FEATURED ITEM | AW DRAWSTRING BACKPACK

Meet the newest addition to the collection of AW drawstring backpacks.  This guy is made with all leather.  The body is a Portobello coloured cowhide leather, which is re-purposed new leather that came from the Robert Ledingham design studio.  The black base is branded with the 'AW' logo and made of a super soft Italian leather, which feels just like butter.

Here are some other drawstring backpacks from the collection:

SIZE: Sensible
BODY: Wax Canvas, all the wax canvas in the AW collection comes from a family run mill in the US.  They have been making waxed canvas for over 100 years, these guys know their fabrics!
BASE: Italian Leather
STRAPS: Swiss-made rock climbing static ropes
COLOURS: Olive, Indigo, Slate + Field Tan

SIZE: Mini
BODY: Wax Canvas
BASE: Wax Canvas
STRAPS: Swiss-made rock climbing static ropes
STRAP LOOPS: Italian Leather
COLOURS: Slate + Indigo, Indigo + Field Tan, Olive + Indigo, 

xo

AW

SUNDAY MORNING | INTERNET DAYDREAMING

 

xo

AW

ISLAND TIME | LAST MOMENTS OF SUMMER....

For my extended labour day weekend I made my way to an incredible private island.  My friend G's family has a beautiful cabin on Hernando.  The setting and the decor is stunning. The cabin has even been featured in home decor magazines.  

This weekend was a little piece of heaven.  Good friends, adventures and food. 

 

 

Thank you Captain G!

xo

AW

instagram photos by Masako 

DINNER AL FRESCO | LET’S MEAT OUTSIDE

My partner Joe and I will usually organise a large dinner party every summer.  It's a chance to see those lovely friends that you don’t always get to see through out the year.  It also allows us to exercise some of our favorite hobbies on a much larger scale. Joe: creating the ultimate dinner party menu and roasting large cuts of meats. Myself: entertaining, staging and cooking.

This past summer we were fortunate enough to be house sitting Joe’s Mom, Christine’s house.  Christine is originally from Leeds, UK.  She has an incredible white washed, authentic, all natural, rustic English country side aesthetic. 

We knew that this would be the perfect setting for our dinner party. 
The larger the location the larger the guest list.  This was our biggest and best challenge yet.  We settled on a southern theme dinner party.  We were going to have slow roast meats, corn on the cob, cheesy mac and cheese, whole roast peppers, and Bourbon cocktails.

The day before the party started I hung yards upon yards of metallic bunting I had made.  Joe dug out a 2 x 2 foot pit, for his beef shoulder slow roast he was roasting over night.

The day of the dinner party, 'Let's Meat Outside.' This was what our dinner party for 40 looked like...

 

  

 

all the nice photos by: Masako Adachi

xo

AW

EAGLE BLUFFS | Day hiking

The other day I went on a day hike with a few friends.  It reminded me how lucky I am to living in such beautiful surroundings.  The hike started at the base of Cypress Mountain, and we made our way to the incredible look out at Eagle Bluffs.  The view is incredible out there!  The top photo shows Howe Sound, and the views from the look out continue to span across greater Vancouver and the surrounding areas.  

We didn't see any eagles up there, but we did spot a raven perched on the tree top. 

I hope you are also enjoying the last remaining moments of summer!

xo

AW

IVAN | Studio Mascot

 

Meet Ivan Wong, the studio mascot.  He was previously a mascot at Cats Only, a local veterinarian clinic + cat hotel.  We were fortunately to adopt him two years ago; shortly after they changed locations, and it was no longer a good place for such a curious, trouble-making cat.  He has brought his mascot experience, and outgoing personality to AW studios.  It would be hard to picture the studio without Ivan.  His past times include: demanding hugs and hangouts, chilling out in his Cat Tipi, discussing current events and general mischief.

xo
AW + Ivan

CARAVAN BEACH SHOP | Tofino, B.C.

Fresh from AW studios, I just sent off a bunch of custom hand stamped leather 'TOFINO' key chains to one of our super sweet retailers, Caravan Beach Shop.  The creative drive behind this shop is Jen Thorpe.  We first met when we worked together in Vancouver, this was part of my past life when I was working as a clothing designer at a major Canadian retailer.  Since then we have both started our own businesses, reflecting our mutual love for the Pacific coast.

Jen balances the perfect mix of locally made products, all your must-have surf accessories and vintage.  This shop tops the list of places to visit when you come to this super chill, laid back surf town.

I can't wait to visit Caravan next month when I go to Tofino.  I'll be hand delivering some new AW bags!  While I'm there I will also refresh my amateur surfing skills. I'll share some more of my favorite spots in Tofino next month during my visit.

xo
AW