The end of summer is officially drawing near. Leaves are already starting to change here and, while I’m so ready for my upcoming favorite season and dressing for it, I’m also trying to savor these last days of a summer that somehow went by particularly fast.
This last week, my mom Diane came to visit and we had such a lovely time together. While I’m a remote worker, and so is she, it was nice to have an office mate other than my dogs for the week. It’s always nice having people in our house, but especially nice getting to spend time with family. With the timing of her visit, she also happened to stumble upon our county fair week.
Since being with my husband and coming out here to visit him, heading to the fair for a night has become an annual end-of-summer tradition. I remember growing up in Northern Arizona and always going to our county fair. I even remember having my own art entered as a child. This is something city folk don’t always comprehend, but after spending much of my adult life in cities, there is something incredibly quaint and charming about returning to these very non-city traditions.
This year, perhaps because of the country’s upcoming 250th birthday, I was particularly obsessed with the Best in Show ribbons. I was also obsessed with this head of lettuce because it genuinely did not look real. Hands down, though, the best craft I saw at the fair was this Fair Isle knitted sweater. They were robbed with only a first-place ribbon, in my opinion. And while I did not partake in getting nuts at the fair, I will always appreciate this charming little squirrel. My mom is now trying to convince me to submit something I’ve made to the county fair next year. Here’s to seeing if I can get up the courage to do so next summer.
If you read my end-of-month recap from July, you already know I’m dying to buy a kit from Underwater Basket Weaving once I finish some of my current projects. However, when I saw these French Market Baskets from Leah O’Connell Design, I audibly gasped. These colors! The mix of wicker and rattan! I’m in love. The people who make these must be so pleased with themselves when they finish one of these beauties.
I recently discovered artist Chad Etting through a suggested search, and his paintings were an immediate save. They remind me a bit of Elizabeth Peyton’s work, which I hope he would take as a compliment. I love the simplicity of the storytelling in his work, which I imagine, without knowing him, is deeply personal. His use of color is lovely too.
Speaking of fun colors, finding Fun Cult through Etsy was another quick save. I love a good old-fashioned party decoration, and the fringe banners they make are fun, unexpected, and hilarious. My favorite is their “We’re Boring” banner. If someone gave this to me, I would take it as a complete compliment rather than an insult. I’m increasingly of the mindset that being boring and keeping to my own little hobbies is absolutely where it’s at.
While summer is ending here, Copenhagen Fashion Week was already flashing us forward to Spring/Summer ’27. While I’m normally always yearning for my Fall/Winter wardrobe, the Skall sisters have me yearning for a season a year away. Their sustainable label has been around since 2014, but it’s really only come onto my radar in the last few months, and this show in particular deserves more than just this one page. You can tell how much they love designing for women and how strongly they stick to a true identity, which shows in their clothing. Their unexpected styling with silver baskets also sent me into a deep Etsy dive looking for pieces to add to my own collection. If you haven’t looked into this brand, I strongly suggest giving them a follow. You won’t be sorry if you love beautiful, well-made clothing without a mark stamped on it that immediately tells you what year it came from.
With fall on the horizon, I’ve also been thinking about one of my absolute favorite things: sweaters. I’m excited that several brands seem to be knocking it out of the park with fresh and interesting approaches to color palettes for fall. In particular, I’m obsessed with these two sweaters from Donni.
Continuing on the sweater-loving theme, I don’t think my little brain can currently take on another hobby, but if someone out there loves to knit and can make one of these patterns from Megan Faith Makes, a very talented knitting and crochet artist who sells her patterns, I’d give you a big old hug and a high five. They’re the type of thing that, once you have them, you have them for life. They also remind me of those incredible old Ralph Lauren sweaters from when women in the UK were knitting pieces for him by hand.
While cool air is on the horizon, scarves will soon be part of the wardrobe again. There was something so fun and unique about these scarf rings from Maison Lecomte Flament. I love that each style comes in both gold and silver, although the gold horse is my personal favorite.
Last, but certainly not least, I’ll leave you with two pottery finds that unfortunately did not come home with me through my monthly searches on LiveAuctioneers. I have yet to find a piece of jasper marbleized redware in the wild, but I’m saving this screenshot and putting it out into the universe in the hopes that one day I’ll stumble upon one that gets to come home with me. I also have my eye out for mochaware pieces. I regret not buying something at the Prentis Shop at Colonial Williamsburg last year, and I missed the boat on these beauties from an auction house in Maine as well. The right ones will find me in due time.
Wishing everyone a lovely start to the changing seasons. Hold on tight, because I have a feeling the rest of the year is going to continue going by just as fast. In the meantime, I’ll continue to be here searching for all the things that bring me joy, beauty, and a little inspiration along the way.
XX,
B
