Reintroducing The Bell

A slight refinement of purpose and direction

Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of The Bell!

From the start, I wanted this newsletter to feel like an invitation to dinner at my house. There would be like-minded people, a lively discussion about our various creative pursuits, and good food of course.

I hope that I’ve achieved that so far—you tell me! I absolutely treasure every piece of feedback/praise I’ve received from those of you who have taken the time to tell me you’re enjoying this little publication.

But as I’ve been reflecting on this newsletter on the occasion of its first birthday, I have the desire to refine it a bit. For that refinement, I keep returning to a few paragraphs I wrote in the first email I sent to you on February, 1, 2023.

Why is it called The Bell?

Our house in France is called Les Clérins. While the word is old-timey and out of use in modern French, the consensus seems to be that a clérin was a kind of bell. And Les Clérins actually had/has a dinner bell.

There’s a little bell gable on the roof and the original bell is in the attic. One of my projects is to put the bell back up there so we can ring it when it’s time for our houseguests — pink-cheeked from the fresh air and bearing wildflower bouquets, warm bread, and good wine — to come in from the garden and gather around the table — set with antique linens, mismatched family china, and tall, drippy candles — for a long evening of laughter and connection.

Bringing that mental image to life is a dream of mine. And it’s basically the vision board for this newsletter.

Elegance, timelessness, fun, whimsy, old-world beauty, and in-person relationship building in an increasingly digital world.

With the goal that you’ll get even more value out of your time spent in this space, the topics and format will shift slightly going forward.

As you can tell, I’m interested in this sense of restoration, of making old things new again.

And of intentionally choosing to live in a way that pushes back against the default mode of hustle culture, mindless scrolling, second-guessing every life / career / relationship / parenting decision because someone online is doing it differently, being extremely online, constant barrage of global news, overconsumption, buying cheap and disposable, prioritizing convenience above all, etc…

I’m not interested in regression or a rejection of modern life and values; I think this is important to clarify.

Instead, I’m looking for an integration of what was good about the past and what’s good about the present. And a healing of our screen-addled brains.

The irony is not lost on me that you’re reading this on a screen and many of us have not met in real life. But as long as I can deliver some online content that (1) makes the internet a nicer place to be and (2) improves your offline life (and maybe (3) increases your offline time, if that’s what you desire), I’ll keep doing this.

So here’s what’s changing.

One.

I’m retiring the headers of “The Dinner Bell,” “The Door Bell,” etc.

I’ll let most topics around fashion, beauty, and fitness/wellness fall away, except as they occur in the weekly recommendations, which will continue.

I’ll write more about hospitality, craft, and skills, with some travel and interior design peppered in. And plenty of French flavor, of course.

Two.

I’m going to ramp up the research, increasing the informational/educational element of this newsletter, rather than grounding every edition solely in my own opinions, suggestions, and personal experience.

Three.

Finally, I’m going to increase the emphasis on this sense of restoration to the tactile, the social, the real. My husband often remarks that what was commonplace in our parents’ or grandparents’ youth is now a complete luxury for us: sturdy wooden furniture or getting together with friends once a week to play cards, for example.

We both believe that as AI sends its tentacles into ever more areas of our life, we’re all going to gravitate away from that uncanny valley and toward things with a tangible human touch or interaction. Or, at least, he and I will. And if you want to come with us, this newsletter is a great place to hitch your wagon.

Restoration isn't just about restoring an old house or putting a dinner bell back up on a roof. It’s about being the last generation who remembers a time before smartphones and bringing back some of what made life great before everything changed. And looking back even further than our own birth for inspiration.

To put this in concrete terms, what are some topics you can look forward to?

• Why don’t they make heavyweight linen anymore? Or if they do, who are “they” and where can you find this product?

• A series on starting a kitchen garden from scratch

• A roundup of my favorite, most-used cookbooks and the recipes within them I like most

• A little black book of businesses making products designed to last a lifetime, to shop online or when you travel

• The story behind Hungarian hand-painted china manufacturer, Herend (how’s that for alliteration?) and other heritage brands still using their original techniques and place of production

• A series on the new designers and craftspeople who are not cutting corners or outsourcing production overseas

• And more of that nature

All of this means I’ll be using fewer affiliate links as a revenue stream for this newsletter. I will depend on paid subscriptions to support this work, and may do some occasional sponsored content if the opportunity arises. To that end, a heartfelt thank you to those of you who upgraded to paid subscriptions last week.

I have one more ask and it doesn’t cost anything: would you consider sharing this newsletter with a friend?

You can use the buttons above, text/email your favorite article to someone, post a screenshot to your Instagram stories, tweet about it, or restack a post on Substack. That’s truly the best way you can show your support to all small creators (not just me!).

So… let me know what you think!! I’m excited for what this year will bring. I hope you continue to love The Bell just as much, and maybe even more than before.

xx Jane