Sarah Walker The Curated House, Author at The Curated House

Beautiful Process, Beautiful Product | Gorgeous Leather Bags from Amazig Leather

You know me – I love a beautiful product with a beautiful process behind it, and today’s find epitomizes that mantra. Not only is the process beautiful, but the purpose of this whole company is truly inspiring, and the handmade leather bags they produce are nothing short of gorgeous.

Amazig Leathers {pronounced “ah – mah – zig”} began with the dream of one young woman who wanted to change the world. Founder Brandi Jordan grew up believing it was possible, but it took some time for her to figure out how to make it happen.

“We are told from a young age that we can change the world, but so often we aren’t told how. I’ve always had this intense desire to make a positive impact somewhere and the radar system in my head is constantly on the lookout for opportunities,” she says.

It wasn’t until a few years ago that Brandi’s passion and purpose collided with an idea that would become the fulfillment of her dream. As Brandi started paying closer attention to the process behind the products she was purchasing on a regular basis, she was shocked to discover seemingly common practices of sub-standard working conditions, un-fair wages, and unethical treatment of the craftspeople.

“I had the epiphany that with every purchase I make, I can either empower or enslave people, real people.”

Inspired to create an ethical company with far-reaching impact, Brandi’s dream solidified around the idea of creating a leather goods social enterprise based in Morocco that would offer beautiful products and provide sustainable, positive change for a community of people.

{I am seriously in LOVE with this duffle bag – perfect for a lovely long weekend getaway!}

In creating profound relationships with Imazighen artisans on her first business trip to Morocco, Brandi established partnerships that would become the foundation of her vision for the company. Through the sale of high-quality, handmade artisanal leather-goods, Brandi is empowering these artisans to provide not only for their families, but also for their community with a portion of Amazig’s profits supporting educational initiatives among the Imazighen people.

Amazig Leathers only uses vegetable tanned leather, which ages better and is also better for the environment than harsher chemically tanned leathers commonly used. Amazig only uses leather from animals where the whole animal is utilized – for food as well as for leather – creating less impact on the environment. Artisans receive fair living wages and are provided with honourable employment at all levels of the supply chain and a portion of the profits go back into the communities where the artisans are from to support educational initiatives in those communities. Doesn’t get much better than that!

Amazig’s Debut Collection will arrive in North America the first week in November {shipping the following week}, and you can help them get a running start at their launch by contributing to their Kickstarter Campaign. Each contribution level of course comes with the amazing reward of a gorgeous, handmade leather piece from Amazig, so it’s really a win-win-win situation!

I hope Brandi’s courageous, compassionate heart for social justice – and the beautiful process behind her beautiful products – has inspired you as much as it has inspired me today.

Happy Wednesday!

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|October 2nd, 2013|0 Comments

The Curated Collection | Karyn Lyons

There is always for me a quality of escape that I look for in fine art – a transcendence that carries me to a new place or experience I’ve never had, or returns me to a feeling or a memory I once knew. The truth is, it is rather rare to discover this kind of transcendence in still life, for me at least. And yet that is exactly what I find myself experiencing in the stunning work of Karyn Lyons.

Blurring the lines between photo-realism and interpretation, Lyons sweeps me away into a dream-like state with her paintings. I feel as though I have awoken at midnight and wandered out into a grove, or perhaps sat down at a table with my love to savour the succulent flavours of nature and fine wine – simple things and decadent things effortlessly married like fantasy-meets-real-life.

With obvious respect for the 400 year history of still life portraiture, Lyons reinterprets traditional motifs with a decidedly modern aesthetic, expressing them in quietly luminous, often monochromatic palettes that add a cinematic, mysterious quality and depth to her work.

Artist and essayist George Ferrandi says, “…in art, apples are almost always in some residual conversation with temptation – but Lyons makes broader use of them. Somehow, in their associations with fall and the end of summer, and in the presence of these ever-woolen skies, the apple tree carts with it a feeling of ‘after.’ Like the moon is on the wane. Like the honeymoon is over.”

Karyn’s background is also quite fascinating. Lyons is an art director in the fashion industry. She worked at Polo Ralph Lauren and J. Crew before returning to school in 2001 for graduate studies at The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston. After graduating in 2003, she spent a year working as a painter for Jeff Koons, where she worked on the Popeye series. Her first solo show was at the Sarah Bowen Gallery in Brooklyn, New York, in 2005. Since then, she has been in numerous group shows in the United States and abroad. She lives and works in New York City and Lima, Peru.

Lyons‘ latest work is currently on exhibition at MARCH in San Francisco through until November 23, 2013. The show includes 20 oil on canvas and oil on vellum paintings, sizes ranging between 3.5×3.5” to 44×60″. If you are in the area, I highly recommend making a point of stopping by for a visit.

MARCH

3075 Sacramento Street

San Francisco, CA

www.marchsf.com

Wishing you an inspired Monday!

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|September 30th, 2013|0 Comments

Foodie Friday | Roasted Cauliflower Soup with Baked Prosciutto: A Simple Autumn Comfort Food

I must confess that I have a love-hate relationship with this time of year. I love that Graham and I were married on the first day of Fall, so for me it will forever be a season of romance. I love the changing colours, the crisp air and the warmth of the sunshine. I love the harvest vegetables and the season of hearty, heart-warming cooking and natural gatherings with friends and loved ones. I love pulling out all the blankets and cozy sweaters and spending evenings snuggled up by a roaring fire. I strongly dislike the fact that winter is on Autumn’s heels. Every year. Without fail.

Rather than focus on what I don’t like {note that I didn’t actually say “hate,” because I actually hate the word “hate”}, I am increasingly aware of the power of focusing on what I’m grateful for. It’s possible in any season – weather it be a calendar season or a season of life – to find gratitude that outshines the proverbial “winter of our discontent.” Some days it may feel like a stretch. OK, lots of days it does feel like a stretch to sort through the struggles to find those gratitudes. But it’s the right kind of stretch, like an amazing yoga class or Pilates session after a stressful week. It stretches me in the right direction. I need to stretch more.

Today’s soup is a gratitude for me. A gratitude because of the flavourful comfort of simple and delicious ingredients. A gratitude because it’s something I can make on weekends and have in mason jars in my fridge for quick and easy lunches during the week. A gratitude because I have friends and family to share it with. And a gratitude because my 10 year old really, genuinely loves this soup. It’s a mama win, and I’ll take it! After all, have you tried getting a kid to eat cruciferous vegetables recently and be happy about it? Exactly.

I made a few of batches of the soup in my “test kitchen” before posting this recipe because I wanted to get the balance of flavours just right. My first batch produced a really pretty photo using red onions, and while I loved the slightly blush colour of the puréed soup, the sweetness of the roasted red onions added to the subtle sweetness of the roasted cauliflower was just too sweet for me in the end. I wanted more of an earthy, savoury undertone to compliment that naturally delicate sweetness of the roasted cauliflower. So, a couple of simple tweaks, and here’s the recipe!

ROASTED CAULIFLOWER SOUP

with baked prosciutto

THE INGREDIENTS:

1/2 head of cauliflower, sliced into 1/2″ thick wedges
1 large vidalia onion, sliced into 1/2″ thick wedges
8-10 cloves of garlic, peeled
1/2 c. butter, cut up into knobs
salt + pepper
1 c. organic whole milk
2 c. organic chicken broth
1/4 c. Greek yoghurt
2 c. finely and freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh or freeze-dried herbs
2 slices of Parma prosciutto per person for garnish

THE METHOD:

Preheat the oven to 375˚F. Place the wedges of cauliflower and onion and the garlic cloves on a baking sheet and distribute knobs of butter on top. Finish with salt and pepper and roast for 30 minutes. Once you’ve pulled the veggies out of the oven, bake the prosciutto slices {laid flat on a cookie sheet} for 5 minutes until crisp.

Place roasted veggies, milk, broth and Parmesan cheese into a good quality blender {I use a Blendtech} or add everything to a large soup pot and combine using an immersion hand blender. After blending, reheat gently, being careful not to let the milk and cheese burn.

Garnish with freshly chopped chives or freeze-dried herbs and break up the prosciutto into pieces to garnish. I like leaving the pieces big enough to crack with my spoon because it reminds me of the experience of breaking the surface of gorgeous crème brulée {which I can no longer eat}. Sometimes it’s the little things, right? You can also crumble it up into tiny bits, which Noah loves to do. Either way, that caramelized salty goodness is the treasure hunt in this creamy soup, providing the perfect contrast to the natural, savoury sweetness.

It really is fast, easy and super delicious and I hope you’ll try it in your own kitchen sometime soon!

Wishing you time with friends and loved ones over a bowl of something comforting this weekend. And more than anything, I’m wishing you the awareness you need to gather the gratitudes and recognize the meaningful moments that punctuate the season you’re in right now. They are there if you look for them. I promise.

xo
s.

By Sarah Walker The Curated House|September 27th, 2013|0 Comments