I usually look forward to October with such excitement because my sister - who lives in London - flies out to visit me for my birthday. Typically, we would have been enjoying the anticipation of being reunited for a couple of months already.... eagerly awaiting the line-up announcements for which of our favorite bands would be playing at Desert Daze, deciding which camping equipment to invest in to make this years experience an upgrade on the last, planning what meals we will cook together, planning which order our road-trip stops should be, which national park, which hike, what night is best to go to Moonlight Rollerway etc.... but there was none of that this year. Because of the global pandemic we’ve found ourselves in, October now marks 1 year since I last saw her : (

My expectations for a nice birthday this year were low, but it actually turned out to be wonderful! I had FaceTime call with my family, work threw a cute little rooftop party at the tattoo studio, I got to go horse riding, celebrated with friends and spent a couple of days out in Joshua Tree. Given the circumstances of this year, I couldn’t have asked for a better time and feel so grateful for everyone in my life and the moments we shared and places I got to experience : )

Then day after my birthday, California lifted the restrictions on tattooing too so it’s been great to be back at work!

More exciting moments of this month were my new shirts and bandanas arriving and I couldn’t be more pleased with how they turned out. Making considered choices with the production of my merchandise is something that is really important to me. I chose to work with Tower Press again to print my shirts - a woman owned and operated business. The shirts themselves were made in downtown Los Angeles by US Blanks - a company who’s core values of operating I wish to support.

Making the bandanas was unfamiliar territory and sourcing the blank bandanas themselves was difficult. I searched high and low for US made blanks that were made of organic cotton. I didn’t find a US-made supplier, but I stumbled across a Canadian company called Maiwa - they pride themselves on their ethical business practices and support textile artisans in India. I bought their organic cotton blanks and was so impressed with the quality. Printing them was the next hurdle as they are so big they don’t fit in standard sized screens. Thankfully I found local printmaker Elizabeth Jean Younce who has an oversized printing press!

On a less upbeat note, I didn’t accomplish much of any projects I had actually hoped to this month. I think I visited the pottery studio once, did 20 minutes of drawing for this new piece I’m ‘working’ on, and 10 minutes of sewing. That being said, I did finish a new Pegasus tote bag design - which is in production right now. I’m trying not to be too hard on myself for not completing what I had hoped. It’s been hard trying to work out a new routine and balance my work, personal and social commitments. I think I could benefit from planning ahead and setting time to work on things instead of just hoping time will magically appear and work will miraculously start.....

Lastly, music I’d like to share from this month is Widowspeak’s new record, Plum - IT’S SO GOOD. Every song. Mary Lattimore also released her new record, Silver Ladders. Very calming yet moody. I discovered a new artist who I’m in love with - Pat Moon. She reminds me of a mix of Enya and John Maus : )

Here’s a collection of photos from the last month:

Birthday treat! Topanga Canyon. Photo by @rubymayquilter

Bandanas being printed, by @mustardbeetle, Downtown Los Angeles.

Feeling happy : ) Joshua Tree National Park. Photo by @jess_labrador

Birthday sunset view from horseback, Topanga Canyon.

View from Broken Shaker, Downtown Los Angeles.

OCTOBER 2020