Home Design with Kevin Sharkey

My day bag has to be rugged enough to withstand being thrown around on the journey from office to home and back again. Of course, it has to be stylish too (that's non-negotiable). This Meterman's tool bag ($100) from Steele Canvas basket fits the bill perfectly. The interior pockets are meant for a meterman's tools, but they'd also keep my cell phone, camera, pens, and other gadgets neatly organized. Plus, if it's sturdy enough to withstand the wear and tear of metal tools, it can handle my essentials, and the best part is that is only gets better with age.

No. 4 canvas is securely sewn around the handmade internal steel frame structure. The inside design has a large pocket on one side and eight small pockets, for tools.  To top it off, each bag comes with two sturdy canvas handles and a leather strap with a brass buckle on the top. I love the contrast of the rich leather and brass buckles to the starkness of the canvas. This rugged carryall is my new must-have.

All of us around the office are fans of Best Made, a carefully curated online shop with witty clothing, accessories, and home goods. Founder Peter Buchanan-Smith's aesthetic reminds me of Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom -- except less twee and with a stronger dose of Americana. You may have come across their most famous (and first) product before: The Best Axe.

The site is a treasure trove of chic camping supplies (not an oxymoron!) and decor items, but I can't get enough of the badges. If only I'd had them when I was in school to smarten up my uniform and blue blazer!

Check out the whole collection of jaunty badges here.

Last fall, Harper's Bazaar dedicated an entire issue to "daring." I only just got to it recently, but I was entranced by an opening essay by Joan Juliet Buck.

Buck, a former editor of French Vogue, is always worth reading. She's taken plenty of risks herself, and the essay blends personal anecdotes with ruminations on risk-taking and art in general.

Here's one of my favorite passages:

"The daring are angels and geniuses and demons and divas and clowns, and sometimes also patsies, stooges, and fools. Daring is not safe. The impresario Serge Diaghilev said to the poet and painter Jean Cocteau, 'Amaze me.' He did not say, 'Reassure me,' 'Tell me I'm right,' 'Admire me,' or 'Stay in line and you'll get a nice pension.' ... Art demands daring. It demands the new, the untested, the unproven. And if you try, you will at some point fall on your face, just like the first wearers of impossible shoes."

Exhilirating, right? I loved it so much, I made copies of the page and passed it out to everyone in my office.

Unfortunately Harper's doesn't seem to have put the essay online, but I did find a digital copy of the essay here.

(Image: The Colonies)