This feature first appeared in our Premium Substack Newsletter (support KLOF Mag – sign-up here for our weekly playlist, exclusives and advance features).
Off the Shelf is KLOF’s semi-regular feature in which we invite artists to pick ten objects from their homes that hold meaning — for their daily life, their musical practice, or the overlap between the two.
Abigail has just released her new album Shadow Child – described in Mike Davies’ review as “Sweet and tender, tinged with sadness but coming to full term with hope and joy…” Following years of IVF and an on-stage miscarriage, Abigail Lapell was pregnant with her first child when she made her album Shadow Child.
Off the Shelf with Abigail Lapell
Dala Horse
I got this guy last year at the “wooden horse museum” (which is really an overpriced gift shop for tourists) in Stockholm’s main square in Gamla Stan. I never buy souvenirs, but I fell in love with the quiet dignity of this little horse, and decided it was the perfect gift for my baby, Charlie – who, at the time, was six months old and tagging along on tour across Europe.
My partner Jeff was with us, too, and it was our first time in Sweden. We’d taken the train across town to the old city to wander around. I always marvel at the romance of public transit in a foreign city – the way mundane things can take on such a magical cast when you’re traveling. Anyway, the shop had painted Dala horses, bright and garish horses, large and small. But I liked this specific one: the raw wood finish, small but solid. I didn’t realize then that they’re such a common figurine, sometimes found at Ikea (almost always sold for less than I paid, probably). Still, something about it makes me smile. And now that Charlie’s a bit older, he seems almost as fond of it as I am – trotting it around, across my legs, grinning.
In naming our child “Charlie”, I was prepared for a life filled with equine gifts and puns. But so far this has turned out to be the only Charlie Horse in our home.
Sand Timers
I started collecting sand timers a while back for their beauty and functionality. I keep these three on my desk to use for work. The longer one measures out “pomodoros” of time devoted to focusing on a single task. The two shorter ones help keep me on track, reminding me not to spend too much time on, say, a quick email – or just to keep an eye on the time things take. I’ve since learned that using timers and alarms is a classic strategy for people with ADHD to help combat “time blindness”. (I’ve never sought out or received any kind of formal diagnosis, but my soul finds comfort in gentle tactics like these.) There are fancier digital options of course, but I enjoy the physicality of an hourglass: the faint hiss of sand when it first turns over; the impracticality of something so fragile and single-purpose.
Marionettes
My friend Christopher Godziuk made these marionettes as part of a video for my song “Night Bird and Morning Bird.” It’s probably my favourite music video I’ve ever made, and I especially loved these two eponymous bird puppets. Chris initially gave them to his young daughter, who also appeared in the video. But after a lot of shameless hinting on my part, he promised I could have them someday when she’d outgrown them. Eventually that day came, and I was overjoyed to hang them in my apartment, where – I felt – they imparted a certain spirit of old-world bohemian pageantry. A couple of moves and a new baby later, they’ve been sitting in a box on a shelf the last couple of years, tenderly swaddled in old bedsheets. I’m planning to hang them up in my son’s nursery this week.
Banana Shaker
This excellent banana shaker was a gift from my drummer, Jake, for my baby’s first birthday. Little Charlie’s greatest passions in life so far are percussion, which he loves, and bananas, which he also loves (and which, like all fruit, he currently refers to as “apple”). So it was really the perfect gift – and it has a great, full sound, too. I used to teach early childhood music classes for babies and toddlers, and I came to appreciate how lovely it is for little children to have “real” instruments that don’t just sound like a cheap toy.
Crochet Sock Monkeys
My sister Jennifer made these sock monkeys for me many years ago in a fit of crochet fervour. Now they sit in my toddler’s nursery, on his change table, where they distract and delight him. I call them both “Monkey Friend” and they have wild adventures. The bigger one’s eye has been partially gnawed off by my son.
Xylophone
A present from my sister Sara, who’s great at sourcing used and vintage children’s things. This is the same Fisher Price Pull-A-Tune xylophone we had in our house growing up as kids, and everyone (including my child) seems drawn to it. Apparently these were first made in the 1950s, and they’re an enduring classic for a reason.
Coffee Tin
This year we visited New Orleans for the first time, and I thought these little tins at Cafe du Monde in City Park would make a cute and practical decor item. I didn’t really want the coffee, and I asked if it was possible to just buy the tin. (They said no.) So far it’s been sitting on my fridge, untouched. One day I plan to empty it, use or re-gift the coffee, and fill it with pens, scissors and miscellaneous items.
Metronomes
Once upon a time, I became pretty obsessed with metronomes. I would play along to their harsh pulse, convinced it was improving my sense of rhythm. I called my impromptu band (composed of myself and whoever was around that day) “Abigail and the Metronomes.” Then I started using these in live shows, sampling the metronome with a contact mic and a loop pedal or delay to create bizarre, unintentional polyrhythms (and usually a lot of horrible feedback). It wasn’t really a huge success musically, in the end, but I still love the aesthetics and the simple, ingenious mechanics of these little machines.
Hood Ornament
This Chrysler “Pentastar” hood ornament is all that remains of my beloved pop-top camper van, Rosie (1994-2019). I owned Rosie – an ancient converted Dodge Caravan, red and rusty, and dodgy in every sense – for less than a year before she went down in literal flames, on an ill-fated stretch of highway between Toronto and Montreal.
It had been my lifelong dream to travel solo across Canada in a camper van, and Rosie and I spent one glorious summer doing exactly that: playing at folk festivals, sleeping under the stars, stopping for various and constant repairs along the way. I cherish those memories, and at the same time, I can truly say I got it out of my system. I haven’t owned another vehicle since.
Sketch
My partner Jeff scribbled this on the back of a scrap of paper one day. We were deep in the fog of newborn parenthood, and I guess we’d just been musing about the baby’s sweet floppy physique, his droopy posture resembling a cascade of spheres. Jeff grabbed a pencil and started sketching as we talked. I was so charmed by the little drawing and hung it on our fridge. Much later, I bought a bunch of picture frames at the thrift store – for no particular purpose – and found that one of the smaller mattes fit this picture exactly. (Jeff has never really understood my fascination with this sketch, I don’t think.)
Shadow Child (May 8th, 2026) Outside Music
Bandcamp: https://abigaillapell.bandcamp.com/album/shadow-child
ABIGAIL LAPELL ON TOUR
Fri May 8 – Richards Landing, ON – Algoma Trad
Thu May 14 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Caffe Lena
Fri May 15 – Exeter, NH – Word Barn
Sat May 16 – Cambridge, MA – Club Passim
Sun May 17 – New York, NY – Cafe Wha?
Fri May 22 – Toronto, ON – Hugh’s Room
Sat May 23 – Chelsea, ON – Motel Chelsea
Sun May 24 – Ottawa, ON – Tennis Club West
August 7-9 – Red Rock ON – Live from the Rock Folk Festival
UK & European Tour Nov 2026
Netherlands
Thu 5 Nov – Amen – Cultureel Café de Amer
Fri 6 Nov – Nisse – Mariakerk
Sat 7 Nov – Groningen – Take Root Festival
Sun 8 Nov – Nijmegen – Thiemeloods
Tue 10 Nov – Utrecht – TivoliVredenburg
Germany
Mon 9 Nov – Cologne – United Lied
Mon 23 Nov – Munich – The Vintage Pub
France
Thu 12 Nov – Paris – Les Femmes s’en Mêlent
United Kingdom
Sat 14 Nov – London – West Hampstead Arts Centre
Sun 15 Nov – Birmingham – The Kitchen Garden Café
Mon 16 Nov – Brighton – The Folklore Rooms
Tue 17 Nov – Bristol – The Hen & Chicken Studio
Wed 18 Nov – Cambridge – The Portland Arms
Thu 19 Nov – Newcastle – Cluny 2 (Jumping Hot Club)
ITALY
Thu 26 Nov – Castelvetro di Modena – Lambruscheria Ca’ Berti
Fri 27 Nov – Piangipane – Teatro Socjale
Sat 28 Nov – Torino – Folk Club
Sun 29 Nov – Cortemaggiore – Teatro Eleonora Duse