The Stillness That Fills Me With Peace.

Kith + Kin is a design studio and online shop located in Dawson City, Yukon, that I created to unite my passion for good design and old things. I have spent a lot of time thinking about material culture and the spaces we inhabit north of 60 and have been considering what contributes to something looking or feeling “northern".

I live in a town that has embraced one era of it’s history; a partial museum full of the inherent anachronisms that come with being a fully functional and real place. I love the honest patina of the tin roofs and the pastiche of architectural details. I don’t mind a little snaggle-tooth. I embrace a little higgledy-piggledy. I live for wabi-sabi. Though I appreciate the restfulness of clean lines and a clean white wall, my eye always enjoys a little nod to age and imperfection. Maybe it stems somewhat sub-consciously from knowing that, no matter how hard I try, I will personally always be a little unpolished.

In this way, my design style reflects my home. Out of nostalgia and necessity the Yukon is full of these little moments where old-timey collides with functionality, like hand-hewn cabins that sport all of the modern amenities.

To be north is relative of course, and there are many places that have embraced it as a style, maybe even bordering on fetishism and dipping in to appropriation. I’m not sure I feel fully qualified to decide who is northern enough to be assigned the title without being a poser. My instinct is that is more to do with isolation, self-reliance, and climate than geography.

Knowing that what it means to be north is somewhat subjective, I have curated a collection of goods and clothing that are handpicked for my idea of a northern home. I have selected items by trying to picture them worn or used in my community by friends and family, my kith and kin.

— Jenna Roebuck, Owner