• Baker+Brown Co
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• Stories

Stories

As Harold Goddard quite eloquently positions the power of story, "The destiny of the world is determined less by the battles that are lost and won than by the stories it loves and believes in."

• 28-Jun-2015
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• Jen Baker Brown
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• Adventure

Call it wanderlust or some sort of idealist theory, but I have really been wanting to go camping lately. Sometime in my formative years my family would camp, and that timeframe quickly ended with trading the glorious outdoors in the middle of the night for the warm glow of the local Hampton Inn. This week my adult self decided to give camping another try. Who needs AirBNB when you have a polyester dome and the great outdoors. Besides, Pinterest makes camping look so glamorous these days, with their endless gourmet smores recipes and Taj Mahal inspired tents — of course I can hack it in the great outdoors.

• 13-Oct-2014
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• Neil Brown
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• Portrait

Started Out Early


It’s winter, just before my fourth birthday. I clamber onto a metal folding chair with a scrap piece of wood in hand. Before my skinny fingers is the tearing blade of an old, rusty bandsaw. In my father’s makeshift woodshop down in the garage, I was given full autonomy over the scrap box. Filled with spoils, that cardboard box contained an endless trove of opportunity, just waiting for the next idea.

• 15-Aug-2014
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• Neil Brown
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• Portrait

Chapter 1: Learning to live the life of journey rather than a life of destination.

New York. Atlanta. Reading. Easton. Krakow. Appalachia. Lambertville. Hew Hope. The Delaware Water Gap. Baltimore. Richmond. Alabama. Sanibel. Just to name a few. And more yet to be determined … Green Bay. San Francisco. The Catskills. Atlanta. As I write this, I’m cruising at 30,000 feet. Over the last five months, I’ve been in New York a grand total of three weeks. We’re stepping into a season defined less as travel, rather as nomadic. Travel indicates a point of origin, a geographically fixed concept of home, a place to return. Yet for us, home is a fluid concept. For me, home is a person. Home is Jen.

• 19-Jul-2014
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• Neil Brown
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• Adventure

Often it's the simplest lessons that are the most important to learn ... And to be constantly reminded.

Life is busy. Over the last three months, our schedule has been painted solid with travel. Looking forward, the calendar is no less colorful. But recently, we had a few days of downtime to do – well – to do nothing! Needless to say, we were excited at such a proposition; just a few days to get out and explore together. So, it's the first day home in what seems like an eternity. The forecast is rain, nonstop torrential downpour.

• 03-Jun-2014
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• Neil Brown
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• Entrepreneurs

A luxury brand born of a journey.

The Uschanka story started when designer Piret Puppart went on a journey to the Komi people, a small ethnic group living at the very heart of Russia near the Ural mountains. She stayed in an ancient village of reindeer hunters where women wore beautiful scarves and fabrics, often inherited from their mothers and grandmothers. Reaching the Komi villages is no easy feat. Travel first by train, then hitchhike, and finally walk. It is a journey knocking on the doors of local women, asking to view the most treasured pieces within their wardrobe. At first, the ladies are a bit taken back – tourists here are rare – but soon fabrics, embroidery, and patterns are gladly revealed. It is here Puppart finds her brilliant inspiration.

• 31-May-2014
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• Neil Brown
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• Entrepreneurs

Building a sustainable endeavor in the Tenderloin, San Francisco

Tucked away on the second floor of a run down building in the heart of the Tenderloin in downtown San Francisco, Al is hard at work cutting and stitching together leather scraps. He’s been honing his craft for decades, just trying to make a living. Day by day. Wallets, bags, and even coats. Al’s been stopping by the local leather shop for years, and is always on the hunt for floor scraps. Late one afternoon, Allen from TL Made joins Al at the leather shop. This time rather than hunting for floor scraps Al is perusing full pieces of the finest leather available. As the sun is setting over the Pacific Al heads out, rolls of leather in hand. The leather shop owner pulls Allen to the side, and tells him this is the first time Al has ever purchased anything.