Discover Art That Inspires
We want our collections to spark curiosity and conversation.
We want people to slow down and feel the joy of seeing the world through an artist’s eyes.
Our Tampa Bay home isn’t just a stunning place to live and work, it’s also a huge part of our DNA and why we’re able to come together to do amazing things.
Our inspiration comes from many places. We’ve created wearable and useful art because we want our works to travel with the people who bring them into and enrich their lives.
Our art style embraces realism, humor and spans two generations. Each of us has complimentary taste with elements uniquly us. We are each other’s second eye.
We walk the world for a moment in time, so why not have the joy of carrying art with you every day, no matter where you go?
Everything we design begins life with a Prototype.
Like our Field Notebook Cover. This notebook wallet began life as a natural veg-tanned leather hide. We applied hand-dyed process came out in sheets, so our custom leather was created first. We almost exclusively use vegetable tanned leather because it’s better.
We test everything to ensure it’s something we would want to own ourselves. It could be anything. In this case it was a reliable field notebook holder that could keep other things.
Our inspiration, from color combinations, patterns and more all come all corners of the earth. Especially right here in Tampa Bay. These patterns were inspired by science behind Sonoran desert sunsets with the wispy clouds replaced by an impossible interaction with bubbles in our bayou.
Sonoran sunsets make fiery reds, deep oranges, stark magentas, and rich purples in their sky color schemes. St. Petersburg Sunsets scatter soft pastels, cotton-candy pinks, bright peaches, golden yellows, and diffused lavenders.
The reason is that light scatters less in a dry climate allowing more vibrant color spectrums to appear. Marine coast air scatters light with a more broad brushstroke.
It’s also a nod to the bird of paradise, one of our favorite local flowers.
What is the meaning of luxury? It’s time dedicated. It’s every consideration. Knowing you are going to do it. To preserving heritage techniques by practicing them, using them and innovating on them. Then trying to create new ones.
Our brainstorm begins asking the right questions.
• Do we want to simplified palette or to there’s a pattern we want to amplify in the design? We start with the notebooks we use.
• What size or notebook brands or styles we want to fits in future models (e.g., A5, Field Notes, Moleskine)
• What extra features it should have? (pen loops, card slots, rings, or snap closures)
• Can this product have an afterlife if it’s primary purpose becomes obsolete?
• Is this a friendly to use design?
• Will this come as one of our hand-illustrated pieces or cut from one of the curated hides in our leather library?
• Can this meet in our standards?
• Can we make this with ethical material choices that align with our values?
The integrity of our creation is genuinely important to us, it’s not just about one moment.
It’s about all moments it that add up to a final YES.
Wishbones are our official makers mark but we believe not everything needs our Brand. We will then decide if it works with the piece.
Everything is designed with either a love or a reason. That’s our process. We love what we make. So. We want you to love what you own!
Our Design Creation Process
The Natural World
From the cabinet of curiosities era to modern scientific discoveries, we love both the real and imagined version of our natural world.
Our inspiration, from color combinations to patterns, come all come all corners of the earth. Mainly right here in Tampa Bay.
It could be the rainbow eucalyptus growing in Sunken Gardens. Burl wood patterns at the Museums of Arts and Crafts downtown or Copper elements found in the Artist enclave of Historic Kenwood.
We love where we live.
Desert Inspirations
Our inspiration comes from many places outside Tampa Bay too. It’s not all Tropical Shores, Sunshine State of Mind or Stormy Skies.
Some of our biggest influences come from the contemporary art scene, the vivid contrast of a desert environment and forgotten pop-culture of Las Vegas, Nevada and New Mexico.
Santa Fe has become a bit of a cliche in recent years but Meow Wolf and much of the contemporary artists and alternative culture does inspire us. Though Georgia O’keefe still does.
Our Mood Board Drawings
Here’s a behind the scenes look at some of the digital sketches that we do. Digital drawing and painting as well as traditional watercolor medium are Marlene’s preference. We are also proud users of the Tasmanian-made Procreate Digital Arts Studio.
They are often more like a mood ring than a mood-board. We are most inspired by the outside world, antiquity, pop-culture and more obscure corners of the internet rather than algorithms but do take some inspiration from there.
We explore design by creating mood board designs to provide us color and design inspiration. What starts as a sketch may be used in future collections as a print or a color scheme.
Here’s a look inside one. None of the designs or themes are final.
Ready Reach Out or Find Our Next Market?
Have a question or need help arranging a design or event? Send us a quick inquiry. Emails are welcome too!