prepare, create, anticipate.........

I remember the days of the 12" lp, the 45, and the mix tape. I used to sit on the floor in front of the stereo with the album jacket in my hand, holding it, looking through it, searching it, while the record was spinning and playing on the turntable. I was always so excited when it was a gate fold, with lots of cool artwork and photos of the bands and the lyrics inside that you could follow. It was like you were being let in on a secret, and you got to really participate and learn about a favorite group, who they were and what they were into. I would read all the liner notes, and wanted to see all the people the bands thanked and where these records were recorded and mixed and by whom. Who produced it, where did they record it? These days are gone, with itunes and downloading music. I'm guilty of pretty much putting everything on my ipod instead of buying cd's. Only buying cd's if I have to, like the remastered Beatles catalog that will be released in September-you simply can't download it. It's not available online, unless......you get it illegally. I miss all the packaging though. I do......

Like the music industry, packaging products has changed incredibly with enlightenment of environmental issues. Having worked in the music business for 10 years, we watched the album disappear and turn into Cd's and had to figure out how to market them. Remember when they used to come in those horrible giant plastic cases? I just wanted to get my hands on the product, on the jacket, on the booklet, if there was one. I still liked the artwork that came with the Cd's, and always felt a bit jipped if it was only a single sleeve slid into the jewel case. I wanted a booklet to page through, again, to see artwork, lyrics and photos of the bands.
In the last year and a half I re-packed and re-designed everything in my lines, but with a conscience. Leaving behind the use of any packaging that did not come from a recycled source. People want packaging, they love it, and so do I. Often times, it sells the product itself. My goal was to create recycled packaging that looked really cool. I felt that most of the recycled packaging out there was, well, really dull. There is some great and creative stuff going on now with people creating great looking packaging from recycled content. I wanted to create not only gorgeous recycled packaging, but what was put inside of it to be as green and as beautiful as possible.
There's something about holding well packaged and presented items in your hand, like a record sleeve. It has emotion and expression behind it. At least that's how I see my work {and the work of my favorite bands}. All my packaging is now letterpress printed with all vegetable based inks, on these gorgeous old letterpress machines. No toxic smells, no chemicals that are harmful to the press person or the environment.

Here is the letterpress, with the first pass of packaging I am doing going through it. I wanted to be there for the process to make sure every single detail looks how I want it to. The collection is going out soon to one of my favorite stores and I am there, every step of the way to insure it's outcome is great! There is something so old world, so fascinating and filled with history about these old machines. I so love the quality of the work and to support these printers. Here is the packaging going through the press. I have been to a couple "press ok's" and "press checks" this week with my printers, to make sure my packaging meets my standards and is what I had envisioned and wanted. I needed to make sure the colors are right and the stock is working, be a part of the entire process and put my two cents in along with the guidance of these amazing letterpress printers. It requires several phone conversations with the printers, and art work being dropped off for triple checks and re-checks. It's a huge investment. It's also so incredibly exciting to see what you dreamt in your head coming out on paper. Oh I hope they like it!!!
When it comes to paper stock for my brand, I always make the effort to use recycled stocks, FSC certified stocks and try I to purchase from mills that use hydro electric energy. This massive stack of paper is for the above job, and this is only one of the stacks! There are three! It takes an incredible amount of research and thought to get just the right recycled stock for a project. Number 1, is it recycled, and at what percentage? What is the weight of the stock, will it work for this package, can we get it in time, and...of course, how much is it? To produce packaging on recycled stock is still very costly, but I won't do it any other way. This will change and get better over time and you'll see more and more packaging coming from recycled stock. My stock choice, pictured below, comes from post consumer recycled fiber. I am so happy to have found it for this amazing project.
Here is the first pass of three colors just off the letterpress. It will go through two more passes with two different colors yet. Then it will be die cut, taped and delivered to me flat, then formed into a gorgeous box that will be the new home for my Le Vieux Monde Collection. All this work is done locally, so the carbon footprint is kept as minimal as possible.

The next step of course is to make all the candles! Three Pallets of Le Vieux Monde glassware arrive at my studio. This line is created completely by hand, by me, using only a blend of pure soy wax and beeswax. I have hand blended essential oils and fine fragrance oils for the perfect soft aromatic balance. Each batch is completely hand blended over and over. Here is Essence no. 17 in production. The Noble Knight.
The Noble Knight is a blend of cedarwood oil, cypress oil, pine needle, woodsmoke, evergreen, oakmoss and amber tonic. It is so earthy and woody, and intoxicatingly soft. It smells like cedarwood being rained on, it's very grounded. This essence, #17-- is dry, smoky, woody and noble, of the ancient forest, with very herbaceous warming and uplifting notes. Cedarwood is considered an aphrodisiac. It is grounding, inspiring, comforting and soul reviving, while cypress oil is nerve soothing and positive. It assists in grieving and outgrowing sadness. Everyday when I come home from the studio now, I smell of cedarwood, and it's great!

The Le Vieux Monde Collection was inspired by Sofia Coppola's Marie Antoinette, my sister Denile and her extensive knowledge and interest in Marie and the era, my travels to Europe, and, Led Zeppelin.
The Noble Knight lit on my desk in my studio while I create and pour rounds and rounds of these fragrant candles. I can't wait for the boxes to be finished and I anticipate their arrival and how they will be displayed in the stores this Fall. It's amazing to me to see them make their way into beautiful boutique shops and then peoples homes. Like when a record came out, you had to wait for it, you anticipated and waited for the creations and had to physically go to a record store to get it, or actually wait to hear a new song on the radio for the first time, flipping channels in the car hoping to hear it. Like the hand made process, it takes time and care to create. None of my products are mass produced. Everything is made by my hands. It's a long process, but well worth it!

warehouse songs and stories

The warehouse building I moved my production studio into last month.
I have always been drawn to industrial spaces and neighborhoods. Totally drawn to them, in awe of them, inspired by them. I was first exposed to the industrial loft world in Milwaukee in 1984. My husband's band rented a small rehearsal space in the same building where a painter occupied the entire top floor. I was young, fascinated, and totally hooked. Shortly thereafter moving to Minneapolis working in the music business, I saw my next two lofts, one belonging to a musician and one, decked out for a huge record release party for Husker Du. I also had a romance with New York, but could never really afford to live in a loft when I lived there. I loved the history the lofts of Warhol and the Velvet Underground in New York City. I rented movies to see what was shot in Soho and Tribeca, a great example was After Hours, in fact I saw it on cable just recently.

A peek inside my new space, empty- ready to be filled with life and work.
Eventually settling in Chicago after moving around alot, seeing many more lofts in desolate neighborhoods, I really wanted to live in one. Moving into a 3,000 square foot raw loft space in an industrial neighborhood in Chicago in 1988 with my soon to be husband, our rent was $750.00 a month! The single modine heater barely kept us warm and we could see our breath in the place in the winter. Our kitties would nestle themselves under the made bed to keep warm, two lumps under the covers.

Another before shot of my industrial work space- modine heater!
Outside of plumbing placement, we were free to lay the rest of that huge loft out however we wanted. I love that kind of freedom, to design a space and not have it be dictated by a series of small rooms. That building was a mix of interesting people, a graphic designer, painters, sculptors, film production folks, mostly artists, except for us! My husband was a musician but couldn't rehearse there, and I was still working in the music business, not really utilizing that much space for anything creative outside of decorating and occupying it. The creative part of my work life was undiscovered at that time, I yearned for something creative to do but didn't know what...it was yet to come.... We made some great friends in that building, and have been friends with them ever since.

Metal fire door in my space, opens to 8,000 sq feet on the other side! I nearly melted when I saw it! The open doorway leads to the recording studio....
A peek inside the recording studio, now candle shipping room!
The challenge of taking an open industrial space and fashion it, individualize it to my own specifications and tastes would be a dream come true. I love the raw industrial elements of art spaces in old factories, raw open space. The history, the metal fire doors, the pulleys and markings from the past. The old loft windows, metal stairs and creaky floors. I have a thing for numbers and love when parts of numbers can still be seen on the chipping walls.
Looking towards the recording studio.
I would love to have my production studio attached to the cement loft my husband and I live in. To be able to convert and design an entire building! It is one of my dreams, to be able to buy a building in a warehouse district and set up my production studio and live on premises. In the meantime, my new production studio is separate from my home. It's in a warehouse district, coincidentally, only blocks from the 3,000 sq. ft. loft we rented nearly 20 years ago. Nestled amongst the wholesale flower markets, creative art studios, factories, salvage one, and a sprinkling of converted warehouses that have become peoples homes {I am jealous!} I am fortunate though to have a full downtown view of Chicago from my production studio.

I also look out over factory rooftops with water towers, views of industrial bridges and the sound of the train that goes by outside my window makes me feel as though I am not in Chicago, but a small town somewhere. It makes me think of the Jim Jarmusch film Mystery Train, Joe Strummer and Elvis. It brings back memories of my road trip through the deep South to the Mississippi Delta and the crossroads. Driving the blues trail with my sister last summer as we journeyed back from the Atlanta Gift Fair where I debuted several new candle lines. We saw Robert Plant and Alison Krauss there at an outdoor concert in Chastain Park, front row center! It was a warm summer evening dampened by rain, and after Robert and Alison left the stage, a haunting version of the original gospel song "Your long journey" was playing, simply haunting. I'll never forget it while Denile and I walked up the stone steps to leave, the music ...... It rose up like the steam that was coming off the hot cement from the summer rain, what a feeling- it was so moving. I regret not bringing them candles from my Le Vieux Monde collection as a gift, {it was in part, after all, inspired by Led Zeppelin}. They were so accessible, shaking hands of fans, allowing photos, and only feet away from us. Oh well.... I listen to the cd while making candles.

Another element of raw spaces is you enter into whatever the last tenants did to it- take it or leave it, change it or don't change it. It couldn't be more suiting, being a music fanatic and having married a guitar player, that I have a recording studio in my work space. It has become my shipping and candle storage warehouse room, and I am rocking it out, slowly filling it with posters of musicians I love. The space is raw, old and crumbling-filled with history, and couldn't be better for a candle maker, to have stumbled on this raw industrial space. I am so inspired by it's industrial elements and buildings like this in warehouse districts. I will soon post some after pictures, in the meantime- here are some shots of the space and set up underway.

Tatine Candles at ABC Home New York

This morning I opened my mailbox to find photos from potter extraordinaire and sweet friend Dana, over at dbO Home. She sent shots of our hand made product paired together at the wondrous and amazing ABC Home in Manhattan. My sister and I spent 4 hours in there combing the floors in awe {we visited the dessert bar twice!}
Our products look so good paired together there, the earthy hand made quality and clean plain modern lines of the beeswax and Dana's plates together are extremely appealing to me. Visit her site to check out her amazing work, http://www.dbohome.com/ Should you find yourself in New York City, stop in ABC Home, and plan on spending several hours browsing the many floors!

Rolling Along

The Times They Are A-Changin'

Despite what they were calling in Italy, "the crisis", my company has happily grown this year, and I found myself needing a larger work space with a loading dock so I could properly receive, ship and produce orders in a more workable environment.

I am currently in the process of unpacking and setting up my new production studio. To me, a new space is a chance to start fresh. A reason to start over and do things better. I am setting up my new Mac Mini with a new accounting and invoicing program. Streamlining my production line so candle making goes even smoother, and of course, putting some personal touches on my new space. It has to reflect me! I spend many hours here and want to feel good walking in the door.
Watch this space for before and after shots of the new studio. If you need to contact Tatine-
new phone and fax numbers are;
T.312.733.0173 F. 312.256.9198
I can't wait for things to start rolling along in my new space!

Inspiring Travels

Arrived home last night from Italy, jet lagging after the 10 1/2 hour flight.
I struggled to stay awake as long as possible but couldn't fight it, I fell asleep at 6:30pm after a quick dinner with my husband, and slept through till 4:30am the next day.


I awoke refreshed however, happy and inspired, ready to forge on with new things. My head swimming with ideas for my business, inspired by my new favorite neighborhood in Rome {replacing the dirty over crowded streets swarming with tourists of the Trastavere neighborhood} called Monti. Off the beaten path of a main drag with chain stores, Monti felt Bohemian, with it's cobble stoned sunken and hilly streets, hidden away, like a secret. With beautiful vines and a quiet stillness, that stillness that can only be found in European cities I find. When birds flap their wings and you can hear the quiet echo along with everything that is going on, which often isn't much, esp. at an Italian pace of life. The tiny, tiny shops were ultra modern in merchandise and design, set against their stone walls, arched entryways and crumbling cement ceilings and walls, the oldness of Rome with a rustic modern mixture.
The contrast of the two is always really, really interesting to me, and I have come to love stores that are fairly sparse, not too sparse, but inspired and somewhat streamlined. With quality goods displayed in a simple but unique way, speaking for themselves against these fantastic backdrops. I so see how I would design my store now if I still had one. I want one just so I can design the build out! There were also several tiny antique shops that seemed to have a 60's/70's aesthetic. My husband and I used to be avid collectors of 50's furniture and I want to seek out some more again, adding a 60's piece to the mix, just one excellent ultimate piece. I am feeling design inspiration from these era's as well and the shops I saw there. They seemed to be owned by youngish entrepreneurs which was very inspiring but the neighborhood had a great mix of age ranges of locals. The shops in Monti close for lunch around 1:00pm, and re-open around 4:00pm closing around 7:00pm or so. Imagine! If I could have run my shop that way I may still be open! However, this would not fly in a big American city!
Monti drew alot of design inspiration for me, not only for tatine, but for my loft at home. I am dying to do some redecorating and remodeling at home and got so many ideas there. It's so great to get away, to step out of what you know your life to be every single day and go somewhere really different. It also brings an appreciation for what you already have, along with a revived spirit. Here are just a few snaps of Monti.


Enjoying ice cold mojitos outside in Rome. I adore fresh mint! The smell of them grinding it with the mortar and pestle is fantastic! Arriving at my sisters house on the first day was of course fantastico! She is the most amazing host, cook, entertainer and friend. We started with lunch in her back garden and pretty much stayed there all day into the evening, snacking on hors d’oeuvres, drinking champagne, the ipod cranked and the warm Italian sun. We laughed for hours and caught up on so many great subjects.I have a weak spot for certain Moroccan items and we visited a great Moroccan shop in Rome where I purchased and brought back silver rimmed tea glasses and white bowls. Clean, plain simple, modern but very old in design. So I had to snap a picture of the above tray we were taking outside to enjoy in the garden.

We also had a little fun with Molly, the dog that lives on the grounds by my sisters house. {notice her blue toenails! maybe it was the champagne!?} We had everyone wondering how and who painted her nails! We wanted to paint them red, but alas no red was to be found, so we took my nieces blue polish and went wild! She is the sweetest thing ever, I love her so much and always want to take her home on the plane with me! She has had a rough year, so I spoiled her with extra affection and attention. She lost her son, Spot, while trying to protect him in a dog fight. Stepping in, the other dog swiped Molly in the face and literally tore her eye out, blinding her in one eye. It's so awful!! She became depressed, and a little chubby as all the neighbors give her treats. She also lost her sister a few years ago, my sisters dog Lola. Her spirits seem to have lifted and she is lively and happy again. Molly came and hung out with us in the back yard just about every night and would greet us every morning and afternoon while we laze around reading or eating outside. Bits of prosciutto, pasta or fresh mozzarella would make it down from my plate to her funny little smile from the table. She likes to stretch out in the grass to cool off on warm days. I love Molly!The Spring air around my sisters house is so amazing. As the sun gets warmer you can smell the honeysuckle and jasmine growing on her grounds. I will def. be doing some scent blending adding green notes and essential oils to try and capture this memory.Below is the view as we lunched in a tiny hilltop town where it seems like time stood totally still. We sat in the small Piazza drinking coffee people watching. Some have never left this town or even ventured outside it's crumbling ancient walls. We had the most amazing fresh pasta here that I will try and make tonight. Hand made ultra thin fresh pasta with pecorino, pancetta and that tiny thin fresh asparagus. I can't stop thinking about it!Seaside lunch spot, after having massages on the beach. "C'mon it's such a joy, C'mon it's such a joy!"
What a great trip this was and an amazing time spent with my sister. So many inspirations arose and it will be so great to see them unfold, in some way, over time. Such great memories. I hate saying goodbye to my sister......................{and Molly!} It never gets easier.

Ticket To Ride

Tomorrow I leave for Italy, to visit my best friend and sister Denile! I go not as a tourist {as I have been to Italy a few times} but to relax, eat amazing fresh foods, drink the local wine, and walk the cobbled streets of Trastevere. I look forward to checking out the shops and amazing architecture, walking inside ancient cathedrals, sitting outside at the cafes, lolling around my sisters house and back garden, gazing at the sheep we can see in the fields behind her house, laughing, laughing, laughing, and catching up on some peace and stillness! It has been 2 years since I took a proper vacation. I did go to London, basically the second I locked the doors of my store for the last time, walking away- what freedom. I hadn't spent a birthday with my sister in nearly 20 years, so we met there to celebrate hers, what a trip that was!! I had no obligation to be in my shop 70 hours a week, I was taking some time to do something I love outside of work. I could take off on a trip without worrying about my store. Taking a few weeks off between transitioning from candle maker and shop owner, to just candle maker. While it may sound like I live a jet setting lifestyle, far from it. Most of my time is spent working, month after month melts into year after year with little or no salary, reinvesting any income back into my company. Everything goes into keeping the dream of my business alive. So every couple years I take the opportunity, should it arise, to take a trip. Since closing my shop, it has taken another 2 stressful, worrisome years to rebuild what I thought was my established 7 year old company tatine. Owning your own company is always full of surprises, both welcome, and unwelcome, but it brings experience regardless how hard the lessons. Trying to rebuild my business took every waking second, every ounce of energy. It brought on sleepless nights, took every single penny I had to recreate, refresh and move my products toward greener pastures.

It paid off, and before I knew it I found myself working 12 to 14 hour days for the last 4 months of the year to fill orders. To date, I have had two days off this year, {and one half day, to leave my studio and crawl under the covers with my cat Lester to nurse the meltdown I was having!}

Owning a creative business is full of absolute joy, especially when your creations are well received. But it takes stamina, determination, sacrifices, an open mind, drive and focus. It's amazing to be my own boss and I wouldn't trade it, it's been 9 years since I was out in the work force, and I prefer not to return to it. I wouldn't trade the fact that I have to work 60 to 70 hour weeks most of the time {even though I still may complain about that} to go back and work for someone else. After clocking all these intense hours however, I thought it time to take an unpaid vacation and go hang with my sister in Rome, before I went totally nuts working! While I get to rule my own time, owning your own business comes without health benefits, paid vacations and sick days, or a 401k, and it's up to me to make sure the jobs get done, sick or not! Still, I really like being the gatekeeper. A perk is taking a lovely trip after a job well done and earned without having to ask anyone for vacation time.

I seek out new inspiration to come home with, a revived spirit and soul, along with resting my swollen arthritic hands from tying thousands and thousands of wicks over these last months. I intend to use them mainly to lift a glass and fork to my mouth!

I mostly cannot wait to be at Deniles house. We started the rock and roll book club {to date, we are the only members} but we catch up on the business of music which we cannot live without and have a blast discussing. Being with her is like therapy for me because we spend all of our time together laughing! Upon arrival we sit in her kitchen at the long wooden table, I struggle to stay awake in my jet lagged glaze and she serves me my Italian favorites, Mozzarella di Bufala, crusty Italian bread, the most unbelievable tomatoes in olive oil with sea salt and cracked pepper, and a cold glass of blood orange juice. The thought and anticipation carries me through that long hideous flight. Along with seeing Denile at the airport after not seeing her for many months. We will journey down by the seaside one afternoon for lunch, only 20 minutes from her house, to watch the boats go sailin' Can the people hear, What the little fish are sayin'.........
Sitting on the plane for the 9 1/2 hour journey will be the most rest and sitting still doing nothing I have had in ages. Unfortunately, I don't like to fly, I love to travel but not to fly. I can't look at the animated screen on the seat back of where are in our journey, or at least I try not to until we are back over land. I feel incredibly anxious while over the ocean and begin to unwind once we have crossed it and are at least over France or Spain, depending upon the particular airlines flight pattern.
No, this won't be me---sigh, I'm in coach, aisle seat of course, with my Hollywood gossip mags, my ipod, the most recent copy of Living ETC. and the new issue of MoJo that has a story on John + Yoko Uncovered. This should provide ample entertainment until the movie comes on and I'm eating the dinner I bring on board myself, sipping some wine from a plastic cup waiting and hoping to fall asleep and wake up happily descending over Italy....I wish it went this way, I must be dreaming.......

Here are some of the shots I took on my last trip to Italy 3 years ago, {I have a bit of a fascination with shop windows} this is what awaits me...what I have been dreaming of, It makes the long stretches of time in between and hard work all worth it. I can't wait for my first cappuccino at a tabac, and lucky me, I have the best tour guide, I get to see the real Rome as my sister has lived there for soooo long and happens to have a masters in art history, so the education is excellent, and filled with laughter. Perfecto!
Ciao!

tatine production studio shots

I Haven't had much time to write a cohesive post about anything really, since the New York Gift show in January, {which is a good thing, despite the economy} I am really busy!! I have been working the last three months without a day off, some 12 hour days, not including doing the show itself, I have worked almost 14 weeks straight this year. I am up to my elbows in beeswax candle making,{my hands are sore!} packing and shipping orders to stores and creating + developing new products for the next show in New York.
Haven't had much of a personal life in months, little or no social life, no sleep, no exercise, no cooking or cleaning my loft, no having friends over, renting dvd's, downloading music, making new playlists for my pod, reading the new Zeppelin and Beatles books sitting on my night stand, surfing the web for fun, getting a haircut even {which I finally did! I was scruffy!} or keeping in touch with friends and family.

Here is where I have been and what I have been up to for the past 14 weeks. Living in my production studio basically, which overlooks bustling Milwaukee Avenue, the six corners. It's been hard some evenings looking out my windows watching everyone going out to dinner, or like today, watching everyone out strolling, shopping + brunching on a sunny Saturday afternoon. It's all worth it though, and soon come, I will have some days off to spend planting flowers on my deck at home. It will be great to sit down to dinner with my husband, at a table, instead of eating a slice of pizza at midnight in front of the tv! Looking up new recipes in bon appetit to cook for friends, and happily and joyously, lighting one of my own candles on the dinner table! {Hopefully my friends remember me and will still come over!}

Here I am, pouring beeswax candles.



A sea of Bistro Cubes and beeswax tapers waiting to be tucked into their parcels and shipped to stores.

Late evening shot of the studio.