Our new favourite book Love is.
Love is. by Dee Kawai Tang of @kawa_heart_studio
There isn’t a single person we know the hasn’t been faced with challenges so extreme that they’ve taken our breath away the last couple of years. Just when we thought the new year would send us some reprieve, the universe instead took it up a notch. From parenting during a pandemic, families being kept apart for years, major natural disasters & conflicts around in the world – it’s been a heavy space to navigate. But if there’s anything that we’ve learnt from these extra challenges, it’s the importance of love and the joy that comes from the little things.
‘Love is’ by Dee Kawai Tang appeared to us at the most perfect moment, right in the middle of major floods, to remind us that love is all around us and to take the time to be open to it. It reminded us of this simplicity in the most wonderful way and instantly filled our hearts.
It is an absolute pleasure to introduce you to Dee, that is if you’re not aquatinted with her amazingness already. Dee is a wonderful creative, who can be found at home in a sunshiny studio in WA. A space that she quite often shares for photoshoots (be sure to check it out on insta @kawaheartstudio). This beautiful wholehearted space she shares with her partner (also an artist), two earth children and watched over by their angel child Kawa. This beautiful book was inspired by Dee’s exploration into what ‘Love is’ after losing her first born daughter Kawa Leaf.
Thank you Dee for peeling back the layers, reminding us of the simple things in life and how much they fill us up with love and joy if we let them.
Dee was kind enough to share some words with us about her first book with us.
“Love is. captures the moments of nirvana we experience as humans on Earth.
Love is. a grown-ups book disguised as a kids picture book.
The book touches on love and loss, the physical and the non-physical and the material and immaterial worlds in simple verse with full colour illustrations.
This book was created as a reminder to us humans great and small about the tiny moments that count and joy we find in the most tiny of gestures and fleeting moments in time. It’s got nothing to do with money, status or anything particularly fancy. It is just those moments where you felt deeply in your heart that was pretty bloody sweet.
During the process of making this book, I met a lovely 70-odd year old grandmother who shared with me a story about her twins, she was pregnant with some 50 years ago. She lost them both at full term in a tragic car accident. As she was sharing her story of life and loss, it materialized that this book would be dedicated to her, and to all the mama's and the papa's in the world who have children who are angels in spirit. Cos' in the end - Love is all we've got.
Dee x x”
The Animal Village Divided Plate Set pictured here in Dee's lovely home x x SHOP NOW
