evan barbee design

Something is stirring in me. Maybe it has something to do with this very cold winter softening a bit today. Everything feels lighter and more manageable when it is pleasant outside. Maybe it has to do with the fact that, according to the Chinese Zodiac, this is the Year of the Wooden Horse which promises "fast victories, unexpected adventure and surprising romance." 

Whatever the reason I am on the cusp of change and for the first time, maybe ever, I'm not panicking. I'm actually excited.

My rent doubled in price and I took that as a sign it was time for me to move on. There is something like the feeling of relief when change is forced on you- you figure things out, you become curious, you problem solve. It's a different energy altogether. 

I spent a good portion of the day saying thank you to these walls that kept me safe and brought such comfort through the last three years. I seem to form a familial attachment to houses I live in. It's always a bit hard to leave them. And this one in particular has been so kind.

This month concludes my work on a very meaningful project for me. Two Ten Jack, Nashville's first izakaya, has opened it's doors to the public.

I was honored to help bring this idea into fruition alongside some of the finest artists, chefs, and business minds in the city. The supportive and collaborative atmosphere that the people of Nashville offer is unparalleled, and I hope that the city will continue to cultivate a place for the creative community to flourish.

Although this has been one of the most difficult years for me personally it has, without a doubt been the most satisfying year professionally. My thanks and love to all the patient hands involved  in bringing Two Ten Jack to life- were you not present in this project it would not be so valuable. 

Rorschach Fashion Editorial, Fault Magazine, by Lindsay Adler.

The more I read of the Japanese aesthetic and moral principle of Wabi-sabi the more my mind and eyes and heart lean toward it.

In an excerpt from favorite architect John Pawson's book Miminum he defines Wabi, the quality of voluntary poverty, as a principle which "advocates a life of quietness and a withdrawal from worldliness. It values the beauty of simplicity and austerity, and looks for the serenity and transcendence that comes with it. Wabit represents the view that an excess of possessions and consumption is a burden that actually diminishes rather than enriches life. An abscence of clutter provides room to think and perhaps even to understand."