For those of us who were fortunate enough to spend time at grandma and grandpa’s house growing up, it’s a curious thing the small details that left an enduring impression on our memories – a crystal candy jar, the mild sweetness of hand soap, or in my case, a well-worn calendar towel. My grandparents were rural farmers who had mastered the art of living both simply and beautifully. An item in the home needed to serve a purpose, or several (after all, the name of their town was Ft. Necessity)! So each year at Christmas time, when the cotton gin sent local farmers their annual gift of a calendar towel, it went up immediately for display in the kitchen. After being replaced the following year, the calendar was now a towel for drying dishes. It became soft, faded and was a treasured remembrance because of the images it displayed, the year it represented, and the usefulness it served. From these calendar towels came my earliest appreciation for design and function, and I am inspired to carry on the tradition of creating what is both pretty and practical today.
In this inaugural year, the Richard Creative Calendar Towel carries an image that is reminiscent of one of the simple things belonging to influential people in our childhood, Pyrex cookware. Crowded living rooms, clinking glasses, boisterous conversations, cheek-pinching, and of course, the food. You could almost tell what each dish was just by the signature container in which it came. And, more importantly, you could tell who had taken the time to make it. So, hang this calendar somewhere in your home where it can be something pretty, something practical, and something to help us remember all of those who spent time in the kitchen because they loved us, as we do now for those that we love.