Yesterday I met up with some friends for some free coffee at Sam James Coffee Bar. It was their 1 year anniversary and all day they were giving out free coffee!
We also enjoyed some Russian candy that my friend Natalie brought – it had the most awesome packaging!
Toronto and Ottawa
A little local shop is closing quietly on Saturday. I first visited Finn a few years ago after missing a flight to Paris. And it made me feel a bit better. Owner, Amalie Bruun, was having a sample sale for some Scandinavian designers and I picked up a white collarless pinstripe shirt with unusual detailing by Resteröds.
This week I had to visit and say goodbye, and couldn’t leave without this amazing yellow hand-printed silk tank from California-based designer Jesse Kamm. It is so beautiful in person and is perfect for this weather. With a cardigan it will easily take me through to next season.
When I complimented Amalie on the white bird earring stand in the shop, she took the earrings off and gave it to me. Isn’t it sweet?
Amalie was also the one to tell me about Dessert Lady, who in addition to making beautiful cakes (and selling gorgeous sugar-based orchids – upcoming wedding cakes anyone?), make lovely all natural ice creams – including honey lavender.
If you’re in the neighborhood on Saturday, stop by Finn to wish Amalie luck in her new ventures, and if you’re feeling sad about discovering this special shop too late, then you can always drown your sorrows with ice cream a few steps away at Dessert Lady!
A little while ago I had the pleasure of photographing a few classes at the workroom, and this is a very edited selection of the results. The first photograph is of the test sheet of a pysanky student (wax on paper). I think the process of pysanky is quite beautiful. The first time I finished an egg, I immediately wanted to start on a new one because I had all these great new ideas!
The last two pictures are of the french-stitch cushion class. In this class I was a student, in addition to being photographer. The green and white print is Kristiann’s cushion. I wanted to show the lovely contrast topstitching on the corner of the cushion here.
The bottom photograph is of my fabric being measured. My cushion was so big we needed to clear off the sale fabric table for me to work on it! And I kept misplacing my yellow tailor’s chalk on that piece of nani iro because it totally blended in with the print – so funny! (have a look for yourself in the picture – spot the chalk!)
It was a really cool class, as I’d been very interested in the bright and colourful Roche-Bobois french-stitch floor cushions for some time and they are very similar to what you can accomplish in the class. The nani iro is still a work-in-progress for me (or a work-on-hiatus rather), maybe in part because I chose to make it really big. So it could be like the Roche-Bobois. But it’s ok because I’ve been working on other exciting projects in the meantime! Projects I will hopefully share with you soon!
(Click on each image for which dyes are pictured above)
I love pattern and textile design, and jump at every chance I get to experiment with fabric. Last summer I took a natural dyeing class at the workroom with the lovely Julie Sinden. We used a number of natural dyes, my two favorites probably being Madder, which can range from a brown to red, and Logwood, a bluish grey.
We even did some shibori with Indigo. Indigo is actually quite interesting – you have to keep it alive like yeast, and it’s not dark blue – the dye vat is more of a clear greenish yellow. And when you remove the fabric you are dyeing from the dye vat, exposing it to oxygen, it is then that it turns blue. To get it a dark blue, you must dip it many many times. The shirt I dyed ended up a pretty pale blue (due to time constraints) but it’s still great. I’ll try to take a picture and post it.
This week, natural textile dyer India Flint (blog) is giving a lecture at the Textile Museum of Canada on Wednesday – check it out if you’re in Toronto!
Had a delicious brunch on the weekend, and yes, there was food – I just had to document the Ayala champagne properly, as well as the white sangria with cinnamon and mint…alongside these, we had lots of berries and mangoes with maple syrup on crepes made with an interesting pancake pan from Iceland.
Then it was off to Jonathan+Olivia for the Top Shop opening, and then along Queen to Preloved and Heel Boy (serious audio on the site). A really nice and sunny day to be out!
My first visit to the newly renovated Big Chill in Little Italy (and the flowers I encountered on the way home).
It’s nice that there is an indoor space now, and no longer the awkward doorway, though I still think pre-reno spot was charming.
Last week at lunch I checked out the Friends With You installation at Queen’s Park for Luminato. We tried to get some shots of some of the characters walking around, but they were going on break (Rosalyn posted some great pictures here).
Overall, it was super cute, and there were lots of kids having fun – the white character in the last picture was even a bouncy castle. Art is fun when it’s interactive!
Winnipeg-born, London-based fashion designer Mark Fast worked with Lancome to create an installation at Brookfield Place for Luminato. He is known for his stunning knitwear, and is doing well: recently there was a lot of press over his show during London Fashion Week, and his collaboration with TopShop with be available soon.
After a visit to Luminato, I created an illustration of it for The Style Notebook. This image above is a little part of it in progress. Check out the finished illustration here!
