Sunday, October 24, 2010

enchante.........

well i'm going to need multiple installments for this. i worry that sometimes in the chaos of the store it's hard to find all of the treasures. it doesn't help that i think i'm a pirate and feel separation anxiety every time someone else touches something i've developed feelings for. the purpose of this particular blog is to show you the handmade art that i have access to. i admit that i have "sharing issues" and sometimes look horror-stricken when you try to buy something. i am actually delighted and the sourpuss face is a throw-back to the many years i spent keeping my possessions away from the grabby mitts of my beady-eyed little sisters. (whom i love very very much and appreciate blah blah blah.) moving right along........

let me introduce Floating Gold Iceberg. these lovely lasses are creating handmade clothing and accessories in victoria and i LOVE THEM!! i've got wristwarmers and a couple scarves left in house. i've ordered pants and skirts and pillows and shirts and anything else i could think of while i was talking to sweet cara on the phone. they're a staple at frock and have been since i opened almost two years ago. they've been patient with me as i've built up my little business and they've made me feel like i matter. this is an incredible company who provides stunning, unique, cutting edge pieces and I'VE GOT 'EM!!! and they've stood by me even when bigger fish in town could've upped their bottom line. i think there's something to be said for that. FGI has beauty, brains, and one of the nicest bikes on the block. and they won't make fun of you if you ask them to prom.



and now to introduce Lovejules......

you know the incredible leather with birds on wires, gunslingers, planes, trains and automobiles that i hoard like cake? that's lovejules. pictures? let's try....and here is an introduction from the sweet peach herself: "My studio is located in Whistler, B.C. I personally design and handcraft each piece in my collection, and though I may produce more than one of any particular design, no two are exactly alike, 'cause my hands just aren't that precise! I use nothing but the highest quality materials, as my output is only as good as my inputs, and I'm happy to say everything is sourced locally (Vancouver, B.C.)."


i'm sad to say i'm ending today's installment before i've even begun. getting these pictures up here in an orderly fashion is proving complex. i need a technological wizard. preferably one with a cape. stay tuned...........

"now that i'm older my heart is colder."

so i promised to share some photos of the brilliance that has taken up residence inside my shop. (none of it mine, but i have no problem with riding coat-tails. i'm also partial to tall shoulders and inside information. i'm a user. it's true.)

but first i digress......... (shocking!!) it was "breakout west" in town this weekend. i'm sure you're asking yourselves: since when does the cultural wasteland known as kelowna embrace independant music and showcase it in almost every mainstream downtown establishment? since now madames et monsieurs. apparently we're changing! kelowna has bought itself some patterned tights and an oversized 80's sweater and we're going to the party!! (WHAT?!?) if only we could go back in time and NOT dismantle sunshine theatre. (still irritated. can't help it.) anywho.....heard some new music and I LOVE IT!!

FROCK has been obsessing over the decemberists "the hazards of love" for some time now. i get obsessed and listen to things over and over again for days on end. (or weeks. whatever.) i now have new obsessions to rotate in. (dear maiya: can you handle the mixing of cd's that i'll love? as my pretend personal assistant you should be able to read my mind. get on it.)

right now the shop is playing my signed copy of dojo workhorse. (god i'm cool.) couldn't find any youtube clips, but three of the members are in the dudes. (whom i've known and liked for a while now.) i'll post a dudes clip in lieu of my new love. i'm also going to post the zolas. i've been slow jumping on the bandwagon but i've got a seat now and i've ordered a drink. first clip: the zolas, you better watch out.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aye5sNBABsM

clip 2: the dudes, love is dangerous

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dk9hAJ2feBE

clip 3: we are the city, in heaven. (p.s. local and brilliant.)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElUGg_bxTOM

i'm getting hungry so i'm going to have to sign out now. rest assured i will return for my "handmade accessories showcase." FROCK is giving these bands its stamp of serious approval. (pretty prestigious considering that i'm the self-proclaimed dictator of all things awesome.) there was even a generational consultation. read: pretty big deal.

Sunday, October 10, 2010

dear kaela: where have you been?

well it's been a very long time since i've blogged. there's a jack kerouac quote that i completely identify with:

"i like too many things and get all confused and hung-up running from one falling star to another till i drop."
that's me. perhaps i've even pulled these words from my pocket previously in this very blog. i defer to it constantly.

i like writing down my thoughts but i doubt anyone can follow them unedited. and then i become obsessed with being coherant. it's a time consuming endeavour.
i suppose this blog should probably focus on the store every once in a while, being that it's attached to my web-page. i am now going to colour within the lines. prepare yourselves.....
people have been bringing in their insanely expensive, worn once if worn at all, some with tags still on, possibly purchased in milan items left, right and centre. i find this exciting because these are pieces that i see on the overly-glossed pages of vogue, and will never be able to afford in my lifetime. sometimes i put them together on a rack and pretend i'm a movie star shopping on rodeo drive. (pronounced ro-day-o drive because it obviously sounds classier than ro-dee-o, just in case you aren't as fashion savvy as moi.) mixed in with my 1960's caftans and ten dollar lululemon tank-tops, i now have three diane von furstenbergs, two betsey johnsons, and two missonis. there's also this spectacular chocolate silk tiered number that practically waltzed out of time square and joined me for lunch down on pandosy. please note: these items are still expensive even at one third the original price. they're not for the faint of heart, and i apologize profusely for the price tags.
so even though my eyes glossed over a teensy bit when hollywood hung itself up across from my 1980's cash register, i can assure you my heart is still firmly rooted in yesteryear. i'm starting to break out the 1950's car coats and 60's wool shift dresses that i've been squirrelling away all summer. boots are marching, scarves are billowing, and mittens are mittening from one end of the shop to the other.

now something interesting happened last year: i ran out of "gift" items at the end of november because i didn't fully understand the consumer feeding frenzy that is "christmas." while i feel enormous guilt being an entrepreneur and contributing to this insatiable consumerist culture that has laid waste to north america, i have found a means of salvation. one word: art!!
my shop is now bursting at the seams with items handmade in canada by women and one man (thank-you leigh!) who are making a living creating spectacular treasures that mean something. nothing i'm selling has been mass-produced, nor made by children in developing countries. (if that isn't christmas spirit i don't know what is!) if you ask me i can tell you a little about the specific person whose tofurkey christmas dinner your hard earned dollars are providing. i think this is a step in the right direction.

the plan: i am now going to post a couple pictures of beautiful girls wearing secondhand garments that are for sale in my store. in my next blog i'll share some pictures of the handmade art i'm hocking for the holidaze. and right this second, i'm going to quote a passage i like from the book i'm reading right now. (because i wouldn't be me if i didn't obsess over literature.) p.s. thank-you for supporting me. i really can't say that enough.

book: "The History of Love" by nicole krauss.

"So many words get lost. They leave the mouth and lose their courage, wandering aimlessly until they are swept into the gutter like dead leaves. On rainy days you can hear their chorus rushing past: IwasabeautifulgirlPleasedon'tgoItoobelievemybodyismadeofglass-I'veneverlovedanyoneIthinkofmyselfasfunnyForgiveme...."

stunning i think.

photo 1: leah anderson in a 1950's robin's egg blue frock.

photo 2: alesha fell draped in silk. (hat-vintage.)

photo 3: beata woods in a gold 1940's frock and rose venne in one hot little number!

photo 4: maggie thomas in "kenzie."