Happy Friday Amigos,

Welcome to the next edition of JM’s Weekly Roundup. A quick hit of what’s new at La Matera and a few things that’ve popped up on my radar lately.

We’re heading back from Maine tomorrow, which means I’m somewhere between trying to soak up the last bit of this trip and mentally sorting through the pile waiting for me when we get home. That’s usually how the end of a good stretch away feels: grateful, a little tired, and already thinking about the next normal morning.

This week has a few things that fit that mood: a belt I keep coming back to, a song that feels good on the ride home, a beautiful bit of boatbuilding history, and a couple of small reminders to pay attention while you’re out in the world.

TL;DR:

• La Matera Highlight: Corbina Woven Belt, our hero belt and the one I keep coming back to when someone asks where to start.

• Worth Remembering: A sail with an 85-year-old New York sailor, and a good reminder to always keep moving.

• Worth a Listen: Turnpike Troubadours & Sierra Hull’s version of “Feelin’ Good Again”, with a Robert Earl Keen appearance that makes the whole thing feel right.

• Worth a Look: Tashmoo Boatworks, a revived Martha’s Vineyard skiff with a great story behind it.

• Gear I’m Carrying: Field Notes “Explore America” memo books, small notebooks built for summer trips, trail notes, and things you don’t want to forget.

• Weekend Wisdom: John Muir on going outside and finding your way back in.

1. La Matera Highlight: Corbina Woven Belt

If there’s one belt that feels like the La Matera starting point, it’s the Corbina Woven Belt. It has the things we care about most: hand-woven Argentinian fabric, full-grain leather, solid hardware, and a pattern that brings some color without getting loud.

I think of Corbina as our hero belt because it works in just about every setting we care about. Jeans and boots, chinos and loafers, shorts after a day on the water, dinner somewhere casual but still worth tucking your shirt in. It adds enough texture to make the outfit feel considered, but it never feels like it’s trying too hard.

The line has grown around that same idea. The Corbina Chocolate brings a darker leather option that feels a little more grounded. The Corbina Exótico adds an embossed leather texture with a little more bite. And the Corbina Stretch keeps the navy and khaki feel, but gives you more comfort and flex for golf, travel, or a long day moving around.

Different versions, same lane. Useful, easy to wear, and built to stay in the rotation.

2. Worth Remembering: Always Keep Moving

Yesterday I was introduced to an old sailor from New York who spends two or three months up in Maine with his wife every summer. He’s 85, gets around with a cane, and has some pretty serious nerve issues in his legs. Just getting into the dinghy to reach his boat on the mooring ball looked like a whole operation.

But once we were out there, you could tell pretty quickly that none of that was going to keep him away from a boat. Short of death itself, I’m not sure there’s a health issue on earth that would do it.

We went out on his 15-foot Marshall Sandpiper, which he bought after a local boatyard sank his 45-foot cruiser sailboat a few years back after some routine maintenance. That’s the kind of sentence that would knock a lot of people out of the game. He just found another way to keep sailing.

We talked about where we were from, our kids, the ups and downs of life, our wives, and how lucky we both were to find good ones. It was one of those conversations that doesn’t feel planned or polished. Just two people sitting in a small boat, moving through the water, talking about the stuff that ends up mattering.

At some point he told me that during the five New England summer months, he usually tries to get in around 110 sails.

One hundred and ten. As an 80-plus-year-old man with a cane, bad nerves in his legs, and every reasonable excuse in the world to stay on shore.

I was telling Bobbi about it last night after I got back, and I couldn’t shake it. I came away inspired to always keep moving, no matter what. It made me think of Newton’s law of things in motion: stay in motion. That’s one I’m taking seriously as I head into the back half of 2026 after this little reprieve up in Maine.

It also reminded me that I need to be more purposeful about spending time with folks who are 30 or 40 years ahead of me. I don’t have the luxury of rubbing shoulders with older people as often as I probably should these days, and that’s something I’d like to change. They’ve got a lifetime of stories and lessons to share. I just need to spend the time to listen.

I might just learn something.

3. Worth a Listen: Turnpike Troubadours & Sierra Hull, Feelin’ Good Again

Turnpike Troubadours and Sierra Hull put out a version of “Feelin’ Good Again”, and it’s hard not to like this one. The song already has that old Robert Earl Keen magic to it: a little homesick, a little joyful, and full of the kind of details that make you feel like you’ve been in that room before.

The video makes it even better because Robert Earl Keen shows up as himself. There’s something fitting about seeing him in the middle of it, like the song got handed down, carried around for a while, and brought back to the table with a few more voices. Sierra Hull sounds great on it, and Turnpike gives it that lived-in, road-tested feel they do so well.

Good one for the drive home, the dock, or whatever you’re doing while the weekend starts to loosen up.

4. Worth a Look: Tashmoo Boatworks

After three weeks in Maine, I’ve been living on the water and in full-on boat mode, so of course the algorithm served me an ad for Tashmoo Boatworks. I’m not mad about it. This is one beautiful skiff.

The story is what got me. Tashmoo traces back to the original skiffs built in the 1980s by master boatbuilder Dan West on Martha’s Vineyard, named for the waters of Lake Tashmoo. They were practical New England workboats: the kind fishermen used for lobster traps, striped bass, and getting around coastal water that doesn’t always make things easy.

Now Tashmoo Boatworks is bringing the design back using the original molds, with founder David Reiter working alongside veteran builder Mark Castlow of Dragonfly Boatworks. Each boat is built to order, which feels right for something with that much place and history in it. Simple lines, real utility, and the kind of object that makes you start inventing reasons to be on the water.

Worth a look if you like boats, craftsmanship, or just a good revival story.

5. Gear I’m Carrying: Field Notes “Explore America”

I’m a sucker for a good pocket notebook, and the new Field Notes “Explore America” memo books hit the right note. The first two 3-packs cover Northern California and the Triple Crown of Hiking, with covers inspired by places like Big Sur, Muir Woods, the Appalachian Trail, the Continental Divide Trail, and the Pacific Crest Trail.

They’re simple, useful, and small enough to actually carry, which is the whole point. Phone notes are fine, but there’s still something better about writing down a trail name, a dinner spot, a quote from a book, or an idea that comes to you when you’re away from your desk.

Field Notes has a line on their page that I liked: “I’m not writing it down to remember it later, I’m writing it down to remember it now.” Hard to argue with that.

6. Weekend Wisdom: John Muir

“I only went out for a walk and finally concluded to stay out till sundown, for going out, I found, was really going in.” - John Muir

That’s a good one for the middle of summer. Sometimes the best reset is just getting outside long enough for your mind to settle down a bit. Hope you get a little of that this weekend, even if it’s just a walk around the block after dinner.

Appreciate y’all being here.

Cheers,
JM

Jon-Mark Craddock
CEO

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Originally published in JM's Weekly Roundup on 2026-07-10.