it's a banner day here at found object. i'm finally ready to unveil my big project of late. the name twirl is no more and my business has been re-branded to honey & milk. i am so excited about the change! and i've been working steadily and long, behind the scenes, to pull this together. i was lucky enough to work on this with michele of luminous brands.

why honey & milk, you ask? 

honey & milk speaks to my vision for the business on many levels, it also reflects the direction i want to grow. i'm not a person who likes "made up" words for my brand, i prefer words that we all know, that translate faithfully in any language. at the most basic level, honey and milk has a poetic quality and conjures up beautiful things. even the color story that goes with those words is lovely. (my sister jen, at b.delicious pointed out that as a fair-skinned redhead, it's also my personal color story. just an added bonus). visually, it's golden, flowing into cream. i love the ancient and timeless association with both substances, honey and milk. i also love that essentially, they are both products of female labor.

the most compelling piece of meaning for me as a person and as a business owner is the notion of thriving. i have spent much of my life merely trying to survive. i believe in the symbolic power of words and names. for over a year, i've felt a disconnect with twirl as my business name. it's come to symbolize turning in place, not moving forward. and i simply don't feel twirl tells the story properly. honey & milk references a promised land of abundance, a business that provides more than surviving to everyone involved, first and foremost, it's owner and it's employees. changing the name is part of a larger project to put my business on the path to changing the world.

i'm going to be writing more in-depth about this during the week, so really, do stay tuned. i have a global vision for my business and the good work it will do in the world and i'm so excited to share it with all of you!

the website re-design is in phase one. i'm taking in the sound advice of "perfect is good, done is better", as i tend to drag projects out reaching for perfection. check it out right here and please do change your links and bookmarks. i'm going to be writing often at found object about dreams and ideas i have for honey & milk. based on my experiences in recent months over at turnip, i've come to trust that you, my readers, are an integral part of my success. your comments feed me, your connection and support is vital to my growth. thank-you!

i am excited and very nervous to share more specifics with you about my journey as a small business, yet i feel sure you all will find it a story worth reading.

poking around on one of my favorite blogs, carrotbox, i found the work of sylvia blickman. i fell instantly in love with her gorgeous use of color. sylvia is working with aluminum, a metal we don't usually think of as precious. although in these days of living on an over-mined, increasingly posioned-by-us planet, we probably should think of all metals as equally precious! I find this work really exciting to look at and the brooches above would likely find homes on my walls as small scale sculpture, as actually wearing a brooch happens so rarely.

her forms bring to mind creatures of the coral reef, sea anemones and starfish. I love the layers, the secret compartments to peer into and the bright pop of juicy color. on a grey day here in portland, this vibrant work is cheering me up! please do explore her amazing portfolio right here. it's not in english, so just be bold and click around, there are treasures at every turn, i promise!

my bread + butter shop is now offering sets of lockets for bridesmaids. above is an example of four lovely vintage brass lockets, combined with tiny vintage brass leaves and hung on a narrow silk ribbon. the backs can be inscribed with initials for a truly customized gift. perfect for summer weddings, ideal for vintage inspired themes. more details right here. 

ah, finally i get to share these photos! my back was feeling a bit better on saturday so i took a little road trip for the afternoon out to the wine country around yamhill. my sweet friend nina drove and our primary destination was kookoolan farm, to procure ourselves some fresh goat milk. (i've gotten into making my own yogurt in the last couple of months) it truly was a pastoral paradise. miles of hills, covered with endless green fields, vineyards, towering old trees lining the roads and then the sweet kookoolan farm. as soon as we got out of the car, a herd of baby goats, (um, kids) swarmed around us, vying for attention. you can see i was besotted with them! so much so, i forgot to photograph any of the lovely views...

i've been living within a two mile radius to my home for so many months, i nearly lost touch with how inspiring it is to get out of the city and see new vistas. my whole state of mind was refreshed and energized by the trip into rural oregon. 

on their website, you can read the romantic story of two people who fell in love and left the corporate world to become farmers in this beautiful little neck of the woods. they raise organic chickens, goats, dairy cows and host an alluring array of classes, like bread baking and cheese making. check out kookoolan farm right here.

happy monday, everyone! it seems my computer and i have fallen out of sorts with each other. she will not upload any photos for me. i'm being thwarted at every turn, trying to post here and update my web shops. is this a message from the universe to just go to my studio and work? perhaps ms. mac just needs a little rest and then will be in a more cooperative frame of mind?

*sigh* i am really trying to post all sorts of lovely things for you!