The Bartram Cherry Collection:
From Storm to Saw to Studio
Eight years ago, a storm brought down a cherry tree in the oldest surviving botanical garden in North America – Bartram’s Garden – and they invited us to mill it and give it a new life!
As the wood air-dried from tree into lumber, we, too, changed. We moved out of Philadelphia. We turned our focus from home goods to artist supplies, and began making more art ourselves.
Now these pieces are ready to be set free, to transform your space and your work. A storm felled it. Time dried it. We shaped it.
This collection is steeped in history! Bartram’s Garden is a historic staple of Philadelphia and was the homestead of John Bartram, who traveled up and down the American colonies in the 18th century gathering botanical specimens and seeds for his own garden and for the King of England. 'Tis a charming place to visit!
SHOP BARTRAM TREASURES
The (old) crew!
Silas turning a cherry bowl on the lathe.
Happy Birthday!
Truly One Of a Kind
Introducing the only Steinbeck Table and Joad Chair set made from the Bartram Cherry Tree. Unique to this set, we rounded the legs and tapered the bottom edges of the table top. We love the results and we will definitely be making more with other wood species. Enjoy this truly one of a kind wonder!
SHOP CHERRY MAGIC
A perfect desk for the studio.
Cherry Scout With Black Leather
SHOP DRAMA SCOUT
The Scout Plein Air Box comes with 2 drawers, 8 empty paint tubes, 4 gessoboards, 2 glass jars with leather holsters, 1 leather brush holder, 2 gold binder clips and 1 corian palette.
Wood Bowls Made by Silas
Silas worked at the lathe this summer and turned a lot of bowls and as the stacks of finished pieces grew he honed his skills. For the culminating event he turned some of the Bartram Cherry, creating a limited batch of beautiful bowls.
SHOP SILAS’S SKILLZ
Stacks of buttery bowls
Studio Treasures
Introducing some of our favorite studio essentials now in Bartram Cherry! It was so fun to be a part of the tree’s evolution from milling it to working with the wood in our shop and creating treasures ready for a new home.
SHOP STUDIO CLASSICS
The Epic Desk Caddy is one of Walter’s studio essentials
The First Cut
Coming Soon
We are working on our biggest Of a Kind collection ever, which is all art-focused to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Sendak! We will announce the date and time in a newsletter soon!
Tiny Treasures for Nutshell
Tove Artist Tote
Find Us On YouTube and Substack
Everywhere Astonishments
Found this painting by Jackie Doucette on Substack. The palette, endlessness, and sweetness are incredible. Always digging through photographs and seeing old photos of my littles, warm and snuggly; I miss these days. Grateful to relive through Ashley and her wild littles every week!
Soursop. Because we had delicious soursop in Savannah. And because adding to apple cider vinegar, lemon or lime, maple syrup, sparkling water and sometimes ginger concoction makes it extra special. (But I do love chasing weird textures.)
Beet powder sweetener. OMG. I can't resist things like this. Cottage Cheese, Kefir, Frozen Strawberrues, Cardamom blended. Add beet powder to top (and redden your lips), cacao nibs, coconut, and more cardamom. YUM.
🌳 NEW From Storm to Saw to Studio!
The Bartram Cherry Collection:From Storm to Saw to Studio Eight years ago, a storm brought down a cherry tree in the oldest surviving botanical garden in North America – Bartram’s...
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Cozy Chilly Nightwalk Season!
The cozy season is upon us. The windows are open and the quilts are piled high. Oh, and a storm is coming. Here is to hoping no more trees fall. We’ve had enough of the falling trees this year! Now, for a very seasonal colour palette...
DISCOVER TREASURES
An unusually tidy desk
Egg Yolk Sendak!
When You Know, You Know!
Nighwalks, Morning Walks, Middle-of-the-Day Walks... All Transformative!
I was walking a much-needed Night Walk and randomly chose a Poetry Unbound conversation about translation, which felt synchronistic, as all things do when walking. I was enchanted and scribbling as I walked. But I didnt take note of how crooked I was, or that there was a planet at all. And my foot slowly scraped along the curb, and I found myself fallen, in the dewy grass, thrilled to be alive. Such is the magic of a Nightwalk.
SHOP WALKING RING
Lots of Solvitur Ambulando Rings
The Smelling Season
Coming Soon!
It’s a-coming! Our biggest ever Of a Kind Collection celebrating the 10th Anniversary of the Sendak Artist Roll with Art Supplies and Materials and New Treasures! Sign up for our newsletter to be notified when they are released!
SIGN UP FOR OUR NEWSLETTER
The Colours!
So, So Many Delightful Awtumnal Tones!
Pearl + a Gorgeous 1800s Quilt
Silas’s Summer of Bowls
It takes a village! Ashley and critters.
Substack and YouTube
We’ve been making a lot more for YouTube and Substack!
We have more process to share, along with the church transformation, if all goes well. Let us know you are enjoying our YouTube videos by subscribing to our channel!
I am working on a new ‘series’ or something on Substack—digging through the photographic archives and the never-ending pile of tucked-away books in my studio to share different shapes and uses—so far, the simplest handbound books!
Have a look, share your thoughts and wishes for this!
Still to come: Shape Books, Leather Tomes, Books made from Old Things...
Everywhere Astonishments
I went to a Flea Market yesterday with Katie, in search of some more treasure for the upcoming Of a Kind Batch — and found a lot for the next. The day was glorious, though my bag was not full. We went to The Hive in Kutztown afterwards, which is always a delight, and ended up in a long conversation with Katie and Sara (Hive Owner) about the state of flea markets, the economy, small business, Wendell Berry, farming, opossums, and more. I am grateful for such tangled enchantments and delightful food!
Podcasts I've been loving:
Poetry Unbound in conversation with Karen Leeder
The New Yorker Poetry:
Richard Blanco reads Elizabeth Bishop
Peter Balakin reads Theodore Roethke
and The New Yorker Fiction
Nicole Krauss reads Bruno ShulzResearching for naming the Artist Tote above! Always digging through favourite artists and writers, and especially searching for those who did both!
Awtumn Colours, Awtumn Spirit!
Cozy Chilly Nightwalk Season! The cozy season is upon us. The windows are open and the quilts are piled high. Oh, and a storm is coming. Here is to hoping...
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A Week in the Oregon Wild
Walter went on his annual week-long hike with The Doctors and one of the doctors’ two sons. One of the sons, Krishna, had a film camera and no phone. He took some of the photographs, and Walter took the others.
***Photograph by @krishna.treinen
The ecology and geology varied dramatically, from lush, Scottish-Highland-esque landscapes to harsh, rugged granite peaks, with viridian alpine lakes scattered throughout.An Encounter with the Other
On my recent backpacking adventure in the mountains of eastern Oregon, I carried my Scout Plein Air box – my nonnegotiable extra weight. I started each day painting. And each morning the mountains offered their gift. And I squeezed it out of my paint tubes, and I mixed it on my palette, and I held it in my brush, and I painted it on my canvas.
Whenever we go outdoors, we invite the wild in. With every step further up and further in, excitement builds. Anything can happen: a mountain goat sighting, a wander down the wrong path, connections with friends, being overwhelmed by the beauty of Nature, an encounter with The Other.
–Walter
Tenderfoot Pass
The crew!
Journals
Meanwhile, at home, I navigate through piles of things made. This week I began to sort through my notebooks and journals by type of bookbinding, then size. I started with french link and single signature books. The simplest and most abundant. More on Substack!
–Margaux
SHOP JOURNAL COLLECTION
Studio, Studio.
Orra Portrait Notebooks
Coming Soon
We are working on our biggest Of a Kind collection ever, which is all art-focused to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Sendak! We will announce the date and time in a newsletter soon!
Lots and Lots of Tins!
Sendaks with Antique Textiles
YouTube and Substack
We’ve been making a lot more for YouTube and Substack!
We have more process to share, along with the church transformation, if all goes well. Let us know you are enjoying our YouTube videos by subscribing to our channel!
Everywhere Astonishments
Going to a new gym which is along the railroad tracks to the church. Cannot wait to walk the tracks more regularly!
My old favourite. I had many dreams of meeting Camus in Algiers
🎨 Plein Air Painting in the Oregon Wilderness!
A Week in the Oregon Wild Walter went on his annual week-long hike with The Doctors and one of the doctors’ two sons. One of the sons, Krishna, had a...
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Product Care and Tutorials
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One of the key steps to speed up the breaking in process of leather is to simply twist and roll the leather in your fingers. As you use your bag the leather will naturally soften and become much easier to maneuver. Whether you help it out, or simply use your bag, the breaking in process does not take long!!
*What is Vegetable Tanned Leather? Vegetable tanning is a slow, natural, and sustainable process of tanning raw hides with natural, biodegradable extracts derived entirely from vegetable sources such as tree bark.
Our bags are made with full-grain vegetable-tanned leather*, which is a durable leather that develops a lovely patina over time with continued use. It is thicker than conventional, chrome-tanned leather, which also lends it to be more stiff in the beginning. This video shows how to quickly soften the leather, as well as the proper steps for detaching and attaching the leather shoulder strap and front closure on our Peg and Awl bags.
One of the key steps to speed up the breaking in process of leather is to simply twist and roll the leather in your fingers. As you use your bag the leather will naturally soften and become much easier to maneuver. Whether you help it out, or simply use your bag, the breaking in process does not take long!!
*What is Vegetable Tanned Leather? Vegetable tanning is a slow, natural, and sustainable process of tanning raw hides with natural, biodegradable extracts derived entirely from vegetable sources such as tree bark.
Step 1: Detaching the Strap
*The leather is the most stiff when it is new. As you use it and work with it, it will soften.- Hold the button stud and pull the leather strap to bring the button stud into the leather slot.
- Firmly and slowly work the leather over the button stud. Take your time working with the leather as it softens.
Step 2: Attaching the Shoulder Strap-
Twist and roll the strap to soften the leather. It does not take long to break in.
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Press the leather slot over the button stud. Hold the stud and pull the leather strap to bring the stud into the hole.
Our Leather!
Our first bag – The Waxed Canvas Tote – which we finished with reclaimed military leather slings found at a flea market. Dusty and dull with years of neglect, the leather was unassuming. But with some hot soapy water, perseverance, and beeswax balm, we removed the layers to find stories told through the markings of days past. We were delighted! The usefulness of the leather sent us on a mission to scour flea markets and military shows for as many old slings as we could find. For years we used these relics to finish our bags – until there were no more to be found.
And so, a new mission was soon underway: the search for the right new leather. We began in the UK driving along long and winding roads through the English countryside to visit J&FJ Baker, a 500-year-old tannery. This experience and many subsequent conversations enriched our understanding of a leather world we had known nothing about.
While shipping leather from the UK turned out to be impractical, we left enlightened with the knowledge that there do exist a few companies who produce leather in a sustainable and responsible way. When we returned to America we found Wickett & Craig – only a stone’s throw from our shop in Philadelphia. Their vegetable tanning process is a slow, natural, and eco-friendly process of tanning raw hides with natural, biodegradable extracts derived entirely from vegetable sources such as tree bark. This durable leather breaks in and gathers a gorgeous patina, bearing the marks of the users’ (and makers’) adventures – the very thing we’ve always celebrated! We’ve been using this leather for three years now and love it!
With the transition from using reclaimed WWII era gun straps for our leather handles to using locally-sourced vegetable-tanned leather, we are reaffirming the fellowship between ourselves and the materials with which we make. By creating beautiful and useful objects out of sustainable and responsibly sourced materials, we strive to change the way that we as individuals make, use, repair and reuse everyday objects. As our new bags leave our Philadelphia workshop and arrive at your doorsteps, what adventures will they see in your hands and how will they transform to become truly yours?
Vegetable tanned leather is made with a slow, natural, and sustainable process of tanning raw hides with natural, biodegradable extracts derived entirely from vegetable sources such as tree bark. The more you use your bags and journals, the softer the leather will become. 
This durable leather breaks in and gathers a gorgeous patina, bearing the marks of the users’ (and makers’) adventures! Here, you can see the leather on Walter's Tote and Scout. As you use your bag the leather will naturally soften and become much easier to maneuver. 
We took out Hunter's out on an Amethyst dig! they got pretty dirty, so we turned the bags inside out, tapped out the dirt and wiped the inside with a sponge and put them in the sun to dry. Our Finch is my favourite bag - I carry mine nearly everyday. It holds my books, journal, water bottle, and other bits comfortably. Adjusting the Leather Straps on our Waxed Canvas Bags
One of the key steps to speed up the breaking in process of leather is to simply twist and roll the leather in your fingers. As you use your bag...
Read The Post
One of the key steps to speed up the breaking in process of leather is to simply twist and roll the leather in your fingers. As you use your bag the leather will naturally soften and become much easier to maneuver. Whether you help it out, or simply use your bag, the breaking in process does not take long!!
*What is Vegetable Tanned Leather? Vegetable tanning is a slow, natural, and sustainable process of tanning raw hides with natural, biodegradable extracts derived entirely from vegetable sources such as tree bark.
Our bags are made with full-grain vegetable-tanned leather*, which is a durable leather that develops a lovely patina over time with continued use. It is thicker than conventional, chrome-tanned leather, which also lends it to be more stiff in the beginning. This video shows how to quickly soften the leather, as well as the proper steps for detaching and attaching the leather shoulder strap and front closure on our Peg and Awl bags.
One of the key steps to speed up the breaking in process of leather is to simply twist and roll the leather in your fingers. As you use your bag the leather will naturally soften and become much easier to maneuver. Whether you help it out, or simply use your bag, the breaking in process does not take long!!
*What is Vegetable Tanned Leather? Vegetable tanning is a slow, natural, and sustainable process of tanning raw hides with natural, biodegradable extracts derived entirely from vegetable sources such as tree bark.
*The leather is the most stiff when it is new. As you use it and work with it, it will soften.
- Hold the button stud and pull the leather strap to bring the button stud into the leather slot.
- Firmly and slowly work the leather over the button stud. Take your time working with the leather as it softens.
Step 2: Attaching the Shoulder Strap
-
Twist and roll the strap to soften the leather. It does not take long to break in.
-
Press the leather slot over the button stud. Hold the stud and pull the leather strap to bring the stud into the hole.
Our Leather!
Our first bag – The Waxed Canvas Tote – which we finished with reclaimed military leather slings found at a flea market. Dusty and dull with years of neglect, the leather was unassuming. But with some hot soapy water, perseverance, and beeswax balm, we removed the layers to find stories told through the markings of days past. We were delighted! The usefulness of the leather sent us on a mission to scour flea markets and military shows for as many old slings as we could find. For years we used these relics to finish our bags – until there were no more to be found.
And so, a new mission was soon underway: the search for the right new leather. We began in the UK driving along long and winding roads through the English countryside to visit J&FJ Baker, a 500-year-old tannery. This experience and many subsequent conversations enriched our understanding of a leather world we had known nothing about.
While shipping leather from the UK turned out to be impractical, we left enlightened with the knowledge that there do exist a few companies who produce leather in a sustainable and responsible way. When we returned to America we found Wickett & Craig – only a stone’s throw from our shop in Philadelphia. Their vegetable tanning process is a slow, natural, and eco-friendly process of tanning raw hides with natural, biodegradable extracts derived entirely from vegetable sources such as tree bark. This durable leather breaks in and gathers a gorgeous patina, bearing the marks of the users’ (and makers’) adventures – the very thing we’ve always celebrated! We’ve been using this leather for three years now and love it!
With the transition from using reclaimed WWII era gun straps for our leather handles to using locally-sourced vegetable-tanned leather, we are reaffirming the fellowship between ourselves and the materials with which we make. By creating beautiful and useful objects out of sustainable and responsibly sourced materials, we strive to change the way that we as individuals make, use, repair and reuse everyday objects. As our new bags leave our Philadelphia workshop and arrive at your doorsteps, what adventures will they see in your hands and how will they transform to become truly yours?
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Adjusting the Leather Straps on our Waxed Canvas Bags
One of the key steps to speed up the breaking in process of leather is to simply twist and roll the leather in your fingers. As you use your bag...
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The Other Side
And here we are, on the other side, with three places set at the dinner table.
I’ve begun a new and simple project: 100 days of flea market finds, using my nutshell, a pouch, and a large Anselm book.
A Sending Off
And away he goes!
Søren is settled into SCAD and already loving life in his new and haunted city of Savannah. It is a city we often visited on road trips. A city he's loved since his first fright on a hearse ghost tour.
Søren will still be with us at Peg and Awl, editing and making videos. We long to see and share what newness goes straight into making!
Our last stop at Santee
Dinner at Common Thread
Driving into Savannah!
Hiking at Santee on the Drive Home
Finally Visited The Book Lady!
I exist!
Nestlings
The Nestlings are part of our Scrapplings Collection and made from cut-offs from the Sendak Artist Rolls. They are now available in assorted warms and assorted cools!
SHOP NESTLINGS
Ever a Messy Desker
Coming Soon
We have so, so much in the works. The ten-year anniversary of the Sendak is coming up, and we are working on a massive Of a Kind Art Collection for the celebrating, which includes a lot of Sendaks:)
The Artist Tote
Anselm Covers
YouTube and Substack
We’ve been making a lot more for YouTube and Substack!
We have more process to share, along with the church transformation, if all goes well. Let us know you are enjoying our YouTube videos by subscribing to our channel!
Watch our newest video on filling the Nutshell with unusual tools for Italy!
Everywhere Astonishments
The Other Side
The Other Side And here we are, on the other side, with three places set at the dinner table. I’ve begun a new and simple project: 100 days of flea...
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Awl Things Small
We love small things!
We are (hopefully!) about to embark on some very big things again, so until then, we thought we’d share some of our smallest treasures: Things Made from scraps of other Things Made, treasures that fit into other treasures, and objects that are simply small.
Solvitur Ambulando Ring
All of our jewelry is made from reclaimed gold, silver, and bronze.
Scraplings Trio made from Sendak Cut-Offs
Our Smallest Bags
Pipit Totes
Small Hunter Satchel and (some Treasures that stop being small)
Substack and YouTube
We’ve been making a lot more for YouTube and Substack!
We have more process to share, along with the church transformation, if all goes well. Let us know you are enjoying our YouTube videos by subscribing to our channel!
Everywhere Astonishments
I’m Not Afraid on Netflix was one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. (tbf I don’t watch much.) It was so, so beautiful and compelling, and horrifying. And these kids were astonishing!
Awl Things Small
Awl Things Small We love small things! We are (hopefully!) about to embark on some very big things again, so until then, we thought we’d share some of our smallest...
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Press
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Press: Cultivating Place Podcast
Cultivating Place: Natural History & Our Gardens The Adventurous Art of Cultivating Place, with Peg & Awl
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Press: Leslie Stroz
Scout Plein Air Box Review The Sendak Artist Roll Review More Leslie Stroz Videos Featuring Peg and Awl! Rating ALL of My Travel Watercolor PALETTES (the BEST and WORST) BEST...
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Press: Cultivating Place Podcast
Cultivating Place: Natural History & Our Gardens The Adventurous Art of Cultivating Place, with Peg & Awl
Read The Post
Press: Leslie Stroz
Scout Plein Air Box Review The Sendak Artist Roll Review More Leslie Stroz Videos Featuring Peg and Awl! Rating ALL of My Travel Watercolor PALETTES (the BEST and WORST) BEST...
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The Sendak Artist Roll: A Walkthrough Video
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...
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Bookbinding Tutorials
We have put together a long overdue tutorial on bookmaking. I have prepared a list of things you will need to make your first notebook. This is a very simple start—you can use materials that you have at home and anyone, any age can join in!
So, let’s make books!
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Explore Our Tutorial Series to Bind Your Own Journal. You can use materials that you have at home, and anyone of any age can join in!
Photo by @holddear
Share your Peg and Awl with #quarantinebookbindingclub to be featured!
Bookbinding Tutorials
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So here we are again – still at home and pleased to share our next installment of our Bookbinding at Home series! We hope you have found some small things to enjoy in this time of truly slooooowing down. For me it is always the small things that brighten my days, like watching Toots and Yedda – our goose landmates – and transforming a pile of field stone into an elegant yet makeshift garden path!
As for the tutorials, we are learning a lot (we hope you are too) and are so grateful for everyone who is joining us!
Bookbinding at Home: Part 2
So here we are again – still at home and pleased to share our next installment of our Bookbinding at Home series! We hope you have found some small things to enjoy in this time of truly slooooowing down. For me it is always the small things that brighten my days, like watching Toots and Yedda – our goose landmates – and transforming a pile of field stone into an elegant yet makeshift garden path!
As for the tutorials, we are learning a lot (we hope you are too) and are so grateful for everyone who is joining us!
Project No. 2: Stitching Signatures for a Coverless Sketchbook
Here is what you will need:
1. Needle – bookbinding needles have roundy tips and big eyes, but most needles will work!
2. Thread – any thread will do. If it is super thin, double it up.
3. Pencil – grab your favourite pencil to plot your stitching holes.
4. Paper – this is for the inside. Do you like lined paper, sketch paper, the back of used paper, graph paper? Gather your favourites, mix ’em up or stick to one!
5. Thumbtack – or something sharp to poke holes through paper and cardstock.
6. Scissors – for snipping your thread.
7. Fabric – this will serve as your linens that will hold the book together. Happy treasure hunting!
8. Glue – to glue your fabric to the front and back covers of your book. Elmers works!
We get most of our bookbinding tools and materials from Talas, including needles, thread, linen tape and other materials we haven’t explained yet. The waxed thread that I am using is a 3 ply waxed Irish Linen thread.
We love Strathmore drawing paper for our journals and find that and other supplies through Artist & Craftsman. Both the latter and Talas are small companies who have shut down their physical locations but are currently taking online orders and shipping!
As for covers, vintage textiles, needle boxes and vintage tools – you can find all kinds of unexpected magic at home as well as on Etsy and eBay. We at Peg and Awl absolutely encourage creativity in materials and tools, and finding vintage stuff is a nice way to reclaim some of the excess of items that already exist on our planet. This is also a way to make your project and your desk specifically yours!
Bookbinding Glossary
Sheet: The unfolded paper pages that you start your project with
Folio: A folded sheet
Signature: Gathering of folios
Leaf: One half of a folded sheet
Page: Each side of each leafPlease share your little books with us with hashtag #quarantinebookbindingclub – we’d love to see what you are making, and share the results!
The Next Step…
Continue on with our next bookbinding project: covering a coverless book! We will only be covering a book, so bring your coverless book from this project to the next installment.
And While You’re at Home…
If you are housebound or feeling antsy, there are oodles of projects online and on Instagram. I’ve found inspiration from The Good Ship Illustration’s drawing guide The Sketchbooker’s Friend. The first tip is pretty great:
NO PHONES. Don’t take a photo, then draw from it. Don’t finish your drawing at your desk later. It is NOT ALLOWED and we are very strict!
Bookbinding at Home, Part 2: How to Stitch a Coverless Journal!
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Here is the last video in our first bookbinding tutorial series: Bookbinding at Home. Thank you all for following along and sharing your books. We are so psyched to see all of the books that have come out of these tutorials!
Here is the last video in our first bookbinding tutorial series: Bookbinding at Home. Thank you all for following along and sharing your books. We are so psyched to see all of the books that have come out of these tutorials! We hope you find comfort in the process of binding your books as well as filling them. There is certainly a lot to document right now— in both pictures and words.
We love seeing your books and sharing in our Instagram stories and posts (@pegandawl) – be sure to use #quarantinebookbindingclub and/or #pegandawlbinds on your social media posts so we can find you!Project No. 3: Covering a Journal with Leather
Here is what you will need:
Leather – If you have scrap, an old jacket or wallet, anything soft and malleable, have it ready! Scraps of many colors are also available from many sellers on Etsy.
Fabric – This will replace mull (a starched cheesecloth) that will be glued directly to your book block to strengthen your book.
Thread – For the headband. Aim for something thick that will take up space. You can also use a pre-made headband.
Scissors – For trimming your cover. If you are using leather for your cover, make sure they are sharp!
Hammer – For shaping your book block. Be sure it is clean as it will be coming in contact with your paper! (I used a rock hammer and my pages don't hide it!)
Glue – For gluing your leather to the front and back covers of your book. Elmers works!
Heavy Book – This will be your book press! Any heavy book will do, though I find art books (and their dense pages) perfect for the job!Bookbinding at Home Part 3: Covering a Journal with Leather
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We’ve made another video installment to our Bookbinding Tutorials – this one is in response to all of the detailed questions you’ve been asking about our materials. I’ve also shared a little of my bookbinding history—where you can see my old falling apart journals as well as some insides and a variety of antique leather outsides!
We’ve made another video installment to our Bookbinding Tutorials – this one is in response to all of the detailed questions you’ve been asking about our materials. I’ve also shared a little of my bookbinding history—where you can see my old falling apart journals as well as some insides and a variety of antique leather outsides!
Chapters:
0:00 List of Materials
0:32 How Margaux Got Started Bookbinding
1:37 Margaux’s Early Journals
2:59 Overview of Materials
3:31 Thread
4:07 Needle
4:38 Tape
5:14 Headband
5:38 Mull
5:49 Glue
6:03 Cover
8:32 Paper
9:07 ConclusionBookbinding at Home Part 4: Materials and Meanderings
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The Land I’ve Neglected.
Every year, for eight years, for longer, I’ve moved through the plants and the soil on this land, and the movement planted seeds in me. August comes, and I feel defeated, but this year is worse. I’ve found Bindweed I’ve never seen before. I’ve been sliced by new grasses. My plants are all so tall, and so droopy, from all of the happy invasives, from all of the water, from all of the sun.
It is grey and beautiful today. I tore at the bindweed. At the carpet of another. At the stiltgrass. I so long for the church and its small batch of porous earth. And the biggening of that – but only so much for there is very little of it. I write from the church steps. Traffic passes and it is loud. And I know I am of this world.
DISCOVER TREASURES
Sendak Nutshell in Truffle
Cicada in a Coffee Shop
Field Trip
Walter and I have been wanting to cast bigger things, and so finally visited a local business to start the conversation. The building is one of my favourites in the area. The land was purchased by the current owner’s grandfather in the 1940s, when our new church was being built. I love the tangle of time. Some photographs for now.
The Blackening...
Job cards! Each part has a card with quantity made. They are STILL using this system.
The colours and machinery and even the cardboard boxes were all part of the time machine.
I remember these candies. Probably ages old when I saw them in a little green glass bowl at my granmas house.
The colours and the wear...
This is how Walter learns. Some of the machines were made by Bill when he was in his twenties.
Watermelon. The colours palette.
Substack and YouTube
We’ve been making a lot more for YouTube and Substack lately. Søren has joined Ashley and me in the video-making and will keep at it while he’s at SCAD!
We have more process to share, along with the church transformation, if all goes well. Let us know you are enjoying our YouTube videos by subscribing to our channel!
Your Art Using OUr Treasures
More videos, more art — keep sharing!
Photograph by @annmarie.artworks
Everywhere Ashtonishments
Things found in hidden spaces (base board)
gregory Allan Isakov
church progress and soren video?
Gregory Alan Isakov last night. This summer's music has been exquisite.
Things We’ve Been Making, Watching & Neglecting
The Land I’ve Neglected. Every year, for eight years, for longer, I’ve moved through the plants and the soil on this land, and the movement planted seeds in me. August...
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Church, Farm & Family
Oh, life takes us on miraculous twists and turns. The biggening and the smallening. The wobbling, the breaking. There is a church in West Chester that is sitting empty and we hope to change that soon! Our offer was accepted, now we trudge through zoning and inspection.
On tenterhooks over here!
We have lots and lots of ideas and will wait to share them when all is clear. For now, more peeks into this spectacular little sweetie in the borough of West Chester. It is filled with windows, but very empty of pews and treasure, sniff.
I am hoping the bells are in the belfry.
The Back of the Church
Store Front, Gallery Space, Studio!
So Many Critters Here
Many of us at Peg and Awl went to Ireland this summer, independent of each other’s plans! Natalie made a 6" Anselm journal in the car with this sweet alteration. I cannot wait to see it finished!
Substack and YouTube
We’ve been making a lot more for YouTube and Substack lately. Søren has joined Ashley and me in the video-making and will keep at it while he’s at SCAD!
We have more process to share, along with the church transformation, if all goes well. Let us know you are enjoying our YouTube videos by subscribing to our channel!
Everywhere Astonishments
Grandma and Renee’s Farm. More about this on Substack!
Last Week’s Newsletter!
Thank you for your warm reception of last weekend’s Weathered Blues Of a Kind collection, which sold out quickly!
PS: We are working on the next collection that will be available sometime in October.
LAST WEEK’S NEWSLETTER
PPS: We give two heads-ups in newsletters prior to the drop.
Making Room, A Biggening!
Church, Farm & Family Oh, life takes us on miraculous twists and turns. The biggening and the smallening. The wobbling, the breaking. There is a church in West Chester that...
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