A few new goodies at Made You Look

The Made You Look stores are chock full of amazing jewellery designed and made by over 100 Toronto area designers. The original store at 1338 Queen St. W. is filled with more "serious" or fine jewellery and the shop directly across the road at 1273 Queen St. W. is stocked with sparkly and bright fashion jewellery. It is in this location on the north side of the road that you will find a very good selection of MoonRox. Yesterday, I popped in to say hello and to drop off a few new items including these stunning head bands.

To find out more about Made You Look, check out their website here.

Oh... and by the way... they will be closed for a week of Summer holidays during the week of August 3rd.

Have a great long weekend everybody!

Miscellany of the moment

• Enter the Dagg and Stacey Snapshot contest. I did! You could win a piece from their Spring/Summer 2009 collection. This is not the photo I sent in, but I just came across it. I am wearing a mini-trench by Dagg and Stacey. University Ave. was closed for the Tamil protests in mid-May earlier this year, allowing for sauntering in the streets.
• Interesting CNNmoney.com article on Etsy that A. sent along. Click here to read it.
• I feel like doing some simple block printing after perusing the Urban Outfitters DIY shop. Perhaps this would be a good idea for some new packaging for MoonRox. I would ideally like to phase out the plastic bag use, even if they are bio-degradable.
• UO also has some nice jewellery display/storage options including this lovely!
• I was reading the charming blog of Fifi Lapin. The fashion illustrations are just too much!
• I want to pick up this book! It's a Japanese publication called Stylish Dress Book. There is still some Summer left to wear some comfy dresses, I hope!
• I am trying to figure out Technorati! I've claimed this blog... now what?
• I'm listening to CBC Radio 3 while I toil away at my desk...

Ok... no more procrastinating! That's what's on my brain at this very moment. Back to work on the jewellery in progress that is calling for me right now. Happy Monday.

Rainy days

Lately, it seems to raining every day... it's getting a bit monotonous. I even found myself taking a vitamin D the other day after feeling the onset of seasonal affective disorder. Sadly (pun intended) it is not the right season for S.A.D. In any case, I have been trying to keep busy and not let the rain keep me indoors...

Thursday night A. hosted a night of fabulous ribs and Mexican train dominoes. These are always fun nights full of hilarity! We even managed to dine al fresco between rain storms.

On Friday eve, G. treated me to the Depeche Mode concert at the Molson Ampitheatre. Armed with wellies and plastic, we braved the wet lawn.

On Saturday, I spent most of the day doing paperwork while the thunder and lightning roared outside... late in the eve, C. and I roamed over to Harbourfront to check out the last half of the Amy Millan show. The seats were soaked and not many people were there, which made it a really nice intimate show and a big contrast to the show with big screens and fancy lighting that I had been to the night before.

Today was fam-day as usual. Rain... rain... go away... I hope the week ahead brings some nice cheery sunshine!

This is a random photo of a gorgeous mini-orchid that my Mom had. It's such a delicious and fresh shade of green.

New head band available

A new head band is available! This one features a hand cut lace daisy along with a vintage brass rose. The flowers are layered on a variety of feathers, felt, tulle and beads. For more info or to buy, visit the MoonRox Etsy Shop to see the listing HERE or email me at info@moonrox.ca.

Pannier bag

Despite the rainy and cool weather we have been having, I still have biking on the brain. I like this Swiss Army Pannier Bag from shmattson on Etsy. It is simple and classic in design. They don't make things the way they used to!

Nifty bike helmets

S. was telling me about looking for a bike helmet that did not look so bike helmet-y. Then one day I saw a woman ride by with a helmet that looked like a brown tweed hat. This morning I decided to do a little search on the internets! I came across a Danish company called Yakkay. Above is the helmet that you then choose a cover for.
Love this furry number! It reminds me of my furry ear-muffs that are sadly balding. This is the Luzern model in white

and this is the Paris model in Harringbone (sic) shown with the slip on ear warmers.

How cute are these? I'm still looking for more options, but check out the Yakkay website HERE. There are no retailers in Canada, but perhaps one of the shops would ship here.

Photos were grabbed from www.yakkay.com.

Crafting eco-friendly shopping bags

Last week I was looking for something that I could bring to the W.s in Boston. I figured that eco-friendly shopping bags for our trip to Brimfield would be a fab idea. I have a few that I keep in my handbag for anytime shopping. I chose Harmony, a nice floral by Diversitex Kingsway for her and chocolate brown Basket Squares by Michael Miller for him.
I kept them really simple for easy folding. Then I added co-ordinating handles and an elastic to keep the bags folded in a tidy package for easy transport.
Now I'm itching to make more!

Boston - Day 5

On my last day, Mr. W. was out of town so Mrs. W. and I went for lunch with their friend L. at a cute neighbourhood resto called Orinoco. We saw this Shepard Fairey piece on the way to the restaurant.
Following lunch, we jetted out to the outlet mall in Wrentham. I don't usually do well at outlets, but did manage to find a few things. We ended my visit with a late night dinner at a Korean restaurant and the whole trip had come to an end!

Today I got right back to work and had a busy day working on new designs for Fall/Winter 09. I'll definitely take some photos, so I'll share them once I am done with all the pieces.

Boston - Day 4

Friday my hosts were at work, so I took the day to go on a big walking tour. I checked out the financial district, then walked over to the ICA to see the Shepard Fairey show and to see the small permanent collection. On my way there I walked around the South Boston Waterfront.

Strolled by the John Joseph Moakley United States Courthouse.

Here is a shot of the Boston waterfront.

My Friend is enjoying a stroll at the water's edge.

Took my time to view the Shepard Fairey/Obey Giant Show at the ICA. Actually, on my walk to the gallery, I observed at least 3 of his Obey Giants around town. The area around the ICA seems to be going through a revitalization and the ICA is a big asset to the area. There was so much construction nearby.

I enjoyed the whimsical nature of the fine art wall in the ICA lobby. The installation is by Swiss artist Ugo Rondinone. Love all the colours!

Then I trekked over to Beacon Hill to admire some of the giant homes. I didn't get any pictures, but they were lovely!

My Friend is enjoying a break in the Commons.

A pretty Beacon Hill drain (?) cover.
Then I dragged my exhausted self to the waterfront. People were sunning themselves, biking, blading and paddling along the lagoon.

Later, in the evening, I got to experience a typical Boston activity. We dropped by some of the W.'s friends' place in the neighbourhood and spent some time "stooping it" with good music and nice drinks. Ended the day gorging ourselves on a good meal at nearby foodery, Union Bar and Grille.

Boston - Day 3

On Thursday Mr. W. was at work but the Mrs. had a day off to roam around with me. We went to a massive jewellery supply warehouse and purchased some supplies that I plan on incorporating in the upcoming Fall/Winter 2009 MoonRox collection. The place was massive! We could have spent the whole day (or more) there.

We ended the day back at the W. residence where they hosted a fish taco night. It was a perfect evening to be dining outside on their back patio.

Boston - Day 2

On my second day in Massachusetts, we drove to the Brimfield Antique and Collectibles Show which was like treasure hunting heaven. I drooled over amazing buttons...

mounds of pristine Pyrex...

and more Pyrex... even some I had never seen before... and lots of stunning Jadite...
trinkets of all sorts... I always love the animal shaped Bakelite napkin rings...

more treasures...

and still more... or are these junk?

We ate Pilgrim sandwiches... My Friend enjoyed his sandwich very much.
After re-fueling, we hit even more vendors. We visited Les with all his Bakelite gems. Many are carved by him and therefore considered altered by the purists, but it was still amazing to see his huge collection. Mr. and Mrs. W. visit him each show, which is 3 times a year, so we had a good chat. His whole booth was filled to the brim with Bakelite. He had napkin rings, bangles, rings and brooches galore, flatware and utensils and oodles more.

Here are Mr. and Mrs. W. at a booth where we bought a few gorgeous Bakelite bangles. Sadly the one I really hemmed and hahhed about fell to the ground as soon as we got it home. It broke into two so I am now trying to decide what kind of glue/adhesive to use to repair it. Anyone have any tried and true suggestions?

It was a great day at Brimfield. I saw lots of inspiring vintage jewellery and plenty of beautiful and wild collections of all sorts. The weather was perfect and we all went home with some good finds. Can't wait to go back again!