TreeBed Design

Things have been a little quiet on the site for the last few weeks of winter, but there has been a lot of movement underneath that silence. The light is getting brighter with each spark of new energy and SPRING!

I was nudged to write a poem last week, and it proved to be a sweet little spark of a song... that has come to be a bit of a meditation for me on the last few years. It feels like I am beginning to come out of a darkness that has needed a LOT of little sparks to return to the light, and I'm grateful for all of those who have been "sparks" along the way!

There are lots of things churning behind the scenes right now... I hope you stay tuned (subscribe/follow/etc) as things begin to fly!

It has been a while since I have posted any news (or done much of anything with my online presence), but things are changing... I have been extremely busy the past few years finding my footing after the wild fires of 2017. At the beginning of March I finally landed in a place that felt like it might be the stability I was seeking, and it also felt like a homecoming of sorts back in Vallejo! And then everything changed...

Our new reality with the COVID-19 pandemic has thrown things right back into uncertainty for me and most everyone else in the world. However, I am grateful to have a stable place to be, and a space that I can continue to create. I am taking this slowed down time... to rest, resource, and re-evaluate what TreeBed Design means in this new time

In the meantime... I will be cleaning out some old stuff from the website, and beginning to add some new things. There is no great announcement or unveiling to be done, but simply me calling in what is important. So, I share with you a song I wrote some time ago, and recorded for my Kitchen Sink Concert series. May the work I've done over the past few years (and beyond) to find a new way of being... allow what I am doing in this next chapter to be of service to the health and happiness that is possible in this new world.

Yes... it has been a while. The past year has been a doozy! About this time last year I was trying my best to hold onto my home/studio in Vallejo (of 14 years), and when that didn't work out... I found a beautiful spot to land in rural Napa on Mt. Veeder. I was nearly unpacked/organized, and ready to start building out a new studio (I had just done my first firing of my ceramic kiln)... when the devastating wild fires swept through and took nearly everything. I lost a great deal of my work, tools, instruments, etc (along with all my household belongings). Whew!

Damaged Ceramics Work

Which brings me to why I am so excited to be participating in Napa Makes tomorrow! I finally started making work a few weeks ago, and I get to share that work with people in a beautiful setting... while serving Ritual Coffee! I'm feeling so grateful that my time in this community is yielding such strong support for all of the things that I love to do. 

If you are in the area... please come and check out all of the amazing vendors (10am-4pm at the Oxbow School in Napa)! If you are far away... please keep an eye out for signs of life at TreeBed Design!!! 

I have been wanting to get better at regular blog posts... It looks like today is as good as any to begin!

Maybe you've seen a tumbler or two pop up in my Instagram feed. What is going on? Well, I decided that I needed to do something to get myself posting work consistently, and since the tumblers are what got the clay ball rolling again... it felt like a good fit!

Each Tuesday you will find a unique tumbler (or set) posted in the shop... when it is gone... it is gone! I really like it when people pick up my tumblers and find the one that seems to fit them. There is something tangible about the connection of my hands to theirs. The goal of TBD Tuesday Tumblers is to try and translate that to an online experience (not an easy task). I think that is one of the things that has limited my online productivity... It is hard to get all the senses involved, and to feel that connection. My hope is that these transactions happen off of some spark that occurs when you see a certain tumbler. For that reason I am willing to post experiments, and accidents... things that might not appeal to everyone, but may speak to someone. So far the response has been amazing, and so much fun... Thank you!

Follow along every Tuesday on Facebook, or Instagram... or check in on the site to see if a tumbler sparks YOUR interest!

It has been a busy year in the coffee world for me (thus things are a little neglected in the shop here)... However, I wanted to fill people in on some of the adventures that I have been up to, and signal new energy (and items) coming into the shop soon!

Tonight I will have the opportunity to talk about a trip to Honduras that I took with my coffee family Ritual Coffee Roasters. I was one of a handful of employees that was taken to Honduras to visit some of the farms we work with. It was an amazing opportunity to see the origin of coffee that I have served, and fill in the missing piece of how coffee gets to the cup. I have been working in the world of coffee for over 10 years, and it was truly and honor to see where the whole thing starts. The mountains of Honduras are certainly a picturesque location to deepen my own understanding of my coffee community.

I will be sharing about my experience on Slow Living Radio tonight between 7pm-8pm (and will be archived at some point I believe). The show is hosted by one of our lovely customers in Yountville! Check it out, and check back soon for new items in the shop!

Last Summer I put together a Kickstarter project to complete several projects, and leverage that change in the best way possible for my life. One of the big pieces of the project was to finish a home recording of my own music and print a CD. I am happy to say that after a long journey, lots of learning, growing and support from beautiful people... it is done. I am happy to be sharing my Bag of Simple CD with you. 

 

I am recording under the name MedicineBow... I hope you check it out, and follow along as I dig into this new outlet for creativity.

It is once again Spring time, and that means I have been busy! The rythm of the seasons always seems to guide my creativity and work flow. The Winter time is often when I hunker down and get work done. I enjoy my solitude during this time, and do my best to balance work with rest (recharge). This Winter has been dedicated to my music, and finishing off my home recorded CD (Bag of Simple). It has been a long journey to finish this CD... learning, tinkering, progressing for 10 years! Bag of Simple will be an album collecting a selection of my first attempts to tell my story through songs. I am excited to share this project with you, and also to refresh this shop (which I have been working on as well)!