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Welcome to Global Eye Notebook, Chapter 1.

This is a new place I am putting together to highlight some of the great projects that we do, whether in the studio, in the shop, behind the scenes or for clients at their houses. Each quarter I’ll put together a greatest hits of our projects and share what we’ve learned along the way.

What I’ve found lately is that I am not interested in social media or opting into someone else’s idea of how I should share my content and who gets to control my images. Instead I’m opting out. Sure, I’ll still post some shop and studio images on my instagram, but I want a new way to share myself in a way that doses’t enrich tech companies or billionaires.

I want a way to actually provide good content, great design advice, and show the real ins and outs of running a retail store, a pottery studio and having a family without feeling stuck in the churn of social media. Instead of a couple useless seconds a day scrolling by, I’m asking for a couple valuable minutes every few months that I hope will bring us both some joy.

 

A Bold Kitchen Choice: GE design Files

 
 

When my client told me that maybe he’d made a mistake choosing a color for his kitchen cabinets, I did not fret. Sure, this bright green is an unusual color, but color is fun and can set a mood for the whole house. Here is the important tip: don’t be afraid to make a big, bold, fun choice and let it drive the rest of the design.  There are no mistakes and making bold choices makes your home unique.

What we did to make sure it wasn’t the “wrong” decision was to keep the color in mind as we progressed, building out the rest of the rooms to play into the color scheme and we embraced a unique color pallet for each room. I’ll write up more updates about this pretty home as we go.

Forget neutrals and bring in color!

This house is now available as a luxury vacation rental! If you are coming to the valley, consider this gem. It is a gorgeous, thoughtful, historic house that sleeps six and is situated in the heart of Santa Ynez. It is walking distance to the Maverick, SY Kitchen, The Baker’s Table, the Victor and so much more!

 
 

In the shop: New Products we love

Refreshing your bed is a spring rite of passage: changing your sheets, adding a blanket, updating your pillows will all make your bedroom feel clean, fresh and restful. I love layering thin cashmere blankets and cotton bedcovers for a beautiful textural look that feels welcoming.   I also love to have cashmere throws on hand on my couches for springs’ cool evenings.

New in the shop we have Turkish cotton bedcovers in a variety of waffle and wrinkle weaves and neutral colors. And hand loomed in Nepal our thin cashmere throw blankets are amazingly soft and lightweight. Plus soft velvet throw pillows in variety of shapes, sizes and colors to add a beautiful sophisticated bit of color.

 
 

CAshmere Throws

Texture Bed covers

Velvet Pillows

Studio Projects: Magnolia

I return over and over to making flowers in the studio. It seems with each season I go to my garden, see what is blooming and try to re-create it. This winter I chose to make magnolias in my dark brown clay. I start every project with tiny hand built bits and pieces that come together to create each flower, each leaf. Then I build them into decorated bowls and wreaths. This time I decided to fire them all a third time to add in delicate edges of 24k gold. This is added after the glaze firing and the pieces need to be fired an additional time to a low temperature to bind the gold to the clay and glaze. When these pieces finally emerged from their long production cycle, I filled the bowls with soy based candles. All are currently available online and in the shop.

 

IN the shop: FeatureD Artist // Scott Chatenever

 
 

Soda Fired Jugs // Scott Chatenever

Scott Chatenever throws these oversized jugs in his Ojai studio. He fires them with sodium oxide which vaporizes in the kiln and interacts with red hot surfaces of the work leaving behind beautiful flashes of color and glaze. As the sodium vapor flows through and around the glowing hot pottery it binds to the silica molecules on the surfaces to create a glassy glaze which tapers into gradients of color called flashing. Many of these pieces were put on wadding on their sides during firing which causes unique circles and patterning. Each one a unique work of art. Come in to the shop for a visit to see them or send me an email for more information.

 

Recommendations

 

Inspiration:

Fire & Clay

A historical journey of Oaxacan pottery styles, techniques and regional differences. With a practical guide to finding, interpreting and understanding modern versions of classic pieces through the Oaxaca region. A must have for pottery collectors traveling to Mexico.

What I’m Cooking:

Ginger Shrimp

I filled this recipe with lots of extra garlic, ginger, spinach, turmeric and cracked pepper to maximize the health and anti inflammatory benefits and flavors. It is warm and rich in coconut milk and should be served in a wide bowl over rice or noodles like a fragrant curry.

What I’m Planting:

Roses

My flower garden is anchored by roses and filled in with sprawling herbs, seasonal flowers and clumps of bulbs. This year I added a few new David Austin bare root roses and tucked in a chorus of seeds to sprout out in wild frenzy as the spring continues.  My new roses include Bring Me Sunshine and Bathsheba, which are both in the apricot pallet which is a favorite of mine.

 

Currently Reading

A wild re-imagining of the coming of Cortez to Montezuma’s Mexican empire. What if Montezuma really was on hallucinogenic mushrooms?

Reading Again

A quiet, beautiful book that I return to over and over. Full of love, betrayal, murder and lots bird drawings in the tiny Newfoundland town of Witless Bay.

What I’m Listening To

History with a poetic lilt, Nate Dimeo is an enchanting storyteller and brings a sensitive, lyrical telling to historical events. These episodes are short and sweet and feel a little like dreams.

Q1 from our life 2025:

Falcon rocket launch seen from the Santa Barbara harbor early one morning // My kitties Tango and Vida // Michael and Vivian surfing Refugio Beach // Sunrise from our house.

The first bloom from a stinky cactus // At Shaver Lake // Moonrise from our house // Middle School porcelain vase project the kids made with me to auction off.

Hope the next quarter finds you full of inspiration, thanks for joining me. xoxo Kristen