November 24, 2011
Rain On Our Parade.
Today is also the wettest day I can remember in years... so, seeing we're not really going for the tropical hurricane look (well, not for this shoot) we've bumped the shoot to next week and rearranged the lot. That means Nat, our shoot producer has rearranged the models, props, vans, stylist, photographer and assistants.
And now all we need is a burst of sun on Monday. We are all conjuring the power of positive visualisation - join in if you like! Here's to a sunny Monday, and another fabulous Tree Of Life shoot! x
There Goes The Moon...
Get ready, people. A total lunar eclipse approaches!
December 10, 2011 is the eclipse of the moon, where the moon passes behind the earth so the earth will block the rays of the sun, making it nearly impossible to see the moon. The moon will darken and turn red, like an intergalactic sunset, and disappear completely. This can only happen when the sun, moon and earth are in perfect alignment.
Through history, this amazing natural phenomenon was seen as a bad omen, and myths and superstitions abound, and while I don't believe the crops will fail or children will be born with hare-lips, I do believe the lunar eclipse throws chaos around, making us all a little more irrational and emotional than usual... and can mess with everything on the homefront.
The lunar eclipse is a time of beginnings, endings, exposure and major changes. Relationships are pushed under the microscope. Emotions run high, restlessness is contagious, pressure mounts and energy swirls... so get ready! The countdown is on! Sixteen days to go. HAPPY ECLIPSE EVERYONE!
October 25, 2011
The Mango Tree Project
Return To Dhablepuri.
August 2011.
The Tree Of Life Mango Tree Project in Dhablepuri is one that is close to our hearts. The project is all about creating sustainability for a remote and rugged village with the planting of mango crop for the village and lots of support for the local school for the village children. Our last trip to check the progress of the plantation was during drought and we were met with an intense landscape and the reality of rural India without rain. This trip was different- what a difference some rain makes!
Although the monsoon this year is not good....
... it has managed to completely transform Dhablepuri into a green and lush village.
The change is amazing. There is even a carpet of wild flowers by the road where there was nothing but dust.
The new baby custard apple trees have been planted.
And the mango trees, to our delight, one year later, are growing.
We still have to plan carefully to nurse them through the dry months ahead, but for now all is well.
There is further action in Dhablepuri. The government has agreed to build some new classrooms for the children...
... and while the classroom is still clearly a work in progress - it is fantastic progress.
We asked Pritam, one of the teachers at the school what extra help we could give her and the school and she requested trees and flowers for the schoolyard - and we knew we could provide that. What an amazing feeling.
She also asked for more of the colourful educational boards we brought with us last time for the younger children.
The Tree Of Life Calendar (available in store) is a project that helps raise funds for the school and Mango Tree Project. The calendar features portraits of some of the children in the school to help highlight their situation. This year, we took extra copies with us and Dr Bande shared them with the children, who were clearly enthralled to see their friends in print!
The change in the children from just two or three months earlier in the middle of the drought was incredible. Happier and more engaged, it makes us so happy to be involved in this project.
The rain, the return of their school routine and the free nutritional lunches make a big difference in their lives.
And the oranges, bananas and sweets we brought for them could have been the highlight of the day.
This visit was a real success... this is Wendy, co-founder of Tree Of Life, leaving the school at the end of the visit. She, like all of us, is deeply happy with the success of the project and excited for what can happen here with some love, help and planning. Please get involved if you can. x
October 05, 2011
Sweet Dreams Are Made Of This
Everybody needs a dreamcatcher. Originally dreamcatchers were a Native Indian traditional object with the power to filter out bad dreams, only allowing sweet dreams to become caught in the woven web and slip down the feathers into infant's dreams.
But dreamcatchers hold such a beautiful and positive story that they've been adopted by cultures all over the world. They are like charming fairy tale guardians held above the bed... and not just for babies anymore. Of course we would love the use of thread, feathers, beads and colour to create such a lucky charm, but we are especially into layering the dreamcatchers (like in the window above) to create beautiful shadows and shapes in afternoon light.
We've always got a few around, but right now in store we have some incredibly vibrant deep green and aquamarine dreamcatchers that we are all coveting.... come and see and start your new collection. x
September 22, 2011
Featured Artist: Keppie Coutts
Like the music on our website? We do too. It’s
by Keppie Coutts, an amazing Australian singer-songwriter now based in LA where her sweet and soulful music still has us entranced. Her attitude to life and her adventurous spirit has us totally inspired. Here, Keppie emails us from her new home
base in LA….
Tree Of Life: We love the music behind our new season video.What it is you are trying to communicate with your songs?
Tree Of Life: As a child, what song really moved you?
Did this affect the kind of music you ended up creating yourself?
Keppie Coutts: “I remember a lot of music that really
moved me…but I mean, literally moved me! I would put Chuck Berry on my parent’s
turntable, and literally dance til I was in a frenzy and covered in sweat, then
collapse in a puddle on the floor…I’m pretty sure I would sleep for five
minutes, then put something else on…Janis Joplin, Donovan, Muddy Waters. The
when I was about 10, my dad introduced me to Tom Waits, and Ween was also a
household favourite. It’s really hard to locate one song from my childhood
above all others. I guess a common thread is that I didn’t really listen to the
radio – I listened to my parent’s LP collection. So in that way, I was learning
music from the 60s and 70s - loving and relating to songs and voices rather
than production might be the common thread from my childhood to what I do now.
I think a pivotal song that shoved me into action was
‘Out of Habit’ by Ani DiFranco, which I heard for the first time when I was 15.
The first line is insanely brilliant: “The butter melts out of habit, you know
the toast isn’t even warm”. Being able to use an image to say something
important and emotional, without even telling you what you should feel,
you just do feel it. Then the other earthquake line in the song is, of
course, “my c*** is built like a wound that won’t heal, and you don’t have to
ask coz you know how I feel”. The word, the image, and the statement…it was one
of the first and most powerful feminist awakenings in my life!
Tree Of Life: You've just moved to LA to take up some
of the amazing opportunities coming your way, including being produced by John
Mayer. What's it like being a singer songwriter in the middle of Los Angeles?
Keppie Coutts:“The song that John Mayer produced was
waaaaay back in 2008! I wish I could say he was my neighbour and we drink
bubble tea on Sundays…but, alas.
Moving to LA was also moving away from Boston, and
just a good change. I had found myself in a position of teaching songwriting to
people in Boston, but when my students had questions about the industry, I could
only shrug and sort of say ‘Let me know when you figure it out’. I didn’t
really say that, but you know what I mean J
I wanted to get my feet wet, and figure out what is
really happening on the ground.
What I am finding is that the situation is pretty much
‘choose your own adventure’. My music is not Top 40, so maybe the situation has
always been this way for people like me – you create your own path. There’s no
one way to do it. No other person’s experience is ever going to be a blueprint.
All I can really say after nine months in LA is that it is a bizarre experience.
Nine out of 10 people you meet are involved in ‘the industry’ in some way (or
they are trying to be). It has the effect of feeling like being in the most
active creative community on earth, and then also has a sort of numbing effect,
like, ‘oh, you’re also an
actor/singer/performer/producer/screenwriter/director/waiter?’.
That said, I’ve met some amazing people, played great
shows, made music with great producers, and am starting to work with an
incredible LA-based duo who will be producing next project.”
Tree Of Life:
Where do you live in LA?
Keppie Coutts: “I live in West Hollywood. Hollywood is
kind of like George Street in Sydney…enough said. West Hollywood is much
greener and prettier, and is right at the foot of the Hollywood Hills, which
are stunning. LA has a lot more physical beauty in the landscape than I had
ever thought it would. The hills, canyons, ocean, and mountains can be
unexpectedly breathtaking.”
Tree Of Life: Has the experience changed the way you
write or perform?
Keppie Coutts: “Yes and no. I think that getting
entrenched in the industry dwindled my creative flame a little bit.
Unsurprising, I suppose. I had to sort of claw my way out of my own mind, take
the information I have learned in the last year, and put it in a mental drawer
to look at later so that I could get back to the drawing board without feeling
pressure to write in a way that I perceived as being in demand. It’s always
changing!
Tree Of Life: Tell us what is coming up for…?
Keppie Coutts: “I am gearing up to record a new
project. I have been throwing around ideas for a new record, and right now I am
excited about the idea of doing 4 mini-EPs. I write some songs that make sense
together, and then, for example, I have a Mexican Cowboy Murder Ballad. And
another that sounds very American Songbook. And then there’s one about Yoga.
And then I balance that with wanting to produce some songs in a contemporary
folk style, but also wanting to do much more experimental stuff (I am loving
listening to James Blake right now…). It got me thinking that there is no real
reason to do one album the same way. The format of the album isn’t limited the
way it was with CDs. So I’ll be recording one of the mini EPs with this LA duo,
two of them self-produced in a different studio, and the fourth with another
producer who I love and produced an amazing track with.
I also teach a lot, volunteer with teen girls and also
with sick kiddies in the hospital, as well as doing a lot of yoga. Keeps me
busy and happy.”
September 08, 2011
Nothing like an old bike...
Our last shoot was so much fun, and as you've probably already seen, featured a gorgeous vintage bicycle (amongst other cool props...). Part of the process of preparing for this shoot was finding the absolutely right bike, one that instantly looked very 'Tree Of Life' to go with our new collection.
We knew the standard bike store was just not gonna come up with the goods.
We knew for sure it had to be vintage, but it had to be feminine, it had to be cool... and it definitely had to have one of those gorgeous baskets up front!
So, the research started, and part of that involved the serendipitous discovery of Sydney Vintage Bikes, check them out here. Imagine how happy we were to find this treasure trove of everything we wanted... each of their bikes has its own funny little personality, and somehow makes bicycle riding seem elegant! We were charmed. There's obviously no reason we can't be super-green, energy-efficient and stylish all at the same time.
Negotiating the traffic may take a little getting used to, but we're going to give it a go!
PS - If you want to check out more vintage bikes for sale, definitely browse the bike exchange and if you want to follow the tales of a die-hard vintage bike rider (and dresser) you must read diary of a vintage girl.
Feliz Navidad!