The Audubon Bird Call

Writing about the Marbles Match Safe made me think about some of the great objects, that aren't exactly related to clothing, but it can still add some good to your daily life. One of these things is the Audubon Bird Call.

It's a small gadget, that can be used to imitate bird calls by creating small tweeting sounds or rather create sounds, that will make birds curious, and therefore it doesn't replicate any specific bird call. It's made of bird wood and cast zinc and was invented by Roger Eddy in 1947 (he seems like a really interesting fellow and you can read more about him in his obituary).

The Audubon has been sold in millions in the US and is still made in the US by the company American Bird Products, which is still owned by the Eddy family. 

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Worth a Read - Raymond Carver

Running into my old high school English teacher a couple of days ago by chance and talking to her about the importance of the American short story made me think about Raymond Carver. When I got home some hours later I looked him up on the Internet and discovered, that on that very day it would have been his 74th birthday. I couldn't let this coincidence pass, so I decided to recommend some reading. I love his work, like I love the works of numerous other writers, but something makes him stand out to me. He has a way of telling stories, that you'll enjoy reading and if you get the same experience as I did, they'll leave a lasting imprint.

And you can get his collected works for pennies - almost literally. Head over to Amazon and pick up the short stories first and if you like it, pick up the collected poems too.

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A New Friend - Sergei Sviatchenko

Today I had the absolute pleasure of meeting a man, who I have admired tremendously through the project Close Up and Private. I've mentioned it before and I've even made a post with some pictures, that he took just for this humble blog - you can see them here. Today however we let the Internet be Internet and we met in Person in my backyard to discuss an impending project, and just to have a talk and a cup of coffee.

I was a bit nervous or rather excited about meeting this man, whom I had idolized for his impeccable taste, style and general view on fashion. Here he was in my backyard because he wanted to meet me and talk about, what I do. So I gave him a tour of my small workshop and tried to introduce him to, where I want things to go with After the Denim and my crafts. We also spent some hours talking about other - future - projects, The Doors and ties.

After the initial greetings and small talk Sergei cleared his throat and told me about an Ukrainian custom of thanking someone for being an inspiration or for doing something good and shortly hereafter he handed me a small, rectangular, white box with the words "Close Up and Private - Look" engraved on it. I opened the box and discovered the most beautiful tie wrapped in white silk paper.

This tie was commissioned by Sergei himself and cut and sewn here in Denmark. It's constructed of a very nice silk twill, it's backed with some very nice grosgrain (which my poor pictures don't show) and most importantly the width is just perfect - especially for a four in hand knot.

This amazing present came out of the blue and of course I wasn't prepared at all. Had I known about this, I would have made something out of leather for him, but instead I tried to return the favour by letting Sergei pick from my many vintage ties, which hardly came close to this tie. However I'll come prepared for our next meeting.

So Sergei, thank you very much. The tie is perfect.

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