While we were celebrating the opening of our new Studio + Store my sister gave birth to her first child. Yesterday my brother in law finally shared some photographs. Here they are: Julia with her daughter Marlene Yolanda, born on 12.1.11 at 5:05am in Frankfurt, Germany. I am longing to hold her. Welcome Marlene! May you grow into your name and become strong and beautiful and smart. Like your mom.

We Germans have a thing about bags. For us bags are highly functional objects and never meant to be frivolous. Bags are form not fad. Bags are not a fashion accessory, they are a "tool." Now, don't get me wrong, color, shape, material and overall look play a big role when buying a bag-but they are considered second to "functionality." It starts early. Here my brother and I with our very first bags, our kindergarten bags. It took a while to find the right ones, I remember...

In my opinion there is one German brand that has managed to strike a great balance between form, function and innovation and that is BREE. I grew up with BREE bags. BREE bags use the best leather, the best hardware and they last forever.

I am still unpacking from Germany, but wanted to start sharing some of the beautiful things + designs + crafts and brands I discovered or re-discovered on my last travels; share what I brought back to "sweet home" Chicago this time around. Let's start with my father's ashtray...!

Our last day in London was spend at the Whitechapel Gallery...where Thomas Struth's photography kept Jarek and I captivated. We loved this space. And now we are off to the airport going back in time to sweet home Chicago. But oh, we will miss this city. 'Til next time!  xoxox

The last two days were all about Temples, Tatooes, Patterns and Credos...From London's Indian neighborhood, to hemp driven Campden, to soccer crazy NikeTown, fun TopShop and always lovely Muji. Then Yoga studio "Indaba" with it's gorgeously simple + smart interior design-this is probably the most beautiful yoga studio around. Not only is our very own Ellen the general manager she also played a big part in creating this place, leading the Interior Design and Branding efforts.  ( Jarek loved her amazing felt ball installation...) Oh, we heart London.

Bridges,Tubes + Castles. Cathedrals, Pies + Pigeons. The Tate... all brought to us by the amazing Ellen Walsh Moorman,  Jarek's aunt and a good friend. We heart her and we heart her city. xoxox

I hadn't used a typewriter in a very long time. Neither had I written a real letter in a long time. Until last night.

For her birthday Bonnie invited 6 of her girlfriends and Donovan Beeson from the Letter Writers Alliance over for dinner. And what I first called a "cheesy" idea turned into a fantastic night..  Donovan came with four old typewriters, and Bonnie provided us with amazing stationery, postcards, envelopes, stickers, stencils...and postage stamps of many designs, ( however old, the postage is still good to go- just make sure they all add up to 44 cents.) Now, there we were, hanging out and writing letters the old-fashioned way, to our kids, our lovers and loved ones, our friends- and at least one of us wrote a letter to herself.  No spell check, no command Z- just these gracious mechanical letters hitting the paper. Over and over again.  It felt amazing and sounded beautiful.

Yep, we did it again...our annual Easter and Spring Celebration Weekend in Michigan. We gathered with Bonnie, Teddy, Rachel, John, Ruby, Estelle, Sam, Ben, Jarek and Dude and for two and a half days we made incredible feasts, ( from Lamb to Salmon to Chicken Roasts. Apple Pie anybody? Warm and with ice cream? )  We dyed eggs, we decorated, we conquered the wilderness ( ok, think leasurely walks down to the creek)  and finished off with a bountyful egghunt...yes, just like last year and all the years before the Easter Bunny came again.

Oh there are so many reasons why Peeps just do not last long around here. Happy Easter Weekend from our home to yours. Peeps, I mean Peace.

Greetings from Jarek. And our microwave....S

A snowy Sunday afternoon spend on Northerly Island here in Chicago...

"Daphne" ( entirely build out of old Cadillac parts btw.) looks gorgeous in the white Winter scape. Our carefully placed snowballs adorn the crab apples in front of the old Meigs Field Aviation building. And look we started building an igloo...Thanks for playing Sam, Ben, Bonnie, Ted and Jarek.

..."slaughter" your piggy bank! We did just that and for sure scored big this morning. Plus we had hours of fun counting. Amazing what a little pig can hold! Oink oink...

Get your own pig here.  "Bank in the Form of a Pig" is designed by Harry Allen out of resin and marble and is cast from a pig that died of natural causes. ( In case you were wondering.) Oh, and you don't have to "break" your piggy -just open the cork in the belly . ( In case you were wondering about that, too.)

P.S. : Of course if you don't want a piggy bank you could just order our BINTH pig card... Another fine design from our "Offspring" collection. Smile.

Hey little sister...Well you know the song. And you all know by now that we are back in Germany photographing and being part of my little sister's wedding. The last days have been a flurry of activities...I particularly loved learning how to button her into the amazing wedding dress, a beautiful white concoction...which she claims is not white, but champagne colored. Her custom tailored suit for the civil ceremony is undeniable and undebatable RED though.

My mother has become the beholder of all family treasures and the keeper of all secrets. Today, on our last day until we come back in October she pulled out the old family bibles and told Jarek and I where our creative spirit was born. Her grandfather, Karl Grawe, a humble hardworking farmer from Pomerania by day, was a delicate painter and calligrapher by candlelight. She told us that nobody understood how he did this-because his hands were as big and as rough as bricks. Here some of his sketches done in 1883, his writings and the beautiful record keeping of those times...Yes, this too is were we are coming from. We just never knew.

Finally we meet her: the newest member of the BINTH family: Pia Victoria 

Born on April 20th to my brother Hendrik and his wife Andrea. Here she is in all her baby cheek beauty, trying to nap in my mother's house, cozied up in the family crib being ungraciously interrupted by her aunt and cousin from Amerika...

How is this for a first day in Germany? We started our afternoon in a church and ended it in a castle. We are in Heusenstamm, a small town in the outskirts of Frankfurt.  Home to my sister Julia and her soon be be husband Wolfgang. Today it was all about their upcoming wedding day. A long weekend in October that will bring us together again...

The Gustav-Adold Kirche in the center of Heusenstamm. Build in 1922 this lutheran church is one of the newer buildings in town. Here my little sister will make the promise of "forever" on October 2nd.