Spring Things

Hello, it has been a minute! We have been busy hibernating. The winter was long and cold here in Homer, and for us it was a blur of days of keeping little mittens on little hands and getting outside for blasts of freezing fresh air. It has also been a winter of experimenting and preparing for a big fun summer ahead, and we’re feeling the energy of the season building. Spring hasn’t quite hit around here, the mountains are still covered in snow across Kachemak Bay and we are still waiting for signs of green sprouting up from the Earth, but the Sandhill Cranes are back in town and some of the seasonal businesses have started opening – including our Flagship Shop and Mug Up Coffee!

The past month we’ve been spending time smoking salmon and black cod in our processing facility on the Homer Spit and trying out new wild seafood product forms, like pet treats and jerky! We’ve been rearranging property with fishing and tender gear from our family’s vessels, kelp processing equipment as our friends at Kachemak Kelp get started with their season, and trailers loaded with heavy things. We’ve been putting new signs up, pulling out the picnic tables and having easter egg hunts amongst the salmon nets and cod pots with our kids. It brings us back to when we were little and most of our days were also spent tagging along for whatever boat work our family was doing. Type 2 fun. Character building. 2 year old Luca walked into our shop the other day, took a look around and proclaimed “pirate treasure!!” which felt like a true compliment.

Our Flagship shop has been open on the weekends this past month and it has been a joy to welcoming visitors in. We just got our big shipment of Xtratuf Boots and summer apparel in, and our shop has never been so full! It’s always so fun to open up the boxes from the screen print shop and see the hoodies and tees we design in person for the first time. This year we are leaning into more colorful options, and it has made the shop feel all the more bright and welcoming. It’s exciting to showcase some of the products we worked hard to design over the winter, like our Mug Up Collection designed with Kaladi Brothers and Miir and our collection of insulated outerwear designed with SKHOOP.

This weekend more of our amazing seasonal team is back from their winter travels, and we opened up Mug Up Coffee with hot drinks and tasty treats for all the folks working and walking on the Homer Spit. The ferry was in from Kodiak and it was great to see some old friends passing through!

We’ve been cooking the last of the salmon in our freezer in anticipation for this year’s fresh catch. The sockeye we processed last year from Cook Inlet is so tasty, especially with a little mayo, minced garlic and Halibut Cove Fish Rub – baked in the oven and enjoyed with steamed rice and roasted veggies. We also got to take a break from work to enjoy our first bowl from Johnny’s Corner and it was a moment. A SUMMER IS HERE moment, and it was so good.

We will keep you updated with all the goodness that comes in this season of Alaskan abundance. We can’t wait for the first taste of fresh salmon, the endless summer light, and getting out on the water. We can’t wait for the lupine to bloom along the road and the berries to pop ripe and juicy from the bushes. We can’t wait to welcome travelers and locals into our shops, catch up on everything that happened over the winter, and gear you up for your next delicious meal or outdoor adventure. So glad you are here, and welcome to a new beautiful season.

We were fortunate to be interviewed on the sister-run Cabin Nine Substack, which is an ode to the Pacific Northwest highlighting those who live and love the Pacific Northwest lifestyle. We dive into growing up off-grid in Alaska, building a sustainable fishing business, and raising our little ones in the wild places we know and love. You can read the story here.

We were also recently on the Women in Wild Places podcast, talking with host Gabriella DiGiovanni about our business, motherhood, fishing and living in Alaska. You can tune in on Spotify or anywhere you get your podcasts.

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Emma and Claire