I'm sending out many thanks to all those who have left comments about the latest giveaway that's going on right now. And, to my old & new blog followers, to my twitter crew and to my anonymous readers, all I gotta say is - THANK-YOU!
A big shout out also goes to all the designers who have donated an item for a giveaway on The Creative Mixx . To all the lovely talented peeps who have agreed to be interviewed for my blog, again I say THANK-YOU
So good luck y'all!
I can't wait to reveal the winner of this fab necklace from Aquacitrine.
Well Happy St. Patrick's Day y'all! I hope every one's been enjoying the day so far! Personally, I'm still trying to recuperate with this time change thing. Losing an hour's sleep has been hard on me lol....
Anyhoo, I had enough energy to feature a local designer by giving you an interview! I randomly found Dianne from Di Designs online. I love connecting with designers in general, but it's great to connect with talent from my city. Dianne is a custom clothing & costume designer who not only does alterations, but also offers sewing classes. Even though it takes time, she takes pride in drafting the pattern when designing clothing for a person. It allows her to get a better fitting piece that is made just for you. Now, I was excited to learn that Dianne can rock a tutu & a corset - love that! I've already got my faves from her 2010 collection, so check out my faves at the end of the piece.
What prompted you to become a designer and how long have been designing? I guess what prompted me to start designing clothing and costumes was a passion for sewing and the creative elements involved in it. All of it started when I sewed my first pillow, it was simple and made using old denim jeans, from there it started to expand and spiral into bigger projects to challenge myself. I find sewing to be relaxing and an excellent outlet for my creative nature. It is something I can lose hours doing too.
Where do you pull your inspiration from when designing & are you ever uninspired? Inspiration can come from a feeling or an idea that I think would look really cool in reality. Colour pallets I use tend to be close to what I see around me. If I really like the colours of a sunset or an evening sky or the grass in a field I’ll take out a camera and capture it for reference for later on. Sometimes I just uninspired and won’t sew anything for weeks. It works on a cycle of ups and downs a lot of the time.
How would you describe your own personal style and how would you say it is reflected in yourclothing? I dress fairly casual on a daily basis, just the basic jeans and t-shirt usually, nothing special at all. Looking at me for the first time you wouldn’t know I sew and design anything. I do occasionally wear tutus randomly or I’ll throw a corset on over a t-shirt just because I can.
Now I've done a bit of research and have noticed that you have a background in makingcostumes - can you tell me a bit about that? The costuming came about as a one time gig with Stage West Calgary in 2004. Then I found a program at Mount Royal College (University) that had a course where you could do some sewing. There I learned the fundamentals of the costume industry, the procedures and policies. Since graduating in 2006 I continue to work at Stage West Calgary as a seamstress as well as some community theatres in Calgary. The part that I find most interesting about costuming is the historical research and the history associated with it. I like taking something from history and making a modern twist of it.
Do you plan on getting involved in any fashion shows for 2010? I’m still trying to plan what events I’ll be doing for 2010. Coming up is a photo shoot collaborative on the March 13th and I’ll have a booth at Con-Version 26 in October. Also there are a couple other events in Calgary that I hope to get involved in. The rest of the year is still open. I am hoping to participate in Alberta Fashion week in 2011. If you hear of anything let me know. Also I’ll be doing up the outfits for my group of friends and myself who are all participating in the Underwear Affair.
I like to ask this question to Calgary designers. Do you find that it has been difficult to break intothe fashion industry while living in this city? Yes and no. I’m working to develop a niche for custom clothing and one of a time outfits for the individual. I do find it hard to get out there and self promote my works at the moment, but that also might mean I just haven’t been doing enough stuff yet. I’ve found that there are few people out there that will draft and design the outfit specifically for the person. A lot of the work I do get is word of mouth.
What would you say has been your biggest accomplishment as a designer? My first response would be that I’ve finally started to believe in myself and have the confidence now to continue to design. The second would be the willingness to experiment and continue learning new techniques to better improve my works.
Looking ahead, where would you like to see yourself 5yrs. from now? I would hope to have a studio outside of my house and to be working full time at the design and building side of Di Designs.
Now this question is a little random, but what item would you say that you can't livewithout? Coffee, my phone and a napkin and pen, oh and sunglasses; these things are always within reach.
What's your favourite thing to do on a Sunday afternoon? Take my dog for a walk, take some pictures of random stuff and sometimes draft out patterns.
Do you have any advice for designers starting out? Believe in yourself. Do what makes you happy (this goes for whatever career you choose in life). Take some chances and risks. Have fun.
One of the things that I like about Dianne, is that she loves to get feedback from her customer's.
One of her previous Facebook Fan page posts was "I have a bunch of lace and an assortment of fabrics. Ideas anyone?"
FYI peeps - this dress is my ultimate fave - but I am loving the "tutu" photo as well:)
Before I head off for the night, I have to thank y'all again for entering the contest that I have going on. There's been a great deal of promotion and I truly appreciate it!!!
Not only has it been a while since I've offered a giveaway, but I haven't had a "blogger spotlight" in a while either.
Well rather than post a rant about the "spring forward" and losing an hour's sleep, I'm going to introduce you to the bloggers behind a blog that I've been following for some time. I happen to love purses, clutches, all bags in general really and the blogspaceBagpoorkeeps me updated with all the latest trends. I know you're dying to check out this blog, but get to know the creators of Bagpoor, before you head on over to their site.
I'd like to introduce you to Michael St. James & Nina Sky of Bagpoor
How did the two of you meet and what made you decide to start a blog together? We met at the University of Virginia and we've always had a strong interest in handbags. Michael St. James interned for a popular bag blog for two years so the progression was natural.
How did you think of the name bag poor and how long has it been up and running? We almost got evicted in college and had to ask our parents to bail us out AGAIN! They staged an all out intervention. I think they thought we were spending our money on drugs or something. We finally had to break down and tell them that we were bag poor and spending so much cash on designer bags that we couldn't afford basic living expenses. Of course, we had to use the term for our blog. Bagpoor.com has been up and running for 9 months.
Tell us a bit about your blog.... Bag Poor is a term used to describe a person who spends a large proportion of her total income on bags. Bag poor individuals are short of cash for discretionary items and tend to have trouble meeting other financial obligations like mortgage and vehicle payments, but we don't care because we look fierce rocking the latest "it" bags.
Is this your first attempt at blogging? Yes and hopefully it will be the last...lol! It's very time consuming and we couldn't imagine managing additional blogs without more contributors.
Now as a fellow blogger who works full-time and has many other commitments, what do you two do do for a living? Michael St. James is a stylist and personal shopper. Nina Styles works for a non-profit organization that provides full scholarships for talented high school seniors.
I happen to be a huge fan of bagpoor! What would you say is your 'absolute fave' post? Nina Styles - Michael's Ode to Wendy Williams (http://www.bagpoor.com/2010/02/ode-to-wendy-williams.html) Michael St. James - RIP Alexander McQueen (http://www.bagpoor.com/2010/02/rip-alexander-mcqueen.html)
Describe your personal fashion style. Michael St. James wears classic pieces that will stand the test of time. Nina Styles is edgy, casual, and chic.
What steps have you taken to promote your blog? We regularly leave comments on blogs we love and try to show link loving whenever we can in the hope that others will do the same.
What future plans do you have for bagpoor? We're just having fun and trying not to take it too seriously. Whatever happens...happens!
What advice do you have for bloggers starting out? Blog about something you LOVE!
Now if you're intrigued people, have a 'thang' for bags, then Click HERE to visit the blog - Bagpoor
And remember, there's a giveaway going on right now on The Creative Mixx.... Thanks Aquacitrine! Just ClickHERE to get all the details:)
It's been ages since there's been a giveaway on The Creative Mixx, so I'm kicking off the week-end with another one! The afternoon has turned into a gorgeous one - the sun is shining and I can feel the warmth. Yay! What a perfect day to offer y'all a lovely item:)
Mr. K & Ms. A, (a boyfriend & girlfriend operation) have been kind enough to donate one of their romantically designed jewelry pieces from their Etsy shop -Aquacitrine. This dynamic duo divides their roles to offer customers beautiful pieces, designed to please you. When you visit their online shop, expect to see jewelery that is simple & romantic, versatile & luxurious, yet very affordable. Mr. K handles the logistics & finances while Ms. A takes care of the creative process and marketing.
I'd like y'all to get to know this couple a little better and then I'll reveal the prize!
What city are you based out of? The beachy and sunshiny city of LA in Southern California!
How did the two of you get started? Ms. A: I was just looking around the internet on fine day when I stumbled upon the official CRYSTALLIZED™ Swarovski Elements website, and it was love at first sight! I’ve always loved Swarovski’s adorable crystal figurines since I was a child, but they were all expensive so I’ve never actually owned one. That day I discovered online that Swarovksi does offer single crystal pendants that were specifically sold to jewelry designers and crafters like me, and I was so excited to know that those pendants were even more beautifully designed than the ones that they use to make the jewelry they sell in their retail stores! And then I also discovered some online jewelry suppliers that sell those pendants at affordable prices. So I bought them all and started creating simple jewelry pieces that spelled luxury, romance, and very expensive all in one, despite the fact that they were really beautifully affordable pieces. I’ve since made enough pieces to last me a lifetime, and my boyfriend said I should either stop making or start selling them!
Where do you get your inspiration from? Ms. A: The Swarovski crystals themselves offer a bunch of inspiration! They’re so distinctive, so aesthetically abstract, and so visually-pleasing that sometimes just looking at them shows you all the myriad things that you can turn them into—lariats, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, keychains… and all the brilliant colors they come in… I could go on all day! :) But aside from that, I also love flipping through fashion magazines, especially Vogue and InStyle and People StyleWatch… they’re all full of fabulous design inspiration!
Is Aquacitrine a full-time endeavour? Someday we’d like it to be, definitely! But for now we’re both still busy working on our day jobs so we don’t get to spend as much time on Etsy as we’d like. We’re taking baby steps!
What's your absolute fave thing to do? HAVING FUN! Too many ways to do so, but living in LA does help us have more than just a TON of fun!
Now here's what's up for grabs!
Showcasing my favourite colour combination is the Atlantique Lariat from Aquacitrine
Now here are the contest rules:
Contest period is from today, Saturday March 13, 2010 and will end on Friday March 19th, 2010.
I will reveal the winner the morning of Saturday March 20th 2010
As per usual, here are your ways to win~ 1. All followers (both existing and new ones during the contest period) get one entry. 2. If they leave a comment telling me what their fave Aquacitrine item is?, gets them one entry, (that means 2 entries for followers who comment). 3. If they have a blog and promote it to their readers, tweet or facebook it, will get them an entry (that means 3 entries (or more) for followers who comment and promote in other ways)
Note: If someone would like to enter and does not have a blogger account, you will get one entry by sending me a comment via email to: thecreativemixx [!at] gmail.com And if you post a comment as "Anonymous"... that's cool. You'll get one entry as well, but you'll have to send me an email with your contact info.
When the winner is announced, you will have 48 hours to respond to my email. If you do not respond, then I'll select another winner.
Now I can't end this post without featuring my Aquacitrine faves, so here they are....
Click HEREto visit Aquacitrineon Etsy where all items are named after a street, area, or city in France~
Before I head off for the day, I just wanted to let you know that I saw "Alice in Wonderland" last night. I absolutely loved it! If you haven't seen the flick, go ahead and check it out - it was worth it!
I meant to post this last night, but I was out last night at a benefit concert for Haiti called "Calgary Artists for Haitian Relief". A great line of artists "rocked" it out at the Epcor centre, (it was the first time that I been - what a lovely venue). I was so glad that I went - on so many levels.
Tonight I do want to talk about a boutique that I recently discovered. Housed in the neighbourhood that I work in - Kensington. I can't believe that I had never stepped foot in the shop before.
Located at 233 - 10 Street Nw Calgary, AB - Eleven Eleven Boutique celebrates talented independant Canadian designers by offering customers a colourful, unique array of clothing. As I walked into the shop, my eyes scanned around with delight. Primarily upcycled or recycled clothing, (in vibrant colours & patterns), make up most of Eleven Eleven's inventory. But it doesn't stop there. You can find jewelry, sandals, bags & accessories.
Not only did the designs "wow" me, but I really like the shop's "bohemian" style interior decor. Yeah, I definitely loved that there was a chandelier in the store, (cause I heart chandeliers), but I found the "designer's inspiration" wall such a wonderful & interesting addition to the space.
It was last week, when I met with one of the co-owners of Eleven Eleven boutique. I'd like to introduce you to the lovely & ever-so-friendly Lana Selbee.......
How long has Eleven Eleven been open? Eleven Eleven has been opened just over one year now. It was opened December 2008, by main designer Jessica Redditt (www.middleofnowhereapparel.com/ )
Does the name "Eleven Eleven" have any significance? Eleven Eleven is believed by many to have different meanings.The underlying understanding that connects them all is that Eleven Eleven is a place of understanding, a place where things begin to come together and the future begins to be much more clear before us. To us, Eleven Eleven is a place where our dreams of establishing a beautiful, flourishing artistic community in Calgary begin to come together. Seeing the numbers 11:11 often means to many that they are going in the right direction, pursuing the correct path. We definitely believe we are!
Can you tell my readers how you became one of the owners of Eleven Eleven? Myself and my business partner Andrea Walker came to the boutique early January as shoppers... and ended up early February as owners. We worked together for a month with Jessica and her partner Sal Awad to make buying the business a possibility for us. It all came about when we found out Jessica and Sal did not plan to keep the business in Calgary, they planned to head West to Victoria. We could not let such a rare precious gem escape our city! So...we bought it!
What can one expect when we visit your boutique? You can expect to find one of a kind, unique to each person designs. Everything we sell is handmade, and no mass production exists! We work mainly with designers who are recycling old clothing, or using the bits and pieces others leave behind. Most of our designers are from Calgary, but we welcome in many smaller, independant designers from all across Canada. We make sure our store is always colourful and eco-friendly. And of course, we also have all of our vintage treasures for those who love the hunt!
Prior to running your boutique, what did you used to do? Prior to this? Well, not much at all. Worked a lot of dead end serving jobs, reserved my nights for painting and dreamed of being an artist. Now? My dream has gotten a lot bigger! My job is to work with amazing creative people and I love it.
Now I noticed that you will be a part of the Fashion & Accessory Expo on March 20th. Do you have plans for any other events this year? We are trying to hit up all the folk festivals we can! If all goes according to plan you should see us at the Winnipeg Folk Fest, Edmonton Folk Fest, Calgary Folk Fest and Canmore Folk Fest. What can I say? We love the festivals!
What are your future plans for Eleven Eleven? To find and bring in as much local talent as we can, from clothing to jewelry to artwork. Eventually I would like to transform the way our city views shopping and fashion and possibly create our own local mall... you never know what can happen!
Do you have any advice for someone who's interested in opening their own boutique? Yes! Know exactly what your boutique would be about, it's heart, it's character, it's vision. Make sure you have a firm clear vision, lots of wonderful people to partner with and help you learn, and be ready to fight it out for a few years! :)
To find out more about Eleven Eleven boutique........
The first was the "locket ring". Now, I've gotta thang for lockets. I own 2 right now, but I used to own about 4, (can't remember where those other two disappeared to)
But today, I was catching up on some blog reading and discovered a new blog called Mes LunettesFolles. The most recent post was all about the Oscar outfit. Now I personally loved Alli XT's outfit. But, I was so intrigued by the locket ring that she wore. It got me thinking, I must surf the web for one that's gonna make me "ooh & ahh".
So, after a bit of surfing, I found these two fierce looking rings - they're actually "poison rings" - but don't fret; you can use it as a locket ring lol.....
The next that I had on my mind was bikinis'. To be honest, I've never worn a bikini a day in my life. But remember the threat of snow that was promised in my city? It seems that it's not showing up for a while. It did snow slightly last night, but it's all gone now. And, I hear that tomorrow is gonna warm up again.
Well, I got an email from Eden Rausch, (a bathing suit guru) of cuchebikinis. The 2010 official release is just around the corner - 3rd week in March to be exact.
So, since it'll be warming up in my hood, I figured that this will be the perfect time to showcase some "hot" swimsuits for y'all.
You can pick up one of your very own 2010 Cuchebikini at about 12 stores and it's already available online....
So, we've been getting some fabulous weather over the last little while - but it seems that it's about to end as of tonight. Supposedly, Calgary is in for more of that white stuff - that's right snow. Now, this news should get me all upset, but the reality is that March is infamous for having that "one last heavy snowfall" before Spring is sprung. This news reminded me of some of my previous posts earlier in winter, when I did a bit of complaining and then showcased some fab finds from one of my fave sites.
So, I made a well overdue visit to Etsy today. It didn't take me long to find some "lovelies" to share. I gotta tell you though, I was pretty impressed with some of the photo shoots that some of the Etsyshop owners are posting to their pages......
I'm so ready for it too. I've had a lot going on this week and haven't had the time to respond to some emails that have been sitting in my inbox for days now.....
But I've got a plan. This week-end it's all about organizing the various projects that I've got going on, writing, sourcing out new talent, sending out interview questions (sorry Michael St. James, you should have received something from me like ages ago lol) and catching up with my fellow bloggers by a well overdue blog reading session.
Now as you know, since I happen to love writing so much, I've become part of the Urban Aces magazine team as their Vintage columnist. Get this, I have recently been appointed the Fashion Director for the magazine which is pretty exciting.
Since many of y'all have a blog of your own, (which means that you love to write) I figured that this is the perfect space to let you know that Urban Aces magazine is looking for new writers. The gig is 'free' - so this might be great for students looking to get more experience writing, or bloggers who want to expand their portfolio by appearing on another site. If you love writing about fashion, entertainment or urban living then holla at me with your resume and samples of your work. (fyi peeps - internship and college credit is available)
1 luv
P.S. I want to say that I love the comments I received about "sending & receiving" handwritten cards and notes. It got me thinking...........
Just might introduce a "handwritten note" swap. I will fill you in soon:)
I came home today to a lovely surprise. In my mailbox there wasn't a bill in sight. Instead there was a lovely package with my name all over it! I quickly opened it up and was pleasantly surprised to see a collection of three mini greeting cards from "Spring Blossom Design", (a greeting card designer that was part of my most recent giveaway on The Creative Mixx.
I was so happy to receive this lovely gift, so I just had to share:)
Sending a personalized thank-you note, or card to say "I Love You" is something that I would like to "bring back" for 2010.
Have you sent a handwritten note or card to someone lately? If you haven't but want to this from now on, visit Spring Blossom Design for your greeting card needs~
