Labor Day

Labor Day brings to mind a three-day weekend, sales, and gatherings with friends and family (all fun!) but it’s also really about the men and women among us who design, manufacture and make the creature comforts and items we use on a daily basis. From the parts and assembly of the cars we drive, the appliances we use daily, all the products in our homes and so much more. To really observe in our highly consumer driven society that “someone, somewhere had a part in making this” is a thought that at times, escapes us. Part of our philosophy at WP is being cautious of what we buy, where we source from and the production methods used. Labor Day is a celebration of (and dedicated to) the social and economic achievements of workers and their contributions to the strength, prosperity, and well being of our country. With this National Tribute, we want to thank, celebrate and honor you all.

Poem of the Month:

“Somewhere I have never traveled, gladly beyond

any experience, your eyes have their silence:

in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me,

or which i cannot touch because they are too near

your slightest look easily will unclose me

though i have closed myself as fingers,

you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens

(touching skilfully,mysteriously)her first rose

or if your wish be to close me, i and

my life will shut very beautifully ,suddenly,

as when the heart of this flower imagines

the snow carefully everywhere descending;

nothing which we are to perceive in this world equals

the power of your intense fragility:whose texture

compels me with the color of its countries,

rendering death and forever with each breathing” –E.E. Cummings

The Art of Giving and Receiving Gifts:

Gift giving and receiving according to Emily Post (whom we adore and find to be a fantastic reference) “When giving and receiving gifts, it is most important to remember that the spirit of the gift is more important than the gift itself. That is not to say that any old thing will do as long as you give it with a smile, simply that the feeling behind will be received as much if not more than the thing itself. There is an etiquette involved in choosing, presenting, and respectfully acknowledging gifts.” Emily is so right, there is no need for lavish over the top gifts. Sometimes, the best and most cherished gifts are the gifts that are handmade, simple and heartfelt.

Browse gifts by recipient or occasion

5 ways to incorporate poetry into your everyday life

1. Take note of your surroundings

Notice the way dew collects on the spider webs in your garden and how that looks in the early morning light. The way flowers close at twilight, how birds sing song at any moment but mostly how they sound on Saturday morning and the way your pillows feel when you lay down at night.

2. Breathe

We all work so hard, tend to get in a routine, and take for granted something that is so simple like air. Stop and just take a really, deep, healing breath. Be conscious of your breath and feel the way the air fills your lungs, as you do this, quietly say thank you to yourself for taking those breaths and feel grateful for air, good, fresh, clean air. Feels good, doesn’t it?

3. Write

When feeling something, write it down. These are the moments and feelings you may want to look back on in another stage of your life. It’s very therapeutic to let go of emotions (whatever they may be.) Like bubbles, they need to be able to float away after surfacing and this is a great practice for those of us who hold on to those emotion bubbles.

4. Read

Become more poetic in your life, whether it’s a compilation of actual poetry (here is a great one to try), book on business, or inner-self work, it can spark something within you, motivate, and in turn, make you feel poetic. If you are living, you are poetic. Even if you don’t recognize it in that moment. Quietly speaking a favorite quote or mantra to your self is a great practice as well.

5. Repeat

Do it often, make the time. Make it a purpose and a habit to do these things for your self. You deserve it.

Poem of the Week - The Summer Day by Mary Oliver

At Waxing Poetic, we talk a lot about noticing things, and we bring this into practice through jewelry that represents these moments. These “little pieces” to us are like offerings, or, in a way, prayers.

Today's poem holds that the act of attention is a form of prayer. It ends with a beautiful question of intention, and reminds us of the sacredness of the everyday and this one wild and precious life we are living.

The Summer Day

by Mary Oliver

Who made the world?

Who made the swan, and the black bear?

Who made the grasshopper?

This grasshopper, I mean-

the one who has flung herself out of the grass,

the one who is eating sugar out of my hand,

who is moving her jaws back and forth instead of up and down-

who is gazing around with her enormous and complicated eyes.

Now she lifts her pale forearms and thoroughly washes her face.

Now she snaps her wings open, and floats away.

I don't know exactly what a prayer is.

I do know how to pay attention, how to fall down

into the grass, how to kneel down in the grass,

how to be idle and blessed, how to stroll through the fields,

which is what I have been doing all day.

Tell me, what else should I have done?

Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon?

Tell me, what is it you plan to do
with your one wild and precious life?

From our Poet

Start something. Or keep it going.
The little way leads to wonder, remember?
In fairytales, in life…
The tiny pieces matter much. Small doors open wide worlds.
Yes yes yes.

Shop our Ongoing Ballad Bracelet

The Pelican Inn

A short flight up the coast, hundreds of years ago

Having cause to find a place to stay on short notice is not entirely bad. And being led to The Pelican Inn in Muir Beach by a love of charming places was entirely good.  A replica of a 16^th century Tudor inn, the Pelican is something to experience.

Cozy.  Ales.  Cozy.  Bangers. Cozy. Mash.  Like that.

You get lost in the crookedness and curves and charm and details, and love that went into this place.  You stay up late with the staff and other guests tasting wine and playing darts.  You wish to stay suspended in time. Only seven rooms, each kept by a metal key.Not-so-square doors (duck if you are tall).  And: if you stay in room 7, a secret stairway to the “Snug” (a private room with fireplace, where, back in the day, women who drank used to hide and imbibe). The mantel in the dark pub dining room is engraved with FEAR KNOCKED AT THE DOOR, FAITH ANSWERED ~ NO ONE WAS THERE. Write your initials here, over the thick tapestried canopied bed.Rooster courage greets and sees you off. Metal piece honoring Sir Francis Drake, who beached his ship nearby… way back then. The Tudor bar, with date carved in, adds authenticity.

Behind the Scenes of our 2011 Catalogue Shoot

We had such a wonderful time at our catalogue shoot this year, we just had to share part of it with you. Check out some behind the scenes footage set to the tunes of one of our muses, Haddon Cord.

2011 Catalogue Shoot - Music by Haddon Cord from Waxing Poetic on Vimeo.