Untitled Project - Location

HUNT & GATHER

Both Leah and I are from Connecticut, it is where we met and also a place that begun the process of shaping us into the people we are today. But at some point in our late teen years, as is often the case, we wanted to be anywhere else but there. It’s a natural thing of course, to desire new experiences and freedom. 

And that is what we found while attending school in Boston. Although we definitely were exposed to many new ideas and experiences, our core values and beliefs have stayed the same.

In fact, they were multiplied and clarified.

BACK AROUND

“Long story, short” - as a good friend of mine regularly says - we are creating a place.  In fact, this new place will be close to our hometown, in New Haven to be exact.

New Haven is where Leah spent her childhood and it is where I spent a good portion of my formative years. For whatever reason, it has always been a special place to us. It’s a city that feels just right, not too big and not too small. The air is clean and the food is good. 

It almost has everything. We don’t want to say that the city is “missing” something, but there are a few things that we feel could be added to it, things that will hopefully make it an even better place. 

WHERE WE FIND OURSELVES

Our decision to take our first big project (hopefully of many) to New Haven relied heavily on a few key components, the first of which is perhaps the most important. From the very founding of LAYERXLAYER our goal has been to be part of a community, both in a creative capacity and also in the most general sense. Fortunately, we already have an inspiring group of friends, collaborators, fellow makers and customers that have been extremely supportive and the main reason we feel confident in our ability to achieve ambitious goals. It’s a great start and will only get stronger as we add to our network by becoming part of a different community in our new home.  

The other main reason is that we honestly want to be in a place where we can have a greater impact. New Haven feels like that kind of place, not only because of the relative size of the city but also the open-mindedness of its people. There are so many interesting things happening and the local and state government seems extremely supportive, which can be a rare thing. It really does feel like something is happening.  

*This is really only a preview, but for now we’ve posted a few images from random parts of New Haven - it is an old city, with tons of character and history. So much more to come, including the actual details of what we want to create and ways you can help us with this project. 

-Patrick

Of Wood & Ink

FOUNDATION FIRST

While there are plenty of great fabrics available to us, we have always wanted to create our own or at least ‘modify’ existing ones. This is something that we will be doing much more of as the year rolls on.

Starting with a really high quality duck canvas serving as our ‘canvas’, we are continuing the stamping experiments with two new patterns. One is a polka dot that has more spacing and smaller dots than our previous dot stamp. The other is our version of a very simplistic Fair Isle / Floral pattern, which we first used to to create a small number of special edition pieces for some friends of ours. 

OF NOTE

The wrap-around piece is Waxed Duck Canvas that is slightly transparent, allowing the printed pattern to show through.

Available now and in LIMITED NUMBERS. 

+SHOP+

Meet Stitch & Hammer

One of the best parts of doing what we do, is discovering other makers & designers that share our ethos as it relates to all things made and/or crafted.

In Amy’s own words: “In a world where so much is mass-produced and nearly as much tossed aside, Stitch & Hammer uses remnants and other sustainably sourced materials, crafting goods that are made to last.” 

Three words to best describe the essence of Stitch & Hammer Goods in my opinion: texture, color and scale. I actually wrote a lengthy essay filled with design analysis and praise about the goods we received from Amy, but it seemed more appropriate and keeping with the character of her creations to more appropriately summarize - key word is appropriate, not to be confused with simplified. Because that is the best way to describe the design of these pieces - appropriate.

A quote that most are familiar with goes something like “Simplicity (in design) is more difficult to achieve than complexity.” But in my opinion, “Minimal should not be confused with lack of design.” 

S&H finds that balance, in a beautifully understated way.

STITCH & HAMMER GOODS.

This One Goes to 12

We All Win

As we previously mentioned, a few friends of ours alongside a host of great brands are participating in a Holiday event in NYC. In addition to our hand-stamped bandanas & pocket squares and waxed pouches available at ‘Deck the Halls NYC’, we are also participating in a charity raffle. Event ends on December 22nd.

Each participating brand donated goods to be raffled off and also chose a charity or non-profit to receive the proceeds of the raffle ticket sales. Pretty good deal.

We donated a waxed canvas version of our Early Spring Tote (which has never been released), a Moss Pouch and a Twig. 

Our non-profit choice is Seed Savers. Their mission is simple: to preserve and share heirloom seeds. Food is a very important thing to us, especially in terms of preserving bio-diversity (what’s left of it, anyway) and supporting all efforts to keep our seeds healthy and available. This is something we’ll be talking about more in 2012. 

Deck the Halls - Stamps

Starting this Saturday Dec. 10th and running until the 22nd, our friends Jahn and Kurt of BKLYN Dry Goods will be at the ‘Deck the Halls” Holiday Event in NYC. There will be a bunch of great makers, designers and brands gathered there - full list available here: Deck the Halls

Unfortunately, we will not be selling our stuff there but we did collaborate with BKLYN Dry Goods on some ‘limited edition’ pieces. You may be aware of our penchant for stamping things with colored dots - we’ve taken it a bit further this time around. Starting with vintage fabric provided by Jahn & Kurt, we made a selection of pocket squares and bandanas. We then stamped each with either polka dots or our Fair Isle / Floral hybrid print.

Each design is limited to a series of 12 so if you are smitten, it would behoove you to head down to Prince St. within the next 12 days. If you can’t make the journey we may have something for you in the near future.

In addition to these printed items, BKLYN Dry Goods will also be selling a few of our pouches - some you may have seen, and one colorway that is brand new.  

Mended.

Mended.

The handprinted nature means that each one is a bit unique. Since the fabric was vintage some mending was required, which actually adds a nice bit of character.

Deck the Halls

We collaborated on a few limited edition bandanas & pocket squares with our friends Jahn & Kurt of BKLYN Dry Goods. Each piece is handprinted using our wooden stamp technique seen here: Wooden Stamps 

There will also be a few random pieces of ours for sale, including some brand new printed pouches.

We’re happy to be included amongst such a great group of designers & makers at this event - do stop by if you find yourself in the city.

Wayfarer Pack - Waxed

Whenever we release a new or alternate version of one of our ‘primary’ products, we make sure that the update counts - the Waxed Wayfarer for F/W 2011 is no exception. Not only did we update the main fabric but we added a few extra details:

• Flap is two-tone.
• Bottom reinforcement piece is different from body color.
• Exterior pockets are totally redesigned.
• Interior pockets are modified.
• Secret stash pocket on rear. 
• Loops are natural and indigo.

We also wanted to differentiate between these bags a bit more than just making them different colors. Each colorway has its own unique stitching pattern on the bottom reinforcement - the Field Tan & Sage has a ‘sawtooth’ pattern and the Olive & Indigo has a ‘horizon’ stitch.

All in all, although our original Wayfarer Packs were perfect for the fall & winter months, these are even better.

Waxed Wayfarer - Available in our Shop.