Old...it's the new new

I love all things ancient.

Unintentionally, I cultivated my fascination with ancient things while in college. I simply kept taking the interesting courses and and lo and behold four years later I walked out of Boulder, Colorado with a degree in Anthropology.

No intent to dig.
No intent to teach.
No intent to collect data (at least in the career sense anyway).

In fact, I spent a lot of money on a college education that has done virtually nothing for my career path...but one that has seriously shaped the manner in which I look at objects in the world. I love objects with a history. A story. A meaning...and therefore, value.

The more surrounded I become with objects of mass production, the more I feel myself gravitating to objects that have been around for a while. Things that look a little rough around the edges. Things that have been around the block a few times. Things with some real live grit and life to them.

I dress almost exclusively in used clothing.

My most recent obsession is antique trade beads. African, Indonesian, Middle Eastern, Native American, European...beads that were really truly traded as gifts of power and a form of currency before we had coins and bills. Beads made of glass, horn, bone, tusk, teeth, clay, coral and stone. Beads that were artfully crafted by hand and assigned a value. Beads that today still carry value, and will continue to increase in value because we can never again make a trade bead that was made in Africa in the 1700s.

I used to gasp at price tags on antiques. I don't anymore. Now, I appreciate.

As container ships line up to pull into the port of Oakland, packed with shiny new chotchkies fresh from a factory in China, India, Vietnam...my appreciation for all things "old" deepens. I think old is the new new.
Bronwen

Eco~nfusion

In the eco-fashion world, it's become a bit of a quest to discover the new "it" item in sustainable style. Hemp is passe but bamboo is smokin' hot. After all, it reproduces faster than Angelina Jolie and when mixed with lycra it can make any garment feel like your PJs. Organic cotton has simply become mainstream (and it's about time).

In the accessories division, the lines have become so blurred between recycled, reclaimed, repurposed, fair trade, eco-friendly, greener-than-green...I reluctantly admit that at times I find myself almost virtually incapable of thinking critically about sustainability anymore.

I was shopping in Portland, Oregon recently and passed a store front displaying a bedroom set which made my heart immediately leap up and pay attention. My eyes were literally watering. Rough barn wood that was so perfectly worn and mismatched yet so masterfully put together.....my body turned at will and marched in.

The label on the furniture line read "Eco-Furniture" and at once it seemed too good to be true! I inquired about the history of the pieces, the supply chain, the origin of the raw materials, the design process, manufacturing...and the saleswoman eagerly shared information about this "Eco-Furniture" line. I learned that the wood was, in fact, reclaimed from old barns in Brazil (oi! one of my favorite countries on earth....was meant to be!!!) then shipped to America where a team of designers set to work on the plans for the perfect bedroom set. From there it was sent to Indonesia where it was meticulously crafted by...well...we weren't quite certain whom...and then sent back again to America where the drawers were lined with...well...we weren't quite sure with what...and placed in this very window where I stood outside waiting for it....like a long lost lover.

The price tag flirted with me with it's "Eco-Furniture" prelude to the $7,500.00 retail price. My heart and brain were in conflict as I tried to quickly calculate the fuel used for shipping from Brazil to America to Indonesia and back again, the questionable labor in the manufacturing process and the ingredients used to treat the furniture......but it was "reclaimed" barn wood afterall.....and therefore pronounced "GREEN!"

I'm confused. And I find myself going back to the basics for reference. I came home from Portland and by chance met a woodworker who specializes in handcrafting all non-toxic furniture from dead-fall around the Marin/Sonoma area. He collects it in his old rusty truck, drives it back to his shop and magically turns it into the most incredibly beautiful, rustic, local furniture you can imagine. We sat on a sawhorse and discussed my ideas for the design. We shared an apple. We talked about costs...his business...my business...his children. We connected as two human beings face to face, who share a common concern for the planet and transparency in our actions.

To me, this feels organic. This feels "green." Somehow I think my new furniture will have more meaning to me this way. I like this version of "green."
Bronwen

Viva Baja

Spent 10 days in Baja recently. 5 days sea kayaking down the west coast of the island of Espiritu Santo in the Sea of Cortez. Stunning. Desolate, arid landscape meets tropical ocean complete with healthy living reefs festooned with fantastically colorful fish, mantas, turtles. With the exception of a local pulpo fisherman, we saw and spoke with no one else but eachother and I found myself thinking much about "place." Our place as humans on this planet...and my little place in the midst of all us humans.

Spent the other 5 days exploring southern Baja and found it rather perplexing. It seemed every other vehicle had either a California, Colorado, Washington, Oregon or Montana license plate. Modern adobe homes with staggering pricetags sprouting like agave in every imaginable color on the mexican spectrum. The owners of the shops, galleries, restaurants, and hotels..... American.....and the Mexican wait-staff speak almost exclusively in english. The dollar/peso exchange rate apparently a formality. We paid more for migas in Todo Santos than we do at home in San Francisco. The newspapers are in english.

The world is getting smaller. And it's happening so fast.

We have to trust that we will all end up in our right "places." Clearly, I'm still trying to find mine.
Bronwen