Whale Trail Valet

We were recently featured in the local newspaper, The Dana Point Times, to discuss our new Whale Trail Valet Tray. 

Having our brand be named Headlands we often feel an obligation to give back to the local landmass from which we derive our name. It’s less of an obligation and more as a signal of gratitude. Gratitude for being there, undeveloped, allowing others to find solace on top of it and to the people who volunteer their time, money and energy into keeping it a local treasure. 

Dana Point was recently added to a list of places you can consistently view whales. This list is called the “Whale Trail” and it’s mission is to inspire an “appreciation and stewardship of whales and our marine environment by establishing a network of viewing sites along the whales’ trails.” We find this effort noble and important, especially in today’s society where we find ourselves staring at pictures of nature through our iPhones instead of getting outside and experiencing it ourselves. We also find being added to the Whale Trail as validation that this place we call home truly is beautiful, magical and unique.  It’s a place where the wild world of the ocean and the rest of us meet together and coexist. If you’re a surfer you get what we mean by this. You can find yourself paddling out only to be met by a curious sea lion or a playful dolphin. 

I guess what we’re trying to say is we made this Valet tray, which we will donate a portion of the sales from to the Headlands Conservancy, as a way of tipping our hat to the beauty of Dana Point. It’s our way of saying thank you. Thanks for giving us the opportunity to live and create here.  

Music to Work to

We don’t consider ourselves to be the coolest when it comes to music but we definitely define ourselves as music people. Scott is all about the Tom Waits and I still can’t get over my love for Bright Eyes and anything Conor Oberst.

When I find songs I like I typically add them to a playlist on Spotify and eventually work it into a mix I can hand out to people on their birthdays or whenever. 

Lately, I’ve been turning on my Spotify mix when we work and we both find ourselves relaxing, sinking in to the music and the creative process. 

I have listed the playlist here for those of you who aren’t on the Spotify bandwagon yet. But I also included the Spotify link if you dig that kinda thing.

Happy listening from Headlands. 

Strangers- The Kinks

Graceland- Justin Townes Earle

Sweet Virgina- The Rolling Stones

At The Hop- Devendra Banhart

Live Forever- The Highwaymen

Jesus, etc.- Wilco

Papa Hobo- Paul Simon

Buddy- Willie Nelson

End Of The Line- Travelling Willbury’s

I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free- Nina Simone

The Man in Me- Bob Dylan

Forget the Flowers- Wilco

Blue Monday- Fats Domino

Sweet Dark-Haired Man- Joan Shelley

Handle With Care- Jenny Lewis & The Watson Twins

Ingrid Bergman- Billy Bragg, Wilco

KRS-One- Sublime

Sam Stone- John Prine

The Sandman, The Brakeman and Me- Monsters Of Folk

Mona Lisas And Mad Hatters- Elton John

Family Tradition- Hank Williams, Jr. 

Let Me Back In- Rilo Kiley

Memory Lane- Elliott Smith

https://open.spotify.com/user/126643259/playlist/4Rq9Tj2jgWRoqbAet2Lgz0?si=OOqCUmu9S9yyOan4KGWn4w 

Small Family Business

We are a small family business. We get so caught up in the other aspects of our brand that we forget to mention this one. Our brand is so much about the history of California, specifically Dana Point, and the hide trading that once took place here. However, our brand is just as much about the present and the future.  In March of last year we welcomed our son into this world. We took some classes, read some books, assembled the cradle, registered for all the “must-haves” and sorted through the hand-me-downs we were fortunate to receive. We even hired some help for the leather business to keep us on track while we were busy changing diapers. And although we were preparing in all the ways we knew how, we could never truly be prepared for what he has brought to our lives.  

He inspires us to continue to create quality leather goods that will last well into the future and to show him how good for the psyche creating anything can be. We want him to be around us in the workshop while we create, even if he just sits and plays with his toys, because we think about how in the future he could one day ask how something is made, and we can show him. Or how one day he may dig through the scraps and create something of his own. He may have an interest in designing or music or painting because he was raised in a creative environment.

Don’t get us wrong there are days where we would rather sit on the couch and fall into a youtube black hole and days where we actually do, but the point is that when an order comes in we make it back up to the shop, put in the time and take something to completion.

So many lessons in life are learned in the workshop and it excites us how the shop becomes a classroom in those moments. It’s an amazing place to be with a tiny human by your side watching your every move.

We cannot believe that he will soon be one year old and how much we have all grown this past year, him especially! This business and parenthood has truly been a lesson in remembering the past, appreciating the present and always, always planning for the future.

The Headlands Patch Series

Headlands QG is about making quality goods that will last a lifetime. This business is also about a love affair with our local environment. We created this series of patches in an attempt to share this love with our customers who may also love the ecology of California or to introduce others to it that may live in a different environment. These patches feature Dana Point’s most recognizable landmark, for which our leather business derives its name, as well as some of the more rare sightings one may come across. These patches represent Dana Point from the macro, to the micro.

The Point Patch represents the view of the Dana Point Headlands from about a mile away from the shore of the Pacific Ocean. We at Headlands QG have a deep connection to the ocean. We enjoy swimming and surfing in it and believe strongly in the protection of it.

The Cactus Patch provides a look at the typical scene of native vegetation one comes across while walking the Headlands trails. It is a native Prickly Pear cactus which can be found throughout the Southern California coast.

The Pacific Pocket Mouse Patch offers a rare look at just one of the tiny and elusive critters that call this place home. It is this specific little creature we can attribute the preservation of the Headlands to. The mice that reside here were discovered amidst a heated debate about development of the Headlands in 1992 and since these mice are endangered their habitat was protected. We now enjoy parts of this area with very little human disturbance thanks to this mouse.

We believe now more than ever we have a responsibility to protect the environment and to take a stance where we feel a need to. Along with our attempt to bring our community to you with these patches, we also want to improve and upgrade the customer experience. When you purchase a wallet or any other item from us you not only open up your package and see your new product, you in a way can see a little sliver of our home.

The blog is back...for now!

Blogging is hard to keep up with. Our goal for the next 12 months is to add a new post each month, seems easy enough...

Our friend Samantha Meseroll is an exceptional photographer, videographer and all around fun person to hang with. She recently created a video for our pals at North Menswear and when we saw it, we knew she was just the right person for a video we had been wanting to do. We told Sam we wanted to try and pick up the vibe of our town, showcase a little bit of our process, and of course feature a little bit of our prized '86 El Camino. We weren't sure how she was going to combine the sun drenched imagery from the bluff, with the dark studio shots but she nailed it! We chose the song '3 Bit Blues' by Kid Koala because we love the modern mixing, with the old school blues. Sam is so humble that she did not even want to put her name at the end of the video, so we decided to write this blog as our way of saying thanks and to give her all the credit. We hope you love the video as much as we do and get a sense of a day in the life here at Headlands.