The coastal oregon fog will never get old.03.06.12
I've been learning a lot from Andrew & Carissa. They do such a great job of capturing and illustrating the mood and magic of anything, really. They recently came out here to Oregon and stayed with us for two weeks filming different projects. I admire how well they work together as a couple - each with their own strengths (story boards, styling, composition, tech details, etc) and the balance of both works perfectly. I'm excited to see and share more of their work soon.
Film by Andrew for the Kinfolk Dinner Series
03.06.12
It's fun to have Michael share a few photos as a guest post. It's the first time I've done this on my personal blog, but he is a nice way to start. Michael and I have become really good friends over the last couple years after meeting through our blogs. I usually feel socially inept explaining how I meet friends through my blog, but I'm getting over that quickly as I realize how many incredible friends Katie and I have met online. Most of our best "real-life" friends these days started as an online connection, so there's no shame! Michael is a good example of this.
He is a musician and photographer splitting his time between New York, Texas, and (soon!) the Pacific Northwest. Can't wait for him to join us here in Oregon. I was a huge fan of his music with Balmorhea before we became friends, and they've been kind enough to let us use some of their tracks with our films for Kinfolk. He also contributes regularly to the Kinfolk journal.
Images by Michael Muller
12.21.11
Yes, we change our plans often.
What seems fickle feels just fine to us.
We've been learning to roll with the punches and go with what feels right.
Lately, that meant leaving a career path I thought (past tense) was right for me, and moving from a place we enjoyed to a place we'd like to call home for a long time.
We've settle just outside Portland, Oregon on the coast and we've both commented on how the ocean has somehow energized us. Like we've been gone for months, living in someone else's beautiful and inspiring space that just didn't have the same effect as our own. It's hard to explain.
Feels like we're back to something we've been missing.
07.12.11
Our first batch is done.
Everything looks so much better in print, doesn't it?
I'm off to New York tomorrow for the next ten days (work training) and couldn't be more excited to spend some time with friends in the area.
06.07.11
I love how this turned out.
I've been so impressed with the quality of work coming in for this project. It really makes the whole process a lot of fun. Thanks for all the support, by the way.
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06.29.11
I've really enjoyed working with such a fun and creative group as we put things together for Kinfolk next month. This was a promo shoot last weekend over in DC that we're excited to share this Friday.
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photos by carissa gallo
06.26.11
Sunday morning.
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kinfolk is off to print
everything is a remix video on creativity. Dry and brilliant. Thanks Andrew
bon iver - calgary and the rest of his new album
tartine bread documentary - reading his book right now, and couldn't be more inspired to master the art of bread making.
06.14.11
We've been visiting friends for a few days on Lake Coeur d'Alene.
It's our first time here and we love it!
Back on the road soon for a wedding in Oregon... Does anyone have any good road trip songs?
06.09.11
This project has been in the works for a few months now, collaborating with some good friends and artists to produce a new magazine, Kinfolk. It's been fun to see it come together, and the support has been unreal. It will be offered both online and in a limited print, scheduled to launch July 15th. None of us are in it to make it big, or capitalize on the project... it's just something we enjoy, a concept that resonates with us.
I don't petition for things often, but I hope you'll check out the landing page, www.kinfolkmag.com, and come over to Facebook for updates on the launch.
I'm excited to share more soon.
05.26.11
So we moved to Salt Lake City.
Just as we were packing our bags and finalizing our move to the UK for grad school I got a call from a company I interviewed with over 6 months ago. They offered me a full-time position here and we decided it would be a smart choice to take it.
Anyway, we got that phone call and now we're in Salt Lake City playing house and getting settled in here. I'll admit that it feels pretty good to have a place and settled in for a bit.
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Photo from our road trip: Canada to Utah.
Our cheesy idea of a "rest stop" was to pull over at interesting fields every couple hours and make the passenger do sprints while the driver shot photos.
05.21.11
We left Oregon a few weeks ago via train to Canada and then moved on last weekend for Minnesota, Connecticut, and New York. Our good friend Michael met up with us in Brooklyn to give us the grand tour.
We loved it.
Our plans for this year have completely changed, by the way. I should really just stop sharing updates because it seems that as soon as we get confident with our plans there's always an unexpected curveball to throw us in a different direction. This latest change was least expected, but we're thrilled about it.
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04.29.11
This break has been good for us. Frankly, I feel like a 60 yr old retired man keeping busy with yard work, reading, antique shopping, refinishing an arm chair, wooden high chair, and most recently this sail boat. I love visiting family, but if I don't keep busy with projects my mind gets congested quickly.
Have a great weekend.
04.25.11
We love Oregon.
It usually rains while we visit, but I still consider it one of the best places to live.
Orchards, vineyards, fields of tulips and crisp spring air right now.
04.18.11
I swear Katie rolls her eyes every time we leave an antique or thrift store.
While I'll admit to a few poor choices in the past, this bull horn was definitely a good find.
Thanks for the chocolate, andrew & carissa.
changing education paradigms, illustrated
04.15.11
We left Hawaii this week, and it was much harder than we expected. Katie and I met there, set up our first little apartment, made friends whom we now consider family, and just graduated last weekend. We finally confirmed our plans for this next year. We'll be bouncing around a lot this summer to visit family, then moving to Lancaster England in August for graduate school. It would have made our planning much easier had we heard back from that school earlier. The program is exactly what I want, and both the school and location are great.
So while we're torn up about leaving friends and memories (cheesy? maybe) in Hawaii, we're also ready for some new adventures. It's time, again, to push ourselves out of our comfortable bubble to enjoy new areas, cultures, and the company of new friends.
We'll be in Oregon for now.
04.07.11
The Tuvalu documentary is finished! Of course I'm biased, but if you have 9 free minutes I recommend you watch it and learn about our project and the people of Tuvalu. This will be a special memory of mine for awhile.
(Thanks Spencer)
04.04.11
These kids are a couple of our favorite people in the neighborhood (along with their parents, and these two from before).
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03.22.11
Katie with a new haircut, and more photos of relatives.
Does anyone have any inside information on moving to and living in the U.K.? Our plans for the fall (grad school) seem to be pulling us in that direction, Wales specifically, and we have our feelers out for any tips and advice for living over there for the next year or two.
We'd appreciate any thoughts
03.17.11
a businessman was at the pier of the small Tuvaluan island when a boat with a fisherman docked. Inside the small boat were fish. The businessman complimented the Tuvaluan on the quality of his fish and asked how long it took to catch them. The fisherman replied only a little while.
The businessman then asked why he didn't stay out longer and catch more fish? The Tuvaluan said he had enough to support his family's immediate needs. The businessman then asked, but what do you do with the rest of you time? The Tuvaluan fisherman said, "I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, take a nap with my wife, Puna, stroll into the village each evening where I sip wine and play guitars with my friends; I have a full and busy life."
The businessman scoffed, "I am a Harvard MBA and I could help you. You should spend more time fishing and with the proceeds buy a bigger boat. With the proceeds from the bigger boat you could buy several boats; eventually you would have a fleet of fishing boats. You could sell directly to the processor and eventually open your own cannery. You would need to leave this small fishing island-nation and move to Australia, then LA and eventually New York City where you would run your expanding enterprise."
The Tuvaluan fisherman asked, "But how long will this all take? To which the businessman replied, "15 to 20 years." "But what then, sir? The businessman laughed and said, "Thats the best part! When the time is right you would announce an IPO and sell your company stock to the public and make millions, flying around on your own corporate jet!" "Millions, sir? Then what?" The businessman said, "Then you would retire. Move to a small coastal fishing island where you would sleep late, fish a little, play with your kids, take a nap with your wife, stroll to the village in the evenings where you could sip wine and play your guitar with your friends."
The fisherman, still smiling, looked up and said, "Isn't that what I'm doing right now?"
-Author Unknown
Tuvalu is incredible. The families are united and they love their community and island. We thought they needed business skills to emigrate for jobs, and they agreed. After observing the closeness of their island-family and watching grandparents, aunts, mothers, fathers, cousins, brothers and sisters peacefully fall asleep together on floor mats every night, I'll admit that I questioned our purpose in being there. They live in poverty but have so much.
