Indian Summer: A Holiday Mix

The holiday season has kept me extremely busy this year. Not only am I in the process of expanding the shop, but I’ve been working with L. Douglas Wilder Library on a preservation project in my free time. This has certainly been an unusual Winter for us in Virginia. I don’t believe it’s fallen below 50 [early mornings being the exception] once this season, but hey I’m not complaining.

As un-Winter-like as it may feel outside, the month of December still warrants heavy rotation of classic holiday tunes. With that said, I’ve compiled a little holiday playlist for your auditory pleasure. Download it, pour a glass of eggnog and get loose. Happy holidays!

1. White Christmas | Satchmo

2. Someday At Christmas | Stevie Wonder

3. Caroling, Caroling | Nat King Cole

4. Here Comes Santa Claus | Bob Dylan

5. Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree | She & Him

6. Merry Christmas, Baby | The Beach Boys

7. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus | Jackson 5

8. Silver Bells | Tony Bennett

9. Merry Christmas, I Love You | James Brown

10. My Christmas Tree | The Temptations

11. Little Drummer Boy | Bright Eyes

12. Silent Night | Joshua T. Pearson

Direct Download | Spotify Link

Reference Points // Nov. ’11

I finally took the time to sort through my saved items in Feedly. Here’s what I’ve found inspiring during the unusually warm month of November:

Wassookeag Moccasins

A lot of readers have shown interest in a Wassookeag Moccasin review, and being that I’m a real democracy, I obliged. HAHA…

Each pair of Wasookeag Moccasins are skillfully made in USA from from full hides of premium full grain leather.
Wassookaeg Moccasins are available in a variety of options: bullhide, buffalo hide and cow hide – deerskin lined or unlined, chocolate or tobacco. I chose to go with the Chocolate Deerskin Lined Buffalo Hide Soft Sole Moccasin.

Now, let me be clear when I say: these are the most comfortable pair of moccasins I’ve owned by far – the leather is very soft and feels comfortable on the skin.

See, I chose the deerskin lined model because I plan on wearing them throughout Winter. I wore them last night around town [barefoot], it was around 30-something outside, my feet were extremely warm.

It’s remarkable how quickly they got ‘em to me. That were at my door in less than a week. Unfortunately I can’t report on durability, I’ll have to let y’all know how they hold up throughout the coming months. They feel durable though, and they look sharp.

For pricing and sizing info visit their website.

Grand Ole Opry

Flat & Scruggs Grand Ole Opry was an extremely popular television series that was broadcast from 1955-1969 (almost 15 years).
As the title suggests, it was hosted by bluegrass legends Lester Flatt & Earl Scruggs. The show was, for the most part, a series of performances from the two masters of bluegrass, with some help from their band the Foggy Mountain Boys with a campy cookie dough commercial sprinkled here and there.

Needless to say, it’s a pleasure to watch. Flatt & Scruggs could pick their asses off, and thanks to the invention of Netlix you can stream the entire series instantly.

Novel Desire // The Stinson Jacket

If ever I were to sport a varsity jacket, it’d be this joint: The Stinson Jacket x Golden Bear for Unionmade

Made in Portrero Hill and it’ll set you back a cool $298.

Old Gold (pictured above), all day.

Novel Desire // ’12 Jeep Wrangler: Arctic Edition

It made it’s debut at the LA Auto Show today, and had I been there I probably would’ve badgered the reps into letting me test drive this bad boy.

Some specs:

- 17″ wheels
- Custom interior
- Special paint
- Arctic badging
- Sex factor

Check out more high-res photos of the Wrangler: AE over at Autoblog.

D’emploi Brooklyn

 

D’emploi is a Brooklyn-based company owned and operated by Kyle J. Kyle relaunched the brand’s website earlier this month, adding a gang of new items to the shop’s collection, and I find them all impressive.

It’s important to know that Kyle makes every piece in his collection by hand using an old 1930′s Singer and uses locally sourced canvas from New Jersey.  He finds something romantic about operating in a small studio.

One of my favorite pieces from the new collection is the  GP Rucksack.

 

 

Comes in Field Tan (pictured above) and All Black. Low key and highly functional, just how I like it.

D’emploi likes to collaborate with other small brands, too. Take, for instance, this recent collaboration with Ebbets.

The tags are hand printed and dyed by Kyle, further demonstrating the considerable amount of attention and detail that go in to the design and production of his products.

For pricing info, to learn more about the brand, or to view the entire collection, visit the demploibrooklyn.com

 

I’ll Be Gone ‘Till November

I appreciate your patronage.

– Mr. McCall

Photograph by Ronald Hogenboom

The Work of Andrew Wyeth

Andrew Wyeth was one of the greatest American visual artists of the 20th century. Many of you are already familiar with his work. Namely Christina’s World, which is currently on display at MOMA.

Wyeth was born to paint. In fact, he started drawing before he could even read. Due to his less than ideal health, he was home-schooled throughout his entire childhood. His father was his only teacher. He actually produced illustrations under his fathers name as a teen.
Wyeth had a tremendous amount of admiration for some of America’s greatest pioneers– Emerson, Tolstoy, Thoreau. They all shared a profound relationship with nature. This is clearly reflected in most all of his paintings.
Fact of the matter is, Andrew Wyeth is one of the most noteworthy gentleman to have been born on American soil. His name is, and should be synonymous with true American culture.
I would love to have met the man before he passed away in 2009, if only to have shaken his hand. That would have been an impressive conversation piece.

Michelle Williams x Annie Leibovitz for Vogue October ’11

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