Over the past extraordinary year, we asked ourselves many questions. We wondered about our path and considered leaving the studio in service of something more urgently useful. As a recently certified Wilderness First Responder, James wondered if it was too late to go to medical school. Deep into books on regenerative agriculture, I (Chelsea) imagined kelp farming in the Salish Sea.

One of our greatest pleasures is seeing our work out in the world living a life that we could have never imagined ourselves. It is a reminder that putting things out into the world with intention and care does create a ripple effect.

With small children at home and our local preschool back to remote learning this week, we’ve been thinking a lot about boundaries. There are the boundaries between work life and home life. There are the boundaries between being a parent and also trying to be an adult human.

As we continue to sit on the edge of our seats in uncertainty, it feels like a good moment to celebrate things that do feel safe and sound - like working together in community.

Like many on the West Coast, we spent ten days inside our home this month hiding out from wildfire smoke. Though the most threatening fires were at a safe distance from our home and studio, we did have a small brush fire on the island one evening that pushed us to make a go-bag list as we waited for updates from our local fire department.

As a small independent studio nearing 12 years of partnership, we are committed to and respectful of the continuous process required to develop and refine a design practice. Whether working with technology or historical craft techniques, we approach everything in the slow and steady service of curiosity and growth.

Earlier this month we cautiously reopened our studio on Bainbridge Island. Our production assistant, Hannah, returned to work from Seattle via ferry and bike commute. James joined her and they are masked up with safety protocols in place as they work on building furniture and shipping out orders.

The pandemic and the murder of too many Black Americans by police officers underlines the systemic racism in our country. As white citizens, business owners and parents, we will not be silent in the Black Lives Matter civil rights movement.

We recognize that we have a lot of work to do personally and within our small business. The following are some of the anti-racist resources that we have been learning from as we widen our social justice lens.

On one of the first panicky lists we compiled back in March, we planned out how we would optimize our time at home to finish all our house projects and photograph the ways that we live with our work.

A few months ago, in what now feels like an alternate reality - before we were worried about the health and safety of so many - we decided to phase out the production of our popular Ty Shower Curtain.

Come with me into the woods where spring is
advancing, as it does, no matter what,
not being singular or particular, but one
of the forever gifts, and certainly visible.
- Mary Oliver

Our Quilt Rugs take direct inspiration from the patchwork quilt making process. Blocks of braided wool lines are ordered but not exacting as we try to evoke the looser style of scrap quilts which allow irregular shapes to make up the whole. During their conception, we looked at everything from Alabama's Gee's Bend to the work of Oregon artist Shiela Laufer.

Maybe it’s the start of the new decade or just twelve years of unbroken practice leading us in this direction, but our vision for Grain as we enter 2020 is one of complete and total optimism. We started this business with the personal goal of working creatively in partnership along with the deeper intention of social and environmental responsibility.

Originally launched in 2013, our Utility Card is a word search puzzle that includes over 100 salutations. It is our attempt at a minimalist greeting card - the last one you'll ever need.

If you are already overwhelmed by the holiday season, take a chance and opt-out with us. You may miss a few deals, but you might just save yourself.

We are celebrating this long weekend with a house full of friends and an attempt to reflect on gratitude in between the busyness.

Ok, listen up friends: We've made a small run of our popular Totem Candles in the original beeswax formula just for the holiday season. This limited edition batch was cut on our lathe here in our Bainbridge Island studio from the highest quality Oregon beeswax. They smell amazing, naturally!

We've always taken the less is more approach to design and this extends to our own home as well. As we start to prepare for the holiday season, we find it is easy to get distracted and lose sight of the simple pleasure of time spent at the table with friends and family.

Several years ago, we began a conversation with a family-owned mill in New England making traditional braided rugs. This historic fabrication technique was made popular by early American colonists as it could be executed by hand without a loom using textile scraps.

About six years ago, James cut the first candle that would eventually become our Totem Candle series on a lathe in our garage shop. The original prototypes received nice feedback at a local pop-up, so we decided to produce a small batch run for our friends and family. The wax cut like butter on the lathe and quickly became the favorite job to do in the shop.

We've been thinking a lot about time and place this summer. Back in 2007, when we decided to return home after nearly ten years on the East Coast, we were nostalgic for the Northwest but didn't really know if we could build a design business here.