Founded in Louisville, Kentucky in the 1880s, J.A. Bauer Pottery originally specialized in containers for the most popular of local products… whiskey. Manufacturing stoneware crocks and bottles – John Andy Bauer built his business on traditional earthenware techniques, thick and sturdy liquor and water jugs which meant to follow function more than form. It wasn’t until Bauer relocated to Los Angeles in 1909 that his innate creativity began to take root.
J.A. Bauer Pottery Bowl, Circa 1940s
Alice Waters (born 1944) is one of the unrivaled pioneers of California cuisine, owner of Chez Panisse in Berkeley, among the first US restaurants to promote locally grown, seasonally available, organically produced ingredients. While this now might seem a given, this philosophy was groundbreaking in 1971, when Waters first opened her restaurant.
Alice Waters at her Restaurant 1975
Dishtowels, with their no-nonsense pattern design (that blue/white or red/white check or plaid or stripe has endured for decades) and soft texture (the finest are usually 50 percent cotton/50 percent linen), are not only nostalgic (lay one over that apple pie while it cools!) but well… handy. You can clean up messes, dry things, spray your cleaner and wipe away stains.
50% Cotton-50% Linen Kitchen Towel
‘The good life is never stable, never secure, never easy and never ended. It is a series of steps or stages, one leading into the other and all, in their outcome, adding, not subtracting; augmenting, not diminishing; building, not destroying; creating, not annihilating.’ – Scott Nearing, 1965
Helen & Scott Nearing
The advent of Kindle may be a boon for techies and a fine way to carry around a library in your luggage – but it certainly takes some of the romance out of reading. What about the pleasure of turning a page, the dusty, nostalgic smell of old paper, the scattered notes and underlining left behind by past readers? If you’re like me, you like nothing better than the feel of a heavy hardcover or a tattered paperback and half the joy of reading is gazing triumphantly at the stacks of conquered pages against the wall. Book darts are another bit of class and old school style that come in handy, the perfect accessory for the avid reader.
Bronze Book Dart
Butcher Block
Since I am still in search of a good butcher in LA (alas, none to be found!) – I am finding myself delving further into the dissection of strange and exotic cuts of meat – at home. A recent purchase of a meat grinder (more on that soon!) has lead to a whole lot of chopping and cutting, slicing and dicing and a new search – for a superior place on which to cut.
American Meat Institute Advertising 1940s
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