The Sunday Night Digest = me + a possible glass of wine + reflection on the previous weeks ongoings and a glimpse into happenings next week. You're Welcome

Right around the time I returned the shop hours to by appointment only I started investing in some self care wellness I felt was lacking since spring. Maybe it was a crazy 2020 with so many moving parts, maybe it’s the indulgences of a typical summer in Newport or the bizarro world we’ve been living in and pretending it’s all very normal. Well it all caught up with me and I scheduled in some time for myself with the remaining weeks of August and somehow it seeped into September and now I don’t want to give it up! Not all of it anyway.

Spending less time on my phone and computer has been amazing but I’m ready to be back. I’m super excited to be working on a new website to be launched right in time for what I anticipate to be a very virtual holiday season. I have a ton of great announcements, a couple of pretty big projects I’m amidst and hundreds of new art and objects incoming for fall. We are even looking at opening for fall hours Friday through Monday if the numbers in Rhode Island continue to decrease.

A big part of this wellness retreat of mine was to reconnect with my true creative self. It has been amazing to see how much of my time and energy was consumed by people and things I didn’t want anything to do with in the first place! Giving myself permission to follow my intuition and to let go of any toxicity or things that are no longer serving my soul has given me a lot more time for all of the things important to me that were suffering. What a fucking relief. It is amazing how many things that weren’t working out or were a struggle, have just completely fallen off and how easy it is for things that I want to happen to just come together - dinner with friends, an impromptu, but very romantic (albeit a business) trip with MJP and whole bodies of new work just flowing from my fingertips almost without thought or effort. After a pretty tumultuous 2020 I think I really needed the reset to enjoy fall, the holidays and the close of the year. Thank you so much for continuing to place orders, send notes of appreciation and visit the store in masks for your appointments. It’s been one hell of a summer, but I think as I glide through September I already feel a better season on the horizon. I can’t wait to share it with you. In the meantime here are a few ongoings.

I am a voter shirt by Grayson // Kristen Coates

I know we are becoming desensitized with the repetitive and obligatory campaign to get out and vote and all the election noise we get bombarded with this time of year. I know it. I feel it. But I am going to go ahead and say it just in case one person gets registered, one person casts a vote or one person volunteers to man a voting station during the election this year by reading this little note from me to you.  Vote. Vote. Vote.

Image credit: Michael J. Paddon

Break out those apple pie recipes because pick your own apples is open at Sweetberry Farm! They have a convenient tent set up in the parking lot so you can checkout in a super contactless way and spend some time in their orchards collecting beautiful local apples at a distance and at your own leisure. Accepting all extra/uneaten apple pies.  

A sweet treat from Le Bec Sucre care of my dear friend BB who left me a whole bag of goodies on a gorgeous Sunday morning and my oat milk latte from Empire.

Speaking of local. I am just going to put this right here. Remember to shop with your local coffee place, bakery, printer, wine shop, and every other little mom and pop you want to see still standing next year and for years to come. This summer has not been the easiest one to navigate as a small business and many of us rely on our local and fall clients more than summer tourists. If you have the ability, shop as local as you can and donate at the not for profits that all went without their traditional summer benefits this summer. We will be grateful in summers to come when the community is stronger than ever because of the support we give today.

A tasting menu prepare by our uncles and the lively conversation of the evening was one of the highlights of our summer. 

Can we all agree the most coveted social invite this summer has been to the micro dinner party? What are you doing to stay social while respectfully distanced? Michael and I have been using this opportunity to have beautiful and intimate conversations, exquisite dinners and spectacular backyard lunches and barbecues  with friends and family we have always lost the time to be with pre covid. It’s these moments I don’t think I’m ready to give up on in the new normal. What are you up to that you're not going to let slip away as we head into September and beyond? 

There is so much new art in the shop and I have been terrible at getting it up online, but I promise it's coming this week! I have a ton of artwork from new artists to the gallery coming this fall and I cannot wait to share it all with you. 

Plus! I am receiving holiday inventory early…  more on this in another email … but due to severe shipping delays and unrecovered broken supply chain, new objects are showing up at the shop a lot sooner than usual. I am not going to complain because the place looks and feels amazing! Book your in person or virtual appointment today or shop online and use FREESHIP at check out on all orders

The Shop Stats 
Most overall viewed on website this week Normalcy By Nancy Parsons 
Best seller this week artwork by Luke Brenner
For those making appointments at the shop, please be kind, wear a mask and respect the two guests at a time policy so we can all feel safe. And if you have any symptoms of feeling unwell go ahead and stay home. We will ship your order to you for free! 
Composed while listening to this French Garden Party playlist on Spotify while sipping some Whispering Angel. Because as my friend KR likes to say "it's time to put the rosé and cheeseboards away". If you live in Newport (or any resort town really), you know exactly what this means Labor Day weekend!

If you are receiving this on a day that is not Sunday, it's because our email system sends out a second time, later in the week, to those that have not opened their email on Sunday...