Wind and Willow Home

COMMON MINERAL {A limited line}

I would like to introduce you to my second Limited line COMMON MINERAL. This beautiful group of bowls was inspired by the amazing rocks that you see below. Many of them were pieces that myself or my family picked up along the road on an outdoor adventure, others were found in our yard. These are not precious stones, just some common minerals redily available but amazing and intricate none the less.
Each bowl has been made by carefully mixing rubber dip into colors an patterns that loosely represented each of the six minerals: Milky Quartz, Agate, Smoky Quartz, Slate, Sandstone and Granite. Unlike the first limited line Fresh Fruit, this line adorns bowls of 4 different wood species in 3 different sizes in addition to mini bowls. Enjoy!

Milky Quartz

Milky quartz can be found just about everywhere. It is quite common. So common in fact, it is crushed up and use in composite countertops and for landscaping (often in commercial areas). It's an extremly hard stone only second to diamond. For me, it's beauty is found in its milky white color and simple yet contrasting black and brown grain.

This Milky Quartz pattern adorns a 7" Solid Beech Bowl (10 available in this series). Intricate turns of White, Milky Grey/White and Black.

Agate

Agates have a special place in my heart. As a young girl I would spend days with family traversing the gravel pits and dirt roads hunting for agates big and small. Picking rocks large and small. Using a drop of spit to uncover their true beauty. Now my children are learning the joys of the hunt from their grandmother as our agate collections grow.

This Agate pattern adorns a 6" Solid Beech Bowl (10 available in this series). Bright Orangy-Red, Clear and veins of White replicate the unique beauty of this stone.

Smoky Quartz

Translucent and sparkly, this common mineral sparkles in the sun like a true crystal although much more common. The warm modern smoky color is what draws me to this stunning stone.

This Smoky Quartz pattern adorns a 6" Solid Walnut wood bowl (10 available in this series). Sparkling swirls of gold flow through the clear rubber dip enhancing the incredible depth of this rich Walnut wood.

Sandstone

I am always drawn to sandstone for it's contrasting layers that seem to stack like layers of a cake, each telling a different story of the past. The colors are so earthy and warm, the perfect mix in my opinion.

This Sandstone pattern adorns a 12" Solid Oak wood bowl (5 available in this series). Contrasting streaks of chocolate brown and white cross this bowl of mostly pink. The golden Oak wood is bold in grain.

Slate

Bold and beautiful, what more is there to say. Slate is often used in a rustic atmosphere as it can be cut into thin sheets and used as flooring or roofing.

This Slate pattern adorns a 7" Solid Cherry wood bowl (10 available in this series). A bold black backdrop proves to highlight the random swirls of rust and gold. The Cherry bowl adds to the refined qualities of this stunning piece.

Granite

Well known for its use as countertops, headstones and building facades, granite is extremely hard due to its high Quartz content. It's beauty truly shines through once it has been polished and it's depth is discovered.

This Granite pattern adorns a 7" Solid Walnut wood bowl (10 available in this series). The textured rose color feels much like that of an unrefined stone. Swirls of milky grey, black and white give depth to the deep rich brown of the Walnut wood.

You can learn more about the details of each bowl and how to purchase here.

A Recap: All that was good in 2013, Onward to 2014

Guess what? It's a new blog post! Almost forgot how to do these things. I guess I am due for a quick recap of 2013, which was another unbelievable year filled with excitement, opportunities and success. It was our best year yet.

And... my Martha Stewart American Made video debut here.

And last but def. not least, I would like to introduce you to the growing Wind and Willow Home team. I have mentioned my amazing husband, Jordan here a time or two but as my company grows his contribution has also grown from #1 Fan to #1 Sanity Support and now he is doing what he does best, getting me ready to take on new business as my Head of Organizational Operations.

In December, the very talented Brittany White brought her bubbly personality, passion for handmade goods and her head for graphic design as she takes on the role as Head of Care and Creative. Without her help in the shipping department this Holiday Season, it is likely that I would have crawled into a den and never come out...at least until Spring.

Now, onward to 2014. A new year means new plans, goals and of course resolutions. There is a lot of news coming up in the first quarter of 2014 in terms of new designs, colors and our 2 year birthday so stay tuned.

I Would Love to Thank You

I am so grateful for my wonderful fans, friends and family. I felt so much love and support over the past few weeks, while you cast your votes for Wind & Willow Home in the Martha Stewart American Made contest. There were many glitches through the contest from beginning to end which caused much frustration but you continued your support, hooray!
Even though I didn't move on to the next round, I felt the love. Not to worry, all was not lost. We did catch the eye of Martha and she (personally) requested my spoons to be sold at the American Made Market at her event in New York, Yeah! So off to New York my spoons go in October. I also had a mention in Martha Stewart Living this month, did you see it?
Even though I won't get any of that cold hard $10,000 in cash to invest into a new line of soft goods and some help, I will continue to work on new products and slowly, when the time is right, it will come to fruition. In the meantime, I have been working on some art that I would like to share with you. You have done so much for me, please let me do a little something for you. So, if you would like a original hand painted watercolor I would be glad to send you one with a personalized thank you on the back. All you need to do is email me your name and address and I will start painting.

Please send your info. to hello@windandwillowhome.com and in a week or so your special mail should arrive at your doorstep.

Thanks again, your support has made Wind & Willow Home what it is today and shapes what it will be tomorrow.

A Personal Reward of Sorts

Hey, I got a tattoo! Nope, not my first. It is actually my 3rd tattoo. My first was when I was 16 and my second at 18. Needless to say I am not overjoyed by either of them. They don't have much meaning, other than the reminder that I was too young to think the whole, "lifetime commitment" thing through. But this tattoo has been 2 years in the works, thinking, imagining and working...HARD. So, as the title states, my 3rd tattoo is a personal reward of sorts.

At the beginning of the year I decided to set some goals for my business. One of them was to get some local recognition. Community is very important when running a small business. My first year of business brought a lot of exciting opportunities nationally and internationally but Wind and Willow Home was not recognized much in the Minneapolis, MN area. In short, early in 2013 I was able to partner with some amazing local shops, Forage Modern Workshop and the Walker Shop. Through these two local partnerships my products caught the eye of Midwest Home Magazine and to my surprise (jumping up and down joy) they decided to put a photo I had taken of my neon pink 7" bowls on the cover in addition to featuring my products as "Best of the Twin Cities 2013".
Wow, what an honor! Up until this point I was taking all of my sudden product success with stride, keeping my head down and working as hard as I could, keeping in mind that if I got too exited it could all go away. After reaching this set goal it was time to give myself a little reward.

The original design was drawn by the talented artist Paula Mills of Sweet William. I had fallen in love with this drawing about 3 years prior. I love the softness of the overall drawing and the intricate geometric detail in this piece. I had wavered between this and some other designs but every time I found something new I always compared it to this light as a feather print. After contacting Paula to make sure it was OK to use her design, I met with Jason Solarz, a talented tattoo artist at Outta Place tattoo in Northeast Minneapolis who had been recommended to my husband by one of his friends for his great talent (and environmental design & architecture degree...line weights are quite important here) and the design was in progress. We had to modify it a bit to be sure the detail was sufficient for a tattoo of this size.Three painstaking hours under the tattoo gun and...


Light as a feather by Paula Mills of LovelySweet William

I am thrilled with the results so far. I still have to go back for some final touch up but man, this really made wearing my swimming suite even sweeter this Summer.

Summer Fresh - A Limited Line

Hi Friends! I have been longing for endless days full of sand, sun, water and fresh fruit. It doesn't get much better than that. Now that those days are here, I would like to introduce my Summer Fresh line of mini bowls. I have been scheming up this line for quite a while (like since before the endless snow melted) but now seems the right time to share it with you all.

These little guys were each inspired by my favorite Summer fruits.

I started with a little of this...simply irresistible.

Which then inspired this...

These little guys are perfect for condiments at at party or to bring Summer inspiration into your home any time of the year.

Lemon

Cherry

Watermelon

Blueberry

Orange Slice

Just like Summer, they are only here for a limited amount of time. So get yours while the weather is still hot! Find out more here.

I'm Back and Inspired

Hello! I'm ba-ack. So much to share.
I just got back from New York City!!!. I managed to get a coveted ticket to Alt Summit which was held at the Martha Stewart Headquarters. Prior to the event I was invited to attend a pre-event dinner sponsored by Bing (they gave a variety of my mini's as a gift to all 300 Alt Attendees) at Sunday Suppers (and man was it amazing) in Brooklyn.

Alt Summit NYC 2013 photographed by Justin Hackworth

I was so thrilled to spend the day with around 300 like minded creatives, yay all adults...no kids.

While the conversation seemed to be a bit kid heavy (love my littles but...) I managed to have some
great conversations and make a few new friends too!

I also had a huge epiphany during a speech by Garance Dore. I have to admit, I didn't follow her before her talk at Alt but now I have my first girl crush, eeeee. This girl is charming, smart, artistic and real! My epiphany you ask... I need help. Sooooo, this Fall I will be looking for an assistant. Stay tuned for details.
The tiny and equally talented Grace Bonny of Design*Sponge started the talks. From her inspiring speech I was able to take away a list of steps that I need to take in order to make that move to hiring my first employee.

Step 1. Finish financial plan
Step 2. Turn my studio space from an unfinished basement factory dungeon to a beautiful, inspiring studio.
Step 3. Blog regularly (which will come once step 1 and 2 are taken care of)

Alright, it's time for me to get to work. Right after I remissness about the rest of the trip...food, birthday, music check out some pics here

Oh yeah, I can't wait to show you a little well, kinda big, reward I was able to give myself after reaching one of my goals for the year...coming in the next blog post.

Into the Woods

I grew up in a small town in Minnesota close to the North Shore of Lake Superior. Most of my childhood was spent outdoors in the woods and water. Like may of us from generations past (not that many though), building forts, climbing trees and mud pies were mainstay activities when in search of something to do. These activities are something that I feel made me the nature loving person I am today and my husband and I want to be sure to instil this in our kids (especially since we live in the city).
This past weekend we spend the day in my husband's old stomping grounds on a mission to plant hundreds of White Pine trees on his families land (you can check out more about White Pine Reforestation here). While he did most of the work, the kids and I discovered some of the beauty that nature has to offer in the Springtime in Minnesota.

And of course, with all that fresh air, we all slept really well that night :)