Northwestern cutlery- old school chicago grinders

Hidden under the train tracks in the meat packing district is a little shop that's been sharpening knives for decades. 

David was a kid in a candy store.

Charlie was a toddler in a knife shop.

(So we didn't stay long)

but long enough to find:

They have new old stock items, 

stock that hasnt changed in design in a hundred years,

an ancient stone and water grinder.

Original signage, a wall of lodge cast iron skillets

and walls and walls of knives.

ranging from $4.00 to $2500.00

Northwestern Cutlery = amazingness.

glossed & found BFF!

Um.... this is amazing.

Graham Kostic, you sure know how to throw a party.

We've had a blast working with Glossed & Found on different collaborations over the past few years:

HOLIDAY CRAFT SERIES 1
HOLIDAY ENTERTAINING EPISODE 2
CAMP TOUR

Come back any time!

the last line of this story made me cry.

Which is more than a little embarrassing, given that I sit in an open-cubed newsroom style office -
and I'm making a mess of my keyboard and mascara.
But sometimes you just can't help it. Today is one of those days.

Thank you, Jourdan for the lovely story.
You are always, always welcome back.

here is her story.

ADVERTISING AGE: "Women to Watch"

This should be titled "OGILVY Women to Watch"
- because of the creative women of Ogilvy Chicago who are making it happen.

As I'm typing this, I am peering over my computer at the amazing estrogen-driven creatives sitting within 10 feet of me.


DONNA CHARLTON-PERRIN. Group creative director.
Mother. Best creative writer in the world.

ALLIE ARMSTRONG. Art director.
part of the illustrationcorporation.com, huggies co-conspirator & model.
and adorable + sick talented.

CARA SUGLICH. Copywriter.
And creative writer with an amazing voice- and contributor to Camp Style

AMY GOZALKA. Art Director.
funny as hell + crazy inspiring creative.

MEGAN EVANS. Assoc Creative Director.
Mom, Creative, wonderwoman.

BIANCA REGGI. Art Director.
Personal friends with Shelly Lazurus (recent inductee to Advertising Hall of Fame) and the funniest girl I know.



These are only a teensy hand full of girls that I happen to work with on a daily basis- the rest of our office is full of some of the most inspiring women that I've ever met.  (amy, meghan, liz..... there is no end.)

They are wives, mothers, and advertising execs by day, with an entirely separate world of creativity that really makes me happy to share office space with them.

So thanks for the inspiration, ladies! You are all women to watch.

&  THANKS Advertising Age for recognizing that Ogilvy Chicago is a huge supporter of female creativity.  (I am happy + humbled to be included in this round up of ladies & to work at a place that supports creative expression in all mediums)

BTW:
Women influence 80% of consumer spending yet only 3% of advertising Creative Directors are women. for a good read on why this matters, check out 3percentboulder.com


AD AGE ON THE 2013 LIST:
"Our Women to Watch class of 2013 hails from a diverse group of companies, from Aegis to National Geographic and Taco Bell and more. But they have one thing in common -- they have accomplished much and are facing fresh challenges that make them worth your attention."

WE BOUGHT A CAMP!

YAY!
It just hit the stands :)
Charlie as a brownie breaks my heart.
I mean, who knew they made baby moccasins that were this adorable??

Thanks to everybody who helped !!

Pick up the latest copy of MIDWEST LIVING magazine. or download it on zinio.

Crain's Chicago new Style Profile series

Crain's Chicago business has a new feature series: Style Profiles of Chicago Business folks.

It's the brainchild of Jan Parr (former editor in chief of Chicago Home and Garden and current exec editor at Crains)

When she asked me if I wanted to talk about my style, I thought she was kidding.
I could have given her a dozen better more stylish options. (bascially, every girl I work with at the office)

 I couldn't fathom that readers would want to know the reality of where my clothes really come from:
yardsales. thriftstores. flea markets.
 (and a few scary places I won't even admit to here).

I can't remember the last time I shopped at an actual designer boutique.

But what the hell.
It sounded like fun. And I'd always loved Jan.

SO- First things first:  clean out that hideous excuse for a closet.

It took an entire weekend.
Let's just call it what it is: clothes hoarding.

After filling four heaping trash bags and hauling them to the salvation army,
I found that the back of my closet was still there.
and underneath a mound of belts that don't fit, jeans from college and a rabbit fur coat that i forgot i even had...  there they were:

my favorite long lost boots.

perfectly beaten-up tall camel shade of insanely thick leather that i picked up at a barn sale for $10 two summers ago. after about the 6th compliment on them, i googled to see what the hell they were.

...and discovered that they are western riding boots that have been out of production for nearly 20 years- and folks on ebay were paying upwards of $300 bucks for them.

at that moment, i wouldn't have traded them for a pair of Jimmy Choos.

(I'm pretty sure my entire closet didn't cost as much as one pair of Jimmy Choos)

No disrespect my girlfriends who own a closet full of Minolo Blaniks.

Walking in a pair of them do have the very real power of making you feel like a million bucks.
I envy my friends who read the NYT style section and actually know how to pronounce the designer's names.
that said,
Its still far more likely that I'm going to ask for a new nail gun before some new LV heels.

maybe its a product of being one of five raised in the soybean fields- (where hand-me-downs reigned)
but when confronted with a $500 pair of boots, I imagine all the things I could do with that money that would go so much farther:

- redo the bathroom.
- buy that awesome vintage chesterfield sofa on craigslist.
- get that vintage used commercial freezer on ebay that ive been eyeballing.
- or buy an entirely new wardrobe via found free or flea.

so-
kudos to Crain's for their new style section- and for reporting on those of us who don't shop the designer section at Nordstrom. It validates the fact that personal style is not dependant on your pocketbook.

I just renewed my subscription.
(and wore the boots in today)

* thanks: bob coscarelli for the shot of the barn boots*

story in crains print: monday
segment credits:
REPORTER / EDITOR: Jackie Bender
CAMERA: Damon Hennessey
MULTIMEDIA PRODUCER: Jeff Hartvigsen
MUSIC: Factory Yoyo Productions

and her dad walked her down the aisle....

mary's dad was quite ill when he walked her down the aisle...
so when I read the title to her post:

 "A great New Years gift: getting to see video of my dad walking me down the aisle at our Camp Wandawega wedding" 

...i knew i would probably cry even before i watched the film.

and so of course i only made it the first 10 seconds in...
i watched it and now im crying... because i remember dad walking me down the aisle, too in the same spot. and that he could only manage the last 10 feet, so i met him halfway.



a film  shot by ONE FINE DAY PRODUCTIONS
congratulations, Mary & Dan. you guys make an adorable pair. and your dad looked very proud.

so--
heres the best days in our lives.
and the people that made them special.
(miss you, dad)

Charlie wants a pony....

but she's not getting one.
unless its stuffed and fits in her crib.

we spent the holidays at the family's stables-
(the one that got the 24 hour thrift store makeover in this earlier post)

they board, train, breed, etc. 30+horses.
so charlie went crazyface deciding which ones would bite
vs which ones she could pet....

she found a minature horse (named 'skittles-snicker') that she decided to chase relentlessly:

Some scenes from the barn...  

My brother Sam with one of the favorite horses...

heads up, gear heads! our baby in Rod & Kulture.

my dad would be proud.

remember this before and after project from an earlier post?

It just made it's debut in Rod & Kulture... telling the story about how we found her and David + my brother sam brought her back to life- and to the track. We havent received our issue in the mail yet, so look for the update with the full story. but for now, the spreads turned out pretty nice!

buy the issue HERE