Weddings and Anniversaries

 

That’s my hubby and me, ca. 2006.  Yesterday was our eight year wedding anniversary.  Can you believe it? I can’t.  He offered to take me out somewhere fancy – I looked at the menu and asked “isn’t there anywhere that takes the Prime/Passport card?”  It’s our dining discount card.  His co-workers don’t believe that (frugal) women like me exist.  Gotta save money on food if you want to keep yourself in cowgirl boots, right?

Anyway, we celebrated by going to a taproom near our house. We started our marriage on a beach in Mexico with 10 of our friends and family in attendance, plus two people we had just met (our photographer and his wife).  I’ve always been a no-frills kind of girl.  Recently I’ve been reading Hippie Homesteaders and realizing just how much of that translates into my work as well. I want things to look good, function better, and last forever. My work, my marriage – it’s the same no-frills functionality for everything.

Most of my wedding thoughts recently, though, have been occupied by other peoples.  This is wedding season, and that means that I am making a lot of monogram flasks for people to give as groomsmen gifts. Sometimes I think the initials are not really initials, but more an abbreviation for a nickname, like the money clip I did years ago that said “PITA” on it.

I’ve also been thinking about bridal party stuff. The pattern above is a new one of mine called “Aurora” – the name was a customer suggestion and she says it is inspired by the castle in Sleeping Beauty. I love that imagery and think it’s so appropriate for a wedding.  After 100 years of sleeping, the prince shows up and the thorns on the castle (that have killed every other suitor, at least in the version I have) shrivel away to let him pass.  These flowers don’t have thorns, but the gears combined with the soft flowers and vines create a feeling of rebirth, fusion of the natural and mechanical (perfect for marriage? maybe – I’m the natural in ours), and a lovely harmony.  I think these sweet clutches would make wonderful bridesmaid gifts, and maybe the larger one for the bride herself.

Those are all my musings for now.  Hope everyone has a wonderful weekend!

xo

c

One drink is never enough

 

When we were in Baltimore and people would comment on the different size flasks – the key chain flasks being so tiny that it couldn’t possibly hold enough of anything, all the way up to the 12oz flasks that they couldn’t imagine drinking all of – I would laugh just a little to myself.   Those key chain flasks wouldn’t get me drunk, but they’d give me a buzz (after spending the last 4.5 years either pregnant or with small children, my alcohol tolerance is pretty sad). And that 12oz flask, well, that flask doesn’t hold a candle to the flask I made a holster for right before we left.

I made a flask holster, and belt to match, for a half gallon flask.  Yeah, that’s right.  This baby holds 64 shots, so if drinking is literally a team sport where you’re from, it’s perfect for you.  And in that case, someone needs a holster to match. After all, carrying a flask like that in your hands is not only awkward, it’s heavy!  So here’s the solution a customer came up with, and I couldn’t say no.

And the belt to match, because no flask holster would be complete without a matching tire tread inspired belt.  All pieces are made by hand in my Seattle studio out of full-grain vegetable tanned leather.  The belt is hand carved and the flask holster is branded.  The holster has snaps on the back for easy on/off and the edges are stitched by hand.  The finish is antique brown.

Yes, I can do holsters for smaller flasks.  But this baby is a show-stopper.  I would love to see a picture of it in action!

xo

c

What's in a name? The proper monogram format.

 

I’ve always done my monograms the same way, mostly because I like how it looks.  I do the initials in the order they appear:  First Middle Last.  It works well since there are people out there who don’t have a middle name, or who have more than one, so the format is universal.  But recently customers have been asking about the “correct” way to do a monogram, so here’s a brief tutorial on the traditionally correct way.

Monogramming for Men:  Woohoo!  So I’ve been correct.  The way to do a monogram for a man is First Middle Last, so if your name is James Michael Smith, the monogram would be JMS.  All the letters would be the same height, like on my Monogram Bifold Wallet (shown above).  So the monogram would look like this:

JMS

 

Monogramming for Women:  This one is different.  This is the way that a lot of people think that a monogram in general is supposed to look, with a larger last initial in the middle, flanked by the first and middle initials. So for Jessica Marie Smith, it would look like this:

J   S M

And, of course, in this modern world a woman can choose the more traditionally male monogram and opt for hers to be First Middle Last all in the same size lettering.

 

For married couples: The monogram should look like the women’s version, with the couple’s last initial in the middle and their first initials to either side.  The current form is that the woman’s initial comes first, so for Amy and Thomas Miller, you’d have:

AMT

Apparently, though, this is a more modern arrangement.  Traditionally the man’s initial is listed to the left to show ownership over the last name and the woman.  I’m kind of glad we’re not going by that rule anymore.

 

Those are the simple, current answers to the monogram question.  They get more complex with the various things people do their last names – how to monogram a hyphenated last name or a gift for a couple who isn’t taking the same name are more complicated questions.  Most of the monograms that I do are for individuals, and mostly men, so naturally that was the one that I was most interested in.  I guess I’ll just keep on doing it as I have been – all in the same size lettering, First Middle Last, unless requested otherwise!

Out to enjoy the sunshine…

xo

C