I walk in silence beside my mother. She’s listening to classical music on her iPod. I’m thinking about beauty, specifically how it doesn’t have to ...

Four sunflower heads floated in shallow plates of water on the dining table. Earlier that day they had lined the path at a wedding. Now ...

Chicken noodle. French onion. Potato leek. Beet Cabbage Borscht. A bowl of warm soup hits the spot and offers comforting nourishment. And nourishment is so ...

I was at a craft fair recently and over the course of three days, I heard several women comment, I’d wear that as a scarf, ...

In the 1990s the crime rate in New York City fell suddenly. Violent crime decreased in cities across the country as the crack trade declined, ...

Touching the towel can serve as a silent meditation to be present. For me, it’s about connection. These quotations are from interviews with Caryn Cushman ...

One day, a few years ago, when I was making a deposit at the bank, the teller, Cindy, asked me about my business name, “Whimsy ...

In December, I invited you to join me in a unique project to bring beauty and hope to survivors of domestic violence. I wanted to ...

The day after Claire’s boyfriend kicked her while she was holding their baby, he was nice to her. She knew then that he knew what ...

My senior year in college my uncle came for a visit. After I cooked us a vegetarian dinner in my basement apartment, he kindly offered ...

I have been interviewing a few customers about the towels, napkins and table runners they purchased from me. I am curious to know how they ...

Last November my friends Amy Halko, Holly Jordan and I held a Clay Wood Cloth event at MIX Garden in Healdsburg, CA. We donated a ...

One of my high school English teachers instructed us not to use the adjectives "nice" and "interesting." According to my teacher, to describe someone as ...

I've been settling into my new more permanent home and running move-related errands: opening bank accounts, registering my car, finding a vet, getting a landline ...

My friend Helena asked me what a world without beauty would look like. At first words like gray and bland came to mind. Then I ...

The other Sunday I had a lovely massage. As I sat in the waiting area with a warm neck wrap and a cup of mint ...

If you’ve been reading my newsletters for the past few months, you know that I am passionate about using beautiful things in everyday life and ...

Several years ago I traveled back to India, to the foothills of the Himalayas where I grew up. My class was having a reunion in ...

I've been talking with friends about the ways they bring beauty into their everyday lives and have been moved by the depth of their responses ...

I have been conducting a little experiment. What I'm learning from this experiment is deepening my understanding of the importance of beauty in the everyday ...

"There once was a Velveteen Rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his ...