A house. A dwelling. A place. A time. An identity. A home. Etxe means 'house' in Basque, but it means so many other things to me. It is the first part of my last name; evidence that I am just a part of a long line of others before me who have lived in various lands. I have spent a year living in the Basque country and I fell in love with the idea of being in another place. I learned about myself through my own displacement, and I grew fond of that feeling. I now live in San Francisco, but I am always thinking 'etxe'.
This site is an effort to share the tales of my own 'etxe' experience, and eventually of other people who have found a similar comfort in being in other (new, foreign, or forgotten) places and creating their own 'house' in that place. And soon it will also be a place to find products inspired by these themes. Whether you are temporarily living away from home or have permanently moved on, you're probably in the process of making your current house feel more like a home.
The second part of my last name is 'beste', which means other in Basque. I guess it's deeply ingrained in me to always seek an 'other home'; wherever I am, whoever I meet.