I thought maybe I should blog about something other than cats . . .

I'm trying to write more about my creative process. I really don't know what to say when people ask me questions about my where I get my inspiration. I have so say something, so my closest truth is that I just get inspired by the vintage objects themselves. I'm drawn to certain odd bits and bobs, detrius, flotsam and jetsam. For example, my dream vacation would involve a trip to Dead Horse Bay.

Romantic, no?

Here's my last vintage score. When I get a batch of new (old) objects, I get inspired. I posted this batch on flickr, and added notes on all of the objects. If you're interested, check it out.

People seem to really enjoy visiting my studio - ooohing and aaawwing over my curated collection of objects. My cabinet of curiosities.

I might possibly take it for granted. But if I think about it, it really is my retreat, my working space, and my wonderland.

Sometimes, around the holiday season, it looks like a craft fair bomb went off...


And sometimes it is actually, mostly clean . . .



Sometimes I'll take photos of works in progress . . .



Sometimes I find weird thing on the street outside my studio door . . .



Sometimes there is a magical rainbow outside my studio window . . .



My studio is where I get to hang my kitchy art . . .



Sometimes I'll wait on the corner for taxi (to take me to a market) with all my gear and my trusty companion "Justy."



Yeah. I guess I am pretty lucky. Now if only I had a studio cat . . .

February 2010 was a blast!

Yes, February was indeed a blast! So much so, I only had time for one blog post! I had all sorts of plans to blog about all the Olympic shenanigans, but in between working part time, getting my spring 2010 orders out, and all the events going on, there simply wasn't enough time.

Here's two of many cool things that happened in February;

On the night of the opening ceremonies, we grabbed out bikes and sprinted down to the "cauldron" just in time to see Wayne Gretsky pull up in the back of a truck with the olympic torch. As you can see from my face above, I believe that's when I officially caught "olympic fever'.

The other great thing was some press in the Vancouver Sun newspaper that showcased one of my "Canadiana" creations, alongside several other very talented local designers. The article was suggesting alternatives to the mass produced souvenirs available. They printed a photo, which is not on the on-line version - so here's the image.
Pretty cool! Other pieces in the Canadiana collection include jewelry made from vintage Canadian military buttons.

Gorgeous vintage rhinestones & filigrees

Gorgeous vintage rhinestones & filigrees, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

Check out my flickr site and etsy site for some gorgeous new summer pieces!

Good times at Indie I Do

It was fun to be a part of Vancouver's first "alternative" wedding show Indie I Do. Burlesque performers, tattooed photographers, corset wedding dresses all added to the fun, relaxed feel of the show. Once again, Lotus Events did a fine job of organizing and Heritage Hall looked great.

One of the burlesque performers and the announcer rocked some of my jewelry. I was promoting the OAK One-of-A-Kind line and the idea that you can have your grandmother's jewelry re-made into something more contemporary you would like to wear. (see post below).

And I tried out a new display for my booth area. I've had a folding screen kicking around for a while. I found it (free) outside a church on the west side and then added the fabric. For the show, I scanned a gold frame I have, added the images of the jewelry, printed them out and hand cut around the edges. Double sided tape and voila!

Do you have your grandmother's old jewelry?

\You know, that brooch, those clip on earrings that nobody wears anymore? BuenoStyle can create a custom, OAK (One-of-A-Kind) re-creation for you using those old pieces sitting in your jewelry box. Check out this custom piece made for my friend's mother:

Paddy supplied the vintage rhinestone scarf clip and one of the gold/faux pearl chain. I decided to make it a 3 strand necklace with a vintage rose side clasp. Pretty, n'est pas?

And here's what I can do with some of those old clip-on earrings. Even if you don't have the pair:

Check out more OAK reworked vintage here.