My Uncle Jimmy was a merchant seaman. He always brought me trinkets from his travels: stamp collections, a llama poncho, a woven wool blanket…. to name a few. He sent postcards from places I’d never imagined – nothing too elaborate, but a few scrawled lines to tell me where he’d been. He was rough around the edges but I knew I had a special place in his heart.
I tell you about my Uncle Jimmy because I think he’s the reason I fell in love with the sea. I grew up in the Midwest, but I always knew I belonged closer to the ocean. Both of my parents grew up near the Pacific Coast so maybe it was in my DNA to start with, but my Uncle’s travel stories lit the spark.
To me, Land & Sea represents the dichotomy between where our feet are planted and where we long to go. On land we are grounded, solid, level. At sea we are carried away – swept off to distant places by a force greater than ourselves. It’s the mystery of where we’ll land that makes the sea so intriguing (not to mention the unknowns of the journey), and it’s the safety of land that reassures us we are home.
This year you will see design pieces that speak to these opposites: pieces that will carry you away and pieces that will bring you home. You’ll see a line of designs for men that will give you more opportunities to wrap yourself and the people you love in hand-knits, as well as a wide range of knits for women in wearable styles. I love having the opportunity to share these with you!
Stay tuned to watch this story unfold.
Marie
