coucou, salut!

Flocon Espresso

2012-01-25T13:11:00.002-05:00

Last weekend, I took a break and met some friends at Flocon on Mont Royal East. I had never been there, but fear I may now become a regular.

Flocon is housed in a super cute space with simple wooden benches and tables, and frames and objects painted with the most perfect vintage-y aqua blue.

I love coffee, but I have a difficult relationship with it. My stomach can be crazy sensitive, and if I cross my coffee threshold, it can mean bad news for me. I can typically handle only half of a small cup of coffee a day. No kidding; if they sold "junior" sized coffee, I'd be all over that.

I ordered a latte with soy milk, and what I got was AMAZING. I'm not going to wax poetic about a soy latte, but folks - there are many, many people out there who can't get this simple order right. SO many times I've had burnt soy milk, which makes for an unpleasant experience. I'm kind of curious what kind of soy milk they actually use, because this latte was delish. Creamy, smooth, perfect. And it totally didn't wreck my stomach, which was awesome.

It looks like they also sell Stumptown Coffee, which I've heard good things about. I might have to pick some up one of these days. When you only drink 1/2 a cup a day, you can afford to splash out sometimes.

If you're ever in the area, I highly recommend stopping in for a coffee!

bus blogging

2012-01-23T17:31:00.001-05:00

I'm attempting to blog in transit today, let's see how this goes...

To follow up on Friday's post: the weekend was definitely productive, but I didn't get around to building my light box. Womp womp.

I did realize, however, that I need to organize my space a great deal more before I try to work in it. Which brought me to the realization that I need to make more space.

I've never been 100% happy with my office set-up, which includes my prized vintage blue couch. I love this couch, but lately it's just being used as a storage bench for whatever crap I'm too lazy to put away.

J has been gently nudging me to get rid of it for awhile now, but sometimes you just have to wait for the right time. Which is why I finally decided on the weekend to sell it.

Now that I've made the decision, I'm ready to see it go so that I can have more storage and a more functional living space.

If anyone out there is interested, let me know! I really want it to go to a good home!

at the end of the tunnel

2012-01-19T10:05:00.002-05:00

Photo taken from my Instagram feed. Follow me here.

Now that I'm finally starting to get my mojo back (wow, that bout of the flu was a rough one), I've been starting to think Spring, and more importantly, my spring collection.

2011 was a big year for me in many ways, and it wasn't always an easy one. I'm still trying to find the right balance between the day job, the night job and my normal life (I'm starting to accept that this may be a constant battle), so I really want to focus on finding ways to make everything easier in 2012.

One of the great things about doing the One of a Kind Show in 2011 was all of the great people that I met, and most importantly - people who are in the same boat as me. I've always had the impression that most of the people out there who run a creative business have made it. They work (at the very most) part-time, and can focus most - or all - of their energy on what inspires them the most. Well, I was pleased as punch to meet quite a few artists this past year who blew that theory out of the water. Guess what? I'm not alone! There are MANY of us who are still waiting for the moment when we can "quit our day jobs". Even after years of hard work! And while that may seem discouraging to some, it's actually incredibly encouraging to me. I've definitely had moments over this past year where I've seriously considered throwing in the towel, but hearing that other people are fighting these same battles (and winning!) definitely gives me the motivation to: Just. Keep. Going.

And in the interest of all of you out there who are rowing this boat along with me, I’d like to steer this blog in the direction where I talk more about my process and how I’m (attempting) to manage everything. It’s a lot of trial and error, and I’m happy to share what I learn along the way. Safety in numbers right?

So, lesson number one from 2011: GET ORGANIZED.

And, more specifically: get organized enough so that photographing and listing my goods online becomes a part of my production, as opposed to an extra bit that I *sometimes* tack on to the end of it all. I feel like I've been cheating y'all a bit, because I tend to only list online maybe a quarter of the things that I actually make. Which means that if you don't come out to see me at a show, you don't really get the full sense of what I create - which is bad for everyone involved!

This step is a big one, and will require a lot of weekday organizing so that at least some of my weekends can be devoted to photography and photography alone. So the goal for this weekend: finally figure out a photography set-up that works for me in my apartment. This will mean building some sort of portable light box, and maybe even (gasp) organizing my storage room and office area so that I can easily work there without a stack of pillows falling on my head. At the very least, I need to get all of my photography supplies gathered in one place so that I don’t waste 2 hours trying to find my tripod, which is the first problem.

I’m excited to finally start getting everything in place for the new year. 2012 has been off to a rocky start, but I can feel myself getting back on track, and it feels pretty awesome.

2012-01-11T20:41:00.000-05:00

This is my life right now. I don't know what happened to my immune system as the clock struck midnight on December 31st, but I feel like I've been sick for the whole of January thus far.

2012, you are off to one heck of an odd start.

The constant coughing is making me feel like my head is in a vice grip, and it's doing nothing for my motivation. I feel like I've spent more time on the couch - just staring blankly at the TV - in the past week than I have in the past year. I'm just so TIRED.

And I know that I'm most likely in this predicament because I didn't take it easy enough when I first started to feel sick. Note to self: going for a run in -15 weather when you may or may not have a chest cold is NOT A GOOD PLAN.

I can't wait until I feel normal again, and can get back to running, and sleeping normally, and feeling rested. Oh how nice that will be. And until then, I think I just have to wait it out, and capitalize on the 30 minute bursts of energy I do have... sigh.

Good health to everyone out there! Take care of yourselves... I hope to be back on here more regularly starting next week!

2012 happy

2012-01-03T16:22:00.003-05:00

We returned last night from a weekend away with friends to Philadelphia, which was fantastic. The above photo is of J, standing in a pile of discarded streamers, coffee cups, bagels (I can only assume) and silly string. We were at the Mummers Parade, in case you were wondering. New Years day in Philadelphia is a sight to behold - I've never seen a city usher in the new year with so much enthusiasm (and drinking on the streets) then Philly. It's pretty wild.

Philly, I really like you. I can sense that you have a bit of an edge and that intrigues me. I also sense that you have delicious food to offer beyond the scope of cheese steaks, but those are pretty great too.

We spent a lot of time walking around, a lot of time eating and drinking, and a scandalous amount of time watching The Food Network when we should really have been out exploring the city. I found that South Philly reminded me of both Pointe-Saint-Charles and Greenpoint at the same time, which was oddly comforting.

I had an amazing time, but the holidays have disappeared way too quickly. How is it possible that it's January 3rd, 2012, and I'm already back at work? This boggles my mind.

But that week off? It was gooooood. I took relaxing too a whole new level over the holidays, and I hope you did too. My body and waistline are feeling it a bit, but I know that once I'm back to a regular routine, all will be back to normal.

2011 and me, we had our ups and downs, but overall it's been a good time. I'm really excited for what the new year will bring.

2012 is going to be a good one, I can feel it.

Puces Pop this weekend!

2011-12-09T09:50:00.001-05:00

I've been slow to post my OOAK recap, but as soon as the holiday rush is over, I'll definitely be posting about my experience with the show this year!

For those of you who weren't able to make it to Toronto, I'll be attending Puces Pop in Montreal this weekend, at the Église St-Enfant Jésus, 5035 St-Dominique. The show runs on Saturday and Sunday from 11:00 until 6:00, and should be as great as always! This is the last show I'll be doing this Christmas, so come out and say hi! I'll have a few one-of-a-kind pieces for sale, as well as some holiday gift cards that I'm printing especially for the event.

I've also started to re-list a few things in my etsy shop. For those of you who have been asking, you can now pre-order the red swimmer pillow (as seen in House & Home magazine!) here.

I hope everyone is having a busy and fantastic start to their holiday season!!

2011-12-05T14:56:00.001-05:00

I write this as I head back to Montreal, watching the world pass by the bus window. The past 12 days at One of a Kind have been amazing. And pretty exhausting.

I made it through a snowstorm that threatened to make us late, some initial booth set-up panic and 11 days of granola bars for lunch. I've met a ton of great people, feel motivated and inspired, and am looking forward to vending at Puces Pop on December 10 & 11.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by, your enthusiasm for what I do is overwhelming!

And now to take a few hours and just relax...

it's ooak time

2011-11-22T13:41:00.001-05:00

It took me more ink and cups of coffee than I want to think about, but it's officially here!

My Mom and I leave for Toronto bright and early tomorrow morning, to man booth H-43 for the next 10 days.

I'm experiencing a strange combination of excitement and exhaustion right now, but it's all good. I know it will be amazing!

The show runs from Thursday, November 24th to Sunday December 4th. The times are as follows:

Weekdays 10am-9pm
Saturdays 10am-9pm
Sundays 10am-6pm

The show will also be open late on Thursday December 1, from 10am-11pm.

See you there!

thank you

2011-11-16T11:39:00.001-05:00

I'm absolutely blown away by the amount of love and support I've been receiving as I get ready for my upcoming holiday shows. You're seriously making me blush.

To all of you who have helped me at the studio and beyond with your: wisdom, sewing, ironing, clipping, stuffing, editing, meal making, cleaning, listening, supply fetching and everything else, THANK YOU. Your help means so much to me - I really couldn't do it without you.

And to everyone who's been stopping by here lately - a huge thanks to you, too!

To show my gratitude, I've designed a little holiday card for you to print at home. Please click on the image below to view the file at original size and print away (if for some reason this doesn't work, let me know!).

Let it snow!

for personal use only
click on image to view at original size, and then right-click to save to your desktop

sink or swim

2011-11-14T09:09:00.001-05:00

I spent a large chunk of my weekend with these little guys. On Saturday afternoon, I called in the troops and we had the stuffing party to end all stuffing parties. There was polyfill a flyin', and we didn't stop until we ran out of fluff. It's so much more fun to do these repetitive tasks with a group of amazing and willing buds. I stitched most of them up on Sunday, and they're pretty much ready to go.

These little swimmers are small in stature, but not in character. Each one comes with a reminder to "sink or swim", and they would look adorable poking out of the top of a stocking!

As a side note, I've been adding some links to "coucou online elsewhere" menu. You can find links to my twitter feed, my instagram photos, and my current look book.

Today marks my official one-week mark for The One of a Kind Show (my goods are leaving a bit before me). I can't believe it! I feel really good about my progress, but there's no stopping now. It's time to sink or swim for real.

2011-11-08T16:22:00.000-05:00

My mantra these days.

the deep blue treasury

2011-11-04T15:08:00.002-04:00

I really love this pretty etsy treasury, curated by Kara Danielle. She was sweet enough to include my waves onesie in the top row. I think it's in fantastic company.

new shirts!

2011-11-02T13:41:00.000-04:00

Further to yesterday's post, here are a couple of the shirts that I've been busy printing up!

They're printed on a very nice organic cotton, and the colours are amazingly bright.

Available on etsy.

all in a day's work

2011-11-01T10:43:00.000-04:00

Things are finally starting to come together, OOAK-wise, and it's pretty exciting. There's still a lot to be done, but it's nice to see the piles of goods start to (literally) pile up in our office. I have to make these last couple of weekends really count, but I think I can do it.

I spent Saturday morning printing labels for my onesies and t-shirts. Sometimes I think I'm crazy for doing these little tasks by hand, but I really like how the finished product looks. They have a much more tactile appearance than conventional woven labels, which I think gives my product an extra special touch. They remind me of the labels that I used to find sewn into the back of knits from my Grandma that said "made by Grandma with love".

monsters!

2011-10-31T17:03:00.000-04:00

After a long absence, I've (finally!) re-listed some of my little cheese monsters and their new buds in the etsy shop. I've printed this edition on a beautiful natural linen, so they're super soft and huggable. They also have a little pocket in the back, perfectly sized for tricks or treats.

Have a happy Halloween!

mr. buttons

2011-10-27T13:10:00.003-04:00

Only something this awesome will bring me out of hiding right now! How clever are these buttons, from John Caswell?

Found via Bird and Banner.

busiest of busy

2011-10-21T16:59:00.004-04:00

It's dreary out, and I needed to wear comfort clothes today.

I bought these boot socks online the other day (thank you, online shopping, for I have no time), and really like them. They're not super thick, but they're really stretchy and stay up well. I've gotten several compliments on them today, so go boot socks. I admit that this may also be because for the first time in probably a month, I didn't just grab the same jeans/sweater combo off the floor before rushing off to work.

Things are ridiculously busy over here right now. The One of a Kind Show is almost a month away (eep!), and as it stands, I have more things to do than time. When I signed up for this show, I was really naive about how much prep needed to be done. Thankfully I've had a large support system, and I owe a huge thanks to everyone who has shared their wisdom and advice already (you know who you are). There are SO MANY small details that I've had to work out, and I've learned a ton along the way. I plan to post about my whole experience when it's over. If I survive to tell the tale...

I've got some friends heading into the studio with me tomorrow to help out with some of the little jobs that need to get done, and we have our work cut out for us!

When I'm not in this space, you can find me pretty much daily on twitter. I plan to post some photos in the next few weeks of my progress, so stay tuned!

What are you up to this weekend? Enjoy some down-time for me!

2011-10-17T13:04:00.002-04:00

I've been on a bit of a dollhouse admiration kick lately, and am really loving these mini cardboard rooms from Zoé de Las Cases. If I was left to my own devices, I'm fairly certain my entire house would look like this.

2011-10-11T11:05:00.001-04:00

I had big plans for this weekend. Huge. As big and as complex as that there sandwich (which was delicious, I should add).

Everything was looking good on Friday: the weather forecast was amazing, J and I were flying solo, and I was full of enthusiasm to log some serious studio time. I had a minor sore throat - but no biggie - I took some Cold FX, went to Portishead in the Old Port and figured I'd be fine the next morning.

I awoke on Saturday morning with a nasty, nasty cold that zapped me of all my energy and turned my motivation to poop. Determined to soldier through, I dragged my sick butt out of bed early, ran errands, did my weekly fabric pre-wash at the buanderette, and figured I could still get some serious printing in, courtesy of Tylenol Cold & Flu.

Not so much.

As fate would have it, our studio bathrooms were being renovated on the weekend, so there was zero water in the building. I attempted to maneuver around this by printing at home, but it was too messy and windy and more frustrating than productive. I then attempted to print at the studio, bringing my screens home to rinse them in my bathtub. This was slightly more productive, but still about equally as frustrating. By about 2:00 on Saturday afternoon, I succumbed to my sinus pain and collapsed on the couch. Enter the next two hours of napping on the couch while listening to Iron and Wine.

It didn't get much more productive than that. I was whining to my Mother last night about my lost weekend, and she did point out that thankfully I had a cold AND the water was off at my studio on the same weekend. This is a valid point - I lost one weekend rather than two, and it did make me feel a bit better. I'm trying not to stress it too much, considering that stress is probably what made me sick in the first place. Live and learn.

But I'm being a complainer. All things considered, the weekend was pretty good. We ate VERY well. J cooked an entire turkey for the two of us, and then turned that turkey into a delicious club sandwich and turkey pie the next day - all of which were amazing. On Monday, I met up with my pal Katka and her super cute kiddo, which gave me some much-needed coffee-sipping time in the sun. We also went to a friend's wedding party on Saturday evening for a bit, which gave me some much needed scotch-sipping time in the dark.

And I did get some solid work done in my studio yesterday afternoon (on some new goodies that I'm excited about!). So yeah - when you get down to the bones of it, I'm pretty thankful for this past weekend. It wasn't as big of a gathering as we had last year, but it was nice and simple, and maybe that was what I needed anyway.

In any case, I emerged from the weekend feeling motivated and ready to take on the mountain of work ahead of me. And for that, I'm thankful.

10 screen printing tips

2011-10-05T13:44:00.002-04:00

I've been spending a ton of time in my studio lately (OOAK Show, I'm looking at you!), which lends itself well to thinking and day dreaming. This past weekend, while thinking about printing techniques and how far I've come, I started thinking about the things that have gotten easier - and why. So, in the interest of information-sharing, below are 10 points that may (or may not) make your screen printing life a little bit easier.

1. Take your time. When I started printing, I had it in my head that the inks would dry in my screen in a nanosecond. As a result, I spent a lot of time tossing my squeegee aside with wild abandon, and frantically shelving prints. I'm sure you can imagine how messy this process was. The reality is that - yes - your inks will dry in your screen if you leave them to sit there for an extended period (this is a shorter length of time in hot climates/dry conditions), but remain calm. Print on.

2. Wear comfortable shoes. Screen printing is physically demanding. It's a lot of standing, hyper extending your knees and elbows, and hunching over. I recommend not wearing high heels (the fashion police will not judge your crappy printing shoes), taking breaks, and stretching. And warm up your hands before you start printing - your joints will thank you.

3. Watch someone else print. Most of the techniques I've picked up have been gleaned from watching and helping other printmakers. In my experience, printers are nice people, and very proud of their craft. They also don't mind talking about it. Help a printer shelve prints for an afternoon, and ask all your questions. It will be invaluable.

4. There is not only one way. While the basics of screen printing are always the same (screen, ink, squeegee), there are lots of different techniques to use. Don't get hung up on rules and not breaking them. The space that you're printing in will dictate a lot of your practices, and sometimes breaking with convention will end up with a much more interesting result. Don't like the way you've been taught to register prints? Make up your own way. And if you think it rocks, share it with the world.

5. Keep it simple. You don't have to invest in crazy equipment in order to make a good print, and if your production levels are small, you can do it really bare-bones. I started with a screen, a kitchen butcher's block and a couple of pots of Speedball ink. There are tons of DIY screen printing tutorials online, so take a quick look around and jump in. On this note, you also don't have to do it all yourself. I have someone burn my screens for me, because I don't like this part of the process and the chemicals involved. If someone else with a proper burning unit can do it for me in half the time with far better results, why not?

6. Bring a buddy to the studio. A couple of years ago, when I was reminding myself how to print, I brought J with me to the studio. At the time, I couldn't figure out why I was such a messy printer - I was perpetually covered in ink. J (the logical half of our relationship) was quick to point out that I needed an "ink station" away from what I was printing. I now set up a stool with my ink, squeegee and spatulas, and it keeps the ink where it's supposed to be. Simple, genius, LOGICAL. Sometimes all you need is a fresh look at things.

7. Have lots of rags/paper scraps on hand. You never know when you're going to need to do a test-print or clean up a random blob of ink. I have a crate of cloths (which I wash and re-use, but you don't have to) that are always within reach, and it keeps me from scrambling to clean up messes, which in turn keeps the printing going smoothly.

8. Think outside the substrate. I find that one of the great things about screen printing is that you can print on practically any surface (with the right combination of inks and mesh). I've seen people print on furniture, on windows, on walls... You're not limited to plain white fabrics or papers, so have fun with it.

9. Print every day. I cannot say how important just printing on a regular basis is. For some people, screen printing comes easily. For others, it takes awhile. Don't get discouraged. If you do it often you'll get a better sense of how to work with your inks, what screen mesh you need, and how to move around in your space.

10. Tape will become your best friend. Everyone has their favorite type and brand - I personally like printer's tape - and trust me, you will need it. Tape can fix a pinhole in a jiffy, keep ink from leaking where you don't want it to, help you register your print, and act as a prop for your screen while you're inking it. Invest in a few rolls and you'll be happy you did.

Please note that I do not in any way pretend to know everything there is to know about screen printing, nor am I an expert by any means. I'm just happy to share what I do know. If you have any questions, or anything to add, please feel free to leave a comment!

thinking small

2011-09-30T16:35:00.000-04:00

Pop-up treehouse card from The Folded Forest.

Lately I've been thinking a lot about small spaces, trying to remember how special it is to be a kid.

When I was small I loved to hide out in tiny nooks. My Grandma had a great one under her stairs that held shelves and shelves of toys. More stuff than any kid could ever really need, here lived toys from every decade imaginable. Some of the permanent residents (a small musical wooden rocker, for instance) had belonged to my Mother years before, while some of the newer additions (my Grandma's homemade Cabbage Patch Dolls) were only ever loved by me and my brother. It was a treasure trove for the imagination.

At the house I lived in until I was around 5, my parents had created an amazing basement playroom for us. Complete with "Tiger Tiger" shag carpet, I remember a section of this playroom that was reserved for playing house. It had all of the conveniences of a modern make-believe home - a stove, doll beds, plastic dishes.

I'm afraid of trying to remember this place to hard, for fear that I'll forget it.

One of the kids on my block (who coincidentally is now married to a good friend) had a tree fort in his backyard. A tree fort! In the actual trees! With a ladder and everything! I was super jealous of that, and because I was a girl, I think I only ever got to play in it a couple of times. They just had a baby boy, and I hope the city bylaws don't restrict them from building just as awesome a structure for him.

Each time I see photos of someone's treehouse or playhouse online I'm secretly jealous. I think if I ever own land with lots of trees, I'll build an entire treehouse village, Ewok-style.

In the meantime, I'll just have to look at what other people have built - like this one, found via Apartment Therapy, and drool.

2011-09-29T14:30:00.000-04:00

I really love this shirt, from Jordan Grace Owens.

trying to be IT hurts my brain

2011-09-29T09:38:00.001-04:00

I'm re-working my website/blog configuration, so things might go a bit haywire for awhile.

I'm currently trying to re-direct my domain (through 1&1) to my blog, but I can't for the life of me figure out how to do it correctly. I've found a few resources online, but none of them seem to work correctly. But there's also a strong possibility that it's me, and not them...

I'm sure I'll get it after enough button pushing and swearing. If anyone has any experience with this, let me know!

Patience, please!

Puces Pop 2011 Recap

2011-09-26T14:05:00.011-04:00

I hope that everyone went to check out Puces Pop this year. If not, shame on you - it was one of the best years yet.

Some of my faves from this sale:

Awesome knits from Million Dollar Swim. Check out her swell silkscreened tags - they're as beautiful as her mittens!

Gorgeous belts and recycled handbags from Deborah Adams. I love Deborah's work so much. She made that awesome snakeskin handbag (oh my god I'm sorry for the crappy photo!) from a recycled shoulder pad!

Cute hankies from Olivia Mew.

Simple and cute earrings from Val of Instant Crimson. I love this girl and her work.

Beautiful tops and dresses from Les Enfants Sauvages.

Adorable monsters from Velvet Moustache. The eyeball pops out, in case you were wondering. This made me giddy.

Beautiful and fun prints from Rosin of Bespoke Uprising. As a fellow printmaker, I can vouch for how much work this girl puts into her textiles, and they speak for themselves!

Adorable Iveth and her cute banner for the Angry Weather. Her jewelry is also adorable.

I always find this sale crazy inspiring, and I have to admit that once I was there, I was a bit bummed to not be participating.

As an aside: as someone who's been on both sides of the craft show table, please always ask before you take photos of someone's product. They put their heart and soul into what they sell, and it's rude to just take a picture without even saying hi. I see so many people doing this, and it's just plain silly. Craftspeople love to talk about what they do, so if you love their stuff, ask them about it - seriously. I trust that you'll be amazed at the care and thought that they put into their product. Don't just take a picture it will last longer and walk away. Please.

Puces Pop!!

2011-09-23T11:57:00.009-04:00

It's that time of year again - Puces Pop is on this weekend!

I'm not participating this year, but I'll definitely swing by to check out the talent. It's always exciting and inspiring to see what new goodies some of my favorite brands have cooked up. I'm actually kind of excited to be on the other side of the tables this time around, so I can just enjoy myself and shop!

Along with checking out the new talent, here are a few of my must-see booths:

Bespoke Uprising - I picked up one of her wallets a couple of years ago, and I get a TON of compliments on it.

The Angry Weather - I love her sweet and simple aesthetic.

Supayana - I'm crazy excited to see her new baby line!

Million Dollar Swim - Amelia makes the loveliest knits (and jam!).

Broundoor, who makes awesome recycled leather goods (I may have to finally pick up my iPhone case).

The sale is on September 24 and 25, 2011, from 11:00 until 6:00, at St-Michael’s Church, 105 St-Viateur West. See you there!

playing around

2011-09-15T16:37:00.003-04:00

I've been playing around with some different colour combinations and patterns. Sometimes when I need inspiration, I just draw out a quick shape and see what happens. I'm pretty happy with these little tents.

Or are they cupcakes?

ZOMBIES, RUN!

2011-09-14T12:52:00.001-04:00

I don't talk about it much here, but I guess I'm a "runner".

My joints aren't awesome, so I don't run as often as I once did, but I try to log a couple of 5-6 mile runs a week. Which still pits me in the "beginner" category of runners, I should add.

Sometimes when I'm out for a jog, I day dream that I'm the sole survivor of some crazy apocalyptic event, and have been sent to run somewhere to get help.

Weird? Maybe.

Motivating? Totally.

Enter ZOMBIES, RUN!, which I discovered via boing boing. Uh, hello! Now that I have my fancy new iPhone (still super excited about this), I can finally get excited about amazing ideas like this!

From the creators:

You’re Runner 5. Hundreds of lives are counting on you. You've got to help your base rebuild from the ruins of civilization by collecting critical supplies while avoiding roving zombie hordes. Can you save them?

Contribute to their awesome idea via kickstarter here.

brooklyn print

2011-09-14T10:44:00.001-04:00

I really love prints by Bree,ree., a.k.a. Todd Stewart.

I have one of his Montreal prints stuck to my fridge with magnets because I haven't gotten around to framing it yet. Thankfully it hasn't been destroyed by food stains...I should probably do that this weekend.

When I bought my print at Puces Pop last year, I asked what his inspiration was for making prints of specific cities, and he said that it started as a way to document places he wanted to visit. Now, he said, he's actually been to most of them.

He describes it better here.

Print of Brooklyn available here.

thinking about writing about thinking

2011-09-13T21:17:00.001-04:00

I've been spending a lot of time recently thinking about my online presence. The reality being, that I don't really have much of one. When I starting thinking about my own business seriously, I started to sensor myself online. I abandoned my old website and started afresh.

I wanted this site to be more of a reflection of what I find interesting in the world, because the reality was that most of what I loved about the "diy" and "craft" culture was the people, and the amazing things that they were creating.

But somewhere along the line, I feel like I've lost my voice. Inspired by this post, I just spent a good hour reading over my old blog. The blog I wrote between the ages of 26 (seriously?) and 29. I'm 33 now, and of course my voice has changed - that's inevitable. I'm less sad, but still not the most optimistic person you'll ever meet. I'm doing what I want to be doing - which I really struggled with back then - but I'm still not exactly where I want to be. When I started writing that blog, I always thought that at some point I would go back to it and cringe at my words. Mock my sentences. Belittle myself. But the opposite has happened. I find myself kind of missing that girl, in a way I never thought possible.

And it's not just because she had good hair and an amazing jacket.

Six years is not very much time, but in the internet realm, it kind of is. The internet has changed, adapted, become something incredibly amazing. And blogging has changed with it. I said to J the other day that everyone who blogs is trying to market something. And I think that's for the most part, true. I would be a hypocrite to say that I'm not doing it too. And I don't necessarily think this is a bad thing. Ideas are marketable, too. I feel inspired by and connect to hundreds of people every day who don't even know that I'm there (which is sad), and I know that this way of communication has helped so many people to achieve their dreams and make a real difference in the world (which is amazing).

I guess I'm bummed because I feel like my conversation with the world has changed. Things are still exciting. Sometimes things are still shit. And THAT'S what I think is missing - I think I need to talk more about who I am in this city, rather than just what's going on around me. Which, to be honest, I was kind of doing a bit of a piss-poor job of, anyway.

Montreal is amazing. Maybe, just maybe, even as amazing as New York.

So, welcome to my life here.

Picture above from Lilac Saloon.

hoosier cupboard kitchen counter

2011-09-13T09:38:00.001-04:00

I always know when my Mom and Stepdad have been in town, because once they leave my apartment is just a little bit more awesome. Not because their gone - it sucks when they leave - but because they are also awesome and do a little DIY for us when they're around.

This trip, they brought us our new kitchen addition - the hoosier cupboard-turned kitchen counter. J and I had been on the hunt for more counter and storage space, and this does the trick. We originally had the table in this corner of the kitchen, but it wasn't working out. It was too much of a pain to pull out to actually eat at, and as a counter it was too low and awkward.

The base of the new counter was originally the top of a hoosier cabinet. When I was home this summer and hunting through my Mom's garage for stuff I might like to "borrow", I saw this beauty and thought it might work for us. She stained the outside and painted the inside, and it looks beautiful below our crate shelving.

We weren't sure how to create the work surface, but decided on a Värde countertop from IKEA. It's held on by screws that were drilled through the top of the cupboard (the top wasn't in great shape anyway), and is braced in the back with a few angle brackets. We discovered the hard way that the weight distribution in the back was too uneven, because the counter is about twice the width of the cupboard. We may have to brace it to the wall in the future, but so far the angle brackets are working. I was uncertain about the length of the countertop - and specifically how the overhang would look - but our kitchen stool fits perfectly underneath, making a nice little breakfast eating area.

The space behind the cupboard serves a purpose as well, as we have a radiator behind the cupboard. If it went flush to the wall, it would mean no heat in the winter, so it worked out perfectly.

I love how it all turned out, and our kitchen is at least 80% more functional now! Yay for handy parents!

PS please excuse my picture quality - I've been playing with my new iPhone (!) and haven't completely figured it out yet.

featured!

2011-09-11T10:42:00.001-04:00

I have some incredibly exciting news to share! I'm a featured artist for this year's One of a Kind Show in Toronto!

The lovely OOAK team came to visit my studio back in July, and they were all really awesome to work with. I have absolutely no dreams of becoming a model, but I think the photo turned out really well. Props to them for their fantastic ad campaign!

I'm absolutely thrilled to be one of their "stars" this year! You can read my interview here.

You can also still buy one of my limited-run pillows here.

Now it's back to the studio for me!

here we go techno

2011-09-09T11:30:00.000-04:00

Because it's back-to-school season, I'm getting the urge to go crazy and organize every last inch of my life.

I'm at best horribly organized, and have been making a huge effort to amend this. The latest advancement has been to circle important dates on my crappy (and frankly, poorly designed) flip calendar at work, which has been surprisingly helpful. I even tried to save a couple of dates in the "planner" on my crappy cell phone (I own the same model as Jesse Pinkman, if that's any indication), but that didn't really work out.

I've been mulling over the iPhone debate for awhile now. As in, whether or not I'll actually use it, or whether - and this is by far the more likely scenario - I will just accidentally dump it on the side of the road one day and be out $600.

I've been playing around with J's lately, and have determined that it might actually benefit me in a lot of ways. Organization aside, I think being able to blog and take awesome photos (seriously, some of J's Hipstamatic pics are amazing) on the fly is going to be invaluable for me.

One of the biggest challenges I've been facing lately is trying to fit everything in. Working 9-5, a coma-inducing commute, attempting to have a sliver of a life, AND managing my personal work are all being crammed into far too tiny a space. I've complained about this before, and this here blog takes the biggest hit. I do take pictures from time to time, but find that the process of loading them on to my computer, editing them and making it pretty takes WAY too much of my time and energy. I'm sure there are neat-o efficient ways of doing this (suggestions welcomed!), but I don't have the time to investigate right now.

So maybe I'm just sugar coating my ideas about an iPhone because I really just want to play Plants vs. Zombies all day every day, but I really think it will help me.

So I think it's decided. I'm getting an iPhone and am pretty durn excited.

Beautiful blue leather iPhone case from Broundoor.

little boxes

2011-09-08T16:52:00.000-04:00

I really love these little ceramic houses from etsy shop The Little Red Door.

OOAK shop open!

2011-09-06T12:28:00.000-04:00

1. Needle Felted Lion by Lesley-Anne Green
2. Citrus Juicer by Amélie Lucier and Julien Mongeau
3. Anchored Cushion by Shannon Adolph
4. Animal Print Scarf by Eve Gravel
5. Pointed Collar and Bow Tie by AnneMarie Minardi and Gillian Ward
6. High Park Journal by Roy Liang
7. Chocolate Box by Odile Chatelain
8. Listening to Records by Kelly Grace
9. Leather Pouch by Sarra Tang
10. Modern Mala Bracelet by Trudy Wynans

The OOAK show online shop is officially open, and it looks amazing!

I only have enough fabric for 25 of my pillows, so get one while you can!

long live the long weekend

2011-09-03T14:15:00.000-04:00

Happy long weekend!

It's hot and humid in Montreal, and dare I say it - I'm acutally kind of missing the end of summer cool breezy days we've had of late. No, I take it back. Forever summer.

A good friend is visiting from Toronto, and we'll be bbq-ing, patio-sitting and catching up in the sun over the next few days. It should be great!

Before I disappear into the final long weekend of the summer, I wanted to share the exciting news that I'll be vending at this years One of a Kind Show in Toronto! I'm incredibly excited, and can't even comprehend how much needs to get done before the end of November! I'll be sure to give updates of my progress along the way.

But in other exciting news, you don't have to wait until November 24 to take advantage of the sale! The OOAK show is opening up an online pop-up shop, starting on Monday, September 6. I've created a series of limited-edition pillows for the sale (sneak peak above), and they'll be available online from the 6th to the 19th!

Get them while you can!

Now get out there and long weekend!

ballooning

2011-08-31T09:54:00.000-04:00

So it's officially that time of year to look back over the past few months, lament not spending enough time picnicing and wonder just where did all of that time go?

Life have been busy. Summer has been busy. But busy and good. Really, really good.

Things are on the up and up, and I have exciting news to share in the next few days.

In the meantime, here's a quick recap of some summer highlights:

I bought a new bike from this great bike shop! She's beautiful, blue and I love her.
We've been eating many a brunch from this place (conveniently located a few doors down from the bike shop). It's amazing, the staff is great, and I love that their collection of 70's stoneware dishes are throwbacks to our childhood, like this and this.
My Mom and Stepdad came up for a week, and it was amazingly nice. They painted our bedroom for us (!) among some other home improvements, and it was so nice to have them around.
We all went to Vermont for a couple of days, and visited Burlington. Such a cool little town. I'm definitely going to have to go back soon.
On the way back we lucked out and caught the Balloon Festival as a ton of balloons were launching into the sky. I would have never planned to go to this, but it was really cool to stumble upon it.
Last night, J made quick pickles (the recipe he used was from cook's illustrated, but you get the idea) for the first time, and they were super good.

Ah summer, you've been pretty good to me.

garden gnome niece

2011-07-27T21:48:00.000-04:00

I love this pic of my sweet niece wearing some of her very own coucou salut garb. She's the cutest little garden gnome I ever did see.

hot.

2011-07-12T10:57:00.000-04:00

It's hot. Disgustingly hot. 45 degrees and living inside of a dog's mouth hot.

Cooking actual meals is a bad idea these days, so we've been eating a lot of sandwiches, salads and snacks.

Back when it was in the mere upper 20's and 30's, J cooked up some delicious eats, including our first ever shrimp boil! We had to make our own version of Old Bay Seasoning, but it turned out fantastic, and is the perfect thing to eat outside on a warm summer's night.

I'm planning to escape to the comfort of a movie theater tonight, possibly to watch this or this. I suspect that means that popcorn will be on the menu for tonight.

How are you beating the heat?

home and back

2011-07-03T20:57:00.001-04:00

We've returned from a week at home with our favourite people, where it was all hanging out barefoot in the sunshine, playing with cute kids and dogs, going for runs along the river, and taking long prairie drives.

It was so great to catch up with the nieces and nephew (the nephew is super active, and a hard one to photograph!), who are all so amazing. I didn't grow up around any kids, so I'm learning a lot from them - mainly that I kind of wish I was two again.

It's back to work for me again tomorrow, and I have a few months of hard work ahead of me - more on that later. Why do vacations always seem to take forever to arrive, and then go by in the blink of an eye?

I hope everyone is having an amazing summer so far!

whistle while you work

2011-06-17T13:22:00.000-04:00

I awoke to zero water in my apartment this morning. What a harsh way to start Friday. Thank god that I have a tendency to leave half-filled glasses of water lying around, or things could have been much worse (I like to brush my teeth before riding the bus, thankyouverymuch).

I'm half a day away from the weekend, and this is the perfect way to kick it off:

Work Song From Postal Employees in Ghana (MP3)

I first heard a clip of this on an episode of Radio Lab, but it's nice to be able to hear more of it here.

Via the always informative boingboing.

weekend recap

2011-06-12T19:24:00.000-04:00

This weekend:

I blantantly copied a great haircut (thanks, Nadyne!) and a diy (I acknowledge that this photo is terrible, but it encapsulates both beautifully. I promise to post better photos later)...

...bought some tasty cured sausage, complete with beautiful packaging, from the market...

...and took some candid shots of snails. They never fail to make my day.

How was your weekend?

this is just how my face looks

2011-06-09T14:15:00.000-04:00

This print is so unbelievably perfect.

At least a few times a week, someone in my office asks me if I'm OK, because apparently I wander around looking distraught. I'm so self conscious about it that I make a dedicated effort to fake smile every time I walk by my boss' office.

I'm seriously thinking of buying this and putting it up in my cubicle.

Happy Friday, I hope everyone has a fabulous weekend (how's that for enthusiasm!)!

merci!

2011-06-06T21:42:00.000-04:00

Thanks to everyone who came to Puces Pop on the weekend!

I always need a few days to decompress after a big show, but I'm happy to report that there are some exciting things on the horizon, so stay tuned!

today!

2011-06-04T08:24:00.000-04:00

I'll be at Puces Pop all day today, so if you're out in the sunshine, swing by and say hi! We're located at the St-Enfant Jésus church on St-Joseph and St-Dominique from 11:00 until 6:00, both today and Sunday.

This is the only sale that I'm planning on doing this summer, so if you want to come and check out a few new goodies, and grab some good deals, now is your chance!

Happy weekend!

Puces Pop prep!

2011-05-30T12:07:00.000-04:00

I've been busy prepping for this upcoming weekend's Puces Pop sale! It will be held on June 4 & 5, from 11-6PM, at the St Enfant de Jesus Church (corner St-Joseph et St-Dominique). If you're in the area (and hopefully out enjoying the sun - fingers crossed!), drop by to say hello.

There will be radio silence on this here ol' blog, while I iron and print and sew and tag and panic.

In the meantime, please amuse yourself with gummi bear skin rug, by Brock Davis (via Boing Boing):

Amazing.

mini bulles

2011-05-20T14:05:00.001-04:00

I'm exicted to announce that you can now get buy coucou salut goodies online at mini bulles! Based out of Montreal (youpi!), this beautifully curated online concept shop was created by the lovely duo of Sophie and Julie, who are both a pleasure to work with.

The shop is already stocked with some great and super cute products.

Being the 33-year-old 5-year-old that I am, I kind of want the above wall decal for our bedroom. You can get your own here.

sweetmama article!

2011-05-13T12:57:00.000-04:00

There's a really nice little post on sweetmama today about me and my products. You can read the post here.

The swimmer dolls in the article are part of my Spring 2011 collection, and will be listed in the shop this weekend! They also come in pillow form, as above.

bunnies for babies

2011-05-05T22:20:00.000-04:00

The weekend before our big sale, me and J managed to escape for a few days with some friends and head to a wonderful little cabin North of Montreal. I had forgotten how nice it was to just sit around, computer free, and relax.

Many hours were spent sitting in front of the fire, putting together a puzzle (missing the last piece!), drinking wine and just chilling out with some good friends.

And I even managed to be productive! On Saturday it rained, so I took the time to put the finishing touches on some little bunnies destined for my nieces and nephew. The pattern was from Chez Beeper Bebe, which I modified slightly. They turned out super cute, and even though they were too late for Easter, I think the kids loved them!

Tomorrow!

2011-04-29T12:44:00.000-04:00

collectif nënë in metro!

2011-04-28T09:50:00.000-04:00

Our collective got a nice write up in Metro magazine this morning! You can read the article here (in French).

Our sale is only two days away, and as usual, there's tons of prep still to be done.
Later this afternoon, the window at OFF Intearts will be set-up with a display of our products, so stop by to get a sneak peek of some of the great stuff that will be for sale.

collectif nënë

2011-04-14T21:44:00.000-04:00

I have no idea why it's taken me this long to write about this, because it's pretty exciting news. A few months ago I joined forces with a collective of lovely ladies (most of them whom are also lovely Moms) who all make wonderful products for children and infants. It's been such a great experience to meet with all of these amazing local creators, and learn from our collective experiences.

We're planning a baby show in Montreal, coming up in two weeks! I'm super busy getting ready for it, but I think it will be really amazing. It will be held on April 30 from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., at Off Interarts.

We would love it if you stopped by to say hi! You can follow us on Facebook here.

cute little monster

2011-04-11T12:25:00.000-04:00

How adorable is this photo? I had a wonderful customer by the name of Cindy contact me requesting one of my myopic monster shirts for her young son, who had recently gotten some new glasses. The transaction wasn't a super smooth one, as I had some unexpected issues with my supplier. Luckily, Cindy was great throughout the whole process, and her son eventually got his shirt.

Owning and running a small business is a constant learning experience, and it's easy to lose sight of why you do it in the first place. There are definite ups and downs, but that adorable smile makes it all totally worth it.

And how about those glasses, how fantastic are they?

Thanks again, Cindy - you and your amazing kiddo made my day.

new spring dresses

2011-04-02T15:10:00.000-04:00

Spring is in the air, I can feel it!

one year ago

2011-03-28T21:27:00.000-04:00

My brother and sister-in law were married in Las Vegas a year ago yesterday. Happy anniversary to them both!

I admit it, I kind of miss you Vegas. Just kinda.

sick

2011-03-16T19:00:00.001-04:00

I've been hit with a super ridiculously nasty cold. Although it may actually be bronchitis - the jury's still out on that one. It's been a very long time since I've been so depleted like this, and it's really frustrating to not feel like a normal human being.

And the real kicker is that I was just coming off a week of trying to eat better - meaning a ton more fruit and veg. I guess it was just too little, too late.

I made a delicious bowl of oatmeal with baked apples and walnuts (good recipe here) before the worst of it walloped me, and it was delicious. I'll have to remember to start mornings like that more often.

And - hello - I've just discovered agave, which I picked up from the amazing local shopFait Ici . My life will never be the same.

soviet posters

2011-03-11T23:34:00.000-05:00

Fantastic collection via English Russia.

tights are key. ha.

2011-03-10T13:47:00.000-05:00

How completely awesome are these tights from Teja Jamilla (found via Fat-Aus)?

newspaper wood

2011-03-09T13:18:00.000-05:00

Cool "wood" made from recycled newspapers. Developed by Mieke Meijer for vij5.

Via inhabitat.

scrap happy

2011-03-08T22:43:00.000-05:00

I've been playing around with some rag doll designs lately. Right now they're mainly for my own amusement - to try out some appliqué techniques and use up some scrap fabric, but you never know, some variation on this might make it into the shop.

The quilt on the back of the couch was made by my Grandmother, many years ago. I love the strange but perfect combination of colours and patterns. She was one talented lady.

shower squid awesomeness

2011-03-04T16:40:00.000-05:00

This guy is freaking adorable, found at uncommon goods, via boing boing.

And with that, it's Friday, and I'm finishing off another work week.

Have a great weekend!

why hello, 1992

2011-02-26T17:04:00.000-05:00

This:
Five Seconds Of Every #1 Pop Single Part 1 by mjs538
and this:
Five Seconds Of Every #1 Pop Single Part 2 by mjs538
are awesome (found via J and salon).

I actually had to bury my head and cringe when it hit the Vanessa Williams section, so vividly transported to awkward elementary school dances was I. But it was good pain.

It's Nuit Blanche tonight in Montreal, and I'm heading out later - coffee in hand - to try to take in as much as I can muster. My studio is having a "black hole" themed night, (although I'm unfortunately not participating), and you should definitely check it out.

Busy day tomorrow, so much to get done. I hope your weekend has been a productive one!

polish children's books

2011-02-17T11:07:00.000-05:00

I'm a massive fan of Polish poster illustration. I fell in love with some posters at a random shop (I have no idea where it even was) in Edinburgh waaaay back in 1998 or so. Sadly, being on a backpackers budget at the time, I left with a couple of postcards but no actual posters to lug across Western Europe with me (in retrospect, I should probably be thankful for this).

When J and I traveled to Kracow a few years ago, I had high hopes of visiting this place to finally score a poster or two for myself, but alas, it was closed on the days we were there. I almost cried. Backpacking is an emotional experience, what can I tell you?

They're pretty easy to come across online now - you can check out a bunch of posters at the The Grayspace Poster Gallery (found via Drawn), and there are also quite a few online shops out there.

You can imagine my excitement when I discovered this Polish children's book illustration site, via Camilla Engman. Above are a few of my favorites (all images courtesy of the site).

I have a few Polish school and story books at home that I adore - I live by a Polish Catholic church that frequently has bazaars. I'll have to try to scan them to share the wealth.

happy valentine's day

2011-02-14T14:36:00.000-05:00

This etsy treasury is from a few weeks ago, but it seems appropriate to post it today. You've got to love red and white.

Happy heart day!

happy birthday to me

2011-02-05T10:39:00.000-05:00

I turned 33 on Thursday.

33 is three years older than my "you're only 30, there's still time to get your shit together" self-imposed deadline and two years away from my "you're 35, is your shit together yet?" self-imposed deadline.

I didn't write a new year's resolution post in January, because I didn't have any, and I don't particularly enjoy subjecting myself to a list of things designed to make me feel like crap about myself. So I didn't "resolve" to do anything.

But Birthdays have a funny way of making you take stock of where you are, and where you want to be. So in honor of being another year wiser, here are some "goals" that I would like to "work towards achieving":

1. Log more friend time. My friends are awesome, and let's face it, friends (at least the ones worth keeping) are the only people who are hardwired to absolutely support and believe in you, no matter how ridonculous your ideas are. In light of the fact that I am no longer 10 years old, and my friends no longer live on the next cul-de-sac. I really need to work at keeping all of the wonderful people that I know an active part of my life. Which means that for my 33rd year, I give myself a hall pass to occasionally put down that squeegee/pen/piece of fabric, come out from hiding, and go for a beer.

2. Stop being so freaking socially awkward. I've always been one to show up at a formal dinner in ink-stained studio attire, or not RSVP to a dinner party, but it's getting out of control. Some of my foibles are making it seem like I don't care, and that's not cool.

3. Practice saying "no". I regularly take on anything that comes my way, and consequently do a substandard job of everything. This seriously needs to change. This year, I'm only going to take on as much as I know I can handle, and be realistic about it. Doing less, but doing all of it 150% better will benefit me mentally AND creatively.

4. Treat my business more like a business. I am no longer allowed to just *give* my hard work away to friends and family. Until I start taking myself seriously, no-one else can either. Which means no more freebie contracts or "pay what you can" transactions. I put my heart and soul into what I do, and I owe it to myself to be compensated accordingly.

5. Do (at least one) unassisted pull-up. In January I joined a gym with some friends (charmingly called "the slaughterhouse"), and although it has almost made me cry (like, actually break down sobbing) on two accounts, I'm loving the challenge. Last night we knocked out 100 (assisted) pull ups, no big deal. I can't believe how strong it's making me, both mentally and physically.

6. Don't get my knickers in a twist if I turn 34 and none of this has happened. Because above all else, I've learned that everything will happen when it happens, and there's no point in worrying about imaginary timelines. We all go at our own pace, and I'm a wanderer, always have been. It's time to start enjoying the scenery along the way a bit more.

Happy Birthday to me!

fabric stash

2011-01-30T18:15:00.000-05:00

One of my studio-mates was getting rid of some beautiful vintage fabrics this weekend, and I managed to snag a few great pieces. These are some of my favorites:

Aren't they lovely?

the weekend in photos

2011-01-24T18:21:00.001-05:00

a nice album cover

a book for a friend

and lots of coffee

and more cute customer appreciation photos!

2011-01-23T13:56:00.000-05:00

This time of my Brother's kiddos, both outfitted in their coucou salut finest. I can't wait to see these two in person - hopefully soon!

the best kind of customer appreciation photo

2011-01-20T12:28:00.000-05:00

Jason's niece sporting one of my monster onesies. And munching on a finger, apparently.

enter the draft snake

2011-01-16T10:52:00.001-05:00

We live in a beautiful old Montreal apartment. It has hardwood floors, plaster walls, original (yet painted over, of course and sadly) wood trim and a beautiful back balcony. It also has beautiful old original doors, which are completely lacking in weather stripping. And while our new place is about a million times better in the way of insulation than our old one, that beautiful old front door is an extremely DRAFTY beautiful old front door. And drafts are not so beautiful in the midst of a Montreal winter.

For the past few months, we've been dealing with this by stuffing an old towel along the bottom of it, which although effective, is definitely not very appealing to the eye. I've been meaning to remedy this situation for ages, and finally got around to it yesterday.

I found this beautiful vintage linen fabric a few summers ago, at an epic garage sale held by some set designers who had worked on a 70's themed show. They were selling LOADS of beautiful vintage stuff from the 50's, 60's and 70's, for practically nothing. I think I scored this fabric for a few bucks, along with a few car loads of other amazing things.

Montreal, sometimes it pays to get up before noon, let this be a lesson to you.

The fabric is in generally beautiful condition, but the edge of it was a bit worn and faded. What a perfect excuse to finally make some of it into something.

I'm pretty happy with the final result, and by taking the 10 minutes to finally sew the damn thing, I achieved three things this weekend:

1) no annoying bunched up towel,
2) I finally got over my fear of cutting into that beautiful fabric,
3) it's stuffed with recycled fabric scraps, because we've had pantry moths and rodent visitors in the past, so I'm paranoid about leaving a rice buffet by the front door. Yay recycling.

Go me. I think I'll eventually recover one of our chairs with some of the rest of that fabric this summer, but we'll see.

What did you do this weekend?

Happy Birthday, Casey!

2011-01-15T10:59:00.000-05:00

Jason became the proud uncle to this adorable chubs on Friday afternoon. I know I'm totally biased, but I think this may be one of the most adorable newborn baby photos I've ever seen. Look at those cheeks, people. LOOK AT THOSE CHEEKS.

In 2010, I also became an Aunt for a second time, gaining a lovely little nephew. His birth announcement kind of got lost in the busy season, but he's also adorable and doing fine. I'll get to meet both of these little kiddos this summer, and I'm so excited about that.

I absolutely cannot wait to get to know who all these little people become. It's so awesome.

it's all in the details

2011-01-13T19:11:00.001-05:00

I kinda love getting late holiday presents. Jason's sister got me this pretty leather headband for Christmas, and it just arrived today. The headband is made by Manda and is really beautiful. I love it!

And not to detract from the headband, but how pretty is the tape on that envelope?

One of my New Year's Resolutions is to put a bit more work into the packaging of things I send from my shop. I'm ashamed to admit that a lot of time the shipping part of my production gets really rushed. It seems like such a big shame to spend so much time making things that you're proud of, just to hurriedly shove them in an envelope and mail them off.

Maybe this is the perfect excuse to finally buy some of that beautiful Japanese washi paper tape I've been drooling over.

vintage crate shelf

2011-01-09T14:24:00.000-05:00

I've noticed a lot of posts lately on creative ways to use old vintage crates for storage, like this one on Poppytalk.

About two years ago, some neighbors were moving out an left a ton of neat stuff on the curb for whomever wanted it. Amongst the requisite cheap pots and mismatched china was some pretty great stuff, including an antique parking meter (10 cents for an hour!), an old wood theater seat (in a few pieces), and two shelves that had been constructed out of old crates.

We took all of the above named items, but the two crates are the only thing that we eventually moved to the new apartment.

At one point, they were shelves that held shoes, but that just didn't really work that well. We eventually decided that one of them might look pretty great in the kitchen, loaded with some of my favorite vintage pieces.

Enter my step-father, who somehow managed to actually get it on the wall (which is old and super thick plaster, and very VERY hard to screw anything into). I wish I could tell you how he did it, but all I know is that it's braced on the back with some 2x4's, and is amazingly solid up there.

I love how it looks, and am so happy that we were able to pull it off.

And check out my super cute mushroom terrarium on the middle shelf. It's from Holly Handmade, and was a Christmas gift from the boy. It's so sweet and beautifully made, and it looks super cute in our kitchen.

coucou salut + poppytalk + VECU magazine

2011-01-02T17:17:00.001-05:00

What a lovely way to bring in the new year - my teal marquee pillows have been featured in the January issue of VECU.

The article is about the Poppytalk Handmade Market, which I'm a huge fan of. I have a table there until January 17th, and I've added a few new things to it, so check it out!

I've also been busy updating my esty site with some new onesies and other goodies, including the Ring My Bell Pouch. It was a big seller at my Christmas sales this year. And in case you were wondering, yes, you can ring your own bell.

have a happy

2010-12-30T10:26:00.000-05:00

I've been hibernating in cold Saskatchewan, warming myself in the glow of my Mom's pretty little tree.

I hope you all had a wonderful holiday, whatever you were celebrating, and that you have an equally as wonderful New Year.

Thank you to everyone for your support, guidance and love this past year - it's been a busy, crazy, good one.

Much love for 2011.

x

this weekend!

2010-12-17T13:58:00.001-05:00

I'll be at City of Craft in Toronto this weekend, come by and say hi! I'll have some new stuff to show ya as well as lots of cute organic onesies and stuffed creatures.

If you're in Montreal, you should also check out the holiday edition of Puces Pop.

There will be plenty of amazing last-minute gifts and holiday cheer at both sales, so get out there!

keeping warm!

2010-12-13T16:37:00.001-05:00

This weekend, I decided to officially accept the following:

a) that I live in Montreal, and intend to stick around for awhile
b) I am no longer 16 and it is no longer cool to slouch around in crappy cloth shoes all winter
c) it is officially winter, and that snow just ain't going nowhere.

The result of this was a beautiful pair of Sorel boots (in classic black, but you get the idea). I no longer fear stepping off the curb, into puddles of unknown depth and consistency. Dancing at the bus stop can merely be for pleasure, not blood circulation. And now, the possibility of even considering a night out at Igloofest is a valid option.

My feet are thanking me, and have been doing so for the past 24 hours. Life is good.

And it's even better when you get included in a cute treasury (not once, but twice even!) like the one above. Super dupes cute.

I'm dans les patates in prep for City of Craft, but if I can pull it off, you'll see plenty of thermos goodness there.

Keep warm out there!

Booth Boulangerie Bunny

2010-12-05T20:34:00.000-05:00

I need to shout out a HUGE thanks to everyone who stopped by Smart Design Mart this past weekend. I had a really great time, and I hope you did too!

Why am I so crap at taking photos of these things? I never seem to manage it, even when I deliberately take my camera. Regardless, here are some photos that J took on his iPhone.

The typewriter corner of my booth:

Me, munching away on a delicious sandwich from Boulangerie Clarke. I promise my hair didn't look that gross in person. At least I sincerely hope it didn't.

The whole booth, a bit blurry, but you get the idea:

The caliber of talent at this sale was AMAZING. I snuck away near the end and snagged some goodies for myself - I'll try to post photos soon.

And now it's time for another sale - I'm in Toronto for City of Craft in two weeks, hope to see you there!

SMART! DESIGN! MART!

2010-12-04T08:37:00.000-05:00

Smart Design Mart is on, and I'm lovin' in. Last night was a blast, and I'm excited to see what the weekend will hold. I'm going to swagger around with my camera today, so hopefully I'll post some photos later today or tomorrow. There's some seriously amazing talent, so you should definitely come and check it out.

In other news, one of my little cards was included in this cute treasury today - super cute.

circles

2010-11-29T12:44:00.000-05:00

You know what's amazing? Moms. Specifically, my Mom.

My amazing mother made the long trek from Saskatoon to Montreal this past weekend, just to help me with the countless hours of ironing and sewing that has to be done in preparation for the upcoming sales. As the "to do" pile has gradually morphed into the "done-and-done" pile I realized that I really couldn't have done it without her. Amazing.

And on that note, this post, from Claire Loves has really resonated with me.

This past year has not been easy. I took a 9-5 graphic design job earlier this year for some financial security, and feel like I'm constantly running in circles. I currently spend over two hours a day commuting, 8 hours a day trapped in an office far far away from my studio (and anything else, really), and my evenings and weekends working my butt off to try and catch up. I'm constantly exhausted, and as a result feel like I'm never living up to my full potential.

I know there are people out there who somehow manage to juggle two careers or careers and families, or families and lives or whatever, but man, I don't know how they do it. For me, something as simple as taking photos of new work takes a week for me to accomplish, which is so discouraging.

My health is taking a hit, my sanity is taking a hit, and most importantly - my happiness is starting to hit rock bottom.

I need to start making some real and significant changes in my life towards what I really want and really love doing - illustrating and printing textiles - and it's never been more apparent than now.

January is just around the corner and to that, I say bring it on. Let's make something happen.

Happy Thanksgiving!

2010-11-26T12:49:00.000-05:00

Happy Thanksgiving to all of you in the USA!

In conjunction with Poppytalk Handmade, I'm running a special Thanksgiving weekend sale - free shipping on everything in the shop, to anywhere in North America.

This only lasts until Sunday, so head on over to my today!

goodbye, beautiful

2010-11-23T12:48:00.000-05:00

We noticed on the weekend that this lovely old sign that used to live on Park Avenue has disappeared. I'm not sure when it was decided that it was an eyesore, but as J put it, it was really the only thing interesting about the business below it. What a shame.

I wonder what became of her?

pillows!

2010-11-22T12:20:00.000-05:00

Some new pillows made it into the shop this weekend, printed on a really lovely and durable linen/cotton blend.

I only have a few of each kicking around at the moment, so get them while you can!

busy! busy once again!

2010-11-10T12:35:00.000-05:00

Like the majority of the crafting world, I'm ridiculously busy at the moment. Busy and starting to panic as I creep steadily towards the "holy crap I don't know if I'm going to get it all done" stage.

I'm preparing for two upcoming craft sales: Smart Design Mart, to be held on December 4,5 & 6 in Montreal, and City of Craft, on December 18th and 19th in Toronto. I'm extremely excited about both, but definitely have my work cut out for me! I'm sure the talent at both will reach the blow you out of the water stage, so you should definitely check one or both of them out.

Posts will be few and far between as approach December, but I'll try to sneak in some updates on some new products I'm working on (bikes! glasses! glow in the dark ink!). In the meantime, check out this cute etsy treasury, created by etsy seller marcela. I think it's so pretty, and I'm very pleased to be part of it!

happy halloween!

2010-10-31T20:07:00.000-04:00

We're staying in tonight with our pumpkin, making applesauce and watching scary movies. Hope you're having a great one!

Leo

2010-10-19T08:14:00.000-04:00

Is it just me, or does everyone seem to be a bit cat crazy right now?

Since we've moved, I no longer see Chi-Panther, but Leo, the old cat from upstairs sometimes comes to hang out. He's very stoic, and sometimes I think he can read my mind.

le weekend

2010-10-17T19:11:00.000-04:00

Happy weekend! I've been spending some time playing around with my camera.

Lots of new goodies in the shop.

apples!

2010-10-11T17:40:00.000-04:00

Yesterday, we stopped at the market to pick up some leeks and other goodies so that J could make a turkey pie with our Thanksgiving leftovers.

I couldn't resist buying a basket of freshly picked McIntosh apples for a mere $6.

I think an apple crisp may be in order.

thanks

2010-10-10T19:28:00.000-04:00

It's Canadian Thanksgiving weekend, and I am so utterly thankful that it's a long one.

When I lived closer, I would go home to my parent's for Thanksgiving. Now, seeing as I live far away enough to not make that trip possible (or affordable), Thanksgiving has turned into a holiday where I celebrate with my friends. It's turning into a nice tradition, and the perfect excuse to eat amazing food with some of my favorite people.

A few friends came over last night for a potluck-style dinner, and man - am I ever lucky to have such amazing cooks as friends. The meal was amazing, the company was amazing, and it was a really great night.

I didn't take any photos of the food, but did take a photo of our pre-dinner table setting. The dinner was the perfect excuse to finally whip our office into shape. I'm really happy with how it looks, and am kind of amazed at how little it took to take this room from "meh" to my new favorite space.

If you're celebrating this weekend, I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving, wherever you end up.

english paper piecing

2010-10-07T13:37:00.001-04:00

I love the look of this English Paper Piecing, made by Karyn of Make Something.

I think I might have to finally plow into my ever-growing stack of vintage fabric scraps and try some myself!

Puces Pop Recap

2010-10-04T10:56:00.000-04:00

Seeing as I didn't have a chance to write about it BEFORE it happened, I thought I would take the opportunity to write about it AFTER it happened - "that" being Puces Pop.

I was too busy to take any photos or even walk around all that much, but here are a couple links to some nice folks who took the time to write a few nice things (thanks!):

Mademoiselle Cranky Pants
English Muffin Blog

And some of my personal faves from the sale:
My adorable neighbour Julie of Pollen:

Squid Wool, who's felted mole actually made me squeal in the aisles:

And of course Marc, who can do no wrong. He makes the best belts ever.

I also came home with some amazing prints from Todd Stewart and Katie Dutton, (my other lovely neighbour).

I wish I could just spend the rest of the fall sleeping, but there's much to be done! I'll be listing a ton of new stuff in the shop over the next week, and working on a few new bits and bobs.

This was my second year as a vendor at Puces Pop, and wow, what a difference a year makes. It was an amazing sale, and thank you to everyone who braved the cramped aisles to stop by and say hi. Your appreciation and support mean the world to me, and I couldn't continue to do any of this without you.

THANK YOU!

Radio Lab

2010-09-24T12:13:00.001-04:00

If I were to give an acceptance speech in response to winning an award for best performance in making it though a 9-5 office job, thanking Radio Lab would be paramount.

I'm addicted, and have been downloading episodes like they're going out of style. Today, on a particularly rough day where I fear that I may very well be getting the flu, I discovered the "In C" episode, and am totally intrigued by the whole project.

And that's what Radio Lab does - it intrigues me, opens my eyes to new ideas, and gets me excited about everything that goes down around. Anyone who has had to listen to one of my "so, on Radio Lab today..." stories can vouch for my heartfelt enthusiasm.

So, thank you, Radio Lab, I couldn't have done it without you.

weekend

2010-09-19T17:26:00.000-04:00

It's been such a beautiful fall weekend. I really love this time of year - I always feel so inspired and motivated.

The recent fruits of my efforts involve some little men that I've been experimenting with and printing on felt (so nice!). I think I'm going to be turning some of them into pins, and who knows where the others will end up - this little guy happens to live above the mirror in the bedroom.

tangerine and turquoise

2010-09-16T11:12:00.000-04:00

Two things that have made me happy today:

1) J loading my iPod with a fresh shot of tunes. I'm glad my very professional colleagues have the courtesy not laugh at my perpetual chair dancing.

2) The above etsy treasury, created by Tinarosa. Orange and blue, I love you.

snips!

2010-09-15T12:41:00.001-04:00

Chez Snips!

The above salon was discovered by my wonderful boy (via Midnight Poutine). The boy also went to Nathan and shares my strong desire for a local, reasonably priced and reliable hair salon. In addition, I also have a strong desire for said hair salon to be decorated in my preferred colour palette of vintage-inspired greens, blues, yellows and pinks, and be decked out with vintage salon furnishings.

We both win!

I'm so unusually enthusiastic today!

My cut at Chez Snips was a totally enjoyable experience. Nadyne is lovely (she encourages people to trim their own bangs!), she's an extremely skilled and attentive hair stylist (she aptly cut the boy's super thick and wavy hair), and I walked away pleased as punch.

My cut was $45.00, which was totally reasonable, considering that I used to go to the Aveda salon for a $70.00 haircut (plus crazy large tip that I always felt obliged to leave), which in the end inspired me to start growing my hair out. (Seriously, who can afford to maintain a short haircut at that price? I would like to know.)

I really should be including a photo of my haircut to emphasize my point, but my exhaustive schedule is making me look pasty and terrible (no offense to Nadyne's lovely haircut, which really is fantastic), and I have no interest in including a photo of myself. Maybe some other day.

Check it out!

SPIN

2010-09-02T08:37:00.000-04:00

If I lived anywhere even remotely close to San Francisco, I would be going to SPIN at Rare Device tonight, to check out new work by Jennifer Judd-Mcgee and Mati Mcdonough. The whole show is inspired by vintage boardgames, gotta love that.

How fantastic are the above images, taken from Jennifer's site? You can see the full set here.

If there are ever prints for sale of these images, I might just have to treat myself...

Well hello, September.

2010-09-01T10:32:00.000-04:00

It was my Mom's Birthday on the 24th, and yesterday she sent me the above photo, taken of a medicine cabinet that she found at a garage sale. I don't think my Mom has ever taken a mirror portrait before, and I love it, even if it was accidental.

It's been all kinds of crazy in my world. My parents visited at the beginning of August, bringing an AMAZING truckload of furniture. And also many, many, boxes. Boxes and boxes and boxes of STUFF that I've been storing in my Mom's garage. Boxes of photographs, of papers, of fabrics...everything. It's amazing how your perspective of what's valuable changes with time. While sorting through everything, I've experienced just as many "what was I thinking?" moments as I have "I'm so glad I've held onto this" ones.

As a result of all those boxes, I feel like I've been in moving and packing and unpacking mode for two months straight. And on top of all that, I had some serious studio drama and stress, and as a result have moved into a new studio as of September 1st. I'm now happily set up (sort of) in Red Bird Studios. There's still much to be done there, but it already feels so much better. I've always loved that space, and I'm so excited to be a part of it!

So, before I can even take a breath, things are going to get extra crazy. I have craft sales to prepare for, wholesale requests to attend to, new products to develop, and old products to refine.

I'll try to keep this space updated with all of the exciting things around the corner, because I'm sure there will be much to tell.

I do love September.

red, white, blue

2010-07-18T10:42:00.001-04:00

Hot weather calls for popsicles, breakfast on the balcony, and afternoon naps.

I really, really love summer.

the view from the hallway

2010-07-13T20:38:00.000-04:00

One of the favorite things about my new apartment is the view from the hallway. Our apartment is long and narrow (typical Montreal), so you can see straight from the front door to the back door. The vintage patio lanterns were a gift from my Mom, and I love seeing them glow on warm summer nights.

We're settling in, slowly. My parents will be coming up in a couple of weeks to deliver some much needed (and prized) furniture, and things are a bit on hold until then. Soon, soon....

blurry

2010-06-27T23:00:00.000-04:00

Hi there, hello, salut! You'll have to excuse my perpetual absence around here. Much like the above photo, taken of a current favorite corner in my new apartment, life has been a blur lately.

May? Where did that go. June? Ditto. I've been packing, moving, unpacking, working and even slipping in a little garage sale down-time for good measure.

I'm escaping the chaos for a few days this week, to head to Saskatchewan to hang with my folks. Much more of that garage sale goodness will take place. And given last year's finds, I'm sure it will be great.

I can't wait to get back into a regular routine, so fingers crossed that July and August are super productive, and that I get my apartment in good enough shape to show more than just a corner of it.

Happy summer!

tea for two

2010-05-15T17:54:00.000-04:00

It's been chilly and gray here today, calling for long afternoon naps and warm cups of tea.

My sewing machine is in the shop for some maintenance, and it feels like it's been a long while since I've had a weekend off.

On Friday night, we finally signed the lease for our new apartment, and I absolutely can't wait until next month, when we can start moving in. It's been about 5 years since I've lived alone, and it's going to be so nice to get back to that. The idea of moving into a space that's ALL MINE, and can be decorated EXACTLY AS I LIKE is kind of blowing my mind. Fortunately, J has good taste and trusts my judgment, so I pretty much have free reign. I thank my lucky stars every day that I don't have to contend with a "man cave" and sports paraphernalia. Although to be honest, I think both would be deal breakers for me.

Despite the rain, I spent the afternoon sitting on the balcony and flipping through old issues of Ready Made, looking for inspiration. I foresee a lot of pale yellow, gray and robin's egg blue.

I've also convinced my Mom to haul all of my long-forgotten vintage treasures and some other amazing finds up to Montreal from Saskatchewan this summer. Did I mention that my Mom is an antique dealer? Who regularly picks things up for me? And who has the same aforementioned good taste? Again, counting my lucky stars.

This post cannot possibly contain the amount of excitement I feel.