New! Leather Wallets and Accessories for Men

You've been asking for it and we finally found what you were asking for - men's wallets and accessories! These are fine leather products handmade by Joseph Henderson. The selection includes bifold wallets, expandable card cases, front pocket money clip wallets, travel wallets, travel valets, slimline jotters and notepad holders. They are all made from full grain smooth American cowhide in black or brown.

The travel valet is pictured here. It snaps to form a perfect place to put keys, jewelry and coins while traveling. You can fold it out flat so it takes up no room in your luggage. My husband just loves his! He uses it all the time, even at home.

Joseph Henderson has been making fine leather accessories since 1971. Each of his products carries an unconditional lifetime guarantee on workmanship and hardware. He also provides embossing for personalized gifts and imprinted accessories.

Fish Talk

Meet Fiona! Fiona is a fused glass fish who is talkative. She loves to spout famous quotes from her "sole". She says things like "Have you kissed your fish today?" and "It haddock be you." Her favorite movie stars are Marlin Brando and Prawn Connery. Fiona insists that she is the empress of all the fish in the sea.

You can visit Fiona at the store or she'll be appearing periodically here in our blog. If you have a suggestion for a Fiona "fishorism", please send it in. Think of it as a fish contest - no perches necessary.

Yearning for Spring

Boy, oh boy! Yesterday was so much fun. It smelled so good outside and mom let us sit in the sun. We toasted ourselves by the door until the sun went away. We didn't have to wear our coats. It felt so good. We were happy, happy, happy.

Sigh. Today is cold again. Back on with the coats. No sun. Where is spring? We thought we had it made yesterday. We want to go for long walks in the woods and sniff out all those deer tracks. And chase butterflies. And roll in the mud. (Mom hates when we do that!)

We don't long for the dog days of summer - just give us spring!

Buddy and Hardy

Who Says You Aren't Creative?

Many times when people come into the store, I talk about the creativity of our artists and how imaginative they are. The majority of people respond by saying "I envy them, I'm not creative at all." How sad. Creativity exists in everyone - you just have to find your creative spirit. Look at anyone under the age of eight. Children love to draw, paint, doodle and create. Their potential for creativity is unlimited. Adults also have the capacity for creativity - they just have to work a little harder to find it, buried beneath social constraints, duty, learned rigidity and fear.

How do you unleash your untapped creativity you ask? Here are some ideas that I found in my research:

• Listen to classical music such as Bach or Mozart. Research has shown that you can increase both intellectual and creative powers when listening to classical music.
• Try different activities to see what appeals to you. Look for an area of natural inclination.
• Expose yourself to the arts - visual, performing and musical.
• Travel - take a break from your routine and look at things that are different - cultures, foods, scenery, perspectives.
• Brainstorm about a problem or situation in your life - the wilder the ideas, the better - come up with as many ideas as you can - then weed out the harebrained ones.
• Go for a walk - physical activity with a change of atmosphere will stimulate your brain.
• Study inspirational people - see what the great ones accomplished, how they thought, what they did for inspiration.
• Think and act like a child - seek out your inner child and let him/her play.
• Write your ideas down as they come to you. Perhaps they'll be improbable later but don't worry, at least 10% of them will be great.
• Exercise your brain - read, do puzzles, talk to clever people.
• Laugh - laughter stimulates creativity.

Joseph Chilton Pearce said "To live a creative life, we must lose our fear of being wrong." What could you do if you weren't afraid? Allowing yourself to move past the fear of being ridiculed will set you free to listen to your inner child and let your creative juices flow. There are numerous resources to help you in this process. I recommend the book "Artist's Way" by Julia Cameron. It has step by step instructions and exercises to stimulate your creativity. I googled on "creativity" when I was preparing to write this article. There are hundreds of websites about enhancing creativity and innovation. So as Nike says "Just do it". Be creative. Give yourself permission to try new things and branch out in different directions. Enjoy the journey.

Ruth