It Spoke to Me and I Answered
Oakland wandering, loaded machines, and an invitation among 6,000 roses.
Week of May 4–11
It's been a week of small movements adding up to something.
A BART ride across the bay to sit with a friend while she was measured for a custom corset — for her wedding. I got to hold fabric swatches and weigh in on hardware, which is exactly my idea of a good Tuesday.
A thrift run that produced something I cannot fully explain: a large, warped, beautiful wooden book stand. Possibly — I am choosing to believe this — a pulpit stand from a local church. I have never seen one at a thrift store before. I may never see one again. I do not know yet what I will do with it. It spoke to me and I answered. Some things are like that.
Wednesday I took to the streets — mindfully the day after Cinco de Mayo — and settled in at Otto's in the Kissel hotel in downtown Oakland. First time I've ever seen a non-alcoholic Riesling on a menu, out in the wild, just sitting there like it belonged. I ordered it and worked on the May fortunes. The afternoon was exactly what it sounds like: unhurried, good light, a glass of something interesting, and the pleasurable problem of writing luck for strangers.
Friday I took my son to Blake Garden — a hidden UC Berkeley garden tucked into the Oakland hills, full of terraced views and the feeling that you've wandered to the top of the world through somebody's backyard. That evening we made it to OMCA Fridays, which I recommend without qualification: free music, picnic energy, the kind of community that makes you remember why Oakland is genuinely special. And today — Sunday — we spent the afternoon at the rose garden. 6,000 roses in bloom, and a kid who was entirely unimpressed and also couldn't stop touching everything.
A borrowed Cricut arrived mid-week (thank you, bestie). I've been testing it for some new products I'm developing — you can see some of the process in the photos below. Experiment No. 2 is already brewing. The crochet top is making progress. I'm hoping to finish it before summer ends, which is the goal, and we'll see.
The machines are loaded. Three of them, full of capsules — yellow, red, blue-purple — each one stamped with the Dark Parlour Society seal. The first set of fortune slips is printed. May 2026, 24 slips in the series. Slip No. 4 is called The Moth. I'll let it speak for itself when you encounter it.
Standing in the rose garden today with my son — looking at the scale of it, the fact that it's just there, free and open, mostly un-photographed by people who aren't already in the habit of going — I kept thinking: more people should know about this. Not as a performance. Just because beauty is better shared.
So we're doing something about that.
Parlour Lawn Party No. 01 — Among the Roses
Saturday, May 16 · 1–3 PM
Location shared with confirmed RSVPs the morning of
25 people. Blankets on the lawn. Parlour games designed for sitting and talking. A craft table. And the Go Wander machine making its very first public appearance — fortunes among the roses, which feels exactly right.
Bring something to share if you're moved to. Dress up if you want to — not for a theme, just your best self. It makes the afternoon better.
This is the first Dark Parlour Society event. It's small on purpose.
→ RSVP on Eventbrite: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/parlour-lawn-party-no-01-among-the-roses-tickets-1989189787201
More soon. Thank you for being here while this becomes what it's becoming.
— Jem
Dark Parlour Society / darkparloursociety.com
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