You’ll find Source and Tradition in an old hardware store perched on the edge of the Atlantic Ocean. The 100-year-old building is home to Alex Vaga and Shayne Boyle’s studio, gallery, and shop.
When the couple moved in, they were careful to retain the building’s original integrity. Bright, airy, and right off the waters of the Scow Ditch, it’s a place that brings the natural world inside — a sensation that’s reflected in the work of its owners.
Alex in the Frost Sweater.
The toasty kilns are the hearth and heartbeat of the small, handmade production shop. Inside, Alex and Shayne welcome the local community to gather and celebrate the artistry and heritage of the coastal region.
When asked about her work, Alex goes right to the heart of things:
"I am interested in the small interactions of everyday life surrounding mealtime, the relationships these actions facilitate, and their link to deeper cultural traditions. I find endless inspiration from the coastal environment that surrounds me, my own cultural heritage, and in the baking and breaking of bread."
Classically trained in woodworking, sculpture, and ceramics, Alex sharpened her skills over the years working for some of the country’s finest craftspeople. A graduate of Rhode Island School of Design, she eventually returned to her first love: clay.
LEFT: Alex in the Frost Sweater and Mechanic Overall. RIGHT: Alex in the Del Mar Shirt, Orion Utility Pant, and Pisa Pointelle Tee.
Her pottery is both practical and ethereal, domestic and wild, exhibiting a charming balance between seemingly opposing forces. Alex herself is not so different, a quiet, subtle force of nature navigating the elements of her life — owner, mother, boss, and artist — with apparent ease.
Alex’s partner, Shayne Boyle, is a surfer, painter, sculptor, and father. Inspired by the impressionists, Shayne honed his eye for color while living amid Bali’s natural splendor — an interlude on one of many free-wheeling, international surfing trips.
“I’m a child of the sea — the light, the movement, the color all speak to me.”
Today, he keeps a studio in the National Arts Club, where the flora of New York City’s Gramercy Park captures his attention through the changing seasons. A naturalist — and devotee of Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh, a self-taught 19th-century artist and ornithologist from New Jersey — he finds endless inspiration in the world around him.
LEFT: Shayne in the Sherpa-Lined Plaid CPO, Stretch Oxford Shirt, and Comfort Twill 5-Pocket Pants. RIGHT: Shayne in the Cashmere Blend Waffle Quarter Button Sweater.
Source and Tradition has an open door policy — all are welcome, invited to share their stories, and to stay awhile.
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