Journal

Ally Walsh begins every day with an act of becoming. The hiss of the flame. The hum of the kettle. The bloom of the grounds. The careful alchemy of time and care. For many, the day's first coffee is certainly a ritual, but for the Canyon Coffee Co-Founder, this moment of transformation is a daily opportunity for cultivating mindfulness, for setting intention, for bearing witness to small miracles. We sat down with the businesswoman, model, and all around insanely kind soul to talk about finding space for exploration, balancing passion in a working relationship (her partner, Casey, is the other half of the Canyon Coffee family), and what it takes to feel at ease.

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This year has felt like lesson after lesson in letting go—of being tender with change, of relinquishing expectations, of admitting that things we thought were constants are actually always in flux. In this usual season of abundance and generosity, as we approach the winter solstice and the shift back towards the light, we are reminded, of course, that there is a flip side: That being tender with change can also look like nurturing new growth. That relinquishing expectations can also look like rewriting what brings joy. That when we realize that the path we are on doesn't have to to be a straight line, it leaves room for twists, turns, unexpected destinations, and beautiful adventures.

On the stunning surf-report coasts of New Zealand, artists Ophelia Mikkelson Jones and Ryder Jones have been living on the flip side—approaching their summer solstice on the twisting, turning path towards a life less ordinary, one on which they are the authors of their own joy, finding deep meaning in living simply, with intention, and with each other. 

As we are reconsidering how to make the most of this holiday season (and this one precious life), we wanted to step into the flip side, and take a few notes from Ryder and Ophelia on giving beyond the material and celebrating the miraculous in the everyday.

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We miss being in other people's houses. Sure, we miss the lingering dinners, the spangly cocktails, the late-night living room dance parties, the first-awake early coffees with visiting far-flung beloveds...we miss the people, dearly and deeply. But. We also just miss being in other people's houses.

You can learn so much from an effortless afternoon basking in the light through someone else’s west-facing windows, from finding the perfect spot to tuck the found wildflower or turkey feather, a host’s talisman, or from hearing how the music makes its way—just so—the sound escaping around ancient casements to fly up and out like so many sparks from the chimney when you step out to admire the moon. You can learn so much from being in other people’s houses. And we miss it.

Luckily, beautiful genius, flower forager, and writer Lisa Przystup is here for us in our time of need. Her new book "Upstate" is an invitation into the varied and gorgeous interiors of homes dotting the rolling green hills and tucked-away farmsteads in the wilds above and beyond Manhattan—right when we needed it most. 

We spoke with Lisa from her perfectly imperfect 1893 farmhouse in the Catskills—in which nothing is exactly straight, everything is beautifully whitewashed, and where we cannot wait to invite ourselves for a long rambling visit sometime hopefully sooner rather than later—to talk about tuning your clock to the natural world, finding glamour where you can, and how, if you can’t be in someone else’s house, being fully present in your own is pretty damn great too.

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In the opening moments of her newest song, "Earthy", singer, songwriter, and powerfully mystical mama Lia Ices channels divine intuition with a voice like a morning bell. She never wanted to sing (she sings), she'd rather be a dancer, her body like a language. She never wanted to write (she writes), but sometimes it comes right through her, not a choice but as a duty. These explorations—this search for finding what is true among the great contradiction and beauty of the human mystery and then giving it a path to pour forth in song and word—is the essence of Lia's work. 

The music is itself mystically reverent: the heartbeat of piano like waves against The Lost Coast, the reverb echo like the vast cathedral hush of towering oaks, and the laid-back drum feel is like our old favorite records caught the electric spiritual current drawn forth by the gentle rhythms of ancient California mountains.

But it's the pure, honest poetry of Lia's verse and her crystalline songbird voice that speak straight to our hearts and we wanted to know more. Lia spoke with us from her mountaintop home in Sonoma (her partner, Andrew, is the co-founder of Scribe Winery) on the spiritual practice of creativity, the psychedelic power of the primal feminine, and the value of showing up. Put on a record and read on.

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We have always loved the sea. How the horizon draws the eye to limitless possibility, somehow disregarding the barriers of any intervening waves, how Madame Moon smooths the surface as she cuts her nightly luminous path across tide and time, how the body becomes fully itself within its waters—alternately weightless or as slick and powerful as a seal. The path to the sea is always studded with magic: watery gems of sand-smoothed glass, winking pastel coquinas, glimmering mother of pearl, or other storm-tossed treasures await you at the wrack line if you know how to look and make the time and space to do so.

For Kate Jones (the founder, precious metalsmith, and salt-kissed dreamer at Ursa Major—a beloved jewelry line made in Maine and NYC) the sea is a messenger. From her childhood aboard a sailing ship—called, of course, "Ursa Major"—to her current rock-ledged seaside aerie on the sunrise coast of Maine, Kate finds herself most open to receiving both lightning-bolt inspiration and serenity within striking distance of cool waters. We caught up with Kate to talk about the freedom and joy of making space to create, the power of going barefoot, and the beauty of everyone carving out their own story, wave by wave. 

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This season we were lucky enough to shoot our spring lookbook in Mallorca — in the art studio of our dear friend Vera Edwards. Born in California but raised in Mallorca, Vera has lived around the world (including Northern California where we initially met her!), but returned to Mallorca six years ago. Today, she lives in a small beach town on the southeastern coast, making oil paintings in a studio that was formerly her grandmother’s home. 

Her grandmother Anne is a lifelong artist who has created stone sculptures out of the studio where Vera now paints — it’s easy to imagine blissfully slow days spent here, picking fruit from blooming trees, surrounded by nature and a view of a monastery in the distant hills. No distractions, only quiet. 

Vera is one of the most inspiring women we know, both for her ability to find and create beauty seemingly anywhere, and also for her perspective on living and moving through the world with ease. Amid this moment when the only thing that feels knowable is that all things change, Vera’s perspective on embracing the journey feels just right.

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On the occasions that take us out of the everyday — a conversation with actress Jodi Balfour on what it means to step outside and find connection in fleetingly specific yet beautifully immersive moments. . . . Read More

Yasmine Ganley is the New Zealand-based art director, writer, and the creator and editor of the online platform anyonegirl.com, which is now in it's 12th year. Anyone Girl celebrates the personal projects from a like-minded community of makers. Yasmine is also the editor of the zine WAIST, a journal that nods both to following one's gut intuition, and also explores how we manifest emotion and experience in our bodies. Below, a conversation on how embracing life as it comes manifests in motherhood, personal ritual, and nostalgia.

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Meet the multi-talented, widely traveled, and entirely creative designer, mother, artist, and stylist Darya Bing.

Born into a family of accomplished sculptors, architects, calligraphers, and ceramicists and brought up and educated in the renowned Dadaists artist village of Ein Hod in Northern Israel, Darya Bing has had a background that’s taken her around the world and across disciplines. Currently based in Auckland, Darya began her creative career in wardrobe and set design in theatre and film but in between has worked across creative industries and disciplines — from fashion to art to education.

We find her at present, where she is co-managing an interior design + ceramics production + fie art studio that services hospitality groups across the Pacific, Australia, and Europe... . . . Read More

Our classic raw silk tees are designed to embody the OZMA ethos – they're what we talk about when we talk about adoring the perfectly imperfect. Our tees rely on the beautifully organic, nubby soft texture of raw silk, an incredibly special fabric that we love for its character and unique wear... resulting in every tee feeling slightly different and entirely special. The metaphor isn't lost on us: to continue the conversation, we spoke with five inspiring women in the OZMA world about what it means to lean into imperfection, to discover the path of self-acceptance, and to see the beauty in our ever-evolving perspectives.

 

April Valencia is... hard to nearly sum up in a concise bio, but we'll try: A photographer, textile artist, flora-obsessed advocate for the preservation of nature, and accomplished culinary wizard. Creativity and passion ooze out of her... we get the sense that she never approaches anything halfway, she is an all-in liver of life, and feeler of experience. April was also the woman behind the camera for the other four stories in this series, and to conclude the project we asked if she'd flip the lens to document herself and reflect on the notion of imperfection.

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Our classic raw silk tees are designed to embody the OZMA ethos – they're what we talk about when we talk about adoring the perfectly imperfect. Our tees rely on the beautifully organic, nubby soft texture of raw silk, an incredibly special fabric that we love for its character and unique wear... resulting in every tee feeling slightly different and entirely special. The metaphor isn't lost on us: to continue the conversation, we spoke with five inspiring women in the OZMA world about what it means to lean into imperfection, to discover the path of self-acceptance, and to see the beauty in our ever-evolving perspectives.

 

 

Meet jewelry designer Sophie Monet Okulick, whose eponymous line is a reflection of a life spent in the studio of her father, sculptor John Okulick. Using sustainable materials and weaving in references from natural landscapes and mid-century design her pieces contextualize familar materials in wholly unexpected ways.

 

 

Photos by April Valencia

 

 

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Our classic raw silk tees are designed to embody the OZMA ethos – they're what we talk about when we talk about adoring the perfectly imperfect. Our tees rely on the beautifully organic, nubby soft texture of raw silk, an incredibly special fabric that we love for its character and unique wear... resulting in every tee feeling slightly different and entirely special. The metaphor isn't lost on us: to continue the conversation, we spoke with five inspiring women in the OZMA world about what it means to lean into imperfection, to discover the path of self-acceptance, and to see the beauty in our ever-evolving perspectives.

 

 

Today we're in conversation with Valerie Quant, co-owner and do-designer of LoQ, a women's contemporary footwear and handbag company based in LA, a business she started four years ago with partner Keren Longkumer, who she met in footwear school. Today she lives between the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles and frequent visits to Spain, where LoQ is produced. Below, a conversation on long term relationships, living on a whim, and finding harmony in the unconventional.

 

 

Photos by April Valencia

 

 

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Our classic raw silk tees are designed to embody the OZMA ethos – they're what we talk about when we talk about adoring the perfectly imperfect. Our tees rely on the beautifully organic, nubby soft texture of raw silk, an incredibly special fabric that we love for its character and unique wear... resulting in every tee feeling slightly different and entirely special. The metaphor isn't lost on us: to continue the conversation, we spoke with five inspiring women in the OZMA world about what it means to lean into imperfection, to discover the path of self-acceptance, and to see the beauty in our ever-evolving perspectives.

 

Jewelry designer + sculptor Kelci Potter's beautifully organic work is a study in form and nuanced shape, expressed in hand-molded beeswax and recycled gold. Below, a conversation on what it means to step into the self to seek out the 'juice' of life, and to live simultaneously with the meaningful and the messy. 

 

Photos by April Valencia

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Our classic raw silk tees are designed to embody the OZMA ethos – they're what we talk about when we talk about adoring the perfectly imperfect. Our tees rely on the beautifully organic, nubby soft texture of raw silk, an incredibly special fabric that we love for its character and unique wear... resulting in every tee feeling slightly different and entirely special. The metaphor isn't lost on us: to continue the conversation, we spoke with five inspiring women in the OZMA world about what it means to lean into imperfection, to discover the path of self-acceptance, and to see the beauty in our ever-evolving perspectives.

 

To start the series, we visited Stephanie Cleary, Co-Founder and Creative Director of Morrow Soft Goods, a home textile company specializing in natural fibers and earthy color tones (something we obviously love!) Below, a conversation on drawing inspiration from life's curveballs, thinking less linearly, and retreating to simplicity.

 

Photos by April Valencia

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