Autumn Roots

It's here. It's finally here, and everyone is talking about it. All my basic witches are out there sippin' on PSL's and breakin' in new black boots. It rained last week, and it was the talk of the town. My feeds are full of posts about changing leaves, carving pumpkins and sweater weather. I already dug out my moody accessories.
Autumn is here.

Okay, so its still 75 degrees outside, and I'm still walking around in shorts most days, but hey, it's officially October, and even in this California heat, that means it's Fall. Most years I get that itch. You know, the one that keeps up at night, gnawing away at you until you finally just GIVE IN and put out the Halloween decorations. Most years I make it until around the middle of September, just after Adams birthday. He likes to pretend his birthday is in the Fall, but we both know that September 15th is still Summer, so over the years we've come to the agreement that his birthday represents the end of Summer, and we usually spend it on one last camping trip for the season. This year we mixed it up a little, and spent the weekend with friends at his family cabin in South Lake Tahoe. We had great cocktails at the top of the world, collected wild sage for the shop, and ate more than a few wonderful homemade meals. We left with full hearts (and bellies), and made our way down the mountain, just as the leaves on the aspens were beginning to change.

Taking long drives through the mountains is a big part of our relationship. It's something we've always done, but especially this time of year. I love watching the scenery change as we cruise long, and Adam just loves cruising. We make pretty frequent stops along the way to "collect nature" as we call it, and usually end up heading home a few hours later with the truck bed full of pinecones, twigs, and the occasional animal carcass. I'm not one to decorate with brightly colored store bought items. Each season our home is filled with natural items that bring the feel of the woods into our space. As we make our way into harvest season, we're utterly surrounded by dried plants, natural crystals, seasonal fruits, and animal bones, to represent the end of the beginning.

Growing up in the small hilltop town where my family lived, fall was always the best time of year. Spring and Summer were always great, but the property was always overgrown and difficult to navigate through. During the Fall however, the shrubs and tall grasses would begin to thin, and after the first rain it was like living in an entirely new land. You could see the entire stretch of property, and walk around freely, collecting bits and pieces of nature from the passed year. We always found dried California everlasting, quartz crystals, and bits of deer skeleton, thanks to our large mountain lion population, and so my love of the macabre began. Back then it would have been difficult for me to display my prizes, for fear of disgusting my poor grandparents, but these days you'll often find these dead things carefully placed around my home, especially during this, the spookiest, time of year.

I like to keep things relatively traditional. We buy seasonally scented candles, carve pumpkins, and eat more than our fair share of pie this time of year. But I mean keeping things traditional on a deeper level. Harvest season is about being thankful for what the earth gives us, and surrounding ourselves in the bounty. Keeping animal bones in our home isn't about being creepy (although it helps.) it's about appreciating the beauty of death, the end of life's cycle, which brings us new beginnings. It's easy to create a warm, earthy atmosphere when you bring just a little bit of the outdoors, indoors.  This year I decided to wrap up a few cinnamon sticks, a turkey feather, and dried grass into a group with my beloved selenite piece. It's not for smudging, simply for enjoying, and bringing a little nature into our home in a beautiful, fragrant little bundle.

I want to surround myself with all of the things that make up the month of October, so I carefully selected colors for my Autumn line from items I found in nature this year. If you're wondering what the title of this post is referring too, it's simply my deep rooted love for all the things Autumn brings us. All the browns and faded oranges of the season, mixed with black and cream, these are the colors I fill my home with, even in the spring. I've been working with a lot of brighter colors this year, and I even started The Hammered Spoon with a handful of rainbow colored DreamCatchers, but I've decided to return to my roots, and focus on things that some might consider a little less pretty. Some of my regular followers have already noticed the changes to the shop, and the feedback has been pretty great, so I'm feeling good about my decision.

As for things that won't be changing, I will always work with Quartz Crystals. I'm pretty sure that my DreamCatchers will always feature them as the center stone, unless I use a bone in its place. Now that I'm working exclusively with earth tones, these beauties are really standing out. Many of the crystals I use are found in areas with red clay, and often contain inclusions that match the soft, natural yarns. It's almost like it was meant to be. I started with four DreamCatchers for the season, each one has a raw, glittering Quartz center, and it's going to be genuinely difficult for me to part with them. I love every piece that I make, but now that I've made this collection I know I'm on the right path, because each one represents a small piece of myself. If you're interested in checking these witchy ladies out, here's where to click: Hocus Pocus

Now, It isn't just natural items that I feel my space with. Another very serious habit I have is thrifting for vintage décor. I'll buy anything made out of monkey wood, you better believe it. Recently I found myself a little over loaded with thrifted items, mainly because we're thrifting quite a bit more than usual for the wedding, but also because I can't pass up a beautiful deal. So, with that being said, I'm FINALLY able to announce that this November, The Hammered Spoon will no longer feature handmade pieces exclusively, but will also be home to a carefully selected collection of vintage Items! You'll find ceramic mugs and vases, candle holders, and more monkey wood than my little black heart can stand. 

I've been collecting these items for years, and I'm so excited to share a few pieces with you. My favorite finds include a few sets of ceramic hotels coffee cup sets, and a pair of wooden wine goblets that I've been swooning over since the day I set eyes on them. I'll be slowly adding these items to the shop as the season goes on, along with a few new handmade pieces.

It feels really good (and a little scary) to be making a change this early on in my small business venture. I've been thinking about it for a while, and now I'm really excited to see where it takes me. This year we've made a lot of big moves. Adam and I both started on new career paths, I started a small business, we got engaged, and we're currently looking for our first home to buy. This has been a year of movement and change, and I can't think of a better time of year to represent those two things. As the leaves continue to change, and we grow closer to the end of the year, I hope to continue along the path of change with constant motion.

I hope you're all as excited about the changes as I am, I can't wait to see what you all think when it's all said and done. Next month I'll be sharing a handful of the selected vintage items that will be added to the shop, as well as a few of our engagement photos, and an amazing Pumpkin Pie recipe! There are some seriously great things in the works over here, so I hope to have you all back again.  Wherever the season takes you, I wish you all a happy and bountiful harvest, whether it be a harvest of experiences, personal growth, new friendships, or actual pumpkins. Thank you so much for visiting The Hammered Spoon today, and as always, a double Thank You for shopping small, and spreading the love.

-Marie