired by our endeavor to make art every day. Each one is handmade in our West Chester, Pennsylvania 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. Read our earlier blog post for more of the Scout's story, or dig into its features and uses with our video walkthrough!

Every adventure we embark upon opens our world and our yearning for more. With that, the things we make broaden too, and how we use them – all is ongoing and interconnected. Everything blooms from everything.

In 2017, we began our search for sustainable leather, starting in the UK. We drove along narrow and winding roads of the countryside, enveloped in greenery. We were greeted and enchanted by the Tannery Cat, who showed us around the 500-year-old tannery nestled along a river. All was luminous in the glowing light – like the light after a storm. The cat paused mid-tour, to devour a headless rabbit that he had hidden under a car for later – now, the later.

He finished supper and we continued our wandering through whitewashed buildings full of old machinery, piles of tanned bellies, well-worn wooden what’s-its, and a large pool of oak bark soup with hides draped in rows for a long soak. Everything is worn and weathered, like the paths along the edges of farmlands; the stiles polished smooth and shiny from centuries of passers-by.

Whilst there, we were able to procure some organic animal hides from local Devonshire farms. These special requests, we were told, bore the marks of the animal’s lives lived outdoors — evidence of small battles, bug-swatting, and fence run-ins — things most people don’t prefer to see in their new leather. But this is all part of the story.

The leather took a long time travelling to Pennsylvania, and when it made it, we held onto it, savouring it for seven years. We have finally transformed it into something new — our Crow’s Feet Journals — made to house new adventures and layers of life’s patina!

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On This Same UK Adventure...

I have a recurring dream in which I am sucked into a body of water with my journal; I flop around in the water – my journal just out of reach. Yesterday, when Søren and Silas’s eyes lit up at the prospect of venturing down the algae-covered steps to the Thames, one would have expected warning signals to ignite my brain, struck with horror from my dream. The warnings came, but not on my behalf. I warned the boys to take the skinny, dry path – to avoid the slippy algae and save themselves from the off color and smell of an unexpected dip in the Thames. They carried on as originally planned, and I proceeded to greedily take photographs and videos of their adventure down the slippy, algae side. Losing my feet from underneath me, I went down fast and uncontrollably! 

All I could think of were my dreams, and the journal in my backpack as I flew down. I dug my nails into the green muck, trying to stop my momentum. I could hear Silas screaming, horrified, in the background. Turns out, I pressed record as I fell, my phone capturing the Blair Witch-Like audio that had us all in stitches afterwards. As it goes, spread out like a starfish, I didn’t make it into the Thames that day; I stopped my descent and rose up, green with algae – nails broken and knuckled bloodied, laughing my hearty laugh for the unexpected.

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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!

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)

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Jewellery

Solvitur Ambulando Ring	Opal Earrings

Terran Necklace	All the Names Collection

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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!

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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!

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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.

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!

A Ramble About Clay and My New Moss Sendak! 

We designed the Sendak for drawing and writing, and I have used mine for that since 2016. But my recent tumble into clay gave me a reason to choose another colour, and gather some new-to-me tools to fill it!

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

‘“Who in the world am I?” Ah, that’s the great puzzle.’
–from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll

I used to drive around and explore flea markets, find abandoned houses, and take photographs with a heavy Hasselblad that hung around my neck and bruised my chest. I had a car full of props and costumes, and bags for collecting abandoned house treasures like dresses, photographs, and letters. I didn’t count minutes or hours – I just sang and let the wind move through me as I drove. I’d drop off film and wait a week or more to pick it up – the time between was for thinking. Returning to the camera shop for my 12 square prints and negatives filled me with wild anticipation and gratification for the ongoingness.

This pacing of days somehow became a forgotten, foggy past – until I found clay and Cara’s studio. I began with directions that didn’t lead to the right road in the woods. I wandered amongst tulip poplars in the wintry dimness, looking for an oversized handmade pot, where the ‘open studio’ that I signed up for was about to commence.

When I found it, everything quieted. The ‘building’ was yellow and otherworldly – out of a book, another time, or imagination. As I do, I wandered around, taking it all in with an abundance of questions and shutter clicks. Inside, there were no corners. Diffused light poured in through reclaimed windows, each a different size and each with a deep windowsill. The wood-burning stove cut the chill in the air – I could have stayed for days.

I chose a seat, and got to clay-ing.

After the making was the waiting. As I returned the next week to pick up my fired treasures, I was reminded of the days when I used to drive around and explore flea markets, find abandoned houses, and take photographs with a heavy Hasselblad that hung around my neck and bruised my chest.

The wood burning stove kept us all warm and cozy during a bit of a flurry.	The composting toilet, outside in the cold, was a kind of treat!

The Sendak Artist Roll

Shop Our Stationery Collection

We plan to interview artists and makers who use the Sendak, and share their stories and work. Until then, enjoy Darla’s well-worn Sendak that has been accompanying her for 8 years!

Photograph by Darla Jackson
All Black Sendak Artist Roll

Sendak Artist Roll
in Red Maple

I love this little treasure spot in our City Workshop – soon to be the home of someone new as we move our workshop to the Barn here at the Five Acre Wood!

Photograph by Catharine Mi-Sook

The Mini Sendak Artist Roll

Photograph by Maryse M. Almond Mini Sendak for Crocheters	Photograph by Alice O. Slate Mini Sendak for Knitters

Inside the Sendak...

Shop the Stationery Collection

4” Anselm Bookbinding Kit	Tilda Painter’s Palette

Orra Portrait Sketchbook	Brush Rest Trio

Watch our Walkthrough of the Sendak Artist Roll!

We’ve watched all of the YouTube reviews of our Sendak (thank you!) and have made our own video to answer some questions and share our experiences.

Blog: Our Sendak Walkthrough

Our Of a Kinds!

We have some treasures left from our past Of a Kind collections!

Shop Of a Kinds

A Rural Pen Ink	Essential Pouch with 1800s Dressmaker’s Fabric: Sylvia

Standard Tote with Feedsack: Winnie	Foundlings Original Art: Solidago

Essential Pouch with 1930s Textile Adlai	Small Hunter with 1800s Quilt Block: Bonnie

Everywhere, Astonishments!

• Podcast: Foodie Pharmagolocy: Animal Medication with Dr. Jaap de Roode. I’ve been catching up on all that I’ve missed recently – so many good episodes! This one feels most fun for everyone.
• Book: The Plant Hunter: A Scientist’s Quest for Nature’s Next Medicines by Cassandra Quave. Cassandra Quave is now on Substack – read here!
  
  

#100dayproject: Read More on Substack – I Heard A Hawk Today

Snowdrops! They arrived a little early here – these small wonders are always a treasure to happen upon!	Søren’s 100 Days of Tiny Worlds is starting off strong. Here is Day 2. ​@sorenscoutkent

We’ve watched all of the YouTube reviews of our Sendak Artist Roll (thank you!) and have made our own video to answer some questions and share our experience!

We are grateful for all the wonderful Sendak reviews, and for sharing videos and spreading the word!

Video Transcript

Hello, everyone! I wanted to give you a little walkthrough of our Sendak Artist Roll. I've been seeing a lot of other people's video walkthroughs and it's been inspiring me to do the same.

Introduction

Here is my very well-loved and very well-used Sendak. This is the first "right one" that we made. We went through a lot of trial and error to get to this, so I want to show you what it has the potential to hold.

Supplies in my Sendak: Scissors and Glue (0:30)

I always have glue with me because I do a lot of messy collage work, so I love to glue things and I also have scissors for that same reason. I use small scissors if I'm traveling anywhere where I'm getting on a plane, and I use big scissors if I'm just traveling in a car. Both sizes fit into the Sendak nicely. I tend to put the big scissors on an end, in one of the smaller pockets. The smaller scissors fit anywhere, it just depends what else I have in my Sendak.

The Pencil Pockets (0:55)

One of the most common requests that we get and one of the things that people tend to comment on is that these pencil pockets are too small for fountain pens. While that's true of this Kaweco cap (the bottom fits, the top doesn't), this vintage technical pen is pretty chunky, and I put it in there all the time. I carry two or three. You can see how it kind of draws the Sendak together, so ultimately there's going to be a little bit less room in other pockets. It's making other things more tight, but really, it's fine.

When the Sendak is new, the waxed canvas might be tight to even just fit a pencil, but as you use it, it breaks in and loosens up, and then it doesn't loosen any further – that's where it's going to stay. Once you use it more, you can easily fit two standard pencils or paintbrushes into each slot, so it's really not a too small slot once you break it in. 

Supplies in my Sendak: Pencils (1:35)

I love these beginners pencils that have really soft lead. I love making marks that are a little less particular than, for example, when I'm using my mechanical pencils (which I also love).

So, these are some of the supplies that I carry every day. I think where the variation comes in, is in which pencils I want, which softness levels, or if I want a water soluble pencil. I'll put the pencils together in this end pocket. It's important to note that the Blackwing fits in. This Blackwing pencil was sharpened once and it makes it a perfect fit. This one was never sharpened, and the eraser is worn down a bit, so it's just above that folding point (the Sendak measures 7.75″ tall at the folding point). The taller one will obviously still work, but I know these are awesome pencils that a lot of people have, so I wanted to show you that.

Supplies in my Sendak: Pens (2:15)

Another thing that I carry are dippy pens. I will put pen nibs into a tin. I love using antique tins to store pen nibs, and in this case, a kneaded eraser. These tins are great for little art supplies, and I just put them into the zipper pocket.

The Zipper Pocket (2:30)

In addition to the vintage tin, I put another regular eraser. When pencils get too small for the pencil pockets, then I'll put them in the zipper pocket. I also have some extra lead for my mechanical pencils, a pencil sharpener, and I often have a whitewash in there as well. You can fit a lot in this zipper pocket.

I like to not overstuff my Sendak so that it folds nicely. I really like it to fold up rather than to roll up, which happens when it is very stuffed.

The Interior Pockets (2:55)

We have 16 pen and pencil slots in the front, and then we have four pockets behind those. So these four are varying widths – you could see the width of the smaller ones that I use for scissors or pencils, which measure 2.5″ wide. The larger two measure 4.25″ wide. I use these two bigger pockets for sketchbooks.

We make these Landscape Orra Sketchbooks in our shop. We designed them to fit into both this Sendak and the Mini Sendak. They can also serve as a tool protector if you need it, for example, if I was putting in a dippy pen whose nib needed protecting, or paint brushes, that would be a great tool protector. We also sell acrylic tool protectors separately if you don't want to carry a Sketchbook or Painter's Palette.

The Iris Painter's Palette is another product that we make. It is for squeezing in tube paints, watercolors, or in this case, making your own paint and filling up these wells with homemade paint. This was made to fit in both the Classic Sendak and the Mini Sendak as well, in these large interior pockets.

I'm going to put my palette here, and these pens in the back here with some small scissors. I want to have another paint brush and then whatever colors I want to bring. Sometimes I get really organized and other times I just put stuff in. You don't have to be crazy overthinking this. It's just really supposed to hold what you need – what you need for the day, what you need for a week, what you need for a trip.

I also often have a bookbinding needle held in the top flap here, and I'll put some bookbinding thread here in the zipper pocket, in case I want to make a book. I'll also prepare by having folded paper here in these exterior pockets.

The Exterior Pockets (4:30)

These two outside pockets otherwise are great for random sized sketchbooks like this – this would have been one of those random ones that I made. I also love this tin. It's for 15 neocolors, but I've had it for years and I move pastels or other more delicate stuff into here that I don't want to crumble in the pen pockets. It's a really nice fit for these back pockets.

This is our Orra Portrait Sketchbook, which we made to fit into the Classic Sendak. We have three sizes of these sketchbooks – the Portrait, the Large Portrait, and the Landscape.

Closing the Sendak (5:00)

So when I fold up the Sendak – this one is pretty full with everything that I just stuffed into the outside pockets – but when I fold it up, I will hold everything down and pull down this top flap so that it folds nicely. Then I roll in the sides, starting with the zipper pocket, so that all the parts of my Sendak are where they should be. Then I just synch it closed with the leather strap and buckle.

I'd say this is pretty full – I have stuff in every pocket. In some instances, I have more than one thing in a pocket. There's still a lot of room on this leather strap. So that's it! This will fit nicely into my bag, and I've got what I need for a long time.

The Buckle Closure

Another question that we've had is about this buckle. This comes from a gun sling from maybe the forties, and it was intended to function exactly as we use it. We found that it just really holds the Sendak together nicely, and of course, we love incorporating old bits wherever we can, into whatever we make.

So there you have it! My Sendak, lovingly worn in and full of life.

Mentioned in this video:

From Our Shop:

• The Classic Sendak Artist Roll
• The Sendak Mini Artist Roll
• Iris Painter’s Palette
• Landscape Orra Sketchbook
• Portrait Orra Sketchbook
• Acrylic Tool Protects (Out of Stock)

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.

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!

 “Whatever you think you can do or believe you can do, begin it. Action has magic, grace, and power in it.”   
–Johann Wolfgang Goethe

I am sure my right arm* is stronger for all of the writing and stitching and hauling of pages in journals for so many years of my life. So many miles we’ve traveled together, me and my books. I wonder how many miles of words I’ve written if strung end to end? I've always made books (I have one from when I was 6!), but I began to keep a journal regularly when I was 12 years old, and started making my journals when I was 25. I won’t do the math, but there are a lot of years of books and a lot of years of scribbling between now and then. I was always stitching a book or filling one up.

Hunter S. Thompson invited me into his limo one day, outside of The Strand in NYC. Actually, it wasn’t me he invited in, but my journal—I was holding it. I didn’t know anything about Hunter beyond Fear and Loathing, but I climbed in and sat next to him—shoulder to shoulder. When he asked if he could see the journal, I handed it over. Then he asked if he could write in it. I said yes, of course. He wrote a message in Latin and I don’t remember what else. I never did get to translate it because I went to Amsterdam shortly after the encounter and my bag—with my journal in it—was stolen.

That was the first proper journal I had built. I’ve made hundreds since then. But the first one was stolen in a café in Amsterdam. What the journal thief couldn’t possibly know was that his actions would set me upon a path, for despite my initial despair, I struck out in search of a book bindery. After a day of walking and asking nearly every stranger I could make eye contact with about the shop, I’d finally found it. And what a magical place it was! I stocked up on supplies I’d never known existed then went to an upholstery shop up the street, where I discovered antique leather in a dusty floor corner removed from a chair made in the 1800s! With tools and material from the bindery, I set to work making my second journal, using my thighs as a book press. The result, with its battered old leather, looked like it had travelled through time many hundreds of years, and its pages begged for stories like that of The Journal Thief.

The very objects that started this adventure are a foundational piece of our shop. Putting these Tomes into production was no easy task and after much planning, many trials and many years, we’ve got the process down and have been able to explore with variations in headband, textiles, and leather! I appreciate everyone’s questions and interest in these Monsters!

Hand-stitched headbands adorn each Tome.	I use all kinds of medium and make all kinds of marks within my journals!

Working on sketches for Poison for Breakfast by Lemony Snicket!	Harper and Jackson Tome Stack!

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*since writing this, I've been using my left hand for drawing - beginning with the #100dayproject 2021! I'm still at it, so my left hand is catching up a little.