Let the gratitude and humbleness come to life by running

Hooray!!!

I am so happy to share that I finished Los Angeles Marathon two weekends ago! When I completed, my first text message to Frido was "Finished, and it was amazing!!!" and that is still exactly how I feel about the experience today. Running through our own city was such a treat too. I have never thought it was possible to get from downtown Los Angeles to Santa Monica Beach with my own two feet.

Yes. It took almost 5 hours, but I never stopped moving forward. Physically, most incredible part was the feeling of the energy rushing through the body during the 2nd half of the race. Thanks to the pre-race carb-loading (Thank you so much, Susan, for feeding the entire family with tasty and nourishing food for 10 days leading up to the race!!). Even though I never wanted to eat another "healthy carb" ever again, eating strategically during the pre-race week really helped.

A huge thank you to our running team who is so close to my heart and our experienced coach Andy for putting together a training program that strengthened me physically and emotionally to be able to complete the race.

And of course..., there was nothing like seeing the smiles of families at the 16th-mile point of the race as well as each morning when I returned from my training run.

The day was worth all the sweat and tear that went into the 6-month training. And I believe running brings gratitude and humbleness in life. It's magical.

 

 

TN Blue // Color comparison

We are so excited to share that we have received our first inventory for the new TN Blue at our studio. It's nearly impossible to conclude exact color of the TN Blue (since each TN blue will be slightly different from one to another due to the nature of the leather as an organic material). But I thought it might be visually helpful if you get to see the new and original TN Blue next to each other. 

TN Blue Passport in the photographs is the new version added to our collection!

Wearing the leather also changes the leather color over time, and each leather seems to act and react differently. I have seen TN Brown get both darker and lighter over usage. (My original TN Brown have gone very light compared to my friend's TN Brown which got richer and darker in color). Humidity in the air, oil on your hand, coffee and water stains, etc. all go into the color factors. 

I hope you get to see "YOUR" Traveler's Notebook evolve with continuous usage.

Getting in the travel mode with Traveling Balloon Pants!

We recently got a sample of Petite Size of the [TSLxBK] Traveling Balloon Pants from The Superior Labor. We have been carrying the regular size for a while and I am thrilled that this petite size will be able to travel around the world with more friends who have the petite body frames. Eunice tried it out and it fits lovely on her. She is 5'2"! 

I love wearing these pants with ankle hems up to my knees especially when the weather gets nice. It's so fun to match them with a pair of sandals and feel like I have a big puffy balloon around me! During the winter time, I wear the pants with my sneakers and my favorite Happy Socks. 

I hope you enjoy them! Happy traveling:) 

Hang in there...

It has been the most demanding 14 days. Satchi picked up flu... and back to back, both girls were sick. And it coincided with the 2 weekends with the longest runs for my LA marathon training and Frido has been out of town. Taking care of kids with high fever for 3 days in a row without much sleep then running 19 miles is strenuous. I am exhausted yet also thankful for being able to get through it with a lot of help from friends and families.

This morning I was happy to see both girls playing in the mud. Giggling and laughing... 

If you are a mom, dad or caregiver... taking care of kids or family members with flu. I feel for you. Know that there will be an end to the tunnel. Hang in there. 

Staying true to who we are.

I wrote this content few weeks ago for our BK Love Letter (you can sign up here if you are interested:). This message is really important to me so I wanted to keep a record here as well. Someday I might look back to this post and smile:)

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February was an indeed short month! Days flew by but not without making the time count. I am back training for a marathon. Making each step cautiously but with a sense of optimism... just the way I run my life.

At Baum-kuchen studio, we are in the full swing of planning Inspiration Lab with The Superior Labor that will be happening in May. This Inspiration Lab is especially important because it is the first tangible manifestation to answer a question that has been lingering in my head for last few years.

"In the midst of a culture that is everything instant and disposable, where do we stand as a shop?"
I have been pondering a lot about the responsibility which weighs on me as a shop owner. I have wanted to find an authentic way to help our community embrace artifacts instead of constantly needing to sell more new things. What if Baum-kuchen can be a hub to support the wearing-in process of the artifact? Yes. We will continue to curate and share artifacts we believe in with you. At the same time, can we also be there to help transform your beloved artifacts to be truly yours with stories, memories, and love?

Creating something new is time-demanding and comes with a sense of vulnerability. I am thankful for the BK and TSL team's support to power through the process of creation. The event is shaping up beautifully with a lot of fun and original contents. You can read more about the Inspiration Lab details here on our website if you are interested. I hope this will be the beginning of something little bigger for our studio/shop.

While you are browsing the BK space, I would love you to take a look at an interview piece with Ame. She is the newest member of Baum-kuchen studio and we can't be happier to share her passion for all things analogue with you. Also, Trina is sharing a story about journaling with "authentic voice". I am immensely inspired by Trina's personal journey and so grateful that she can inspire us all with her insightful thoughts.

As spring nears, I hope your "home", whether it's your physical home or inside of your journal pages, continues to be a reflection of who you truly are.

xoxo

-wakako

always work in progress...

Los Angeles // March 3rd, 2018

A fun way to explore our website: BK Staff Pick by Eunice

We are always looking for ways to keep our website engaging! We just incorporated a new area  "BK Staff Pick" in our Featured Collection! Scroll down our website a little and you will see this month's featured collection by Eunice!

We are constantly changing our collection and curated artifacts so check back often to see what we are up to! Also, "Love for Analogue User Stories" has been such an inspiring project. I hope you are enjoying the ongoing updates to these stories as well.

xoxo
-wakako

Traveler's Notebook BLUE to come soon

The other day, we received an update from Traveler's Company that they will be integrating TN Blue regular size, passport size and pen holder clip into their permanent collection! We are, of course, beyond excited as it was a pretty special color for a lot of people.

Right now we are waiting for more updates from our distributor reg. the timing of the first delivery as well as the quantity we will be receiving. If you are interested in getting more updates about TN Blue, please send us an email so we can add you to our contact list.

Since TN Blue will be a part of the regular TN collection (instead of limited edition item like TN Olive), we should be able to carry them as in-stock items in a long run. But we might have a limited quantity at first.

Please stay tuned!