Sensuality ⸰ Spirit ⸰ Beauty ⸰ Reverence
⦁ Handcrafted in England
⦁ Naturally dyed Tuscan leather
⦁ Swiss-made Riri zipper
Synesthesia is about crossing over sensory experiences to access the unseen beauty and inner spirit of a thing. See the shape of a sound, hear the sound of a colour and open new reality - fresh reverence.
Comes with an exquisite Exploration Card in a magnetic closure 'book box'.
[#accordion1]
Arthur Dove "Foghorns" 1929
Synesthesia is the experiencing of one of your senses through another. Hearing a certain sound when you see a shape, or a smell when you see a colour. In ‘Foghorns’, Arthur Dove explores this phenomenon to enable us to experience something in a new way and thus help us reach its internal, underlying ‘spirit’.
Arthur Dove aimed to reveal the hidden rhythms of his environment by extracting and distilling form into its purest essence. With ‘Foghorns’ he crosses the boundaries of our senses, recreating the experience of synesthesia. He enables us to experience sound in a visual way. In doing so the ‘truth’ of fog horns in action is accessed more closely than, say, simply painting their apparatus.
Viewing Arthur Dove’s painting is a visceral, highly experiential phenomenon. He places us into an immediate contact with the forms. The effect is both beautiful and thrilling.
[/accordion1]
[#accordion2]
From Sara Teasdale's "Barter" 1918
Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.
In the artwork for Synesthesia, ‘Foghorns’, its artist, Arthur Dove, recreates a sensory experience - the sound of foghorns - through another sense; the visual. He creates an image which manages to access the ‘truth’ of the sound of a foghorn in a deeper way than merely painting the apparatus of the foghorns in a representational manner. But this also goes deeper - in the crossing of the senses - using the different or unusual to interpret something known - it can help us get to a new and deeper appreciation of a thing. It can help us see it via a new reality, be freshly struck by aspects of its fundamental beauty.
Of course poets have been using this type of magic for millennia. Utilizing tools of metaphor, simile and rhythm; glory, transcendence and beauty are uncovered. New meaning is conveyed. Such as in Teasdale’s Barter:
Barter
Life has loveliness to sell,
All beautiful and splendid things,
Blue waves whitened on a cliff,
Soaring fire that sways and sings,
And children's faces looking up
Holding wonder like a cup.
Life has loveliness to sell,
Music like a curve of gold,
Scent of pine trees in the rain,
Eyes that love you, arms that hold,
And for your spirit's still delight,
Holy thoughts that star the night.
Spend all you have for loveliness,
Buy it and never count the cost;
For one white singing hour of peace
Count many a year of strife well lost,
And for a breath of ecstasy
Give all you have been, or could be.
We have a fire that sings - something visual described via an aural phenomena - in our minds we do what Arthur Dove did with Foghorns in reverse - we imagine the song of a fire. Teasdale gives us a Foghorn type sketch describing music visually like ‘a curve of gold’. Abstract elements are given physical manifestations - ‘wonder’ held in a cup, ‘Holy thoughts’ starring the night, an ‘hour of peace’ is white and singing.
Teasdale’s poem is a love song to loveliness, beauty and joy. She paints examples and tells us that these things are everything - that we should ‘buy’ them from life at all costs - that no price is too high.
Dove paints between the senses, draws down new reality and uncovers hidden rhythms. Teasdale's writes with a lyrical clarity and joyous passion. In doing so both create fresh, startling beauty for us to experience. And the price? Simply our open attention and a willingness to experiment a little along with them.
[/accordion2]
[#accordion3]
People & planet positive
We do it properly, respectfully.
⦁ We use recycled nylon for stitch, zip and bond strength. The rest is plastic-free.
⦁ We pay everyone properly for their skill and expertise.
⦁ Our tannery follows an ancient process using only non-toxic plant-based tannins.
Our traditional methods give the leather an unmistakable warm and brilliant shade.
Our pioneering printing lasts a lifetime
Our leather printers re-create artworks like a tattoo. Ink absorbs deeper into the leather, resulting in unparalleled colour vibrancy, image quality and colour durability.
Our pouches are crafted by highly-skilled, passionate people
Our pouches are handcrafted in small batches using traditional methods. This, along with the natural variation in these artisan products, means each one is unique. Each is double-stitched at pressure points and fully leather lined.
Wallet size
⦁ Wallets are 11.5 x 8cm
⦁ 100% leather outer, 100% leather lining
[/accordion3]