I first met Natalie Davis when she worked at Rena Tom’s Rare Device shop. Anything associated with Rare Device will always have a special place in my heart because visiting that shop, and Rena, on a daily basis was a big part of my life when I first started Design*Sponge. Rena always had her finger on the pulse of what was new and cool and happening, so it became one of my favorite places to go for ideas and inspiration. Natalie started working at Rare Device in its second iteration in San Francisco where she sold her beautiful wooden apples under the name “Miss Natalie“. Flash forward a few years and now Natalie is living in Austin, Texas where she runs her business, Canoe. Working primarily with leather, Natalie makes key chains, coasters, switchplates and art pieces that combine hand-tooled details and brass elements. I was really impressed with Natalie’s switchplates at ICFF this year, so I wanted to get a peek inside her daily life in Austin. I love getting to see what her process looks like and how her designs come together. I hope you’ll enjoy this peek inside her day as much as I did. xo, grace
Portrait photograph by Chelsea Fullerton. Music in video by Broke for Free.
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8am Wake up: “Our dogs take turns acting as my alarm clock. This morning it’s Mac who jumps up to play and remind me of their breakfast.”
8:45am Breakfast: “Homemade granola and yogurt. Some people have a passion for shoes; I have a passion for granola. This recipe is from my Aunt Bonnie, who makes the best granola in my family”
9am: “Reading, some writing, emails, and a cup of tea. I am trying to get into the habit of writing before opening my email. This is a slightly painful transition, but if I publicly tell you I am doing it, that means I have to do it, right? Review my to-do list. Print orders and get organized for the day.”
10am: “Arrive at studio. Turn on a Radiolab podcast, settle in at my work bench, and start tooling a key chain.”
11:30am: “Take dogs for a quick walk. I love bringing them to the studio because it reminds me to get up and take a break. Also, they’re good listeners when I am working through a problem.”
“A quick sketch of a new tooling pattern on a scrap of leather.”
“Freehand tooling the straps of the Deep Sky tote bag”
Noon: “Lunch break at Salt & Time in east Austin. Pop over for the Cubano sandwich and to catch up my husband, Ben. We discuss the new menus and t-shirt designs I’m working on for the shop.”
12:45pm: “Trip to Tandy Leather. I need to pick up some supplies and tooling stamps. Get distracted by some beautiful lambskins.”
1:30pm: “Back at the studio. Wake up the dogs for a walk and then start hand dying a deerskin for a new bag I’m releasing in the Fall. I love the dye process because you never know what you’ll get, as each hide takes to the dye differently. Wabi sabi is my mantra.”
2:30pm: “Meeting with J.Hannah to review our upcoming natural perfume blend. I love perfume and recently worked with Jessica to create a signature scent for myself. It was such a fun experience that I decided to collaborate with her on a scent for Canoe. We’ve narrowed it down to 4 blends. I’ll be wearing each for the next few weeks as we decide on the final direction.”
4pm: “Work on packaging ideas for perfume. I save all of my leather scraps and try to reuse them whenever I can.”
6pm: “Pack up orders. After years of hiding packing peanuts, I finally designed my dream packing station this summer. The shibori-dyed bag is on a pulley system so I can bring it down easily for refills. The second photo is a stack of my Luna Coasters ready to be packaged.”
7pm: “Happy hour. Meet up with a friend to catch up over drinks on the patio at Radio, a new bar in south Austin. Then it’s back home to have dinner with Ben and catch up on our day. Then settling in for a night of reading”