Nike is a design company.

This week my company Maharam hosted a national gathering for all the sales reps, operations management, and designers - here in Chicago. Invited to speak was John Hoke III, who is the creative director and VP of Design at Nike. His outlook on the future via innovation and competition was striking. And his confidence and air of superiority was clearly that of an athlete. Here's a page of my notes.  

A captivating public speaker, he certainly inspired many of us in the room. Almost enough to make you forget he was talking about the largest apparel and shoe company on the planet, almost.  

Inspiration

Fingers crossed.  

Ancora imparo.

Attributed to Michelangelo, "still I am learning." 

A fine aspiration, and a truth.  

Irish blessing

A coworker is celebrating her recent marriage, so my office threw a luncheon for her. I made this as part of the Irish-themed decor. 

Girls just

Mother's Day / Birthday

I say it a little tongue-in-cheek, but today is truly a day to count your blessings. I have the occasion to celebrate both Mother's Day and my birthday today. Which means the dudes in my life are trying as hard as they can to make me feel special. That doesn't mean it goes perfectly, especially with a toddler and a baby in the house, but I do appreciate the effort.

I'm also blessed however, to be surrounded by a community of mothers. Of inspiring ladies and great friends, showing both me and my children what caregiving is. Some of these women I mostly connect with online these days, but it doesn't lessen their impact.

So here's to all the mothers. And another year of this family.

Gifts from my guys.

Sunday morning pile-up in bed.

LWA

I've long championed handwritten correspondence. And it took me some time to get organized, but I'm now a proud member of the Letter Writers Alliance. 
As they note: In this era of instantaneous communication, a handwritten letter is a rare and wondrous item.

Based in Chicago, Kathy and Donovan, the founders, hold socials and workshops to help promote the art of letter writing. And they have a fantastic online shop (most of it just for members!) full of stationary, vintage stamps, and ephemera. Looking forward to taking advantage!

Life edited.

Graham Hill is the founder of Treehugger.com and Lifeedited.org, and gave a TED talk about his theories on living a life with less stuff, leading to more happiness. His business began when he built his 420 sq ft NYC apartment, which can house two guests overnight, a dinner for 12, and a home office.  And while small spaces are still the cornerstone of his tenets, it is his urge to pare down belongings that really resonates with me. 

His 3 steps:
1. Edit ruthlessly.
2. Think small.
3. Make multifunctional. 

The idea of a curated home is something I can support. Being intentional with the items that come into my space. Just another opportunity to practice mindfulness. Though I'd have to add a visual component to my own criteria. I've always appreciated the mindset of William Morris: "Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful or believe to be beautiful."

Keep in touch.

Simple words to live by.  

Pony Express

Appropriately for National Letter Writing Month, this month is the 155th anniversary of the Pony Express. The short-lived fast-paced mail service that recruited orphans as riders is (probably) disproportionately revered in US History. This month it even had a Google Doodle celebrating its anniversary. But whether over-romanticized or not, it makes for an impressive story.

Travel / Transportation Art

When choosing a theme for my sons' rooms, I try to find something that will grow with them or allow their input as they develop interests. (For example Søren's room has transitioned from weather/sky to space.) Isaac's room has a travel and transportation theme. The past couple weeks I've been creating and assembling art.

The NATO alphabet poster took many attempts before I settled on one I was happy with. I could have scanned and photoshopped a final version, but I wanted it to be all hand-done.

The art wall is still a work in progress, but I'm pretty happy with the configuration and the major art pieces for the time being.

The "hello" art is from Loopzart on Etsy. The wall decal is the text of "Around the World in 180 Days" and is available to purchase at Litograph.

While putting together Isaac's room, I used these Pinterest boards - one and two - to keep track of ideas.

April

April is National Letter Writing month. This is a themed month I can really support! 

Take the #Write_On challenge and write 30 letters in 30 days this month. Visit the Write On Campaign website for inspiration and reasons to write.