Fall Celebrations, Fall Edits & Fall Crafting

This month’s newsletter will land in your inbox on Halloween, All Saints’ Day, or Día de Muertos — depending on where you are in the world, what your personal traditions are, and what you choose to celebrate (or not!).

Truthfully, I don’t decorate for Halloween. Some years we’ll set a little pumpkin on the front porch, but

if I’m being completely honest, my husband and I tend to go out for dinner on the 31st… is that awful? When we do stay home, I love seeing the little ones dressed up — wide-eyed and slightly astonished that they’re allowed to knock on strangers’ doors and be rewarded with treats! It must be mighty confusing for them as it goes totally against all that they are taught the rest of the year. 

My favourite country to visit in late October and early November is Mexico. They celebrate in a way that resonates deeply with me — with altars in homes, shops, and on street corners, each expressing gratitude to loved ones who have passed and all adorned with marigolds. Tables are dressed with offerings, another form of altar, crafted to honour those no longer with us. They are remembered and spoken of with warmth and light. It’s a truly magical experience to witness how death is celebrated with such heartfelt reverence.

So in my own home, I’ll have a pot or two of marigolds, I’ll light some candles, give thanks, and spend a little time in quiet reflection possibly drinking hot cacao.

I adore a hot cup of cacao or chocolate all year round but especially so as the weather chills. I love to pair Navitas Organics Cacao Powder with Greenhouse organics unsweetened almond milk – the perfect start to a day!  For a little more decadence, I was recently gifted from a friend with Ontario made Soul Chocolate – the 60% classic blend is perfectly dense and not at all sweet. 

The Fall Edit

I know I am not alone in the annual purging and editing of stuff in our homes, lives, computers and phones that suddenly becomes a code red to to do (immediately) as the temperature begin to drop. 

I’ve often wondered if it’s a reaction to the weather, the knowing that we are going to spending more time indoors and wanting not to be surrounded with the clutter that not spending a lot of time indoors has caused us to accumulate. 

There are spaces, pockets, closets in my home that really don’t get used for months – such as the hall closet – no need to go in here when you are not wearing a coat or jacket. The same can be said for multiple other little zones all over the place. 

I do love my collections of things – boxes, books and pottery – I call them collections as it sounds fancier and more curated than verging on hoarding which it may be……. Anyhow, a good old edit never fails to make me feel more organised. I’ll often switch things around and then all looks new and fresh to the eye. 

I like to strip a room down to its basics – area carpet and furniture and then see what I want to put back in and where. I ‘’borrow” cushions, books, plants and accessories from other rooms and mix these in with some of the original accessories and then move onto the next space with my leftovers. 

Its amazing how a simple vase can look so different in another room, with a different backdrop or light. I love to play with all the things in my home, they rarely stay in the same place for long, I am a big fan of rotating items.

A classic picture rail makes swapping your art out a breeze. I don’t have one of these in my home yet, but one day I really want to install at least one in a room at home! I am such a collector of things from our travels and I’d love to be able to able to switch things around with ease without marking up my walls.

Until then I will happily make do with a good sturdy grasscloth on my walls which hides a multitude of nail holes and gives me maximum freedom!

Fall Crafting

Maybe I’m still on a paint induced giddy high from my time screen printing in London last month – see September’s journal for context – but I am in need of finding a new hobby for the winter months. I’m torn between learning hooked art or embroidery. 

My Instagram feed is bursting with embroidery kits for beginners (I swear it reads my mind……..) and I’m sorely tempted to purchase one and see if its something that I’d like to do / can do. I love embroidery on chairs as shown above, this exquisite piece is by Casamento, or in unexpected places such as the leading edge of a curtain….watch this space to see if I pick up a new hobby this winter. 

Good task lighting will be critical and I’m slightly obsessed with this light by Lumous – whatever hobby I take up I will defiantly need this if I am to succeed!! 

Another option is to learn hooked art using mixed materials such as wool and silk and fabric remnants. I love the textural nature of a piece like this and fell in love with this craft during my time on Fogo Island in the spring. The piece above is by the super talented Kara McIntosh and I’m fortunate to have one of hers framed and hanging in my studio. I took several photos on Fogo Island that I feel would look incredible as a basis for a textural piece like this. I adore the colours below!! 

Tapestry to me is a mix of both arts and I am in the process of re-imagining a pair of family tapestries that were once made by my mother-in-law and her mum, Dean’s maternal grandmother. They were once mounted on velvet and hung in several family member’s homes over the years. They have been looking for a new home for a while and I am happily delighted that I have been given free reign to do what I’d like with them, so that too will be a winter project alongside my trusty upholsterer!! Maybe a patch work ottoman or inset into a more contemporary cushion or a chair seat, we will see!! 

The tapestry ottoman above is seen in Beata Heuman’s design studio – the blanket stitching on the outside corners is divine inspiration!

Earlier this month we were delighted to be included in Canadian House & Homes Top 100 list and look forward to seeing more of our work in print in their magazine in  2026.  Stay tuned!!!

I look forward to connecting with you on our socials, in person or in the journal next month, thank you, as always, for reading.

Warmly, 

Gillian 

Credits, images, musings and some more contents of my head.

Trio of header images from left to right 1. Marigolds in an abandoned warehouse by Flower Disco 2. Needlepoint – image found online, source unknown. 3. Beautiful bedroom, layered just how we like it by Laura Stephens. 4.Marigolds in a vase, source unknown. 5 & 6 Mudroom and coffee tablescape from our Lawrence Park project. 7. An adorable picture gallery wall by Aesthetic Abode. 8. Exquisite embroidery by Casamento 9. Hooked wall art by Kara McIntosh. 10. Inspiration image by Gillian from Fogo Island. 11. A moveable feast ottoman from Beata Heuman. 12. Yours truly as shot by Virginia Macdonald in one of our recently completed projects.  

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