Lan's Journal

An Elysian garden in Los Angeles inspires a sensual collection to renew soul, body, and earth. 

The Long Confidence founder Rafi Ajl creates furniture and homegoods born of both mind and body.

The aesthetic and craft values that underlie the work of beloved San Francisco ceramicist Len Carella—richness of materiality, enduring quality, elegant simplicity—echo my own. We spoke with Len about small production, conscious consumerism, and the joy of letting the process lead the way.

While cut flowers around my home have always been a necessity, I've recently become enthralled by houseplants and the power of green leaves.

Falling on the second new moon after winter solstice, this year we celebrate Chinese New Year, or Spring Festival, on February 1^st.  A moment to honor earthly and celestial new beginnings, in 2022 this lunar holiday also marks the Year of the Tiger, in Chinese culture an astrological symbol of bravery and ambition. 

I light candles the way people turn on lights upon entering a room. When I arrive at the atelier, or when returning home, among the first things I do is to strike a match and set candles aglow.

With Chinese New Year coming up on the first of February, I wanted to share a very simple ritual of mine. My mother gave me this Chinese herbal tea recipe, with which I begin every day.

When I begin designing, it is the tactile sense - the texture of a material, how it drapes - that demands my full attention. Achieving the right fit, the right cut, is paramount. In a sense, I’m working in black and white, in the sculptural world, the world of form and proportion.

Floral sorceress Katie Chirgotis of Eothen transforms every space she touches, whether she is weaving artful garlands of pale botanicals along mantles or suspending poetic nests of florals and feathers from the rafters. 

Betsy and Greg are very dear friends who very recently became engaged. These photos were taken days before Greg proposed, and you can feel the love radiating from them during the shoot. 

Since her teenage years in the UK, Lan has always been captivated by the elegance and energy of tartan, the pattern more commonly referred to as plaid in North America.

The world's oldest pharmacy, Santa Maria Novella, in Florence, is not only a cultural treasure, celebrating its 800th anniversary three days ago, but an innovative creator of natural, handmade products that become essential luxuries.