I am, at the heart of it, a Northern Youth. I grew up in a very small college town in Ohio, and the closest I came to crewing was when a work crew was assembled to tackle a particularly labor intensive project at my after school job.
But there were two things pulling on me.
One that was clear from the off - my imagination and the dreams that it fueled extended far beyond the realms of Oberlin. The sartorial gas that was dumped on this fire was the film Chariots of Fire. I was particularly taken by the clothing. Specifically? The blazers worn by the members of the various colleges and/or clubs. I often pictured my future (better) self, sitting by the fireside in my rooms, enjoying a brandy and plotting my future.
The second string tugging at me? My mother was an aspiring fashion designer who would later make that her second act. So I guess it is fair to say that some of it is in the genes.
A lot of time has passed since then. I did not take up rowing, I enjoyed and benefited from a degree taken at the University of Oregon, and I found myself pursuing and completing a graduate program in the UK. And where a lot of my childhood flights of fancy came full-circle was living and working at the University of St. Andrews with Wendy during our summer vacations.
So it was with no small amount of interest and curiosity that I walked the the two blocks to Newbury Street yesterday to check out the Rowing Blazers pop-up shop during my lunch break. I have been stalking this online purveyor of niftyness for some time, but had never been able to see their wares up close and personal. So a quick pop in, and I was able to meet the owners, set an appointment for a more in-depth follow-up (longer story coming Friday), and get my own copy of the book that helped start it all, Rowing Blazers -
And Doctor Jack L. Carlson very kindly inscribed my copy -
So more to come shortly, stay tuned!
But there were two things pulling on me.
One that was clear from the off - my imagination and the dreams that it fueled extended far beyond the realms of Oberlin. The sartorial gas that was dumped on this fire was the film Chariots of Fire. I was particularly taken by the clothing. Specifically? The blazers worn by the members of the various colleges and/or clubs. I often pictured my future (better) self, sitting by the fireside in my rooms, enjoying a brandy and plotting my future.
The second string tugging at me? My mother was an aspiring fashion designer who would later make that her second act. So I guess it is fair to say that some of it is in the genes.
A lot of time has passed since then. I did not take up rowing, I enjoyed and benefited from a degree taken at the University of Oregon, and I found myself pursuing and completing a graduate program in the UK. And where a lot of my childhood flights of fancy came full-circle was living and working at the University of St. Andrews with Wendy during our summer vacations.
So it was with no small amount of interest and curiosity that I walked the the two blocks to Newbury Street yesterday to check out the Rowing Blazers pop-up shop during my lunch break. I have been stalking this online purveyor of niftyness for some time, but had never been able to see their wares up close and personal. So a quick pop in, and I was able to meet the owners, set an appointment for a more in-depth follow-up (longer story coming Friday), and get my own copy of the book that helped start it all, Rowing Blazers -
And Doctor Jack L. Carlson very kindly inscribed my copy -
So more to come shortly, stay tuned!
