A Message From David
Winter greetings! A season of reflection, warmth, and quiet renewal is ahead. When the world slows, we’re reminded that stillness has its own kind of beauty. The garden rests, the light softens, and our homes become places of gathering and renewal. This is the season for leaning in, to conversation, to craft, to ritual.
Winter is a pause that asks us to take stock, to savor what’s here before the wheel turns again. I find myself returning to familiar objects and traditions: a copper pot well used, an old garden bucket filled with greens, the tapers we burn each New Year’s Eve for good fortune. Each carries memory, each connects me to the rhythm of the seasons.
These are a few of my favorite things for winter, pieces that invite warmth, reflection, and a sense of quiet joy into everyday life.
David’s Favorite Things
When the pace slows and the days grow shorter, we’re invited to gather close, to celebrate small rituals, savor comfort, and make beauty from the simple things. This season, we turn inward. We fill our homes with the scent of evergreens and candlelight, bring intention to the table, and create spaces that hold both calm and cheer.
Bayberry Taper Candles
Every year, David lights tapers on New Year’s Eve, a tradition carried from his childhood. The gentle, natural scent and slow burn of pure bayberry wax are said to bring good fortune for the year ahead. These tapers cast a soft, amber light that marks the turning of the year with warmth and intention.
Mariage Frères Esprit de Noël Tea
This time of year, David reaches for this festive black tea, a blend of warming spices, citrus peel, and a hint of almond. Steeped slowly, it fills the room with the aroma of celebration. Perfect for quiet mornings or the moment after dinner when conversation lingers and the kettle calls once more.
Chilewich Flat Woven Floor Mats
Practical beauty at its best. These easy-to-clean woven mats define entryways and kitchens with subtle texture and color. As the weather cools, David swaps in deeper tones, warm charcoals, russets, and heathered neutrals, to create a soft landing for boots and shoes while keeping interiors fresh and welcoming.
Our Kitchen At A Glance
It wouldn’t feel like the holidays without a few familiar favorites, the small comforts that bring warmth and joy to these colder days. As we settle into winter, we’re sharing the little rituals and objects that make the season feel truly special here at Groundswell.
Bring The Franklin’s Bar Experience Home
There’s a certain joy in crafting the classics at home. Inspired by our favorite neighborhood bar, The Franklin, we’ve curated glassware, small-batch syrups, and bar tools that make cocktail hour an experience in itself. Stir up a Manhattan, a French 75, or something new entirely, and don’t forget to mix a non-alcoholic version for guests. (Try our NA limoncello or Pentire coastal spirits for a bright, wintery mocktail.)
Cook with Copper for a Beautiful Winter Kitchen
Our MADE IN copper cookware collection, crafted in France and beloved by Michelin-Star chefs, brings beauty and performance to every meal. Whether it’s a slow braise, a Sunday roast, or the simple comfort of soup simmering on the stove, these pieces invite you to cook with intention and care. Over time, they develop a patina that tells the story of countless meals shared.
Layer Your Holiday Table with Intention
Setting the winter table is an act of generosity. Layer natural textures, block-printed linens, woven placemats, and hand-thrown ceramics, for a look that feels both grounded and festive. Add a few sprigs of cedar or juniper between place settings, and let candlelight do the rest. The table becomes a stage for connection, memory, and gratitude.
Gather Winter Greens with Ease
Gather fresh cuttings and create something living with our Hachiman buckets.
Made in Japan and available in a range of sizes, these versatile buckets are a staple for any gardener. In winter, David uses them to collect fresh greens and cuttings to bring indoors- a simple way to breathe life into the season’s stillness.
When not in use, they store tools or kindling with effortless style.
Create Structure in a Sleeping Garden
Add a touch of whimsy and structure to the sleeping garden with a statuary that tells a story.
As leaves fall and flowers fade, sculptural forms take center stage.
A stone bird on a plinth, a small hare tucked near the path- these pieces lend presence and story to the winter garden, inviting the eye to wander and the imagination to linger.
Transform Cuttings into Winter Decor
Bring the outdoors in with evergreens, sprigs, and branches gathered from the garden.
The beauty of evergreens and winter cuttings lies in their resilience. Gather holly, pine, or boxwood for planters and garlands that frame the season in shades of green.
Mix in dried pods or bare branches for contrast- nature’s palette, reimagined for indoors and out.
Add a signature cocktail to the mix for a touch of Franklin-style hospitality.
This season, serve the Snowball Effect: a silky blend of coconut milk and rum, lifted with warm cinnamon-anise syrup. It’s the kind of cocktail that lands with a wink; cozy, unexpected, and unmistakably celebratory.
Snowball Effect: Ingredients (1 cocktail)
- - 2 oz white rum
- - 1.5 oz coconut milk (well shaken)
- - 1 oz cinnamon–anise syrup (recipe below)
- - Ice
- - Garnish: fresh grated cinnamon, star anise, or toasted coconut flakes
Add the rum, coconut milk, and cinnamon–anise syrup to a shaker, then fill with ice and shake vigorously for 10–12 seconds until the mixture is frothy and well chilled. Strain the cocktail into a chilled coupe or rocks glass, and finish with a garnish of grated cinnamon, a star anise pod, or a pinch of toasted coconut.
Blend fresh and faux greenery to create winter displays that last the whole season.
The beauty of winter décor is in its imperfection, the mix of what’s gathered, what’s made, what’s found. Fresh cedar or pine adds fragrance and texture, while high-quality faux greens give fullness and longevity to garlands and wreaths. Layer them together to extend the life of your displays. Add small touches, a velvet ribbon, a cluster of berries, a few sprigs of eucalyptus, to make each arrangement your own.
Lean into candlelight, it’s the easiest way to make any space glow.
When daylight fades early, light becomes the heart of the home. Scatter tapers down the table, group pillar candles by the hearth, or place votives on the windowsill to draw the eye outward. The flicker softens every edge, turning even the simplest evening into something memorable. As David likes to say, “You can never have too many candles in winter, only not enough matches.”
Visit our Locations
Now that you’ve browsed the book, plan your visit to shop the look
.jpg)
