Dear Winter,
I am grumpy when I have to wake up in the morning and it is still dark out. I’m grumpy when I have to ride my son to school in the rain and I’m not ashamed to tell you I curse you under my breath when I ride. Here in Amsterdam you feel long and the days feel so short, a person could spend a lot of time being grumpy…Or they could take their camera, carefully sheltered from your never ending rain and wait. Wait, as the rain gives way to mist, as branches slowly reveal themselves and light begins to bounce from the water.

One of my two year old’s favorite sayings is “more light please”. Perhaps he means his rabbit nightlight, or the kitchen light, he could mean the headlights on his favorite truck. I always think he’s talking to you, asking for a personal favor, as if light were a lolly pop he justs wants a few more licks of. Now here we are in the middle of march and you have answered our call. This morning our ride to school was in full daylight and the ride home will be as well. We searched out all the new trees that had burst into green, saw the crocus poking up through tree trunks and wore raincoats instead of heavy winter ones.

It seems, Dear winter, that you are in retreat. Before you go I wanted to say thank you. Thank you for your stark beautiful trees against a white sky, thank you for your flocks of birds and dusky shades of grey. Thank you for ushering in the spring slowly so we can savour it and thank you for cultivating a great appreciation for the light.

written by riley salyards.
photographs by riley salyards.

I’m a sucker for real fashion – you know, the type that you can wear any day, everyday, and look über stylish and sophisticated without being OTT (over-the-top. also referred to in camera angle lingo, in case you need to know that). I like clothes that feel good on my skin, and move when I move, and that don’t feel restrictive. And you all know how much I LOVE natural fibres, and ‘conscious’ clothing. So I bet you are not surprised that I am totally in love with Jackson, Johnston & Roe’s Spring collection. Take a look…

I have my first Jackson, Johnston & Roe pieces in my wardrobe right now, just in time for Spring! They include the april travel coat you see above (gorgeous!! and I can’t WAIT to travel in april with it!), the v-neck shirt which is so soft and incredibly comfortable, and the study jacket (top photo) in grey and white.

For this season, the designers behind the label created their own print as you see above. They were inspired by the early 20th century surrealist practice and created an “exquisite corpse print” where they each drew a section. I love this idea! I’ve held this fabric in my hands and it is indeed, exquisite.

Jackson, Johnston & Roe use sustainable and organic fabric, wood and recycled paper buttons,as well as hand dyed peace silk which is a process that does not kill the worm.

left: perrine v-neck shirt and right: jules shirt with museum date skirt

Their inspiration for the collection is such a beautiful story – one of their muses and dear friends recently shared the history of her mother’s boarding school. She attended La Legion d’ Honneur L’ecole au chateau D’ecouen from October 1952 to July 1955. The April travel coat is fashioned after a coat in her “trousseau”. The designers were inspired this season by the idea of a modern day trousseau; the clothes you take with you… to school. On an adventure. Or to start a new life.

So who are the designers behind this fabulous collection? They are Sara Moffat, Teo Griscom and Riley Salyards, who assumed their grandfathers’ names (being Jackson, Johnston & Roe) for their womenswear line. The childhood friends draw from each of their distinctive artistic disciplines to create these small collections which are made in New York City. The collection is sold at selected stores across America, but you can also contact the sales department direct to find out more.

above and below is a sneak peek of their fall ’09 collection…

Oh I would love to get into the minds of these designers – how much fun would it be to find out how they come up with their designs, and what inspires them?

Well guess what? I am thrilled to reveal that our mystery guest in the new (blog)house is none other than one of Jackson, Johnston & Roe’s very own designers, Riley Salyards! Yes, I’ve kept her a bit of a secret from you all (although I’ve casually mentioned her here, here and here you may recall). Riley is a dear friend of mine here in Amsterdam. She is one of the most inspiring people I’ve ever met, and I was so thrilled when she said ‘yes’ to being my first guest here in the new guest quarters. Spending time with Riley is one of my favourite things to do here in Amsterdam. She has such a unique vision – she makes incredible things, she sings! and every time I leave her company I am filled with inspiration. Thank you dear Riley, for agreeing to share some of your life and own inspirations here in my (blog)house over the next month. Please enjoy your stay.

Oh, and shall we meet up this afternoon for some champagne in the kitchen with yvette? I hear she’s got a delicious bouillabaisse cooking for us!

(check out Riley’s first post here, there will be another one coming this afternoon).

All images courtesy of Jackson, Johnston & Roe. Photographed by Bill Phelps.

I relocated to Amsterdam from New York about the same time Pia moved here from Paris. I discovered her beautiful blog one afternoon just as she began the my heart wanders project. Like many of you, Pia’s blog has become a habit, a place I visit for a dose of beautiful, calm inspiration. I feel honored to be invited into the guest quarters. Thank you Pia, for giving me the opportunity to share my life and work with your wonderful readers. I look forward to showing bits of inspiration and some new creations with all of you.

My cousin Simone lent me Sweet Mandarin for my plane ride back from Sydney, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. From cover to cover. In fact, I’ll recite part of the back cover for you as I don’t think I could describe the book any better: “Spanning almost a hundred years, this rich and evocative true story recounts the lives of three generations of remarkle Chinese women… Sweet Mandarin shows how the most important inheritance is wisdom, and how recipes – passed down the female line – can be the most valuable heirloom”.

I earmarked many pages in this book (sorry cuz, i hope you don’t mind!), and I loved Helen’s use of chinese proverbs at the beginning of each chapter, no doubt i’ll be referring to these often for everyday inspiration.

Just finished reading:

Isabel Losada’s A Beginners Guide to Changing the World. Hilarious. Motivating. Fun. and totally me. So much so that if Isabel didn’t write this book it would have been me, I’m sure of it. She speaks my language. “Think Globally. Act Joyfully.” A must read.

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Mary Shaffer’s The Guernsey Literary & Potato Peel Pie Society. “Every single page is a literary piece of perfection in it’s own right.” Who said this? me. just a moment ago when I finished reading the book. Read my brief review here and here.

My ‘Dam Life by fellow Australian + once upon a time Amsterdammer, Sean Condon. I’m not sure it’s safe to admit at this early stage in my reading (i’m up to page 37) that I actually relate to this guy and his crazy antics, but it’s the truth. And I’m all over that.

On the coffee table:

Photographer Hans Silvester’s stella book on tribal fashion titled Natural Fashion.
I adore this book and am so inspired everytime i pick it up. Guests love it.

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I invested in Tim Walker’s Pictures book. It’s massive. and filled with fabulous photographs and sketches. As you can imagine, it’s pretty awesome.

Also in my library you will find:

For the artist in you…

Business for the entrepeneur…

Pure Inspiration + Indulgence…

Literary Loves…

Cooking…

more cookbooks to come as I get the chance to peruse the cooking section of my bookshelf.

Interiors…

Fashion….

Tibet + China

Travel…

Books I would like to add to the library:

Reviews and suggestions for additions are very welcome.