Anahata Katkin

Spring Equinox

I don't know about you, but Spring feels like a wonderful, powerful force this year for me.  I am loving it and enjoying this transition on so many levels.  Here's some of my moody, Spring favorites from my "Nature Inspired", Pinterest Board.  There's so much to capture out there... Happy Spring Equinox week.

PAPAYA! Living: clippings

All our travels this fall and winter are beginning to culminate in a fuller, juicier boutique at PAPAYA! Living.  New jewelry is in from India, Nepal, Portland and Turkey.  I had a chance to rebuild our antique jewelry cases and get the beautiful new line up on display.There's also lots of daintier pieces in right now.  Lovely points of interest to help you shine. There's new artwork around from yours truly and new PAPAYA! products with them on it. You can follow our work weeks on Instagram here, and the store specifically right here.

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Spring Cleaning: Business & Craving the Making

We're feeling the spring fever around here.  Both at PAPAYA! and PAPAYA! Living there's this buzz to comb through everything and just fine tune all the little details.  It's a great time for spring cleaning in business so to speak.  The ideas are flowing, coffee's on and we're ready to roll up our sleeves and make thoughts a reality. I think it's literally the sudden, and powerful spring here in Southern Oregon that's got us all fired up and focused.  Which means artwork and painting are on the back burner for now while we get down to the nitty gritty, nuts-n-bolts of what we do on the business side. We've learned over the years to pay attention to the various waves of energy within PAPAYA.  There are intense times where all I can think of is painting, and late nights designing on the computer.  It feels literally like a tide, and it creates magical moments in time where so much more can be created.  The same is true on the business side.  It feels different but it's a tug from the gut that creates a headier, focused energy that requires discussions, collective team efforts and a bubbly mental energy.  And that's the current we're riding now.  And man has spring fueled that vibe. So for now the paints and the studio will have to wait.  I'm craving the making too, but one stream is stronger than the other right now.  And once we get through this spring cleaning energy, I get to put my studio back in order and get to it!  Pretty damn exciting. How do you handle the various waves between mental developments and creative time?  The two are so integral and paramount to success.  And I'm always curious how others strike this balance... Happy spring cleaning out there!

Desk Swag is Back!

It's been a very long time since we first introduced desk supplies at PAPAYA!  It's been about 6 years.  So we felt it was time to bring back some old favorites that have been missing for a while.  Like file folders, and legal pads!  Who couldn't use cuter desk swag!



You can see the full line up of new desk accessories on our site.  We also make lots of companion supplies like spiral notebooks, pocket notebooks, weekly planners and more...  "Love what you do out there"...xoxox

So Fast

I was looking through pictures this morning and came across these amazing pictures of my little dude.  Rowan is 13 now and these pics are from less than three years ago when we opened our PAPAYA! boutique.  The leap from 10-13 couldn't be more wide.  That little baby-face smile and sweet lil head of curls!  The curls are curlier and the little boy face is fading every day. It's even time to teach him to shave.  Sigh...
I'm just as excited about where he's headed but can hardly believe the excellerated pace that life has in store for us all. I'm already missing the little boy.  Now he's a teen and headed for manhood. (gulp) Precious moments.  xoxox...

Indian Inlay, Wood Furniture

This is the table that started it all.  I was lucky enough to score this bad boy at an antique store years back.  I had seen similar chairs at the Ashland Springs Hotel and had never seen anything with the inlay technique, in wood- until I found this delightful little table.  I covet it like crazy and enjoy it endlessly.
See!  Even the legs have the hand hammered, bone inlay, motif.  I had no idea at the time just what a treat it is to own one of these.  On our trip to India in October 2013, I made it my mission to seek out more of this inlay style. Known as Hoshiarpur, it is tediously made using hand made bone chips (or plastic), which are hammered into the wood. But it proved harder to find than I had expected.  Often made one piece at a time in private, home studios, in Udaipur, this traditional technique is a specialized art form not found just anywhere. And you can imagine the artisans skill required to hone this sort of craft. Hence the obsession deepens! At this point my knowledge of these Indian techniques is slim, despite my keen interest and first layer study of them in India.  So as for block printing and inlay- it's a chicken or the egg debate currently.  But certainly block printing and inlay are a beautiful mirror of one another in Indian design. Lucky for me, I was able to track down a few, traditional and spectacular wooden, inlay pieces while in India.  Some I will have available in our boutique, PAPAYA! Living when the container of magic eventually arrives.  But for those of you wanting the look and not the price or the hunt of the real thing look at these incredible stencil pieces the following bloggers created.  I think it's a fantastic effect and I am pretty excited about it!
Amazing!  This demo is by Kim Myles using Cutting Edge Stencils to create this look.  You can read all about how to do this, right here. Now all I can think about are stairwells and table treatments done in this stencil design!  I can't wait to share with you the finds we will be unpacking next month from our India travels.  More to come soon...xooxxox.