jewellery

One of a Kind Christmas Show

Art

If you can get to the #ooak2016 #ooak_toronto go check out the beautiful jewellery and sleek new booth at @wfdjewellery Breanne is so talented. I thoroughly enjoyed working the show with her and seeing people react to her work with much love. 

Breanne is so down to earth and works so hard as an entrepreneur, artist and a mom. That’s her smiling face, below, just a few days in to a long haul show. The OOAK is open from November 24- December 4. You can see more details here: website


Breanne’s jewellery is so striking. Check it out for yourself at her online store. Stay tuned over the next few days for my pics and picks for favourite artisans from this years 2016 One of a Kind Show. 


Tell me, what are you buying this holiday for the people on your list? Or as a treat for yourself? 

Advertisement

White Feather Designs: One of a Kind Artist Profile

Art

At this year’s One of A Kind Show I was really blown away by how far the market has come in terms of representing diverse local artists. There are some really wonderful things going on there and the show just keeps getting better. For the next two weeks, I will be featuring independent designers and artists from the show, highlighting my favourites.

Spring 2015 185

White Feather Design’s set-up was sleek and stylish. My wife and I worked the booth for Breanne one evening and had no trouble talking about our love of all things WFD; we did have trouble, at times, keeping up with the demand. Her booth was popular and filled with enough great work to satisfy a wide variety of style palates. Always a good thing.

Spring 2015 193

Cheers-ing to a great gig where we got to meet friendly art-loving folks and supporters of local businesses, while talking about great jewelery.

White Feather Designs, by Breanne Morrow, is an obvious place to start with the Artist Profiles for several reasons: 1) Breanne is a supremely talented artist and an all-round lovely human.  2) She is an entrepreneur and mother who has managed to make the dream a reality by taking her designing full-time. 3) Her work is original and beautiful, with excellent quality and detail that is worth every penny.

Some not-to-be-missed designs include the Herkimer diamond studs, enamel necklaces with tassels, geometric necklaces and cuffs in a variety of materials, and amazingly light 3D-printed jewelery in Stainless Steel, Matte Black, Brass or Sterling Silver with a brushed finish.

Spring 2015 192

I was a huge fan of the finger rings that fit on various spots (traditional or above the knuckles) and can be endlessly mixed and matched.

Brass mix and match rings (available in several cool styles)

Brass stacking rings (available in several cool styles)

Spring 2015 190

Geometric pieces in sterling silver and other metals. Intricate, graphic and wear-with-anything. The chevron/arrow motif was one of my faves.

Spring 2015 189

This was the necklace design was THE one for me. I picked up a handmade copper, brass and enamel necklace with tassels. I also got one for my stylish Mama.

Spring 2015 188

These beauties are available in a wide array of colour combos, and can be found on the WFD Etsy page. https://www.etsy.com/listing/230144866/adjustable-enamel-tassel-necklace?ref=shop_home_active_12

427949_303625866369228_1046482235_n

Herkimer Diamond Studs

536122_310255819039566_905458810_n

Enamel studs.

229920_356149367783544_380761077_n

Geometric Studs, also available in hearts, octagons, circles, etc.

Spring 2015 186

Mirror, Mirror on the wall, which piece is the fairest of them all? If any of these ended up in my stocking, on my finger, wrist, neck or wrapped as a surprise I’d be pleased as heck. Check out all of the awesomeness by following the links below, or follow WFD on Facebook to hear about deals, sales and new designs. https://www.facebook.com/pages/White-Feather-Designs-Jewellery/212067465525069

http://white-feather-designs.myshopify.com/

https://www.etsy.com/shop/WFDJewellery

Muska: Boutique Profile – Santorini, Greece

style

On vacation in Greece, my friend (the bride) found a beautiful boutique in the maze of Thira’s streets where she purchased gorgeous jewellery and a tunic. I was smitten and she literally drew me a map of how to track down the shop. Belted, or loose, the tunic she found was on my must-have list the second I saw it.

The day after the wedding; the bride, Lindsay, was ready to relax on the beach. Tunic/beach coverup from Muska - Thira, Santorini.

The day after the wedding; the bride, Lindsay, was ready to relax on the beach. Tunic/beach coverup from Muska – Thira, Santorini.

Muska has jewellery, textiles and two items of clothing. But the two items were both pretty amazing. Keeping it small and doing it right were exactly the right choice for this boutique. The tunic they offered had interesting details and beautiful fabric. This would definitely be my travel souvenir, plus my wife was equally excited to share this piece. We don’t see the bride enough in Toronto life to worry about bumping into each other in the same outfit, and she was more than happy to share her find!

Lindsay, the bride, rocked this entire outfit the day after her wedding. Looking so perfectly relaxed and stylish.

Lindsay, the bride, rocked this entire outfit the day after her wedding. Looking so perfectly relaxed and stylish. The other item on offer was also a tunic, in rust and cream. This blue variation summed up the colours we’d been seeing in Santorini, so the choice was a no-brainer. 

Each piece of jewellery was distinctive and the colours were exactly as you’d expect from the Greek islands. Statement pieces, indeed.

Gems set in ornate teardrop settings, in a rainbow of colours. I love the turquoise and coral with gold.

Gems in ornate teardrop settings, combined in a rainbow of colours. I love the turquoise stones with coral and gold.

Variations on a theme.

Variations on a theme.

My favourite earrings. The Butterfly. The colour was just amazing.

My favourite earrings. The Butterfly. The colour was just amazing.

My wife and I got matching bracelets.

My wife and I got matching bracelets.

Rings - too many to choose!

Rings – too many to choose!

We could have happily bought out the entire stock, but reasonably decided to leave with a tunic (to share), a pair of bracelets and a gorgeous handwoven, organic cotton hand towel for our guest bath. Now we will think of our travels every time we see it.

Hand-woven organic cotton towel.

Hand-woven organic cotton towel.

Muska‘s owner/operator was friendly and lovely to speak with; he even sent us to a delicious restaurant for our final night in Thira. All they need to do now is to get themselves onto Google Maps and to set up a web store. Good bye, Santorini! And Thank you – Efkharisto!

Endless Summer: an Urban Adventure – YYZ Imports’ Summer Shoot

style

Welcome back, summer in Toronto. We had another awesome day in the sunshine, romping around on Queen Street West. The Queen Street streetcar was named one of the world’s BEST trolly rides, which completely makes sense as the tracks take you from east to west (or vice versa) from beach, through Cabbage Town, the busy Yonge Street and financial district, past City Hall, the Opera and Ballet, Much Music and the former Speaker’s Corner, along Queen Street’s shopping district, and on to the hip West-end. It’s a ride full of colour and intersecting cultures. For three bucks that’s pretty good value.

YYZ Imports - Endless Summer Collection. Photography by Carmen Farrell

YYZ Imports – Endless Summer Collection. Photography by Carmen Farrell

For YYZ Imports’ “Endless Summer” collection we hit the streets and found some excellent places to showcase the wares from Jess and Bern, who have brought some very cool pieces home from abroad.

My wife and I, celebrating year one together, in our standard side-by-side pose. Photography by Carmen Farrell - https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carmen-Farrell-Photography/111550845554690

My wife and I, celebrating year one together, in our standard side-by-side pose. Photography by Carmen Farrell – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carmen-Farrell-Photography/111550845554690

People stopped us on the street to see what was going on, and many of the passers-by wanted to know where they could buy the pieces on display.

Photography by Carmen Farrell.

Photography by Carmen Farrell.

I loved this pop of colour so much that I took the whole outfit with me the following week on vacation!

Styling this shoot was the perfect inspiration for my own travels. I even borrowed a few pieces from Jess, one of YYZ’s owners, for my trip to Greece. It was my own personal vacation-look-book, complete with live models.

11028967_919051694821745_9117003671042587043_n

Great arm candy, on a very foxy lady.

All these awesome pieces were shot in one afternoon by Carmen Farrell, https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carmen-Farrell-Photography/111550845554690 and are available right now on YYZ Imports’ page. The colours are undeniably vibrant and the pieces add such a punch to brights, or a nice canvas of white. Lastly, another thing I love is that these pieces support two local entrepreneurs who are making travel and style, their passions, a reality.

babybabyMODE_grande dontstopMODEor_grande fallonmeMODE_grande gotloveMODE_grande paradiseMODEteal_grande rescuemeMODE_grande shadowboxerPROD_grande theriverMODE_grande

One of my favourite funny aspects of the day was the makeshift hula hoop changeroom that the girls put together, facilitating some stealthy public outfit swaps. We shot in a park along the busy streetcar route and watching the models pop out of the hoop in new clothes drew a bit of a crowd.  To celebrate, we ended our afternoon at The Beaver – eating chicken tikka nachos. Delish. Cheers to summer and to all the adventures you can handle!

fce21120-e207-4a04-b021-a04a2a22a7d2

Endless Summer Collection from YYZ Imports. Photography by Carmen Farrell – https://www.facebook.com/pages/Carmen-Farrell-Photography/111550845554690

Check out the entire “Endless Summer” collection (available in limited quantities) at http://www.yyzimports.ca/collections/endlesssummer

Outdoor Style Shoot with YYZ Imports

style

Those of you who have traveled to Toronto, Ontario know the familiar YYZ designation: welcome to Pearson International Airport! This makes it an apropos name for the newly-minted jewelery entrepreneurs, Jessica and Ernestina of YYZ Imports http://www.yyzimports.ca/ .

The duo are partners in life and in business, importing great, colourful pieces from their world travels. Keeping it real is all part of the game for these two, whose jewelery is offered at a price points for real women, who want eye-catching accessories at a price that won’t break the bank. Every time I wear one of their pieces, I get a compliment. And their motto, “accessorize for everyday adventures,” is perfectly in keeping with the vibe of their pieces.

Each piece in the 'Rumours' collection is named after a song. Bad Girls is named for M.I.A.'s track, and as you'd expect, this piece toughens up a simple outfit.

Each piece in the ‘Rumours’ collection is named after a song. Bad Girls is named for M.I.A.’s track, and as you’d expect, this piece toughens up a simple outfit.

10428616_862219410504974_6476582381871676405_n

It only makes sense that they used everyday women to showcase their line. Shot in recognizable Toronto locales, like Trinity Bellwoods Park (summer hangout of hipsters and families alike), and the many graffiti-filled alleys of our great city.

10849910_818582171535365_5808070044518342197_n

“Boogie Nights” has a retro appeal. It’s lovely because it isn’t too heavy, but has the appearance of weight.

"Paradise City" hangs well and gives BIG bang for your buck. Check it out on their online store. Each piece is offered in small quantities, so you won't be wearing the same necklace as anyone you know.

“Paradise City” hangs well and gives BIG bang for your buck. Check it out on their online store. Each piece is offered in small quantities, so you won’t be wearing the same necklace as anyone you know.

A sold-out piece. Limited quantities mean you'll stay original.

A sold-out piece. Limited quantities mean you’ll stay original.

Behind the scenes with our team.

Behind the scenes with our team.
Fall is the perfect time for boots. So is Spring. We had fun drinking hot chocolate and tromping around in the brisk weather.

Fall is the perfect time for boots. So is Spring. We had fun drinking hot chocolate and tromping around in the brisk weather.

"Voodoo Woman": it might be magic, I can think of so many places to wear this.

“Voodoo Woman”: it might be magic, I can think of so many places to wear this.

My wife and I were lucky enough to both be free the day of the shoot. Kiss kiss.

My wife and I were lucky enough to both be free the day of the shoot. Kiss kiss.

Some shots from the day and images from the site. For my birthday, I unwrapped the gold and turquoise piece in the middle. Lucky me! It is now, sadly, sold out. Get 'em while you can!

Some shots from the day and images from the site. For my birthday, I unwrapped the gold and turquoise piece in the middle. Lucky me! It is now, sadly, sold out. Get ’em while you can! 

All photos are courtesy of their website (shot by Carmen Farrell and Dawn Laing, more info available on the YYZImports Blog at http://www.yyzimports.ca/blogs/news/13273417-launch )