A Great Note From A Customer

"I wanted to share this picture I took last week while on a vacation in Topsail Island, NC. I purchased this ring during my visit to San Francisco in November of last year. My last two trips there found me at your store choosing a ring. I think it's become a tradition for me. :) I chose the quote both because it certainly fits my feelings about my SF trips, but also because I want to remember that every day is a gift and simply being HERE, anywhere, is a gift.
As I stood staring out to sea, I remembered my ring and thought that a picture with the quote visible would be a neat thing to do.
I thought you all might like to know that to me your jewelry is more than just a beautiful thing to wear on the outside, it's a representation of what's going on inside as well.
Peace and joy to you all!"
Susan

Hi Miyako!

Miyako is giving my head a hammerin' which is blond since she saw it last

Miyako Kurooka is our chic and well travelled agent in Japan. She landed last night and was at our offices bright and early as always--she has more energy than anyone I know. We took her over to the Rotunda in Neiman's where we lunched and cought up over the famous pop overs that were larger than our heads. Here is what I learned: Miyako isn't fond of camping and Kazu, our wholesale specialist, spent her early years living in a hotel--exactly like Eloise! oh, and we did talk a little about business...

Miyako is responsible for introducing Camper and Henri Beguelin to Japan. Currently she has five Henri Beguelin stores and we are happy to have a small selection featured in three of them. My dream is to someday have a teeny tiny store in Japan and Miyako is the one who I would trust to do that well. I have to be really, really patient because that does not happen overnight. We sell to about 25 stores there including Barneys Japan so relatively few people are aware of my line there...someday...

here is an example of a shop in shop in Japan.

The Zoo and Decorating with Workbenches

Its is Friday and I have already covered serious ground at the zoo this morning. We saw the baby gorilla and the feeding of the grizzlies... but most importantly, William found an awesome puddle to stomp in right in front of the tigers.

I have been tortured about working all the time in my studio and being away from Will so I made an executive decision to put one of our extra workbenches right in the middle of my dining room--not exactly in the middle but in front of the windows. Phew.

A long time ago, I lived in a warehouse and I felt a pressure to work all the time since there was no boundary between 'work' and 'live' in the space. It wore me out, I ended up having a little health break down and I swore to always keep things separate no matter what. Now that I have a family I find myself having to do whatever it takes to structure my work differently, in a totally new way, and it is turning out to be really more difficult and painful being away from him--more than I thought it would be. The challenge is that what I do requires a lot of concentration and very specific tools so it isn't something I can just do on a computer from anywhere. I have to admit that I am having a real love/hate moment with my work.

Flow

I was happily in a state of flow while working on a tiny wax moss!

I am reading a book called Happiness by a Buddhist monk, Matthieu Ricard, who also has a background in cellular genetics. In the chapter about flow he has this to say:

William James wrote, 'My experience is what I agree to attend to.' Entering the state of flow depends closely on the amount of attention given to the lived experience. If we are to enter into flow, the task must monopolize all our attention and present a challenge commensurate with our abilities. If it is too difficult, tension sets in, followed by anxiety; too easy, and we relax and are soon bored. In the experience of flow, a resonance is established between the action, the external environment, and the mind. In most cases this fluidity is felt as an optimal experience with a great sense of satisfaction. It is the inverse not only of boredom and depression, but also of agitation and distraction. It is interesting to note, too, that so long as the state lasts, there is a loss of reflective self-consciousness. All that remains is the alertness of the subject, who becomes one with his action and has ceased observing himself.