I’m kind of too chicken and maybe weirdly Victorian for tattoos, but I love the idea that we can be bound to words: les mots justes; the unexpected turn of phrase; the extraordinary excerpt from a lyric or poem. Tied to them. I like that we can wrap them around our wrists, where our clearest pulses can be felt.

I’m working on a whole new line of these leather bindings, clasped with bronze vulture heads and belt hardware. I’m starting with this one: “everyone learns faster on fire.” The quotation is from a lyric by the band the Alkaline Trio, but it also kind of reminds me of Richard Pryor’s old bit, and also those zingy life moments where something important is branded in your nervous system instantly and permanently. I’m going to be rolling out a bunch of these.

Oh, also, I’m told that I should say that by the end of September, this site will become an online store, so that you don’t necessarily have to visit a boutique that may be nowhere close to where you live to own a j. rudy : exo piece. I’ll let you know when the grand opening will be. I’m a stickler for deadlines. They keep me sane, which makes sense to me.