Not so Simple.

If you don’t recognize the beard, then you need to become acquainted with the gentleman behind the thoughtful, thorough and always well photographed journal entitled Simple Threads.

Ryan’s mission is highlight quality products, produced by well-intentioned makers, individuals and companies. In that sense, his blog is simple - yet having several (albeit, and unfortunately brief) conversations with him, there is much more to the story.

*We sent him an Aleutian Pack in Field Tan to photograph - no further explanation necessary.

We’ve already mentioned that one of the benefits to doing the work that we do is meeting other creatives that we respect. Getting to work with these folks is pretty much what we initially set out to do and we’re excited to do more of it.  

LAYERXLAYER as an entity is about sharing and collaborating. 

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

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.

Well Spent Visits LxL

We’re a little behind in posting this, given the incredible speed at which the internet machine chugs along, but our friend Brad wrote about his recent visit to our studio/home on his site, Well Spent.

It is part of a series called ‘The Makers’, and we are honored to be included with past alumni like the one-man leather working machine Corter. Also appearing in the series is Outlier, a brand that makes some of the most well-considered and highest quality clothing & accessories around. 

Without getting too sentimental, this visit was fairly significant for us. Having the opportunity to finally shake hands & ‘break bread’ with someone who has supported our efforts literally from the beginning was quite a special occasion. It is an extra special thing when someone who does something that you deeply respect, shares some of that same admiration. 

The journey that we embarked on nearly 3 years ago has been a particularly bumpy one - having people like Brad (and many others) by our side has definitely kept us motivated and helped us navigate through difficult times. 

Urbahnika Embroidered Pins

A few weeks ago, we were invited by our friends Jahn & Kurt of BKLYN Dry Goods to take part in a pop-up BBQ at The Shop in Williamsburg. As we’ve come to expect from these types of events, we met a lot of interesting people and had a pretty solid time. 

One person that we’ve wanted to meet for a short while now is Allene, who goes by the name Urbahnika. We were first introduced to her work by one of Jahn’s tweets - where else, of course. She makes embroidered pins that are just as striking in person as in our photographs. I can say much more, but perhaps the pins should do the talking.

Each pin is signed & dated by Urbahnika.

Since we love to barter, we wrangled a handful of pins from Urbahnika & a camo jacket from BKLYN Dry Goods in exchange for some of our totes. Both parties were pretty happy about that deal.

When we first decided to do ‘events’ our expectations were fairly neutral. It was always in the back of our minds that it would be great to go out there and meet people who were making and/or doing things we considered to be interesting or inspiring. Have conversations, share ideas and even collaborate on projects.

We always thought that it would be great - and it turns out that it is.

*Quick note about ‘The Shop’ - if you ever find yourself in Williamsburg, do stop by. Not only do they have great prices and an unbelievably friendly staff, there are motorcycles driving in & out on a regular basis - seriously. Maybe I’m just a little too into bikes, but it is definitely a place worth checking out.

**We do our best to help support our fellow Artists, Designers & Makers out there that do what they do for the right reasons. 

BBQ - BKLYN Dry Goods & Friends

We cordially invite you to join us a for a BBQ this weekend (Aug. 12-14) at ‘The Shop’ in Brooklyn, hosted by BKLYN Dry Goods. We’re bringing a bunch of stuff with us, including a few never-before-seen pieces. There will also be a bunch of samples on sale - a pretty generous sale at that.

You’ll also get a preview of our next collection, which is shaping up to be quite a production. 

Hope to see you there.

*Please RSVP*