The Beauty of Winter Trees, with Jord

28 Feb

Written By

I'm feeling a little bit sorry for the trees. We all wax lyrical about their golden autumn leaves, we look out for their spring blossom and laze under their leafy shade in the summer. But in winter, they're somewhat neglected. We all stay in on our cosy sofas wrapped up in blankets while they shiver nakedly outside, where chilly dog walkers walk by with their heads down and not so much as a glance.Maybe because it's because I spend a lot of time in my day job writing about the natural beauty of wood, or maybe it's because I'm trying harder to look up and out, but I've been finding the bare trees very inspiring this season.Without their summer finery you can see the eccentricities of their shapes, the crooks and forks that they have been brow beaten into forming and their angular silhouettes against the white winter sky. You can appreciate all the energy it's taken for them to force themselves up through the canopy to the light overhead. You can see how their life has turned, with fallen down branches and dead sections bursting with new sprouts, or the squirrel scampering up to its nest in a high up hollow. Resilient old things, trees.

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As regular followers on Instagram will know, I have a thing for collecting sticks and other forest-y bits - as I sit and write this I am surrounded by the best part of a woodland (not even really exaggerating). So when Jord got in touch*, I was excited to have a little piece of forestry to take with me everywhere.In the past I'd always been a little cynical about wood watches - were they a gimmick? Would they actually be comfortable? Are they a little too tree-huggy, even for me?! While Jord's site had enough inspiration to allay that last fear, the only way to find out about the first two was to try it for myself.I went for Jord's newest design, the Reece, for the simple reason that it won the eeny-meeny-miny-mo competition. I totally couldn't choose. Then it arrived in the most gorgeous box - and if there's one thing I love more than sticks its boxes. Worth it just for the packaging.So, issue one. Was it a gimmick? When you have it in your hands, turning it over and between your fingers, you can feel the quality. It's heavy, and the watch face looks, well, like a proper watch.jhhIssue two, comfort. Shockingly, it's just as comfortable as any other watch. No heavier, no more bulky. I've never worn jewellery as I don't like the feel of metal against my skin - it's either too cold or gets warm and sticky in the heat. The constant temperature and state of the wood bracelet was an unexpected tonic to this. The only comfort issue I have is the fact that I have really small wrists so it's slightly annoying that there aren't half links to remove, but I don't mind it slightly sliding along my wrist.If you'd like a Jord wood watch of your own, you can enter my giveaway for either a $100 or $25 Jord gift card - expires midnight on the 19th March!