Latchkey

The poem Latchkey brings us inside the walls of a deserted house, and in touch with the abandoned rooms of the soul. A building is erected to create an inside from the outside and, once standing, its physical presence is an intrusion in the environment, interrupting the continuous flow of the atmosphere.

The architecture of a house requires human energy to animate its spaces and to keep it standing. If empty for long, bits will start to fall—a half-dropped curtain rod, peeling wallpaper, a sagging roof—as the outside steadily reclaims itself, its natural space. An abandoned house is a forsaken body, and a human body is a house inhabited by the soul and its rooms. We might sometimes forget they are there, what they contain. We are stewards of our houses, our rooms, and meant to keep them up, tend to what they hold…

*Please note: online store is now closed. For display only.

$370.00

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Latchkey

Striped fabric of this jacket is reminiscent of the “ticking” mentioned in the poem, an old traditional mattress covering

Double-breasted and fully reversible, can be buttoned toward either side/with either side on top

Collar shape suggests a house peak

Large front pocket on solid side is hand-painted with a house design; can be worn folded down or pressed up; button jacket to reveal or conceal the pocket. Also available with a plain, unpainted pocket

Ticking detail at cuffs and hem when worn solid side out

12 sustainable corozo nut buttons from Peru

Wide, boxy fit ending roughly at hip

10% of your Latchkey purchase benefits Habitat for Humanity nationally and, locally, Preble Street Resource Center in Portland, Maine, which combats homelessness, substance abuse and human trafficking

Includes a card imprinted with the poem

Materials and garment care

Indigo version: both sides 55% hemp, 45% organic cotton
with 100% organic cotton twill pocket. Corozo nut buttons.

Red version: striped side 55% hemp, 45% organic cotton;
solid side 55% recycled hemp/45% organic cotton duck
with 100% organic cotton twill pocket. Corozo nut buttons.

Gentle cold wash, tumble dry low.
Do not bleach. Iron low heat if needed. Avoid pocket.