Kinfolk Dinner Astoria | Part I

Most often places that you dream of being are found so far away. This time, I found myself there. 
In a small Scandinavian founded fishing town at the very northern most coast of Oregon, a Kinfolk dinner was held. The building, once a fishing loft, was for the afternoon converted into a place of gathering. A foreign, hidden corner of the town became a familiar and common place. A dinner shared around a table, a place for like minded folk, a celebration of the comfort found through imperfection and of wabi-sabi, a messy meal. 

Sharp light fell on floor boards, soft faces sauntered up stairs. We sat picnic style at the long table, peered through windows  and passed fire roasted fall roots and Japanese fare. The sun set, the north western light softened and fall arrived; the way I imagined the Oregon October to behave. Drizzle, breeze, golden light. They laughed and shared warmth and I pinched my left arm to be sure. And then I found myself there. So close. This place. An evening of unforgettable. And I was, so gratefully, there. 

Part II coming soon. 

Creative Humans - Aran Goyoaga | Cannille Et Vannille

Aran Goyoaga is the multitalented photographer, writer, stylist and cook behind her well known food blog, Cannelle Et Vanille. Although a world traveler, she can most often be found pottering around Seattle, working from her downtown studio hosting and collaborating with other cooks, photographers and food stylists from all across the world. Aran is very well known for her photography workshops – so when I had the chance to fly across to the Pacific North West to attend a workshop that Aran was hosting, alongside (my current obsession and love) Luisa Brimble, well, I happily did.

Aran was born in Basque country and has been living in the United States for the past sixteen years. A trained pastry chef and author of her cookbook, Small Plates and Sweet Treats, Aran moves favorably and confidently in the kitchen. It is an honor to watch her as she tosses flour, arranges bowls, rolls out pastry dough and chops through figs. She is quick and productive all the while remaining delicate and discreet. Turn around to face a different part of the room and before you know it, Aran has already laid a table, arranged beautifully with thrifted ceramics, scattered flower petals and of course, her delicious cooked food. Her eyes are soft, her smile is big and the space she fills is welcoming. I caught myself staring, far too many times. I think it is because she is just so good at what she does. It was a pleasure to spend a weekend in Seattle in Aran’s company. 

What projects are you currently working on?

I am finishing up a year of workshops and getting ready to start photographing a cookbook (not my recipes). I also have my own cookbook proposal at hand so hopefully that will materialize soon. I am a weekly contributor to Conde Nast Traveler and I continue with other freelance work both editorial and commercial.

Where do you draw your creative inspiration from?

I feel like we are all a product of where we live, the light we are surrounded by, our friends, the food we eat, the books we read, movies we watch and music we listen to. I have always been a bit of a sponge of culture and I am always interested in what other people are doing. So it's all around me.

Why a food writer and stylist?

I was a pastry chef in my past life and I grew up in a family of pastry chefs, so food has always been all around me. It's my language. I have to admit that I am not a true writer. I do it, but it's not my strength. I love cooking and preparing food in a natural way to photograph it, so images and composing for camera is what I really love to do. Without sounding too pretentious, food really is my creative vehicle.

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, would you be so kind to share some of your favourite artists? 

I love, love, love music, but who doesn't? I listen to music all day long and it really does affect my mood. In my favorite cooking playlist you will find anything from Future Islands, Bauhaus, Bleached, Jonathan Richman, M83, Pavement, Belle & Sebastian, LCD Soundsystem, Grandaddy, Dirty On Purpose, Le Mans..... 

Do you have a morning ritual? 

I do! First thing, I drink some warm water with apple cider vinegar. Then I make a strong cup of coffee and I ask everyone not to speak to me for 10 minutes!

What's your idea of a perfect Friday night? 

I am a homebody at heart and I really enjoy being home and watching a good movie. But I do love to find a good restaurant and meet friends over a good meal. I like a lot of sitting around and talking action.

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? 

I really want to go to Bolivia, Argentina and Japan soon.

Best piece of advice you've ever given or been given? 

When I was in my late teens, I wanted to drop out of college (I was in school for business, which I did not enjoy). But my aunt Bego who is only a few years older than me insisted that I should not give up. "Solving problems is like building muscle, you have to actually do it often" she said. It stuck with me and I have used it many times. Actually it's the one thing that I have found to be so true. As I am getting older, I am realizing that growing and evolving can be a very uncomfortable and painful exercise. But as I always say "tomorrow will be another day".

What's for dinner? 

We are making pizzas!

The best part about being a creative? 

Having a lot of freedom. I can be very meticulous and rigid in my habits and it's interesting having so much freedom to do what I want. It's quite uncomfortable many times because it's not my nature, but I do love it.

The worst part? 

The insecurity of it all.

Day or night? Depends for what. I am more productive in the day but more adventurous at night.
Old or new? A mixture.
City or Country? Again, I cannot choose! But if I have to pick one... I need to live in the city and escape to the country.
Coffee or Tea? Coffee.

What do you enjoy most about living in Seattle? 

I have found such a great community of creative people. Many artists who are also mothers and I relate to very much. Plus it's such a beautiful city and I love the moodiness of it. I love rain. I grew up in the Basque Country with lots of green, moss, fishing and damp forests so I feel right at home in Seattle.

Thoughts for the future: 

Never stop being curious and be kind to myself.

Bulls Bay Saltworks

It was a rainy, last minute Saturday drive to visit Teresa and Rustin Gooden at their home and salt farm, Bulls Bay Saltworks. I received the most warm, generous welcome by the Gooden’s, their excitable dog, a mooching drooling cat, a chatty pregnant pig, many egg laying chickens and one fly away, self-homed peacock. Their one acre homestead is a little dream land – full of veggie gardens (including the world’s hottest chili plant), happy animals and of course, a salt farm.

Teresa and Rustin approach salt naturally – their small batch, locally harvested, sustainable process makes for an efficient, innovative and humble saltworks. Situated just north of Charleston, SC, they harvest water locally from a protected class 1 wilderness area in Cape Romain. They then use a solar power evaporation process to form four different types of salt including crystals, flake, a ‘margarita’ variety and their most delicious bourbon barrel smoked salt. As we trudged around the farm in our gumboots (their property was part flooded due to an unseasonably large amount of rain) I was completely swept up by Teresa and Rustin’s simple yet quality approach to living and farming. They love what they do and work so well together at it – quite inspiring to be around and great to know that their product comes from such a heartfelt place.

Lately, I have been finding that more and more I am enjoying the times where I get to see and photograph food in its most natural, basic state. I love learning where it comes from, how it is made and then I love getting excited about how I can turn it into something delicious for the dinner table. Not only is the process and the story such an invigorating part, but the people, like Teresa and Rustin, who make their life's work about producing innovative, quality, and natural products from the land - and sea - is what pulls at my heart strings most.  It gives me goosebumps. It leaves me curious, thankful and wanting to learn more.

Keep an eye out next week for a recipe using Bulls Bay Saltworks Smoked Sea Salt. I hear that mushrooms are involved… and there may just be a little Bulls Bay Salt giveaway too – it is quite delicious and very much worth sharing. 

Creative Humans - Harper Poe | Proud Mary

Harper Poe’s Charleston home is filled with colour. Textiles drape over furniture, hang behind doors and are stacked neatly upon studio shelves. At one end, her living area can be found. It is beautifully and purposely furnished with travel trinkets vignetting the corners and walls streaming with bright, natural light. At the other end lies her studio. Bursting with bright fabrics and mesmerizing mismatched pieces from around the world, it is the central workplace of her ethically sourced, international textile company, Proud Mary.

Currently, Harper’s talent as a textile designer extends across the globe, as she collaborates with indigenous artisans from the developing world to produce a range of textiles using traditional and cultural techniques. Her Proud Mary line boasts the most sumptuous goodies including handmade natural raffia shoes made in Morocco, Shibori dyed indigo bogolan blankets, hand-woven mochila bags from Colombia and mud cloth printed pillows that use traditional techniques from Mail, West Africa.

As Harper shows me around her home and studio, she behaves the way I picture her to be in a bustling Moroccan market. She swiftly pulls out pieces of fabric, lays them on the floor, feels their embroidered patterns and speaks of their heritage and then folds them away with gusto and ease. Each piece that Harper presents displays a sense of pride and mindfulness that runs true and consistent with the Proud Mary ethos. It is clear that her heart lays passionate towards indigenous culture and craft and that her interest in sustainable and fair trade practices is driven wholly by the people and cultures that she meets on her travels.

There are some creatives who do what they do because they are good at it and it makes them happy. There are other creatives who do what they do because they find a way to extend their talent and happiness towards others and a greater good. As she roams the world, works with global artisans and assists with designs for her Proud Mary line, Harper works hard to fuel awareness and bridge cultural gaps, staying true to pride, not pity and, I can only imagine, spreading colour as she goes.   

What projects are you currently working on?  

I'm working on a bedding project that I'm really excited about! The pieces will be hand block printed and sewn in India. 

Where do you draw your creative inspiration from? 

Travel, exploring new cultures, and traditional crafts/costume.

Why textiles?  

Textiles are great story tellers. They share the history and significance of cultures in a way we our culture can understand because it's a tangible, beautiful thing and we love "things".  There is tremendous opportunity to create economic impact through textiles as many of the world's most marginalized peoples create and produce textiles.  

Do you listen to music while you work? If so, would you be so kind to share some of your favourite artists? 

Yes!  Amadou and Mariam, Vieux Farka Toure, Maña, Fela Kuti, Toots & The Maytals... when I really need to get in the zone with work I prefer music where I don't understand the words and can just get into the music.  

Do you have a morning ritual? 

Coffee, shower, more coffee, and then dive into emails and NPR. 

What's your idea of a perfect Friday night? 

Evening bike ride, wine on the porch, dinner with friends, followed by more wine on a porch.  

If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would you go? 

Oh man, I think about this daily. Right now I'm dreaming of a surf/textiles trip to Indonesia.

Best piece of advice you've ever given or been given? 

My mentor in the artisan/handcraft industry told me when we first started working together in Africa, "Treat your artisan partners as business partners, it must be a business to business relationship for it to work".  Pride over pity and no handouts...that's our motto. 

What's for dinner? 

I am an awful cook so dinner is usually on someone else.  I do like to make breakfast; smoothies and avocado toast. 

The best part about being a creative? 

Freedom to explore

The worst part? 

Too much freedom

Day or night? Used to be night, now it's day
Old or new? 50/50
City or Country? City
Coffee or Tea? Coffee

What do you enjoy most about living in Charleston, SC?

Biking, sunshine, beach, and all the yummy food. 

Thoughts for the future:  

Continue to nurture and grow Proud Mary. Establish stronger and more impactful relationships with our artisan partners. Keeping a healthy balance between personal life and work. Rent a place out of the country for 3 months a year...places I'm considering; Spain, Morocco, and Mexico.