400 Moons Holiday Candles

This evening kicks off the Porter Flea holiday market! I am excited to get some new items out there, and see the response. One item that I am particularly excited about launching is my candle. I have had this idea since Spring, with a goal of making it happen for the holiday season. I have collaborated with Oil & Wax, a Nashville based candle company, for filling my pottery vessels. Rachel Mueller, the owner of Oil & Wax, hand pours all of her soy candles and has a great variety to choose from. I was eager to work with her for a number of reasons, but most importantly I knew her candles would be well done, clean, and at the end of the day a product I would be proud to sell. That paired with complimentary styles in our work make for a great fit. The Christmas season was a perfect time to give this a go. One, because I knew they would make a great gift, and two, because I love all of the classic seasonal scents. I will have three scents to choose from this weekend—Holiday, Blue Spruce, and Winter Pine.

I cannot wait to share these candles with others. This shape has fast become one of my favorites ones to produce, and I am happy to have a unique outlet for it to live beyond it just being a vase. Although, after you have enjoyed your candle, the pottery vessel is easy to clean and can be reused for any number of things! I could not be happier with the end result!

Stop by the Porter Flea Holiday Market if you can this weekend to check them out. Also, make sure to take a look at the Oil & Wax Etsy page for all of her lovely candles that are also available.

Shop Small Business Saturday!!

Well, the holidays are officially here! Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and this year was a great one! I am looking forward to the upcoming month that is filled with gathering with loved ones, enjoying great food, taking a little time off work, and of course doing a little holiday shopping! Lately there have been a lot of ads for Small Business Saturday. I love these ads, and I am so happy this is becoming a larger movement. Obviously I fall more into the realm of small business support, as I am slowly working to build my own. But in general, I support this movement because the majority of my day-to-day shopping is done at locally owned businesses. It dawned on me recently that this has been the norm for most of my life. Whether it was in a small Mississippi community that was filled with family owned establishments, or a neighborhood in East Nashville that seems to only be willing to make room for locally-owned shops and restaurants. Either scenerio results in a great sense of community.

This year I am so proud to have some of my 400 Moons product in not one, but TWO small shops!! OAK, a gift shop in my hometown of Forest, MS, was kind enough to ask me to hop on board at the beginning of November. And recently the cutest little shop named PULP opened in East Nashville, and is literally walking distance from my house. It is currently selling my terrarium kits, as well as, some of my 2014 calendars. I am so happy that my goal of testing out the retail world is starting with these two shops! I am proud of what they are doing, and am over the moon to be working with them. There is so much work that goes into these smaller ventures, most people just have no idea! Often times I think we mistake convenience and low pricing, as equal to quality and connection. There is a place for all of it, but if you get a chance to pop into a locally owned shop today, I hope that you do. You will most likely spend your money on something that is unique, as well as, support others around you in a simple and meaningful way! Happy Holidays and happy shopping!

400 Moons Terrarium Kits are amongst various other gifts featured in PULP. A new gift shop in East Nashville.

My 2014 "BE" Mantra Calendar amongst various paper products in PULP. A new shop located in East Nashville.

Platters and pillows on display in OAK: A Southern Experience, located in Forest, MS

Holiday candles on display in OAK: A Southern Experience, located in Forest, MS

Happiness vs. Wholeness

YES! Yes, let's pursue wholeness! I have so much I want to say about this concept but can't seem to form a full, well thought-out blog post about it. So instead I will just say this. I am grateful to finally understand this truth. Many young years were filled with a constant struggle to keep the pendulum on happy, and they pale in comparison to my more recent pursuit of wholeness. Instead of pursuing a list of things that would, in my belief, make me happy, I have begun to embrace the things that make up my life. All of the great things and the tough things. I find I am less afraid to change or to make mistakes. I find myself feeling less like a failure because of this or that, and instead more settled in who I am. I am no longer trying to race to some imaginary finish line, and instead have more days where I actively enjoy experiencing life. Which strangely sounds like a better list for what should make me happy than the one I had collaged together in the first place. This quote has come up in so many conversations for me lately I felt it was a concept worth sharing. Hope it might resonate with others they way it has for me!

New York in the Fall

Five days wandering around New York City was just what I needed recently after many months filled to the brim with work—both in my day job and with 400 Moons. Quality time with a dear friend that you miss so much is a pretty great way to decompress a little too! We spent crisp fall mornings enjoying coffee and browsing street markets and shops. We hopped to various parts of the city each night enjoying a variety of shows and restaurants. My favorite part of the trip might have been the night we went to see Once on Broadway, and then ducked into a little dive bar around the corner. We spent the night laughing and talking, and possibly having the most fun of any two people in the world! My second favorite part of the trip is surely all of the time I was able to spend wandering through museums by myself. Hours were spent one day getting lost amongst sculpture and paintings, and studying so many inspiring objects from all periods of art. Another time I examined quilts made in the early 1900s. But hands down, some of the most beautiful objects were found at the Museum of Natural History—gems and minerals and walls filled with species found all over the world. It was impossible to absorb it all! But I managed to tuck away plenty of memories into snapshots, and expand my soul just enough to leave the city revived.

400 Moons Shop Update

Well, after taking a couple of months off to enjoy the Summer, I can say I am recharged and ready to get a few new projects up and running in the 400 Moons shop! Starting with a revamp of my actual website and online store. Today is the launch of the first of many "pop-up shops" that will take place before the end of the year. Each pop-up will consist of a small group of curated items, with some product being staple items, and others, one-of-a-kind. I am excited about the creativity that this format opens up for me, and also, about being able to provide a unique online shop experience!

Please check out the 400 Moons website and see what I currently have available. This pop-up will be up through August 30th.

Stumptown

I didn't have anything specific in mind when I booked my flight to visit some dear friends in Portland, OR, other than great food, shopping, and people watching. And all three expectations were met! I loved the city and being able to spend a few days in that part of the country. I loved that lavender grows everywhere around there, and that there are so many beautiful parks and vegetation. And a city with great beer, food, and coffee is always okay with me! But, I especially loved our trip to the coast. Within a few hours we went from the city, through wine country, spent a few hours next to the ocean, and then back again. Awesome.