The DÔEN Scrapbook
A Coastal Sojourn
We’ve always held a deep-rooted reverence for the coast in late winter. Our friends Alex and Scott captured Prelude, our first collection of the year, amongst the craggy coastline and sandy dunes of Cap Ferret. See below for a few of our favorite things inspired by the sea.
Seaside Sounds
Meditative or lyrical, this compilation of seaside sounds is rife with nostalgia. {Listen here}
A Maritime Reading List
These Are My Flowers: Raising a Family on the Big Sur Coast by Nancy Hopkins
This series of letters details the author’s experience raising her family on a ridge overlooking the wild and volatile Big Sur Coast in the 1950s.
The Shell Collector by Anthony Doerr
The characters who populate these eight exquisite stories are connected by their shared deference to the abundance and formidable power of nature.
The Waves by Virginia Woolf
This poetic mediation on grief centers around six characters grappling with the death of a beloved friend against a backdrop of the English coast.
Moby-Dick by Herman Melville
Melville’s epic tale of man versus nature follows Ishmael, a sailor aboard a whaling ship whose captain seeks vengeance against the giant sperm whale that crippled him on the ship’s previous voyage.
The Sea, The Sea by Iris Murdoch
A renowned playwright and theatre director retires from bustling 1970s London to an isolated home on the English Coast where he is confronted by a series of strange events that shake him to his core.
Sea Treasures
We are lifelong collectors, always searching for little treasures wherever we go—from feathers and shells to sand dollars and sea glass. We love the way collecting opens our eyes, inviting us to slow down and become more aware of our surroundings. See below for crafts, collections, and more that we love.
The Art of Collecting
While wandering by the seashore for hours with no agenda is cathartic, having a list of things to find can make a simple trip to the beach feel like a childlike scavenger hunt. Here’s a list of a few of our favorite things to look out for:
~ Shells that look like butterflies
~ Perfectly round rocks
~ “Wishing stones” (rocks with one continuous line that wraps all the way around)
~ Heart-shaped rocks
~ Green sea glass
Sunprints
Sunprints are an easy way to immortalize the coastal treasures—bits of seaweed, coastal flowers, or coral—you stumble upon. Here’s a great and easy-to-use kit to get started.
Collecting Inspiration
We’re constantly looking to our fellow collectors for inspiration and ideas on how to display our treasures. Some of our forever favorites include Georgia O’Keeffe, Jim Ede’s pebble collection, and Andy Goldsworthy’s assemblage (Rivers and Tides, a documentary detailing his work, is incredible).
Image Credits
{“Boats on the Seacoast at Étaples” by Charles-François Daubigny (1871) // “Eaton’s Neck, Long Island” by John Frederick Kensett (1872) // “Beskrivelse Fjord” by Thomas Neumann (1937) // “Clouds” by Thomas Cole (c.1838) // “Bedruthan Steps, I, Cornwall, England” from the Detroit Publishing Co (c. 1890-1900)}
