Lake Merritt was available at A Verb For Keeping Warm. The Lake Merritt pattern was part of an exclusive kit, to celebrate the re-release of Verb’s organic California merino wool, Pioneer. To read more about the creation of Pioneer, take a look at Verb’s blog.

Did you know that Lake Merritt, Oakland’s historic bird refuge, is actually not a lake, but a tidal lagoon? Dozens of creeks and storm drains flow into Oakland’s urban jewel. There the water is filtered by the many species of birds and bugs who depend on Lake Merritt, before it flows into the San Francisco Bay. Like all good members of our Oakland community, the birds find a way to get along and coexist- both with us and one another- helping us to preserve a unique, public natural resource for all to enjoy. Take a walk around the lake, and you’ll see a cross-section of Oakland: buskers playing trumpet, hipsters sunbathing, parents jogging with strollers, retirees speed-walking. And of course, birds.

For my latest design with Pioneer, I was inspired by Lake Merritt to create something both fanciful and practical. The California Wool Project that brought us Pioneer is a beautiful, messy, one-of-a-kind story, of bringing the natural world and the urban one together. Lake Merritt is a cowl to wear many different ways, in whatever combinations of Pioneer’s naturally-dyed colorways you can dream up. Button it up, and stay warm, whatever your natural habitat. -HD