So, How Was Your Day? Breakfast: A coffee. Cherry Chobani. Lunch: Shared chicken Caesar and chicken fingers. Bloody Mary. Dinner: Buffet! Morning ➛ I am headed to Boca Raton, Florida for our sales conference. Last night, I spent some time packing and did a little fashion show, fussing over this shirt with this tie and these pants with those shoes. Sales Conference is where I present the books I’m publishing to our sales force in a freezing cold conference room that is decorated like a prom hall. Today, I woke up early to do some final things. The son of a very clean Italian mother, I decided I could get a jump on my spring cleaning by stripping the bed of all the sheets, comforter, duvet, and mattress cover and have them laundered while I’m in Florida. I walked to the dry cleaner and dropped everything off and headed to Duane Reade (one of my favorite stores: candles, deodorant cleaning supplies, cards…and produce!) for some last minute travel items. Showered. Drank a coffee and had a cherry Chobani. Hopped in a car with my friend Ken and headed to JFK, where we had Bloody Mary’s, chicken fingers and a Caesar salad. We then met up with our friend Jen and she and I raided Cibo, as is our tradition before work excursions. Lots of nuts and gummy products for our rooms. And these terrible, chalky fruit candies that are in the shape of Pac-Man fruits, bright bananas and oranges and lemons. They are disgusting, delicious, and oddly entertaining at once. Noon ➛ I am on a JetBlue flight, which is pretty empty. Listening to my girl Tori Amos and have my TV set on Bravo just in case the Beverly Hills Housewives reunion (part 2) comes on. My DVR freaked last night, and I missed it. Which saddens me more than I should admit. So now I’m grazing on snacks and doing absolutely no work work. This always happens to me. I love the quiet moment of flying and I love to have my headphones on and just zone out. I have a ton to read, including the thesis work of an NYU student whose defense panel I will sit on in about 6 weeks (this is my first time doing, so and I am dorkily excited). But instead, I write and tell you about my day. I have a very fantastic author coming to Boca Raton to speak to the sales force on Friday, and I should be thinking of how she should be introduced. It’s Giada De Laurentiis, and she’s writing this amazingly sweet chapter book series. She’s seriously awesome and I am definitely falling in love with her. She knows this. I drank too much white wine once over a lunch at Doug’s restaurant and told her as much. Blue Terra Chips just arrived. Time to snack and pray for housewives. Night ➛ I am at the hotel, a pink and white thing that is really sort of over-the-top in that way that Florida does so well. I have re-showered, put on some new duds, and headed out to the Penguin family dinner, which will be full of many buffet choices — shrimp and steak and little canapé thingies and what’s that by the melting ice sculpture? About one million desserts. Lots of varying-stages of sunburned publishing people will eat and drink wine that is good but not that good. And I will merrily join them, buttering up rolls — and them — so they will have no choice but to love my presentations in the morning. Three Last Things… 1. What’s up with the most enthusiastic photo in the history of this site? Aw! Really? I was in a hotel with a very good friend, working on a project, and he is a great photographer (thanks, Scott!). And we got into this thing of wanting to see if we could get my iced coffee (which you can’t see in the shot I ultimately chose) to be in the picture, right at the edge. And we were laughing at how ridiculous this task was. 2. You have two children’s book series under your belt and, as a publisher at Penguin, you’ve focused on creating an affordable book program for kids. Pretty inspiring. Where did this passion for books and education start? Thank you. That’s very nice of you to say. The truth? I hated reading as a kid. Hated hated hated. But my parents are avid readers, and they always found a way to get me to read something I liked. Choose Your Own Adventures were key — because they didn’t feel daunting. You didn’t have to read straight through from page 1 to the end. You hopped all over. I devoured the book, like candy. And that has been my goal as a writer and publisher: to give kids books that they really want to read. That are, well, delicious. That make them laugh and make them happy and feel accomplished. We even play with font sizes and margins in my group so books bulk thicker and feel like even more of an accomplishment when they are read. But don’t tell any kids that. 3. Did you ever get to watch the Housewives reunion show? I sure did. On the AWFUL plane ride home from Boca. Which had turbulence for most of it — but not up-and-down turbulence — side-to-side. It was horrible. But I drank a wine or two and watched as the Beverly Hills Housewives went at it, while Andy Cohen, in his tight suit and snappy tie, did his best to referee. Loved every moment. Even with the twin baby boys behind me screaming and squawking the entire time. (One was actually named Francesco, so every time his mother said his name, I immediately thought someone was talking to me. It’s not every day I meet another Francesco, especially one who cries more than I do. And that’s a lot. Give me a good Pampers commercial, and the tears start.) Anyway, Lisa Vanderpump is my absolute favorite. She’s a dream come true. I want her to adopt me and push me on that flowered swing Ken made for her for their anniversary. That scene is amazing, where he presents it to her. As he pushes her on it, she’s just purring, “Dahling. Dahling.” Francesco lives in New York where he’s a children’s book author and a publisher at Penguin. He’s worked with authors from Anne Rice to Arthur Laurents, and oversaw the campaign for the final book in the Harry Potter series. francescosedita.com

So, How Was Your Day?

Breakfast:

A coffee. Cherry Chobani.


Lunch:

Shared chicken Caesar and chicken fingers. Bloody Mary.


Dinner:

Buffet!

Morning ➛

I am headed to Boca Raton, Florida for our sales conference. Last night, I spent some time packing and did a little fashion show, fussing over this shirt with this tie and these pants with those shoes. Sales Conference is where I present the books I’m publishing to our sales force in a freezing cold conference room that is decorated like a prom hall. Today, I woke up early to do some final things. The son of a very clean Italian mother, I decided I could get a jump on my spring cleaning by stripping the bed of all the sheets, comforter, duvet, and mattress cover and have them laundered while I’m in Florida. I walked to the dry cleaner and dropped everything off and headed to Duane Reade (one of my favorite stores: candles, deodorant cleaning supplies, cards…and produce!) for some last minute travel items. Showered. Drank a coffee and had a cherry Chobani. Hopped in a car with my friend Ken and headed to JFK, where we had Bloody Mary’s, chicken fingers and a Caesar salad. We then met up with our friend Jen and she and I raided Cibo, as is our tradition before work excursions. Lots of nuts and gummy products for our rooms. And these terrible, chalky fruit candies that are in the shape of Pac-Man fruits, bright bananas and oranges and lemons. They are disgusting, delicious, and oddly entertaining at once.



Noon ➛

I am on a JetBlue flight, which is pretty empty. Listening to my girl Tori Amos and have my TV set on Bravo just in case the Beverly Hills Housewives reunion (part 2) comes on. My DVR freaked last night, and I missed it. Which saddens me more than I should admit. So now I’m grazing on snacks and doing absolutely no work work. This always happens to me. I love the quiet moment of flying and I love to have my headphones on and just zone out. I have a ton to read, including the thesis work of an NYU student whose defense panel I will sit on in about 6 weeks (this is my first time doing, so and I am dorkily excited). But instead, I write and tell you about my day. I have a very fantastic author coming to Boca Raton to speak to the sales force on Friday, and I should be thinking of how she should be introduced. It’s Giada De Laurentiis, and she’s writing this amazingly sweet chapter book series. She’s seriously awesome and I am definitely falling in love with her. She knows this. I drank too much white wine once over a lunch at Doug’s restaurant and told her as much. Blue Terra Chips just arrived. Time to snack and pray for housewives.



Night ➛

I am at the hotel, a pink and white thing that is really sort of over-the-top in that way that Florida does so well. I have re-showered, put on some new duds, and headed out to the Penguin family dinner, which will be full of many buffet choices — shrimp and steak and little canapé thingies and what’s that by the melting ice sculpture? About one million desserts. Lots of varying-stages of sunburned publishing people will eat and drink wine that is good but not that good. And I will merrily join them, buttering up rolls — and them — so they will have no choice but to love my presentations in the morning.

Three Last Things…

1. What’s up with the most enthusiastic photo in the history of this site?

Aw! Really? I was in a hotel with a very good friend, working on a project, and he is a great photographer (thanks, Scott!). And we got into this thing of wanting to see if we could get my iced coffee (which you can’t see in the shot I ultimately chose) to be in the picture, right at the edge. And we were laughing at how ridiculous this task was.

2. You have two children’s book series under your belt and, as a publisher at Penguin, you’ve focused on creating an affordable book program for kids. Pretty inspiring. Where did this passion for books and education start?

Thank you. That’s very nice of you to say. The truth? I hated reading as a kid. Hated hated hated. But my parents are avid readers, and they always found a way to get me to read something I liked. Choose Your Own Adventures were key — because they didn’t feel daunting. You didn’t have to read straight through from page 1 to the end. You hopped all over. I devoured the book, like candy. And that has been my goal as a writer and publisher: to give kids books that they really want to read. That are, well, delicious. That make them laugh and make them happy and feel accomplished. We even play with font sizes and margins in my group so books bulk thicker and feel like even more of an accomplishment when they are read. But don’t tell any kids that.

3. Did you ever get to watch the Housewives reunion show?

I sure did. On the AWFUL plane ride home from Boca. Which had turbulence for most of it — but not up-and-down turbulence — side-to-side. It was horrible. But I drank a wine or two and watched as the Beverly Hills Housewives went at it, while Andy Cohen, in his tight suit and snappy tie, did his best to referee. Loved every moment. Even with the twin baby boys behind me screaming and squawking the entire time. (One was actually named Francesco, so every time his mother said his name, I immediately thought someone was talking to me. It’s not every day I meet another Francesco, especially one who cries more than I do. And that’s a lot. Give me a good Pampers commercial, and the tears start.) Anyway, Lisa Vanderpump is my absolute favorite. She’s a dream come true. I want her to adopt me and push me on that flowered swing Ken made for her for their anniversary. That scene is amazing, where he presents it to her. As he pushes her on it, she’s just purring, “Dahling. Dahling.”

Francesco lives in New York where he’s a children’s book author and a publisher at Penguin. He’s worked with authors from Anne Rice to Arthur Laurents, and oversaw the campaign for the final book in the Harry Potter series. francescosedita.com

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So, How Was Your Day? Breakfast: Cereal with hot chocolate milk. Carrot, beet & pineapple juice. Lunch: Chicken mole enchiladas. Soda water. Banana. Dinner: Spanish tortilla, with shrimp and mayo. Crusty bread. Ice cream. Morning ➛ I woke up at 9am, I like to check emails and the news with my computer in bed before I get up. I chat a little with my friend Albert and listened to some new music from his band Lenticular Clouds. I´m was also listening to the new album from The Knife. It´s a little crazy but I love it. I replied to some emails and got up. Took a shower and had breakfast with my boyfriend Paul. We talked about our trip to Chicago in early May. I´m excited because I have never been there. I went to our roof top to see what the day was like and for some fresh air. We decided go to the Brooklyn Flea. I love flea markets, they are very inspiring to me. This time I found some old Michael Jackson Stickers from the 80´s with very beautiful and rare photos. I like to collect everything to do with Michael Jackson. Noon ➛ We come back home, I was talking with my friend Jorge on the phone. He got a new job and I was very happy for him. After, I talked with my parents by Skype. They live in Santander, my hometown in Spain. Thanks to technology we are always very connected. I told them about our recent visit to Atlantic City. We had so much fun there. We were too tired to make lunch, so we decided to order some Mexican food from Cholulita, our favorite Mexican delivery in Bushwick, Brooklyn. After we ate I took a little nap. On weekends I like to rest more because during the week I´m always running. When I woke up from my nap, I went to meet my gallerist Lillan Munch at Munch Gallery. I had a solo show at the gallery last month. I missed the last opening and I really wanted to see Jacob Dahlstrup and Kristoffer Axén’s show. We talked about our future projects and laughed a lot. Lillan is so sweet and fun. Night ➛ We went to the gym for an hour. I like to watch TV, reading the subtitles and listening my music at the same time as I exercise. I would like to go more, but somedays I don´t have enough time. Walking home we bought some groceries at Mr. Kiwi, the nice bodega near our house. At home I worked a little on my new art projects, wrote new ideas and did sketches. I made Spanish tortilla, with shrimp and mayo for dinner. I especially like to cook Spanish recipes that I learned from my mom, and Paul loves it too. At the end of the day we watched some TV and fell asleep on the sofa zzzZZZ!! Three Last Things… 1. What’s up with your bedroom? Pretty calm and muted compared to your work. There are colours! But just not in the picture. 2. Your work has been shown at the most influential art centers in the world. Are you able to sit back and enjoy your success? Or are you one of those tortured artists that nothing is ever good enough? I feel very lucky for the opportunities that I’ve had, but I think that it´s just the beginning. I still have so many things to do, and a lot of dreams to make come true. There are moments when things are not easy, but we have to trust in ourselves. 3. Share a recipe you learned from your mom, please. Now that the summer is coming, I love to eat gazpacho. It´s very easy, healthy and delicious. Ingredients: 1 kilo tomatoes, 1/2 small onion, 1 small green pepper, 1 small cucumber, 1 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons of vinegar, 200 grams of day old bread (soaked in water. Then: Put the tomatoes, onion, pepper, cucumber, vinager, oil and bread into the blender. Add a glass of water to make thinner. Put the mixture into a bowl, add salt and pepper and leave the gazpacho to chill for at least an hour. Then eat. Bubi Canal is a visual artist living in New York City. His work combines photography, video, and sculpture with the recurring themes of wishes, dreams, love, and magic. Bubi’s work has been exhibited in art centers from around the world, including Centre Pompidou in Paris and La Casa Encendida in Madrid. bubicanal.com

So, How Was Your Day?

Breakfast:

Cereal with hot chocolate milk. Carrot, beet & pineapple juice.


Lunch:

Chicken mole enchiladas. Soda water. Banana.


Dinner:

Spanish tortilla, with shrimp and mayo. Crusty bread. Ice cream.

Morning ➛

I woke up at 9am, I like to check emails and the news with my computer in bed before I get up. I chat a little with my friend Albert and listened to some new music from his band Lenticular Clouds. I´m was also listening to the new album from The Knife. It´s a little crazy but I love it. I replied to some emails and got up. Took a shower and had breakfast with my boyfriend Paul. We talked about our trip to Chicago in early May. I´m excited because I have never been there. I went to our roof top to see what the day was like and for some fresh air. We decided go to the Brooklyn Flea. I love flea markets, they are very inspiring to me. This time I found some old Michael Jackson Stickers from the 80´s with very beautiful and rare photos. I like to collect everything to do with Michael Jackson.



Noon ➛

We come back home, I was talking with my friend Jorge on the phone. He got a new job and I was very happy for him. After, I talked with my parents by Skype. They live in Santander, my hometown in Spain. Thanks to technology we are always very connected. I told them about our recent visit to Atlantic City. We had so much fun there. We were too tired to make lunch, so we decided to order some Mexican food from Cholulita, our favorite Mexican delivery in Bushwick, Brooklyn. After we ate I took a little nap. On weekends I like to rest more because during the week I´m always running. When I woke up from my nap, I went to meet my gallerist Lillan Munch at Munch Gallery. I had a solo show at the gallery last month. I missed the last opening and I really wanted to see Jacob Dahlstrup and Kristoffer Axén’s show. We talked about our future projects and laughed a lot. Lillan is so sweet and fun.



Night ➛

We went to the gym for an hour. I like to watch TV, reading the subtitles and listening my music at the same time as I exercise. I would like to go more, but somedays I don´t have enough time. Walking home we bought some groceries at Mr. Kiwi, the nice bodega near our house. At home I worked a little on my new art projects, wrote new ideas and did sketches. I made Spanish tortilla, with shrimp and mayo for dinner. I especially like to cook Spanish recipes that I learned from my mom, and Paul loves it too. At the end of the day we watched some TV and fell asleep on the sofa zzzZZZ!!

Three Last Things…

1. What’s up with your bedroom? Pretty calm and muted compared to your work.

There are colours! But just not in the picture.

2. Your work has been shown at the most influential art centers in the world. Are you able to sit back and enjoy your success? Or are you one of those tortured artists that nothing is ever good enough?

I feel very lucky for the opportunities that I’ve had, but I think that it´s just the beginning. I still have so many things to do, and a lot of dreams to make come true. There are moments when things are not easy, but we have to trust in ourselves.

3. Share a recipe you learned from your mom, please.

Now that the summer is coming, I love to eat gazpacho. It´s very easy, healthy and delicious. Ingredients: 1 kilo tomatoes, 1/2 small onion, 1 small green pepper, 1 small cucumber, 1 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons of vinegar, 200 grams of day old bread (soaked in water. Then: Put the tomatoes, onion, pepper, cucumber, vinager, oil and bread into the blender. Add a glass of water to make thinner. Put the mixture into a bowl, add salt and pepper and leave the gazpacho to chill for at least an hour. Then eat.

Bubi Canal is a visual artist living in New York City. His work combines photography, video, and sculpture with the recurring themes of wishes, dreams, love, and magic. Bubi’s work has been exhibited in art centers from around the world, including Centre Pompidou in Paris and La Casa Encendida in Madrid. bubicanal.com

          6 notes

So, How Was Your Day? Breakfast: Avocado Toast. Coffee. Lunch: Ham and bean salad. Water Dinner: Benne wafers. Pimento cheese. Wine. Morning ➛ Wake up around 7 to my cat Marsha sleeping on my neck like a scarf. No yoga today, I just got a shipment in from Morocco that needs to be unpacked and repacked and shipped to some awesome shops! I realize I have no coffee so I drive to Earth Fare and pick up a bag of Intelligentsia Single Origin Rwanda beans. I love African coffees the most; they’re cleaner tasting with some subtle citrus and tartness. I get home, make a cup of coffee, eat some avocado toast and commute 15 feet to my office on the other side of the house. Sit down at my desk and decide which Pandora station is good for unpacking/packing boxes. I’m deciding between a Latino station and Malian (African) station but in the end go with Shakira. A few songs in realize there is way too much Pit Bull going on and change it to the Ali Farka Toure station. Perfect. I get down to the business of reading and answering emails for the next hour or so. I email with my producer’s in Guatemala to check on status of production and samples for a fun new project. Mañana they tell me. Mañana we will have an answer, mañana we will ship you your samples. Mañana, mañana, mañana, mañana. Fine, that’ll do I guess. Eventually get to unpacking raffia shoes from Morocco, tagging, and repackaging to send out to some of my favorite shops! Noon ➛ Get a little bored/ADD and look for plane tickets for 30-45 minutes. Need to go back to Guatemala in the next few months as well as schedule a fun trip for my birthday at the end of May. Switch up the Pandora to Sean Kingston radio. I pretend I’m on a beach dancing for a few minutes then realize that NO, that’s not the case! I’m actually working on a production spreadsheet. A girl can dream, right? I get in my C-A-R (I have a very generic car and thought it fitting to call it a C-A-R) and run some errands around downtown Charleston; post office, dry cleaners, grocery store all while listening to the Breeders and Jets to Brazil. I have crossed many musical genres today. Around 2:30 I arrive at Susan’s house. Susan is a woman I help out a few days a week with her vintage and antique textile business. She has an incredible collection of global textiles, is extremely well traveled, and an overall inspiration to be around. She is having the Textile Society of America over tonight for cocktails and a tour of her gorgeous home. Guests arrive around 5:30 and we commiserate over textiles, traveling, economic development, fashion, and crafts. My kind of evening! Night ➛ I get home around 8:30 after snacking on pimento cheese, pickled okra, benne wafers, and white wine at Susan’s so I’m not very hungry. Hang out with Marsha (my cat) for a bit. She’s deaf, albino, and precious. Sit down at my desk with a glass of red wine and answer a few important emails and revise a purchase order to send to Guatemala. Looking forward to New Girl I sit on the couch and realize it’s a rerun. Sad. Finish watching This is 40, laugh a lot, and then hit the bed around 11. Three Last Things… 1. What’s up with that blanket? It’s so good. Where is it from? It’s a Fulani blanket I found in Mali. It’s my absolute favorite textile that I own! The Fulani are a nomadic tribe found all along the Sahel region of West Africa. They are traditionally cattle herders and known for wearing amazing hats and giant gold earrings. 2. In 2008, you quit your job to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity (and later this trip became your inspiration for Proud Mary). What gave you the courage to take this risk. Did people think you were crazy? I thrive on change. Ever since studying abroad in college I have had some serious wanderlust. For a long time I thought this meant something was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I just settle down, why was I so antsy, why couldn’t I be fulfilled where I was? It’s taken me a while to realize this but nothing is or was wrong with me, it’s just how I am. So, picking up and going to South America was me doing me. There are a million different ways to “do” things and if you get that itch, you gotta scratch or it will drive you nuts! I don’t think people thought I was crazy, this was my 4th job in 4 years so seemed about right! 3. Since you travel to Guatemala so often, be our tour guide for a second and tell us the top three things we would need to eat, see, or do if we went tomorrow. Skip Guatemala City and head to Antigua for a few days. Antigua is a beautiful colonial city about 30 minutes from the capital. It’s surrounded by volcanoes and coffee plantations, has some beautiful buildings, great shopping, and food. It’s quite touristy but that’s because it’s chocked full of charm. After Antigua, head up to Lake Atitlan. The lake is surrounded by cute little villages, each with a different vibe. I usually stay on the side of Panajachel because it’s close to some of my weavers. Panajachel is a funny little place with a lot of expats. If there go to Circus Bar, an Italian (I know sounds silly) restaurant owned by a German, gypsy expat. They have great live music. Take a day trip from the lake up to Chichicastenango on Thursday or Sunday for market day. The mostly indigenous Mayans bring their handcrafts and food from all over the country bi-weekly for this giant market. Bring lots of quetzales, bargaining skills, and stamina! Harper lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her cat Marsha. She is the founder of Proud Mary, a line of modern home and personal accessories created by artisans from around the developing world. With a mission of “pride not pity”, her company’s goods are a celebration of the people and cultures that create them. proudmary.org

So, How Was Your Day?

Breakfast:

Avocado Toast. Coffee.


Lunch:

Ham and bean salad. Water


Dinner:

Benne wafers. Pimento cheese. Wine.

Morning ➛

Wake up around 7 to my cat Marsha sleeping on my neck like a scarf. No yoga today, I just got a shipment in from Morocco that needs to be unpacked and repacked and shipped to some awesome shops! I realize I have no coffee so I drive to Earth Fare and pick up a bag of Intelligentsia Single Origin Rwanda beans. I love African coffees the most; they’re cleaner tasting with some subtle citrus and tartness. I get home, make a cup of coffee, eat some avocado toast and commute 15 feet to my office on the other side of the house. Sit down at my desk and decide which Pandora station is good for unpacking/packing boxes. I’m deciding between a Latino station and Malian (African) station but in the end go with Shakira. A few songs in realize there is way too much Pit Bull going on and change it to the Ali Farka Toure station. Perfect. I get down to the business of reading and answering emails for the next hour or so. I email with my producer’s in Guatemala to check on status of production and samples for a fun new project. Mañana they tell me. Mañana we will have an answer, mañana we will ship you your samples. Mañana, mañana, mañana, mañana. Fine, that’ll do I guess. Eventually get to unpacking raffia shoes from Morocco, tagging, and repackaging to send out to some of my favorite shops!



Noon ➛

Get a little bored/ADD and look for plane tickets for 30-45 minutes. Need to go back to Guatemala in the next few months as well as schedule a fun trip for my birthday at the end of May. Switch up the Pandora to Sean Kingston radio. I pretend I’m on a beach dancing for a few minutes then realize that NO, that’s not the case! I’m actually working on a production spreadsheet. A girl can dream, right? I get in my C-A-R (I have a very generic car and thought it fitting to call it a C-A-R) and run some errands around downtown Charleston; post office, dry cleaners, grocery store all while listening to the Breeders and Jets to Brazil. I have crossed many musical genres today. Around 2:30 I arrive at Susan’s house. Susan is a woman I help out a few days a week with her vintage and antique textile business. She has an incredible collection of global textiles, is extremely well traveled, and an overall inspiration to be around. She is having the Textile Society of America over tonight for cocktails and a tour of her gorgeous home. Guests arrive around 5:30 and we commiserate over textiles, traveling, economic development, fashion, and crafts. My kind of evening!



Night ➛

I get home around 8:30 after snacking on pimento cheese, pickled okra, benne wafers, and white wine at Susan’s so I’m not very hungry. Hang out with Marsha (my cat) for a bit. She’s deaf, albino, and precious. Sit down at my desk with a glass of red wine and answer a few important emails and revise a purchase order to send to Guatemala. Looking forward to New Girl I sit on the couch and realize it’s a rerun. Sad. Finish watching This is 40, laugh a lot, and then hit the bed around 11.

Three Last Things…

1. What’s up with that blanket? It’s so good. Where is it from?

It’s a Fulani blanket I found in Mali. It’s my absolute favorite textile that I own! The Fulani are a nomadic tribe found all along the Sahel region of West Africa. They are traditionally cattle herders and known for wearing amazing hats and giant gold earrings.

2. In 2008, you quit your job to volunteer for Habitat for Humanity (and later this trip became your inspiration for Proud Mary). What gave you the courage to take this risk. Did people think you were crazy?

I thrive on change. Ever since studying abroad in college I have had some serious wanderlust. For a long time I thought this meant something was wrong with me. Why couldn’t I just settle down, why was I so antsy, why couldn’t I be fulfilled where I was? It’s taken me a while to realize this but nothing is or was wrong with me, it’s just how I am. So, picking up and going to South America was me doing me. There are a million different ways to “do” things and if you get that itch, you gotta scratch or it will drive you nuts! I don’t think people thought I was crazy, this was my 4th job in 4 years so seemed about right!

3. Since you travel to Guatemala so often, be our tour guide for a second and tell us the top three things we would need to eat, see, or do if we went tomorrow.

Skip Guatemala City and head to Antigua for a few days. Antigua is a beautiful colonial city about 30 minutes from the capital. It’s surrounded by volcanoes and coffee plantations, has some beautiful buildings, great shopping, and food. It’s quite touristy but that’s because it’s chocked full of charm. After Antigua, head up to Lake Atitlan. The lake is surrounded by cute little villages, each with a different vibe. I usually stay on the side of Panajachel because it’s close to some of my weavers. Panajachel is a funny little place with a lot of expats. If there go to Circus Bar, an Italian (I know sounds silly) restaurant owned by a German, gypsy expat. They have great live music. Take a day trip from the lake up to Chichicastenango on Thursday or Sunday for market day. The mostly indigenous Mayans bring their handcrafts and food from all over the country bi-weekly for this giant market. Bring lots of quetzales, bargaining skills, and stamina!

Harper lives in Charleston, South Carolina with her cat Marsha. She is the founder of Proud Mary, a line of modern home and personal accessories created by artisans from around the developing world. With a mission of “pride not pity”, her company’s goods are a celebration of the people and cultures that create them. proudmary.org

So, How Was Your Day? Breakfast: Oatmeal with whiskey. Iced tea. Lunch: Salad. Pizza (sausage and jalapeno!). Dinner: Shaved vegetable salad with homemade ranch dressing. Malted ice cream with almond crunch. Morning ➛ It is the weekend, so we sleep later than usual (which isn’t very late—we’re up by 8am). I make some oatmeal while cleaning up the kitchen. Bryan (my partner) is in the other room exercising. I eat at my computer while checking email and getting lost in the internet. Have you seen a slow loris? Sensitive plants are so cool! I want to go to Portugal. I also spend a good amount of time researching Neko Case, in part for fun, in part for a project I am working on. She’s a good writer. But enough with the internet! I force myself to shower and get ready for the day. As I am getting dressed, I realize my closet is a mess and decide to deal with it by pulling a bunch of clothes out and piling them on the floor, at which point I decide I need to get out of the house. The clothes remain on the floor. Noon ➛ Bryan and I go into the city to meet our friends Katie and Justin for lunch. Katie has been my best friend for forever and is due to have a baby any minute now, so we’re all anxiously awaiting his arrival. After lunch we walk over to Sprout Home, my favorite plant shop. Katie and Justin pick up some herbs for their kitchen, and we find a quirky little fern to add to the gang of plants in our sun room. We give Katie and Justin big hugs, knowing that the next time we see them they’ll likely be three instead of two. Bryan and I take our time strolling back through the west side of the city to the train. It is hard to resist these first days of spring, I want to be wandering outdoors all of the time. We spend a few minutes admiring the skyline from the Ashland green line platform bridge (which is our favorite view of Chicago) before hoping on the train headed west. Night ➛ We get off of the train a stop early to get some groceries. Sometimes I feel like I spend most of my life at the grocery store. We impulse buy a lot of gum at the register. When we get home, I photograph some malted ice cream and almond croquant that I plan to write about on my blog. It’s delicious. I spend the early evening getting a little more work done, editing some photos, and writing a bit. For dinner, I throw together a salad using some homemade ranch dressing that I had invented the night before. It is tangy—I can’t decide if it is too tangy. We eat the ice cream for dessert. Bryan practices guitar, and I do some cookbook research. We meet up on the couch to watch The Inbetweeners Movie, which we thoroughly enjoy, though not as much as the series. I get into bed and flip through some recently acquired cookbooks (one of the benefits/curses of food blogging is that you get a lot of cookbooks) before switching over to George Saunder’s Tenth of December until it is time to sleep. I dream of Nicki Minaj, a 90s color-block production of Romeo and Juliet, and friendly zombies. Three Last Things… 1. What’s up with the whiskey in your oatmeal? Bryan and I spent part of our honeymoon at Barnsley House in the Cotswolds. It is an incredible hotel in a gorgeous part of England. For breakfast they served porridge with an optional shot of whiskey added. It blew my mind. I like it best with Drambuie, which is an herb and honey infused malt whiskey. Drambuie isn’t very fashionable these days, but I am obsessed with the flavor. It also pairs really well with strawberries. Anyway, make oatmeal and add 1-2 tablespoons of Drambuie (or bourbon) and a little brown sugar—The Best. Also, you get to tell people you take whiskey in your oatmeal, which is nice and provocative. 2. Your site is one of the biggest cooking sites out there, you’re a food writer, and you go to bed reading cookbooks. Have you found a way to separate your real life from your blog life? Can you enjoy a meal without thinking about it as content? Yeah, this is something that I am careful about. It is important to me that the writing I do about food does not get in the way of my enjoyment of food, or in the way of my life more generally. I almost never take process photos of cooking, because I don’t like interrupting the experience of preparing food. I also rarely make anything specifically to write about. I basically go about my normal life and cook the food I am interested in and curious about. If I like what I made, I snap a few photos. It is all pretty casual. It means that I only post on my blog occasionally, but you know that I really like what I do choose to share. I have always told myself that if the blog ever starts to feel like work it is time to stop. I still love it, so no end in sight! It is also important to note that I care about other stuff. My background is in art and design, I have a bunch of interests and food is just the one I am choosing to share with the internet. The term “foodie” bothers me, not because it is a stupid word, but because it is so reductive. Who cares about food if you don’t have art and love and nature?! 3. What the hell is a slow loris? OMG! They are this amazing animal that is especially cute when eating a rice ball. I love how persecuted they look! Slow Loris Video Tim lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with his partner, Bryan. He is a food writer, stylist, photographer, and creator of the award-winning blog, Lottie + Doof. lottieanddoof.com

So, How Was Your Day?

Breakfast:

Oatmeal with whiskey. Iced tea.


Lunch:

Salad. Pizza (sausage and jalapeno!).


Dinner:

Shaved vegetable salad with homemade ranch dressing. Malted ice cream with almond crunch.

Morning ➛

It is the weekend, so we sleep later than usual (which isn’t very late—we’re up by 8am). I make some oatmeal while cleaning up the kitchen. Bryan (my partner) is in the other room exercising. I eat at my computer while checking email and getting lost in the internet. Have you seen a slow loris? Sensitive plants are so cool! I want to go to Portugal. I also spend a good amount of time researching Neko Case, in part for fun, in part for a project I am working on. She’s a good writer. But enough with the internet! I force myself to shower and get ready for the day. As I am getting dressed, I realize my closet is a mess and decide to deal with it by pulling a bunch of clothes out and piling them on the floor, at which point I decide I need to get out of the house. The clothes remain on the floor.



Noon ➛

Bryan and I go into the city to meet our friends Katie and Justin for lunch. Katie has been my best friend for forever and is due to have a baby any minute now, so we’re all anxiously awaiting his arrival. After lunch we walk over to Sprout Home, my favorite plant shop. Katie and Justin pick up some herbs for their kitchen, and we find a quirky little fern to add to the gang of plants in our sun room. We give Katie and Justin big hugs, knowing that the next time we see them they’ll likely be three instead of two. Bryan and I take our time strolling back through the west side of the city to the train. It is hard to resist these first days of spring, I want to be wandering outdoors all of the time. We spend a few minutes admiring the skyline from the Ashland green line platform bridge (which is our favorite view of Chicago) before hoping on the train headed west.



Night ➛

We get off of the train a stop early to get some groceries. Sometimes I feel like I spend most of my life at the grocery store. We impulse buy a lot of gum at the register. When we get home, I photograph some malted ice cream and almond croquant that I plan to write about on my blog. It’s delicious. I spend the early evening getting a little more work done, editing some photos, and writing a bit. For dinner, I throw together a salad using some homemade ranch dressing that I had invented the night before. It is tangy—I can’t decide if it is too tangy. We eat the ice cream for dessert. Bryan practices guitar, and I do some cookbook research. We meet up on the couch to watch The Inbetweeners Movie, which we thoroughly enjoy, though not as much as the series. I get into bed and flip through some recently acquired cookbooks (one of the benefits/curses of food blogging is that you get a lot of cookbooks) before switching over to George Saunder’s Tenth of December until it is time to sleep. I dream of Nicki Minaj, a 90s color-block production of Romeo and Juliet, and friendly zombies.

Three Last Things…

1. What’s up with the whiskey in your oatmeal?

Bryan and I spent part of our honeymoon at Barnsley House in the Cotswolds. It is an incredible hotel in a gorgeous part of England. For breakfast they served porridge with an optional shot of whiskey added. It blew my mind. I like it best with Drambuie, which is an herb and honey infused malt whiskey. Drambuie isn’t very fashionable these days, but I am obsessed with the flavor. It also pairs really well with strawberries. Anyway, make oatmeal and add 1-2 tablespoons of Drambuie (or bourbon) and a little brown sugar—The Best. Also, you get to tell people you take whiskey in your oatmeal, which is nice and provocative.

2. Your site is one of the biggest cooking sites out there, you’re a food writer, and you go to bed reading cookbooks. Have you found a way to separate your real life from your blog life? Can you enjoy a meal without thinking about it as content?

Yeah, this is something that I am careful about. It is important to me that the writing I do about food does not get in the way of my enjoyment of food, or in the way of my life more generally. I almost never take process photos of cooking, because I don’t like interrupting the experience of preparing food. I also rarely make anything specifically to write about. I basically go about my normal life and cook the food I am interested in and curious about. If I like what I made, I snap a few photos. It is all pretty casual. It means that I only post on my blog occasionally, but you know that I really like what I do choose to share. I have always told myself that if the blog ever starts to feel like work it is time to stop. I still love it, so no end in sight! It is also important to note that I care about other stuff. My background is in art and design, I have a bunch of interests and food is just the one I am choosing to share with the internet. The term “foodie” bothers me, not because it is a stupid word, but because it is so reductive. Who cares about food if you don’t have art and love and nature?!

3. What the hell is a slow loris?

OMG! They are this amazing animal that is especially cute when eating a rice ball. I love how persecuted they look! Slow Loris Video

Tim lives in Oak Park, Illinois, with his partner, Bryan. He is a food writer, stylist, photographer, and creator of the award-winning blog, Lottie + Doof. lottieanddoof.com

So, How Was Your Day? Breakfast: Coffee. KIND bar. Kombucha. More coffee. Lunch: Handful of almonds. Wasabi rice crackers. Diet Coke. Dinner: Kale salad with cashew dressing. Tofu spring roll. Pint of Great Divide’s Denver Pale Ale. Morning ➛ 5:42 am. The familiar timba sound coming from my iPhone’s alarm fails to get me out of bed. Snooze wins. Yoga loses. I sleep until the guilt catches up with me at 6:48. Covers in tow, I scroll through the usual suspects - beginning with Instagram and ending somewhere in a slew of emails I’ve flagged for thorough reply. I do not have internet at my house so all catching up takes place via good ol’ 3G (and yes, the irony is not lost on me - an e-commerce entrepreneur without interwebs). With a sense of urgency (albeit often false), I make just enough time to manage a top-knot, mascara and some sort of plaid shirt before heading to the studio. I arrive to the quiet of my co-founder (and sister) Jenna working away on typical production strategies. I interrupt her, per usual, to take five minutes to talk big. Today we’re talking about a new recycled product we’re developing and the progress of the environmental impact audit we’ve commissioned. We promise ourselves to make room to work on this. To my desk, I decide it’s time to reclaim my to-do list from yesterday’s version - which is filled with chicken-scratched notes from a tech call. I spend an hour in my email, draft out some project ideas for our designer, and respond to some media requests; all this before falling into the rabbit hole of pinterest, feedly and instagram. Noon ➛ I remind myself to focus and ignore the temptation to refresh my feeds. Because we’re a lean start-up (just 4 of us on staff), I wear many hats (including the one that’s now on my head - a surefire sign of someone who rushed out the door.) I feverishly try to reclaim my morning’s inefficiencies so I decide to photograph some new product to feature on our site banners. I have two calls today: one with the editor of Lifestyle + Charity Magazine and another with renowned photographer Elizabeth Messina. We talk about collaborations, the ‘how-we-got-started’s’ and the ‘let’s-change-the-worlds.’ 3:30 pm and I realize I need to get a post on the blog. Without an editorial calendar to fall back on, I channel my inner wordsmith by overplaying Mackelmore’s “10,000 hours.” Eight plays later, I’ve found my stride and complete a piece on the power of persistence in achieving greatness. Night ➛ A bit weathered from the day, I laugh at the irony of the optimism in my latest blog post. It turns out 10,000 hours makes for a long work day. A quick to-go meal and I consider it a small miracle that I make it to candlelight yoga. On my mat, I’m reminded to continue persisting on the start-up path (perhaps it’s the Jose Gonzalez song or the yogic philosophies). Either way, it works and I take comfort in knowing sometimes you’ve just gotta “live for the tens” - to quote a friend. The hard work, the lows - you take them because you know there’s a ‘ten’ around the corner. Today’s ten? A pint of beer and a phone call with an old friend with whom I traveled Ethiopia. We talk about our company’s role in her work with the non-profit imagine1day…and about wanderlust. I call it a night with the conviction I’ll book the next trip. Soon. But first, sleep. Three Last Things… 1. What’s up with that awesome headboard? Ah yes, I made it - but don’t let that fool you into thinking I’m one of those super organized, DIY types (I wish!)…I still have piles of frames that could only hope I were that on top of things. I invested about $12, a summer afternoon, and a six pack of beer (to hire the help of my man-crafty brother-in-law) to piece together an old piece of plywood into a dose of daily awesome for my wall. It reads “Rise and shine and shine and shine…” It took awhile to land on those simple words but it boiled down to my affinity for the word ‘shine’ - a case for choosing joy every. single. day. 2. You see so many stories/photos with the books you have produced through Artifact Uprising. Are there any special ones that inspired you or made you think differently about your own life? I love seeing all the art come through as stories. The thing is - we live in a really incredible time with so many creation tools at our fingertips. Yet so much of that art lives online. There’s something about the tactile that’s really beautiful - and that is something in the past, by default, that was done so well. Photographer Fawn Deviney reminded us on the power of print with her book “A Well-Traveled Man” - a compilation of old photographs from her pop’s travels around Europe during WWII…it’s so beautiful. 3. Do you not have the internet at home on purpose or do you just live in the middle of nowhere? Let me preface this by saying I wish I lived in the middle of nowhere…there’d be fields for frolicking, a wood shed and a Westfalia I’d drive to travel into the city. On the internet: what began as a conscious choice to separate work and play has actually turned into a devoted relationship to my iphone’s 3G. I’m on my phone more often than I’d like to admit - adding voice to our social channels and flagging emails for later follow-up. But the no-internet-clause has taught me to leave work at work - or at least the real ‘brain stuff.’ I’ve always believed you can’t do a good job if you’re job is all you do…it’s hard work to hold one’s self to that. But I’m trying. Katie lives in Denver, Colorado. She is one of three co-founders behind Artifact Uprising - a design-forward, eco-friendly photo book company. In their six months since launching, their work has been featured on Refinery29, Oh Joy!, and Martha Stewart Weddings. www.artifactuprising.com

So, How Was Your Day?

Breakfast:

Coffee. KIND bar. Kombucha. More coffee.


Lunch:

Handful of almonds. Wasabi rice crackers. Diet Coke.


Dinner:

Kale salad with cashew dressing. Tofu spring roll. Pint of Great Divide’s Denver Pale Ale.

Morning ➛

5:42 am. The familiar timba sound coming from my iPhone’s alarm fails to get me out of bed. Snooze wins. Yoga loses. I sleep until the guilt catches up with me at 6:48. Covers in tow, I scroll through the usual suspects - beginning with Instagram and ending somewhere in a slew of emails I’ve flagged for thorough reply. I do not have internet at my house so all catching up takes place via good ol’ 3G (and yes, the irony is not lost on me - an e-commerce entrepreneur without interwebs). With a sense of urgency (albeit often false), I make just enough time to manage a top-knot, mascara and some sort of plaid shirt before heading to the studio. I arrive to the quiet of my co-founder (and sister) Jenna working away on typical production strategies. I interrupt her, per usual, to take five minutes to talk big. Today we’re talking about a new recycled product we’re developing and the progress of the environmental impact audit we’ve commissioned. We promise ourselves to make room to work on this. To my desk, I decide it’s time to reclaim my to-do list from yesterday’s version - which is filled with chicken-scratched notes from a tech call. I spend an hour in my email, draft out some project ideas for our designer, and respond to some media requests; all this before falling into the rabbit hole of pinterest, feedly and instagram.



Noon ➛

I remind myself to focus and ignore the temptation to refresh my feeds. Because we’re a lean start-up (just 4 of us on staff), I wear many hats (including the one that’s now on my head - a surefire sign of someone who rushed out the door.) I feverishly try to reclaim my morning’s inefficiencies so I decide to photograph some new product to feature on our site banners. I have two calls today: one with the editor of Lifestyle + Charity Magazine and another with renowned photographer Elizabeth Messina. We talk about collaborations, the ‘how-we-got-started’s’ and the ‘let’s-change-the-worlds.’ 3:30 pm and I realize I need to get a post on the blog. Without an editorial calendar to fall back on, I channel my inner wordsmith by overplaying Mackelmore’s “10,000 hours.” Eight plays later, I’ve found my stride and complete a piece on the power of persistence in achieving greatness.



Night ➛

A bit weathered from the day, I laugh at the irony of the optimism in my latest blog post. It turns out 10,000 hours makes for a long work day. A quick to-go meal and I consider it a small miracle that I make it to candlelight yoga. On my mat, I’m reminded to continue persisting on the start-up path (perhaps it’s the Jose Gonzalez song or the yogic philosophies). Either way, it works and I take comfort in knowing sometimes you’ve just gotta “live for the tens” - to quote a friend. The hard work, the lows - you take them because you know there’s a ‘ten’ around the corner. Today’s ten? A pint of beer and a phone call with an old friend with whom I traveled Ethiopia. We talk about our company’s role in her work with the non-profit imagine1day…and about wanderlust. I call it a night with the conviction I’ll book the next trip. Soon. But first, sleep.

Three Last Things…

1. What’s up with that awesome headboard?

Ah yes, I made it - but don’t let that fool you into thinking I’m one of those super organized, DIY types (I wish!)…I still have piles of frames that could only hope I were that on top of things. I invested about $12, a summer afternoon, and a six pack of beer (to hire the help of my man-crafty brother-in-law) to piece together an old piece of plywood into a dose of daily awesome for my wall. It reads “Rise and shine and shine and shine…” It took awhile to land on those simple words but it boiled down to my affinity for the word ‘shine’ - a case for choosing joy every. single. day.

2. You see so many stories/photos with the books you have produced through Artifact Uprising. Are there any special ones that inspired you or made you think differently about your own life?

I love seeing all the art come through as stories. The thing is - we live in a really incredible time with so many creation tools at our fingertips. Yet so much of that art lives online. There’s something about the tactile that’s really beautiful - and that is something in the past, by default, that was done so well. Photographer Fawn Deviney reminded us on the power of print with her book “A Well-Traveled Man” - a compilation of old photographs from her pop’s travels around Europe during WWII…it’s so beautiful.

3. Do you not have the internet at home on purpose or do you just live in the middle of nowhere?

Let me preface this by saying I wish I lived in the middle of nowhere…there’d be fields for frolicking, a wood shed and a Westfalia I’d drive to travel into the city. On the internet: what began as a conscious choice to separate work and play has actually turned into a devoted relationship to my iphone’s 3G. I’m on my phone more often than I’d like to admit - adding voice to our social channels and flagging emails for later follow-up. But the no-internet-clause has taught me to leave work at work - or at least the real ‘brain stuff.’ I’ve always believed you can’t do a good job if you’re job is all you do…it’s hard work to hold one’s self to that. But I’m trying.

Katie lives in Denver, Colorado. She is one of three co-founders behind Artifact Uprising - a design-forward, eco-friendly photo book company. In their six months since launching, their work has been featured on Refinery29, Oh Joy!, and Martha Stewart Weddings. www.artifactuprising.com

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