nclife. may2012. kitkitdizzi with jen and nikiya.

kitkitdizzi (via the dictionary):  the plant.
aka:  kit kit dizze, bear clover, mountain misery.


kitkitdizzi (as we will all come to know it):  the community.
aka: independently designed and executed as art, artifact, adornment, and finery made all over by the new generation of artisan and gathered in nevada city, california, for your absolute pleasure. 


welcome to this new treasure...

you know when something new begins
and it just feels so damn good?
so familiar?
so home?

very fortunate 
for those of us 
who live in
the northern california
town of 
nevada city,
the doors are getting ready to open to that
exact
kind
of
place.

it's called
'kitkitdizzi'.
and i feel quite sure
it will be a community
gathering spot
for many.

about a week ago i had the sweet pleasure of spending a couple of hours in kitkitdizzi's new space,
with its director, jen sheffield,
to learn more about what she and her partner,
very dear old friend of mine,
nikiya schwarz,
have been up to inside that door on upper broad.
my time in those four walls,
with this delightful woman, also a friend of many years,
felt like velvet.
pure velvet.

i thought you all might enjoy some more of jen,
and the vibe behind kitkitdizzi...

jen, how long have you lived in nc? 

I moved to Nevada City in December 1999 to work as the children's 
librarian at Nevada County Library. I had been here before to visit a 
close friend and fell in love with the Yuba; and even though I'm an 
ocean girl, felt I could swing it because of that river. 

and what do you love about living here...this very unique town of ours?

obviously the above. and the people. and the architecture. and the 
size. and the trees. the proximity to the city, and the fact that it's 
california, which makes me feel the color of poppies inside when i think 
of the word. 

any off the beaten nc path tips you might want to share?

my backyard, the often unexplored deer creek, lovely and lush and icy cold 

how long in your current home? 

about 3 years. i took it over as a housesit turned rental, and then 
fell in love with the landlords/owners, who built the little 200 sq. ft. 
thing for themselves as young un-unchilded ones. it's been like a womb 
for me... 

what's it like?
....a place that grows cress on the banks and moss on the oaks. 
manzanita hills and matsutakis under madrones. damp and green in 
winter, crispy hot hills in july. close enough to ride my bike to town, 
and wild enough to lose track of the stars sleeping out at night. all 
with a little scandi wood stove, a cosy loft, and an outdoor claw foot 
tub. paradise. 

where did you grow up? 

mobile, alabama. 

any similarities b/w nc and there? 

very laid back. lots of smiling.

tell me more about your new business kitkitdizzi; i think i have already fallen in love!

the store? well, it's almost there. i'm scared and i'm thrilled and i 
think it's going to be the most beautiful store in cali. or maybe the 
gold country. the upper half of Broad St....? 

what inspired you to start this project? 

truthfully, i'm not sure. the whole time it's felt like something i'm 
just showing up for, like it has its own momentum. obviously it comes 
from my love of nc, my constant desire for beauty surrounding me, my 
want to support all the artists who are my friends, a way to bring home 
things and styles i've found from traveling, and the laziness of not 
wanting to drive down to the city every time i want something cool. we 
have enough people here to support that kind of thing.... 

how have you chosen things for the space?
pure love. friends. webs of connection.

what is behind your gorgeous aesthetic? 

being a libra?? southern mansions and spanish moss for sure. being 
someone who is deeply satisfied by the smallest, most insignificant 
details of life, which also happen-if truly observed-to be the most 
profound. 

what artists are really inspiring you right now?
Dylan McConnell. Sarah Coleman. Jennifer Rain Crosby. And always, 
Rauchenberg. 

what lies ahead?
that's the best part--not knowing.

and for you....

what's your favorite thing to wear?
little black dress and cowboy boots 

how do you chose things for your home? 

nikiya gives them to me. or sadie brings them in from outside. 

do you have a most treasured possession? 

my little brother's electric guitar. he was killed accidentally when 
he was 12, and he was already such a badass... 

does your adorable daughter, sadie (9 years old) have a personal
style yet? 

she's a tomboy like me--she loves skinny jeans and knee-high converse. 
rocking in hard and sweet. love that girl.

and at this very moment...what are you:

drinking? 

chamomile tea 

dreaming of? 

more wet days like this in May 

anticipating? 

my beau's arrival this friday 

writing? 

store inventory in excel

reading? 

a story from the New York by George Saunders

eating? 

asparagus from the garden 

most happy about? 

Nikiya being my partner and Brightblack Morning Light

if you could go anywhere in the world, to spend this coming weekend,

where would it be? 

the big island, maui--i can't get enough of salt water, swimming with 
other creatures who seem to recognize me, and dr. seuss flowers

and random, but,
do you have a favorite poem? 

It's been "The Poem Returning as an Invisible Wren to the World," by 
Larry Levis for so many years. But after being exposed to poets at Tin House writers conference recently, I'd have to include something like 
"Illumine," by Brenda Shaunessy, or anything by my friend Amy Eisner. 
And if flash fiction qualifies as poetry, anything by Gary Lutz in the 
gorgeous literary journal NOON.

what bores you to absolute pieces?

not much. mean conservative predictability. people being scared of 
life. 

where and when do you feel most yourself?

by myself, anywhere beautiful.

don't know about you...
but i am so looking forward to the beginning
of whatever this ends up becoming.
join me, won't you,
for opening day,
this sunday, june the third,
3-6pm
423 broad.




nc life as i know it...

watching their childhood fly. nc life. kevin and jentry. may 2012

It seems to me a crime that we should age
These fragile times should never slip us by
A time you never can or shall erase
As friends together watch their childhood fly

-elton john.

nothing so sweet,
as an evening like this.

an opportunity to capture
youth,
hope,
this sense of something so fresh.
this knowing of
all that still lies ahead.

my god daughter!
how i love you.
from the moment we first met,
you in that bonnet-like-only-a-five-year-old-waldorf-student-can-pull-off!

i fell in love.
that very moment.

and then last night,
bam! this!
this?
how is it this already?

the sweetest part perhaps?
even more than the loveliness
of a boutonniere fresh out of its delicate box?
the dress that last belonged to a fairy?
the soft braid,
the subtle glances?

it was that she kept thanking me!
me?!?!


oh no, my darlin,
the gratitude is all mine.


an opportunity like this,
on a random velvet
saturday afternoon.


that pleasure was 
every
single
bit
mine.

jentry noel,

you will be in me

all the rest of my days.

and for this,

i thank you.

life as i know it.
sunday morn,
little two making food with papa,
before our day up to tahoe.
big one off on his 8th grade trip
'somewhere' (wtf? big letting go here)
in the 'eastern sierra'.
ahhhhhhh
life.