(Photo Credit: Michelle Magdalena Maddox)
I knew Dallas was in the rearview mirror as Highway 1 took me over the hill from Monterey into Carmel where mountains taper off and meet the ocean. With family, friends and new design business in Texas one would think an off the cuff statement like “I am moving” was a joke, but it happened theoretically in less than a day. Fast forward ten years, and the initial appeal of moving lead to a deep responsibility to protect the natural beauty I grew to crave and respect. Wearing a Gucci Python dress sitting on my custom Landon Ottoman (which reverses to Walnut Coffee Table) paradoxes Dallas fashion with a sustainable shift into manufacturing. So, I ask- what’s the balance between consumption and excess?
Pieces Shown: Bolton Sofa, Bond Side Table, Herman Stools, Landon Ottoman, Ralph Swivel Chairs
Interior design opens a door beyond improving one’s space, it makes you keenly aware of waste. If all purchases affect the environment outside of the space, how can I bridge the gap of good and bad. Mass consumption and production are taxing our planet. Sustainable manufacturing is a shift in how we approach creating, buying, and recycling. My Sea to Sierra line is hand-made in California and created to provide a custom product with authorship and personalization in order to connect people to belongings, a connection that often transcends style and marks time. We have a stairway to climb with heightened awareness to how our choices play out on many levels. I see how one life can lead to many saved steps for others.
(Photo Credit: Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)
(Photo Credit: Tehamacarmel.com)
My mission with the Sea to Sierra furniture line parallels the vision Clint Eastwood has for Teháma, incorporating awareness and stewardship for our planet. When you look outside yourself and at all God creates nature has a humbling way of redirecting our “to do” lists. There is a world outside ourselves which not only involves where we live and what we own, but who we align with on the journey.
According to Clint Eastwood: “Taking an interest in the land is the only way to protect it.”
(Photo Credit: Michelle Magdalena Maddox)
And according to me: “Taking an interest in your footprint you leave on the land is the only way to protect footprints to come.”
I am blessed to know some amazing people. While sitting on my Bolton Sofa (named after design approval and sweet friendship with Michael Bolton) with Carmel stone in the backdrop, life has me grateful for two legends who recognize the importance of empathy and growth with changes in time. In regard to footprints-thank you Astin and Hamilton (my beautiful children) for giving me the foresight to build something beyond my time, and with deep love for the uniqueness you each bring helping me grow as a mother and designer.
From Sea to Sierra’s across the county, may God’s Grace be seen not only in his naturally beautiful landscapes but also in the work we wake up each morning to perform in His Honor and the mindful connections we make along the way.
Written By Ashley Yeates