Notice anything new on our website?
Hot off the press, new photography by the ever talented, Natalie Puls.
Browse around and enjoy –– every week there's something new,
Jacq
FOUND's Pastime Blog
What we do when we’re not at the shop.
Notice anything new on our website?
Hot off the press, new photography by the ever talented, Natalie Puls.
Browse around and enjoy –– every week there's something new,
Jacq
This batch –– this batch will be very, very hard to part with. We are in love, and our studio smells of it.
In preparation for a booth space at The Wilds this coming weekend for a Baby Bazaar, we are pouring new candle lights from recent glassware finds around the state of Oregon.
Browse the images above, and if you can't wait and need to claim one now, well, we'll understand. Email us! hello@jacquelineand.co
We were invited to join some talented ladies at The Wilds Bohemian Bazaar this last weekend and so we hammered out a few mantra coins.
With twenty-four frames and a developing process –– patience comes with the territory. Film photography slows us down, encourages us to intentionally frame each shot ––several times––before committing to an exposure.
On our newly launched Film page, we're showing a few images we've captured in the Pacific Northwest (Oregon, Idaho, Washington, British Columbia) and Hawaii. Above, a highly contrasted black and white film shot of moving water in the mid-day heat.
If you're interested in ordering prints or hosting an exhibition please contact us.
Another stunning image by Oregon-based photographer, Tyler Roemer, surfaced into my modeling portfolio this weekend. After dating Tyler for over three years now, it's essentially his portfolio of images from our travels with me in the mix somehow ––either prominently featured or second to an epic backdrop–– which is his signature style (epic landscape with a tiny athlete up-side-down).
This time, the token shot came from our backyard without even planning it. No mood boards, art directors or travel itineraries. A relaxing lakeside Sunday with friends, puppies, snacks and infinite blue skies turned into an experimental underwater photo shoot. (Perhaps a little planning went into it: underwater housing, camera, SUP boards, a wetsuit and of course SPF.)
It may be serendipitous that he likes to shoot and I like to smile, but it's taken years to embrace the constant presence of a camera, and doing things ––like diving, jumping, running up and down a beach, take hiking boots off, then on, then off–– over and over and over... Until you see the results. Until you're aware of your own strengths. Until you get a taste for where it can take you and that you're outside with your best friend.
Looking for an outdoor, athletic female model for an upcoming photo shoot? Let's chat. I know a talented photographer too.
Maybe you've noticed this already, but we're romantics.
Quality time (QT) with loved ones is important to us. So is saving money for the experiences that bring us joy (not things). What if we tried to merge the two –– QT time with loved ones and experiences that bring us joy –– more frequently? Not just on the weekends, or one vacation a year. What if QT wasn't repetitive, meal preparation became interactive and educational, and you saved money in the process so you can work less?
This is what romantics over here are dubbing "A Costco Approach" to life. The bulk, money-saving business that Costco offers us started the idea. Our friends who have lush veggie gardens, raise cows, have chickens, pick seasonal berries in mass quantities, pickle their own veggies, make beauty products, and who have their own honeybees inspired the rest.
First, you have to have a passion for one of the above: homemade food, pickling, gardening, making beer – anything that you're interested in doing yourself. Now, the Costco approach is bringing in bulk or wholesale pricing to save money on supplies and inviting your friends to join is the fun but also educational factor.
The point of all this is to work less, do more of what you love, save money and be creative with friends. We want to inspire you to brainstorm projects with friends –– not just trips, meals, exercising and celebrations. True interactions that benefit everyone, maybe even the planet –– and commit to making them happen this summer.
The point of all this is to work less, do more of what you love, save money and be creative with friends.
Interested in beer? Brew your own and collaborate with a friend. Interested in eating healthy? Make a shopping list with a friend and go to Costco and split the bill on organic products like big bags of organic brown rice, black beans, lemons, and cage-free eggs. Or maybe you've always wanted to make jam and you want to learn the process from harvest to canning; do it with another person!
This is dating on steroids. This is serious QT with loved ones that will get you outside of your box, into your community and deepen existing relationships. Who knows where your projects could take you. For us, they brought us Jem. Learn more about the three Co-Founders of Jem. All it takes is an idea and interest.
by Jacqueline Smith
This is not a solicited book review. That would be cool. But rather, it's just a girl that loves eating –– expressing her girl-crush on another that loves food maybe even more than her. Ergo, Padma Lakshmi's memoir Love, Loss, and What We Ate.
This book went cover-to-cover overnight. Like having a girlfriend in town, catching up on the last 40+ years in a single evening over wine and lots of sweet and salty snacks. Only, I was on a backpacking trek in The Enchantments around Leavenworth, Washington and in the silent downtime I gobbled up her words like the dried calorie dense meals I rehydrated –– impatiently waiting to devour them after hiking vertical miles into the Alpine Lakes Wilderness.
If you're good with your kitchen emulating exotic, potent, intense aromas of Indian spices for days following then life is about to get better. Make this chutney.
Padma includes recipes ––much tastier than dehydrated meals–– but just a select few. One I would 100% include in my own book ––have I ever the opportunity to do so–– Egg in The Hole. Hands down the best breakfast meals anyone could ever place in front of me, especially when I'm in need of extra love and affection (with truffle salt and ground black pepper, please). She hooked me with that one. It's nothing fancy, elaborate or exotic. It's a plate you'd find in your own humble childhood.
Another recipe in Chapter 3 caught my eye enough to give it a try and as a result, share a few words myself under a blog dubbed, "Sauces That Make Life Better." You could say it turned out well. If you're good with your kitchen emulating exotic, potent, intense aromas of Indian spices for days following then you're life is about to get better. Make this chutney.
(I added fresh mint from the garden because I couldn't find curry leaves in town, ––PADMA, us Oregonians perceive "curry leaves" as a great white whale!!–– olive oil vs. canola oil, and coconut sugar vs. brown sugar.)
Kumquat and Ginger Chutney
Serves: 8 to 10
2½ pounds fresh kumquats quartered and pitted
2 tbsp. kosher salt
½ cup canola oil
1 tsp. fennel seeds
1 dozen fresh medium curry leaves, torn into small pieces
3 tbsp. minced fresh garlic
8 small green Serrano chilies, chopped or sliced in half lengthwise
6 whole fresh Kaffir lime leaves
½ tsp. sambar or Madras curry powder
½ cup water, plus more if needed
2 tbsp. light brown sugar
1. In a large bowl, mix the kumquats with the kosher salt. Let them rest for 2 to 3 hours, or overnight in the fridge, if possible.
2. Heat the oil in a deep pan for a few minutes on medium heat. Add the fennel seeds. When they size and darken slightly, after about 2 to 3 minutes, add the curry leaves, ginger, and chilies, frying and stirring for just a minute or two. Then add the kaffir lime leaves and kumquats. Stir well. After 5 minutes add the curry powder and stir again.
3. After 5 minutes more, stir in the water and sugar.
4. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook covered for 10 minutes; stirring intermittently to ensure the chutney does not stick to the bottom of the pan. If this happens, stir in more water, ¼ cup at a time, but the mixture should remain thick and gooey. Cook until the chutney has a chunky jam-like consistency.
by Jacqueline Smith
Recently, an LA Times article, "10-Point Plan to Live Forever" interviewing Kauai, Hawaii-based professional surfer, Laird Hamilton caught my eye. For those of us that follow him, Laird, we'd probably assume we already know the main takeaway is probably about treating your body like a truck (he can eat a Big Mac and not get sick!) like most press on him. But then, number two –– it's not your typical re-posted old article, new headline –– it's simple but insightful mixed with Laird's known blunt commentary.
Given that my home is sunny Bend, Oregon at the base of the Cascade Mountain Range, I know a thing or, rather, an athlete or two. Surrounded by physical talent and the mountainous lifestyle to achieve it –– their devotion is undeniable, and success measurable. Laird may not be in the desert, but his message still hits home.
So Laird offers these 10 life hacks but one strikes me more than others. It's about priorities –– number two on the list: Take Care of Everyday Priorities.
"The stuff you do every day — your sheets and towels, the food you put in your body — these are your priorities. Not a fancy car or fancy clothes or fancy watches." -Laird Hamilton
I say this all the time! I journal about priorities and how to make thoughtful decisions via boundaries all the time! No matter what your goals may be –– to run a 5K, to make 5K a month, to be a better listener, to spend more time with family –– my life experience has guaranteed me that achieving any goal is much easier if your "everyday stuff" gets done first thing, every day. This, of course, includes good rest on those fresh sheets. Learn how to sleep better.
So if all else fails, you'll at least have your routine, your health, a fridge stocked with organic produce, a made bed, and a home over your head.
Cheers to checking off that prioritized to-do list.
by Jacqueline Smith
You unplug your router every night? Yes.
If you're not doing it, and you think it's a little neurotic ––you have no idea–– place a houseplant by your router and watch that poor thing decay.
Disconnecting from the real world and the digital world by getting adequate rest and connecting with our persons face-to-face is becoming a talent. Having the discipline to read a printed book, enjoy a full meal with phones away, relax without Netflix, run without headphones –– these simple acts without electronics are becoming rare. Especially with the constant buzz and alerts of texts, emails, shares, tags, comments, et cetera, et cetera.
One. I've taken the time to declutter my phone –– how it supports me each day by cleaning up one thing: notifications. Guess what? There will always be new emails. Always. So why have that pesky little number alerting you of what you have yet to read and respond to? I've done away with badge app notifications, notification center alerts, and more importantly the lock screen notifications that stack up faster and faster like a losing Tetris game. Another must-read detailing the importance of "Rebooting Your Phone Mindfulness" by Tristan Harris that offers detail and instruction on why and how to declutter your phone this spring. Do it!
Two. What's better than being in your space and having a sense of calm come over you without interruption? Try no electronics and wifi off by 8:30pm. Make a list for tomorrow, fold your laundry, read a book to yourself or aloud to loved ones, debrief the day over sleepy tea (and focus on the positives), stretch out for an hour, have a hot bath with Epsom salts, meditate, doodle, color, make love, tell fiction bedtime stories –– the possibilities are so creatively endless.
Three. I know I said two changes, but this one is a freebie. Go to bed earlier! With the wifi off at 8:30pm, you'll be relaxed within the hour and entering dreamland before you know it. Soak it up, wake up earlier, and show up on time the next day.
Two changes to my routine have helped simplified my personal time at home to be more mindful and helped lessen the false belief that "I'm so busy" all the time. Imagine answering that too common question of, "How are you?" with a new line other than, "Busy! You?" (This is another topic, but a great read from The New York Times, "The Busy Trap.")
At the very least, keep your bedroom an electronic-free zone for one week and tell me if you've ever slept better. This means no phones too! Set your alarm, turn airplane mode on, and leave it in the kitchen. It will be there when you wake up. Promise.
Thankfully, we have juniper berries all over Central Oregon.
They create the earthy smell of our hot summer air, the look of abundance on short trees that are otherwise lonesome and mistletoe ridden. These blue powder dusted babies are all ours –– covering our trails, fields, yards, and badlands –– but luckily, we like to share. Beyond the smell, the look, the taste, the Gin –– these juniper tree cones have special qualities.
Juniper berries are a known antiseptic, help cure acne, decrease inflammation, and tone muscles, tissues, skin and other body systems. We know you're not shopping here to rub juniper berries all over yourself, and make your own tinctures at home (even though you can!) –– but here are a few ways our past customers have used their Sachets of Juniper Berries.
These sweet handfuls make aromatic tokens, wood stove kettle additions, gift toppers (functional bow replacements), or ground up like peppercorn spice to season fish. Mmmmm, Blackened Juniper Salmon.
by Jacqueline Smith
These were my Grandmother Lee Smith's –– know as "Granny Smith" like the apples or "Grandcracker Smith" she hated that one–– copper flower print plates. When I was little, I had no clue how cool they were. But today, I adore them ––even the ink stains, dents, and old cedar wood backs.
I feel really fortunate to have my Grandma's beautiful things in my home. My dad generously said I could have whatever I wanted of hers years ago, and I don't think I knew how important his selflessness was, until recently losing a close friend. Having something beautiful in your space, that reminds you of loved ones, makes a home, a home.
From what I remember, she wasn't an artist –– in the traditional sense of the word. In her own collecting way, though, she was. Her bright Walnut Creek, California living room had so many african violet flowers of all colors –– deep purple, blues, pinks–– always healthy, happy illuminated fuzzy green leaves at the base of her windows. She had dozens if not hundreds of bells in a glass hutch. Ceramic, glass, wooden bells–– all being collected because they were beautiful. And kitchen utensils! All with the same orange, green, and white floral patterns.
Today, our Shoppe is full of beautiful things we get really excited to share with others, but some things –– some of our collections –– are not for sale, including this priceless family heirloom: Copper Floral Print Plates.
by Jacqueline Smith
What do you do when you travel?
When I travel, I try not to do too much.
Everyday I know I want to sweat outside, eat a lot of delicious food, spend the least amount of money possible, see beautiful things, and try something new. So, that's already a lot of moments, but in-between the "to-do list" I want to be where I am, and soak it all up quietly with a smile.
While in Kauai, I was doing just that on the eastern tip of the crescent-shaped, and most stunningly beautiful, Hanalei Bay. In the sun, reading, surfing, eating, napping, swimming, running –– I can spend all day on the beach and be totally satisfied there –– I noticed all these teeny, tiny shells and starting to think, "what can I do with these beauties?"
That's where this Found Natural Goods product comes into play: Hanalei Bay Shell Earrings –– imperfect, asymmetrical, smoothed by the ocean herself.
by Jacqueline Smith
I always knew I would travel. I had no idea I would have touched Asia before Europe* — specifically, Italy and France. I've always imagined myself indulging in Neapolitan pizza and red wine on the cobblestone streets of Italy, or swimming in the Mediterranean Sea after climbing the French Alps — all way before eating fresh ¥100 sushi, skiing in #japow, or learning (attempting) the Korean language.
Recently, I'm home from a trip to both South Korea and Japan where good food and a well-presented style appeared to be highly valued (along with hiking, education, tradition, and strong work + study ethics). I think the obvious perks of international travel are just that: seeing the world, and being grateful for the opportunity to do so.
For me, over time, the benefits of travel have become seeing how small and special my tiny world is, to me. Meeting people en route, discovering lovely trinkets, eating delicious food, and being immersed in a culture I knew absolutely nothing about prior — they're high up there too, especially the food.
After Asia, I've come to really value my home, my health, my family, and the greater discovery of a solid inner confidence that I am doing what makes me happy. That's been my biggest perk of traveling — realizing, that after it's all done, it really all is just geography and no matter where you go, there you are.
"...and at the end of all our exploring will be to arrive where we started and to know the place for the first time.” -T.S. Eliot
#
*Technically, Iceland is Europe –– apart of the Scandinavian countries: Norway, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. With it being so far away from Europe proper, and not sharing land borders, it felt more isolated, not border-hoping-easy as I hear it is in Europe.
A couple years back, Found Natural Goods Founder, Jacqueline Smith, was lucky enough to be apart of JUJU App.
A gallery of her film photos taken a while back were placed in the app, JUJU, to be mashed-up with other artist works.
Jacqueline Smith’s photographs call to us from a different time – a time of saturation and Kodachrome and framing up little vignettes in the morning sun that we wish would linger all day.
Have a look at JUJU!
We are busy elves wrapping greek leather on our heavy, hand-lettered 2" diameter brass Mantra Coins.
We call them Mantra Coins because you send us your personal mantra (1 - 3 words) and we hammer it into these brass coins –– to carry with you daily as a reminder, and make your keys look like art.
Examples: let it be, breathe, dream bigger dreams, YOLO, initials, et cetera.
Pictured above: bae, dope, xx, heal, yoga.
by Jacqueline Smith
Most of the time when traveling, I'm inspired by new surroundings and details. I'll take a few (film) shots with a calm sense of peace and walk away with a decent reel. On a recent trip to South Korea and Japan ––my first trip to Asia–– I now realized I was over-stimulated by everything being foreign. I was urgently taking more photos than normal, without thinking or framing –– when will I ever be back here again?
My photos from that trip were different, busy, some even blurry. Korea and Japan were both really interesting cultures, full of delicious meals, rad vertical hikes, and skiing with great friends! But my photos, I felt pretty disconnected from and eventually started writing instead to document the experience.
So feeling punk about the photos I walked away with from Asia, I decided to take a few select film photos from past trips and I began to see a pattern: lots of space, negative space. And so, here, I'm playing with that space graphically. It was a successful hours use of Adobe Photoshop for something other than client work that's simple, playful, a fun addition to this photo set, and this one too.
"Horizon Lines" clockwise: Santa Barbara Palm, Hoodoo Ski Lift Horizon, West Fjords Iceland Horizon, Oregons' Desert Elevated, Big Surs Infinite Sun Set, Glacier National Park On Fire.
by Jacqueline Smith
My most recent pastime was spent on the dragon-shaped island(s) of Japan — mainly north-west of Tokyo in the Nagano Prefecture, near and around Matsumoto, Norikura, and Shiga Kogen. In between skiing the endlessly connected Japanese Alps, soaking in steaming onsens, and repeating a limited vocabulary — Konichiwa, arigato, hai, dozo dozo, ushi, and of course, kanpai! — at our usually empty after 8pm dining hall. A few rainy days led my friends and I into the city of Matsumoto in search of sushi, sake, shopping, and tourist stuff.
Randomly, we found the tiniest seemingly historic block full of antique stores. Filled to the ceilings with wood block prints, swords, vintage maps, sculptural art, street-food sweets (waffle-like breading, poured into a fish-shaped metal mold, then filled with warm, red monk bean paste), and endless milky matcha green teas to keep us warm walking between shops.
In one small shop, pictured above, we found two Japanese gems we couldn’t come home without including a stamped silver tea box and a wire cage lamp. A perfect fit for our Found Natural Goods Shoppe.
The Silver Tea Box is made up of three beautiful parts and functions to store either tea bags or loose leaf teas (green tea would be highly appropriate). There is no stamp or date — but it is silver, gorgeous, heavy, and will last forever.
The Blooming Wire Desk Light is really just too cool. It’s stamped with “Made in Japan” and could be hung as a pendant or placed on a desk with the low wattage tubular Edison bulb for atmosphere, shown above.
Many other Japanese tokens came home, including new friends, strengthened immune systems (for serious –– has anyone gone to Asia and not been sick?), and the desire to see Japan in another season. The beginning of plum blossoms, and quick glances at Mt. Fuji through the clouds –– we must get back and bring lots of cough drops.