Home Away From Home
Buy now and keep these 10 Instagram-worthy treasures forever
Store and objects photographs by Scott Rounds
I was introduced to Pillar Home Goods by my cousin, Heather. She sent me the most fantastic gift. It was a box of great smelling incense, candles, and a small tray. They were packaged perfectly with a sweet note in Heather’s handwriting. My kind of gifting! The wares made my home and office smell incredible.
After stalking the store on Instagram, I reached out to the owner, Kira Corbin, to tell her how much I loved her merchandise and eye. We chatted and I asked if she would work with me on a story about her favorite things.
This was something different for The New Maturity. When I concept a story, it has to answer the question ‘how will this share kindness’? Of course the gift Heather sent me was pure kindness. But prior to meeting Kira, this concept was just coming off as a shopping story. I had done plenty of those in my previous life at a shopping magazine. And frankly, I didn’t want to relive the past again.
I was heading out to Portland to spend some time with Heather and asked Kira if I could stop by her shop for a quick interview. What was supposed to be a 15-minute drive by turned into a 2-hour conversation about both of our passions. I got to hear about her roots as a prop stylist and how that evolved into this charming store. We both traded stories about running small businesses. I got to pick up and feel her merchandise, and ask questions about where it came from. This is something you obviously can’t do via the internet. I was struck by her passion of evolving her day job (prop styling) into her next great thing.
Going back to the seed that starts all TNM stories, ‘how will this share kindness?’ I got my answer many times over. Kira had such excitement for what she was doing. Over the course of our conversation, I had made a new friend. Her journey to create a brick and mortar retail store has not been easy. However, her passion and dedication for what she does put the biggest smile on my face. And to me, that is an incredible way to share kindness.
KIRA’S TOP 10 PICS
These pillows are 100% wool but so soft and snuggly. They are made completely by hand and woven by artisans in Portugal. They’re also a PILLAR design exclusive!
These blankets are thick, so warm, and surprisingly soft for wool. They’re made in Portugal by a very small, craft-focused factory that does everything in house including washing the wool (also grown in Portugal), spinning the yarn, weaving, dying, etc. The quality is amazing. I’ve had one on my bed for years, and I have two cats who love to sleep on it, and it hasn’t pilled because they use only the longest fibers for their yarn.
These vases are hand sculpted with a custom clay mixture that the artist developed herself. They are gorgeous vessels for flowers but I also love how beautiful they are on their own: truly striking sculptural pieces.
These lidded boxes are great for so many things! I believe that attractive solutions for hidden storage are always welcome and needed in the home. These are a perfect solution for stashing things like keys in the entryway, jewelry on the nightstand, daily vitamins in the kitchen (goodbye ugly plastic bottles), or paperclips and the like on one’s desk. Handmade by a female Danish potter.
These bowls are handmade and part of a larger tableware collection by a Spanish potter who lives in Edinburgh. Before recently taking the leap to dedicate himself to pottery full time, he was an architect and I think it shows in his work. He achieves such clean, considered, and balanced lines. Simplicity can be the hardest thing to achieve and I believe he does it so harmoniously in his shapes. The textured glazes add warmth and humanity to the pared-down forms. These bowls are fully functional tableware, perfectly sized for morning granola or a small cream-based soup, and will hold up to daily use, while still being artful specimens worthy of treasuring.
While browsing the shop it won’t take long to realize that I am drawn to textured glazes on ceramics and have curated a selection that reflects that. I love the depth and interest they add to the pieces. These mugs are a classic shape, made more interesting with the subtle variation that comes from a real person’s hand making each one. They hold twelve ounces, and are an ideal Everyday Mug.
I love the ease and practicality of these stainless steel knives and their natural, wooden handles. The medium makes a great steak knife, while the others are general aids for typical kitchen tasks. They’re made in a very small factory in Portugal run by one family across three generations.
A beautiful serving set made of brass and with sleek design lines. These add a soft touch of warmth and glam to any table.
These small boards are made from stone that is only found in Portugal. The pink stone in particular is very common there and reminds me of my visits. I have Portuguese heritage and travel there every year or so and naturally find beautiful and inspiring products to add to my prop collection or stock the shop with.
These porcelain dishes are hand cast by a Lisbon based ceramicist. They are all unique and offered primarily as serving dishes, though their ability to be used in the oven for baking makes them exceptionally special. What a beautiful vessel for a crumble, quiche, or gratin.
Kira Corbin’s Essentials for Resetting
The owner of Pillar Home answers our Kindness Questionnaire. Click here to read more.
