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On a little island called Nash, off the Maine coast, a flock of sheep lives undisturbed, except in June when weavers from Swans Island Blankets come by lobster boat to gather some wool. This year's shearing produced 420 pounds of wool, enough for a year's worth of weaving.Swans Island started in the early '90s when a pair of lawyers, John and Carolyn Grace, decided to move to Maine, meet some sheep farmers and get weaving. What developed was a company that has produced hand-woven blankets significant enough to warrant a Smithsonian Blue Ribbon for Craft in 1996. Weavers work in an 18th century farmhouse making blankets for summer and winter. Recently, the group started weaving scarves, wraps, throws and pillows, too.
I'm a complete sucker for age-old craftmanship. Add the free-roaming sheep, rustic farmhouse and beyond-cozy blankets, and this company is every New Englander's dream.
The king-sized version of the winter blanket at right retails for $1,125. Everything Swans Island makes can be custom ordered and monogrammed in a hand-done cross stitch.
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Herman Miller
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Rodarte
Look at the pens on your desk. Maybe you have an especially nice one, one that means something sentimental to you, and another one you especially like. What on earth are the rest of them doing there? You don't even like those pens! Why do you make yourself use them every day when it would be so easy to have something you like?
Big empty walls getting you down? If you haven't found the perfect tapestry or can't get your Monet back from the Art Institute of Chicago, you've still got to put something on your wall to make it feel like home.
