It's interesting how life can lead us down paths we never could have anticipated.
As someone who has long been fascinated by space and the greater whole we’re part of, creating things that reflect that fascination has become my greatest passion. It is rooted in the idea (one I don’t always consciously articulate but that is always underlying) that the incredible diversity of life and landscapes on our tiny planet in the vast universe is the result of extraordinary evolutionary processes unfolding not just on Earth, but within a much larger reality over unimaginable spans of time. Although I've never started a project explicitly intending to express that sense of connection, every new idea I feel excited to give form to (usually as jewelry, wall decor, clothes, or sometimes even furniture) does seem to become an expression of it.
I never could have imagined that creating a sauce brand would also become part of that expression. After moving from Canada to the United States, I was astounded to discover that honey dill sauce was virtually unknown here. Where I grew up in Winnipeg, for many people no other sauce will do when it comes to chicken fingers. It’s so ingrained in the food culture that it wasn’t until I moved away after more than three decades that I learned it had actually originated there, and wasn’t already in every grocery store across North America as I had always assumed. This realization that a sauce I had always taken for granted was missing from the place I now lived sparked the series of ideas that eventually became this project.
What followed unfolded in a clear and straightforward way. The first thought to occur was the brand name, then the concept of a heart shaped Earth in space, and finally, the idea of two hands, each with the flag of one of the two countries, holding the same bowl of sauce. All of these elements found their way into the label I designed on my iPad.
The next concept to form was what eventually became the landscape photography series. The initial thought was simply to place the jar within a variety of landscapes. I briefly considered whether the images might be generated, but it quickly became clear that it would be far more meaningful if they were real landscapes from the two countries. The idea then expanded to include our shared Milky Way sky in each image. Around the same time, I also took and edited a set of product photos using squeeze bottles. The photography itself was a challenge for me, as I am not a photographer, but designing the background with the starburst shapes came easily. Like the earlier decisions, it felt clear and intuitive rather than something I had to overthink.
As these visual elements were taking shape, I also found myself reflecting on the idea of connection as it relates to humanity within the wider unfolding story of our planet. I started to think about the parallels between the way diversity has shaped the natural world and the way it shapes humanity itself. Over eons of time, Earth has become a richer, more abundant, more vibrant whole as the diversity of life and landscapes has flourished. Just as ecological diversity strengthens resilience, adaptability, and vitality in the natural world, so too does the vast diversity of human perspectives allow ideas, cultures, creativity, and innovation to evolve and grow in ways far more expansive than what would be possible with a greater degree of uniformity in viewpoints and in how people perceive and experience the world.
This line of thinking has shaped how I imagine the voice of the brand. We're living at a time of heightened division, when it seems like more emphasis than ever is being placed on defining and enforcing the correct ways of thinking, what perspectives are valid, and what ways of being are okay. Many can sense that this attempt to flatten and compress the complexity of human experience, in the name of making the world better, doesn’t align with how it actually works when you look at the bigger picture. If this brand existing in the world can in any small way help encourage remembering that we are part of a far more expansive and enduring reality, and the logic of how differences are an integral part of what gives the whole its richness and strength, it feels well worth pursuing on that basis alone.
Although the name Friendly Thoughts was the very first aspect of this project I settled on (I liked that it rhymed with honey dill sauce), as the project has come together it feels like an even more fitting name than I initially realized. From this perspective that humanity is just one of the most recent chapters in the unfolding story of our planet, it becomes a sentiment that applies not only to how we think about one another, but also to the natural environment of which we are a part. The products we create and the packaging they come in inevitably become part of the environment we all share. I do not yet know all of the answers about how this product will ultimately be packaged and distributed, but it feels important that those choices be approached with thoughtful consideration. Learning more about how this product can show up in the world in a responsible way will be a meaningful part of the process as the project moves closer to becoming something real.
I created this project for the same reason I create everything I make: because it was a joyful thing to do. I don’t know where it will lead, but I’m excited by the possibility of seeing it continue to take shape in the real world. While the absolute gem of a sauce that is honey dill is absolutely worth sharing in its own right, the broader perspective that has emerged through working on this project feels even more worth inviting others to consider. To me, that is the most exciting part.