Fall Apparel 2012

This is my mom standing in my old backyard in New Hampshire.  She is modeling my new product line with block printed t-shirts.  She had just finished hosting a sleep over with all her grand-kids and kindly offered to help demonstrate how the tees look.

There are several memories I have of that backyard.  Mowing the lawn, birthday parties, talking to neighbors, speaking to my neighbors wife before she passed on, and watching the families around us change and enjoy life.

Backyards are my favorite type of yards due to the house blocking the sound and sights of passing cars.  Typically giving way to bird chirps and setting the stage for great conversation.

My mother has always been supportive and taken time out to see how I'm doing.  She is a psychologist and an excellent student on her way to completing a PhD so I'd think she'd have me figured out by now.

But this step into adding designs on apparel is new and I'm learning a lot from it.  This specific t-shirt is made from organic cotton and is printed with inks used for silk screening, but pressed with rubber blocks I carved.

The leaf pattern is from a birch leaf and have is segmented into intricate geometry to contrast against the smooth contour of the natural leaf edge.

The print below the leaf is a partial print of a block that says "OOAK" or crafter lingo for "One Of A Kind".  The bottom print is a cross between R and A which is my new logo with which I'll be branding all prints.

I'll be posting more items as the days progress and as I move forward plans to make ornaments for the winter holidays.

The shirt can be purchased on Etsy here.

 I've used the same technique with cotton tote bags and experimented with the autumn color fades too.  There's an energy I feel when I see these prints.  It's almost a primal vibe and feels like from people long ago were scrawling a history of their time.

The oak leaf tote to the left is available here.  The birch leaf tote is for sale here.

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Dull Colors

I love being able to talk to my kids about complex things with such accessible benefits.  Let's take the leaves changing color for example.  I told them how maple trees will turn red and was able to walk up to a tree and hand them a leaf so they could examine the unique elements to this season.  I encouraged them to pick up any leaves they think look cool or beautiful.

As we walked to the daycare/school, my son picks up a leaf and says, "Here, Daddy".  He handed me a brown leaf and I reminded them these colors are only here for a little while.  Eventually they all turn brown.

Up until this moment, I had grown dull to the season.  Oh the leaves are changing color, big whoop!  But when my son handed me the leaf I understood it is important for me to learn or return to the sense of wonder my children display.  Even if things look the same on the surface.  Even if I've seen the same thing for 30+ years.

There are 100 of this etsy print available here.

Warm Thoughts for September

(reposted from my Oh Yeah! etsy team)


Fall is my favorite month.  I actually prefer the sandals, shorts, and t-shirt weather, but the response to the colder weather - socks + shoes, light jacket - really shows that we are or will be indoors more seeking the shelter we have.

Already my garden is closing up shop.  The blackberries are spent, and tomato harvests have diminished.  Where I was handing out gallon sized bags of tomatoes, now I take a handful and place them on the window for an occasional snack.

The harvest extends past what we eat and continues into social circles.  The temperature drops may mean less trips to the beach and more concentrated time with the friends we've had or new friends we've collected.  Where others would normally roam they congregate and keep warm.

Technically, fall begins on September 22nd, but once the temps slipped back into the 70s, for me, fall has begun.