BuenoStyle

New Year, new changes...

2012-02-09T11:29:00.000-08:00

I had to move out of my old studio rather unexpectedly and quickly this January. Yikes - 6 years worth of stuff to move! But I was very lucky indeed and found a new studio within two days of my eviction notice. Thank goodness.

I was also very lucky to have the very talented photographer Martin Gisborne take some shots of me and my old studio right before I had to move. Thank you Martin.

The new studio does not quite feel like home yet, but it's coming along. It's in a great building, 1000 Parker Street, which is a huge old rabbits warren of a building - 4 floors of artists studios, and part of the famous East Side Culture Crawl. It will be a thrill to be a part of that event this year!

In my old studio I worked alone. All the time. Part of the fun of moving into this new space is that I am sharing with 4 other creative type people. In a big old building filled with creative type people. It will be fun being around that different energy, and I'm looking forward to seeing what new creations come from the new energy and new studio...

More vintage Swarovski crystals!

2011-11-30T12:13:00.000-08:00

If you missed my newsletter post the first time around, have a read here. It's really interesting to learn about the history of these fantastic, sparkly, and rare jewels!

If you're going to be attending Got Craft or One of a Kind this December, keep your eyes peeled for the display shown below, it will have all of my vintage discontinued Swarovski earrings.

The Out of Hand market in Victoria nearly cleaned me out of my earring stock, but luckily I have time to make more pretties for both upcoming markets! Off to the studio...
xo
Christi

new shhhhhtufff!

2011-11-14T11:50:00.001-08:00

I haven't been posting here much lately.

Because I've been busy making new stuff for you!

Out of Hand Market
November 25th to 27th
Crystal Gardens, Victoria BC

Got Craft
December 4th!
Vancouver, BC

One of a Kind
December 8 to 11th
Vancouver, BC

Girls night out at the One of a Kind Show!

2011-11-04T11:05:00.000-07:00

Once again I'll be participating in the awesome One of a Kind holiday market! They've just launched a fun "Girls Night Out" package deal.

Check it out!

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T11:09:00.000-07:00

before I made jewelry...

2011-09-29T12:15:00.000-07:00

I was really into photography. Especially so called "toy" camera photography. Lomos, Holgas, Dianas...

I haven't checked my old lomohome for years and I just remembered about it. Lo and behold, it's STILL up!

Enjoy!

xo
Christi

Gold Fill vs. Gold Plate?

2011-09-14T10:30:00.000-07:00

Here's a link to my latest newsletter, in which I describe the difference between gold fill and gold plate. Sorry, the anchor necklace featured has been snapped up already!

new work

2011-08-16T12:16:00.001-07:00

I've been really into heavy, bold, multi-chain necklaces lately.

And I love the contrast of the slightly utilitarian brass chain with the more classic faux pearls.

And how about this contrast? Rusty, paint peeled escutcheons with beautiful glass faux pearls.

Those escutcheons are some of my treasures from the Portland Antiques Expo.

So this is new, this "buy it now' button. Just in case you fall in love with these earrings! The final price reflects the cost of the earrings ($65.00) + Shipping ($4.00) + HST ($8.28) = $77.28

If there's anything else you fall in love with, or if you have any questions, feel free to contact me: info@buenostyle.com

Vancouver One of a Kind Show - half price tickets!

2011-08-09T08:23:00.000-07:00

. . . Christmas is coming . . . (singsong voice) . . .

I know, I know, it's only August! But I thought I'd share this offer with you, because I *know* you will want to go the this years One of a Kind Show. I will be there again this year with lots of fresh goodies to adorn yourselves with. And it's such a great show with a wide variety of items, truly one stop shopping.

They just had their media preview event, and for the next 24 hours are having a sale on tickets - 1/2 price! Follow that link (not the image above) and be sure to enter the code "EARLYBIRD" for your discount.

Latest Newsletter..

2011-07-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

Hello there! It's been a while, hasn't it? Where have I been, you may be wondering . . .

A whole lot has happened in my personal life since the beginning of May. Moving, onwards and forwards, and physically moving house and home can take a lot out of this girl. Kind of sucks the creative juices right outta ya.

But, I'm back now!

Here's my latest newsletter so you can see what kind of shenanigans I've been up to lately.

Mwah!
Christi

Simply Stylish...

2011-06-08T14:47:00.000-07:00

Check out this post from "Simply Stylish Mom"!

Leave a comment for a chance to win a lovely pair of vintage glass "calcedone" and filigree earrings too!

Epic; the sustainable living expo.

2011-05-11T15:55:00.000-07:00

This weekend I will be exhibiting and selling my wares at EPIC, the sustainable living Expo here in Vancouver.

I tend to shy away from labeling my products as specifically "green" because I do use a mixture of new and vintage materials. But I do fit within the parameters of Epic, so they invited me to join in the fun. I'll be in the "wedding showcase" area if you are headed there this weekend.

Granville Online magazine did a lovely write up about EPIC and featured my jewelry - you can see it here - just click on number 8 once on the site.

Click through the other picks as well, you'll see that George Stroumboulopoulos will be speaking, as well as some hunky looking guys who circumnavigate the globe on a sail boat. Maybe I can sneak away from my table to go see them speak!

On a related note, if you've been curious about where I find my vintage supplies, I did a newsletter recently in which I talk about my vintage Swarovski & filigree supplier.

Next up, Got Craft!

2011-04-19T11:53:00.000-07:00

The Make It market was a huge success, many thanks to the organizers and to all the smiling faces who attended!

I will be busy the next few weeks replenishing my stock for the next fun market - Got Craft!

I've got a bunch of new (old!) stock arriving, so I'll be posting photos of new creations here every week, so be sure to check back. Please remember, if you do not live in Vancouver and are interested in a particular piece, ask me any questions by emailing info@buenostyle.com

xo,
Christi

Make It! This weekend!

2011-04-11T17:57:00.000-07:00

This is where you will find me from Friday April 15th to Sunday the 17th.

The Make It! Market is a super fun, social (read; there's a bar) event that you should most definitely should come out to. The Croatian Cultural Centre is a cute old school venue that's easy to get to via bus or skytrain - and plenty of free parking too.

So grab some friends and drop by at some point this weekend. I've got lots of fun new OAK necklaces to tempt you, plus an array of colourful spring/summer earrings priced between $25 & $35!

I've busted into my stash of my treasures brought back from Prague - it's dwindling down. Above is a 1920's art deco brooch turned into necklace found at an antique fair in Prague last year. The glass stones are a perfect persimmon colour.

Hope to see you there this weekend!
xo,
Christi

Facebook Fan Page SALE

2011-04-04T17:16:00.001-07:00

Have you "liked" my Facebook Fan page yet? Well, you should, because I'm having a sale for those who are following me there.

As a big thank you to all of you who "like" my Facebook fan page, I'm having a SALE!!! Take ***20%*** off any purchase over $20.00 on my etsy site!!! Go ahead and purchase as usual. Then in the "notes to seller" section just write "Facebook" and I will refund the 20% via paypal right away. YAY!!!!

If you're not on Facebook but still read my blog - this sale applies to you too! Just write "Blog" instead of Facebook. Sale is on for this week only - ends Friday April 8th at 6pm.

So go ahead and treat yourself to some pretty spring earrings, or a new necklace. Now's the time!

Inspiration . . . Flea Market Style

2011-03-20T16:25:00.000-07:00

I recently found out about the magazine Flea Market Style on one of my favorite crafty blogs, Cathe Holden. As soon as I saw that someone had published a magazine actually called Flea Market Style, my first thought was "those are my people!" & I immediately jumped on-line and ordered a copy. It arrived surprisingly fast and within minutes of arriving in my post I was devouring the gorgeous content.

The magazine features all sorts of tips and tricks and how to's and is chock full of inspiration to anyone who's ever been drawn to treasure hunting in thrift stores and flea markets.

One of my favorite articles was on the Bachmans House - which I had never heard of. It's in Minnesota and is a "vintage-style showhouse full of junk-tastick ideas." Swoon! I want to go to there. I don't think I'm allowed to scan and post the images, you really must buy the magazine to see the fantastic images - every single inch of the house is jam packed with imaginative, gorgeous re-use projects. An old metal rake head becomes a wine glass holder, an old teeter-totter turned into a table... and so many more inspiring ideas for the home.

In fact, the emphasis of the magazine seems to be on home decorating, but there are plenty of crafty how-to's as well. There's a bunch of cute ideas for projects made from vintage men's button up cotton shirts that go beyond the obvious - striped lampshade with buttons, anyone? I also liked their vintage "top 10" round up of objects that they predict will be hot for 2011 flea market shopping.

I think their tip number 8; "Personality from Patina" must have influenced my recent trip to the Salvation Army "as is" department. I came home with a bag full of silver electro plated small goblets & tea service items.

They were languashing on the bottom shelf, unloved, but of nice quality and each one has a fantastic, broke down patina. I also picked up a couple of small glass bowls (ice cream dishes?) that I thought would be cute paired with the goblets. I've seem a similar technique somewhere that inspired this combination - though it was wine glasses turned upside down and with tea cups on top. I just did a quick google search and came up with this.

I just popped a couple on my living room mantle. I know the last thing the world needs is more tea light holders, but these would at least be pretty and very unique tea light holders!

And I also like this combo...

I don't know anything about silver electroplating. Most of the marks on the bottom say "EP brass", which would be silver electroplated over brass. I don't know if this is any different than regular silver plating. If anyone has any info, let me know! One of the marks says made in Spain, one says made in Italy, a couple of them say "Viking Plate; Made in Canada". Anyway, they were only $1.00 each!

Continuing on with the theme of vessels, I was thinking about all the bits and bobs around my studio currently being held in cardboard boxes of varying degrees of decay. So I grabbed this cute stack of old baking pans. My next fabulous find was the huge horse shaped cookie cutter. It will be hung my wall of horse-related kitch at the studio.

One of the things that reading Flea Market Style reinforced is the notion of small collections of similar objects grouped together as a pleasing display. This was a fun, affordable way to create an instant collection of pretty patina objects. Everything I bought that day cost exactly $10.00. Thanks to the magazine for the inspiration!

Put a bird on it

2011-03-16T12:32:00.000-07:00

If you haven't seen it yet.

Funny because it's true!

I'm waiting for the follow up "Put a deer on it!"

In the mean time you can enjoy this vintage deer necklace from moi.

To see this necklace in person (if it's not already snapped up!), drop by the season opener of Portobello West in the new location - Creekside Community Centre in the Olympic Village! March 26 & 27th.

Mini Portobello West at the BC Home and Garden Show

2011-02-17T20:14:00.000-08:00

It may not be the most obvious partnership, but Portobello West has partnered with the BC Home and Garden Show for the past year and it's proved to be a winning combination.

Perhaps because we have somewhat of a captive audience. I did this show last September and noticed a lot of couples go there together. More often than not, the ladies would linger and shop, while the gents wandered off to look at flooring or something equally as boring.

I'll have lots of new fun vintage rhinestone earrings in luscious spring and summer colours, as well as plenty of new OAK; One of A Kind necklaces and a few OAK earrings too.

If you are attending the show, you can find us against the south wall, turn left immediately after you enter the show. Check out the floor plan below for details.

Participating designers:

Affera Cosmetics

Filou Designs

Revival Ink Eco Apparel

Vintage Creations

BeunoStyle

A Cagey Bee

Lootz Designs

Abeego Designs

Irit Sorokin

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

2011-02-03T10:50:00.000-08:00

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 . . .

Gracie's gone!

2011-02-02T11:08:00.000-08:00

Yes! And her new people are really nice! A couple came to see her and they liked her right away. Luckily Gracie "took" to them too - she turned on the charm and was all purrs & head butts.

They had an older cat that she had to put down recently too. And they were used to having a timid cat - which is great. I do miss her a bit, she really is a very sweet little girl, and she was totally coming out of her shell & hanging out on the couch with me. Sigh.

But now I've got a new fuzzy buddy - ladies and gentlemen - meet Theo!

He arrived with the name Chocolate Pudding. I know, riiiiiight? Of course I immediate started calling him Chocolate Thunder, which has since been amended to "Theo". I was also calling him Charleston for a while, but Theo is more fun to say.

He's a handsome fella with very pretty markings and bright blue eyes. He's a little freaked out right now, he only go here on Tuesday night, so I'm sure it will take some time. I had him confined to the bathroom overnight (thank goodness there's 2 bathrooms in the condo!), and once Gracie was gone the next day I let him out to start to sniff around. But he got a little weirded out, and prefers to hang in the bathtub. There's a cozy blanket in there from his past home, so it must be comforting.

He's a total snuggler though! We've had some good cuddle sessions. He takes his snuggling very seriously - full on aggressive head butts and pushing his face over my hands, along with a super loud purr and totally curling into a ball on my lap. Nicely done Theo - totally charming.

Here's a little bit about his breed:
The Balinese is a breed of oriental cat with long hair and Siamese-style markings, or points. They resemble a Siamese with a medium-length silky coat and a plumed tail, but not nearly as fluffy as a Himalayan , and they require much less grooming. Balinese are extremely intelligent cats, although less talkative than their Siamese ancestors.

So about this whole "foster cat" business...

2011-01-29T15:56:00.000-08:00

As some of you already know, or may have surmised from my posts and Facebook page, I totally heart cats. Recently, I had to make the decision to put down my older cat, Stella (above). She was 13 years old and had been having health problems for about the last year or so. It was the first time I was put in that position and it was a toughie. When I came home from the vet afterwards, I was really hurting. I went through the apartment and got rid of everything that reminded me of her. The scratching post and carpeted steps (so she could still get up on the bed) went on Craig's list for free, all her food and treats went to friends who have cats. The wee cardboard box she used to snuggle up in went into recycling. (that one killed me - if you saw some random lady in an alley recycling a cardboard box and totally bawling her eyes out, that was me).

Sigh.

I didn't want to commit to getting another cat right away. I thought, when the time is right, the right one will come along. And then I remembered a friend who had posted on FaceBook about her "foster kittens" - so I decided to look into it. The whole "foster cat" concept was totally new to me. My friend went through an organization called VOKRA (Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association). VOKRA finds safe, loving, temporary foster homes for kittens, pregnant cats, and older cats until they can be adopted into a permanent home. They do not have a large, main shelter, and this actually helps protect the very young cats from colds, distemper, parasites and other transmissible illnesses. It also helps the cats get socialized with humans, and get used to new surroundings.

The concept made sense to me. I *could* just go ahead and get another cat. Or, I could help out some cats who need a bit of TLC, help them get socialized, bring them out of their shell, and help find them a new home. Hrrrrmmmmm.

I had already decided that I wanted to adopt an older cat as opposed to a kitten. Lord knows I love a kitten, but the reality is that most kittens will end up getting adopted while older cats end up sitting on the shelf in the shelters. Sad, but true.

I still had questions though. What if I got stuck with a cat that no one wanted to adopt? What if I fall in love with the cat I'm fostering and want to adopt them? What if the cat I got was a total asshat who scratches at the door all night?

So I called VOKRA with my questions & spoke to Michele Carrington (Vice President). She told me that they actually have a very good rate of adoption for older cats, and if I did want to adopt the cat I was fostering, I'd have fill out an application, just like anyone else. If I did end up with a cat that just was not working out (asshat), then the cat would just have to go back to their temporary holding area and hopefully have better luck out another foster home.

So I decided to give it a go. It came as a pleasant surprise to find out that, if you do decide to foster, VOKRA actually provides all the cat's neccesities; food, litter, and (drum roll please) vet bills! Also very handy since I had gotten rid of everything after Stella died.

I talked to Michele about what cats were in the most urgent need of a foster home. She described a few, then mentioned one ("Jacobia") who had been in a foster home recently, but then had been separated from her brother because it was suspected he was "bullying" her & keeping her from her food. She was currently in a kennel because she had been seen limping, so they didn't want her leaping about. Michele then sent me the link to her adoption page so I could check her out.

Ok - admit my first reaction was "hmmm, she looks kind of rough... that's a really bad photo... and who names a cat Jacobia?!". But I decided to foster her because she was confined to a kennel - a decent size kennel, but still . . .

When we went to go pick her up, she was very sweet & affectionate right away. We took her home on a Wednesday night, and she was silent the whole way. Smaller, confined spaces are better at first, so we kept her in our office with the door closed. She was very timid at first and hid in the corners (this is pretty normal for cats, they are very territorial and like to be familiar with their surroundings all the time). She was so quiet and just so accepting of her fate and everything that life had thrown at her that I decided the next day to rename her Grace. Of course, this was immediately amended to Gracie, Gracie-Face, Macy Gray, Goodness-Gracious, etc.

We were told when we got her that she would be timid. But it did not take long at all before she started to come out her shell and was investigating the entire room, wolfing down her food (she was pretty skinny), meowing a bit, and then investigating the rest of the apartment. It's Saturday now, and she is sitting on my lap, purring, as I write this. Nice.

As you view the cats up for adoption on the VOKRA pages, your heart just melts (unless you are made of stone?). There's a lot of hard luck stories up there. These two were left locked in an apartment when people moved out (who DOES that?), this one was dumped off by the owner at a stable & left to fend for herself. Gracie? She was rescued from "the Halloween house" - a big ol' house with too many cats that were not being cared for. It caught fire on Halloween 2 years ago and VOKRA got called to come in and grab up any of the cats that were left.

If you check out the links above, it becomes obvious quickly that the better the cat's bio looks (and the more cute photos they have), the better the chance they will start to get requests to be seen & possibly end up adopted. So I immediately tried taking some better pix of my new wee furry girl.

And I learned something new. It's hard to get good photograph of an all-black cat! I've been taking shots of cats for yeeeears, and never knew this. An interesting related aside to this tidbit; "A 2002 study in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science that examined adoption rates over nine months in a California pound found that black cats were about half as likely to be adopted as tabby cats and two-thirds less likely than white cats."

It really never occurred to me before, but it's partly because they don't have cute markings like tabbies or calicos (and therefore harder to get cute photos), and partly because of stupid ol' superstition. Cat prejudice. Who knew?

Anyway, I managed to get a couple of half decent shots and sent one off to VOKRA so they could update her adoption page. I also sent information about her personality and her new name.

Basically, I re-branded her. Not even joking. In the era of on-line profiles on sites like PetFinder, she needed a little help. "Pimp my cat", I couldn't help joking with friends. I also admit that within 12 hours of fostering her, I had already posted her photo on Facebook. It's all about marketing.

And guess what? It worked! Her new name, photo, and information were up by Thursday, and by Friday I got an email with a request to see meet her. Michele at VOKRA was over the moon; "we've had her in our database for over a year and no one has requested to see her!"

She was actually sitting on my lap (for the first time), purring, when I got the email to request a "viewing". And, yes, my heart sank a little bit. She really is a very sweet little girl. Curious, playful, still timid, but totally full of snuggles and purrs. Yeah, I guess I fell in love a little bit. We've already discussed putting in an application to adopt her. But I think I'd like to stick to my original plan. If I can help more than one adult cat find a "forever" home, then I will.

Someone is coming to meet her tonight. I'll let you know how it goes.

An exciting, fragrant collaboration!

2011-01-20T21:41:00.000-08:00

I'm so very please to announce my collaboration with local perfumer extrordinairre, Ayala Moriel! I've long admired and coveted her hand blended natural aromatics and admit to splurging on myself a few times in the past.

I am the type of lady who very seldom wears scents, as I find I'm sensitive to synthetic aromas. I'm not allergic, I just think they smell fake and full of chemicals. I've researched and dabbled in amature scent blending in my past and therefore have a *wee* bit of knowledge in the area, so I really appreciate it when I come across someone as passionate, pure and professional as Ayala. She uses only natural scented oils from nature, never synthetic!

What's so bad about synthetic fragrances? Most contain petroleum-derived materials, and some even contain phthalates. Read this article for more eye-opening information about that perfume aisle in the drug store.

So when I found the lovely silver plated lockets (above) specifically made to hold perfume, I immediately thought of collaborating with her to create the solid perfume to nestle inside. Each locket has a separate non-reactive pan that sits inside the recess.

We got together one cloudy Vancouver afternoon at her cozy condo in the west end where she crafts her unique aromas. She brewed us some tea, (served in lovely vintage china) and some hand made truffles and bannaa fudge brownies. In addition to blending perfumes, Ayala also makes *the* most exquisite chocolate truffles I have ever had the pleasure of melting on my tongue. My favourite uses an unexpected combination of smoked sea salt and black cardamom. Oh yes. Part of what I love about her scents is that she uses uncommon and surprising combinations with creativity and pizzaz. You can read about her process on her smelly blog. Love that name!

When we got together, we discussed and sniffed over some of the fragrances that would be a good choice for a solid perfume (not all scents work well in a solid form). We decided to go with two of my personal favorites, because if I'm not passionate about it, then why bother? When you purchase one my perfume lockets, you have a choice of;

Antique Amber
Antique Amber is an oriental-ambery perfume with an old-world charm, like an antique wooden dresser filled with treasures: Luxurious amber resin, exotic patchouli-scented shawls, and remnants of jasmine perfume for an extra feminine touch. Borneol camphor and a hint of aniseed add a mysterious, lingering cool/warm intrigue. Antique Amber can be worn alone or can be layered with other perfumes for added depth mystery.

or;

Cabaret
Playful, romantic and zesty! Cabaret is an extremely flirtatious gourmand fragrance, with bergamot and magnolia top notes and a rosy a heart reminiscent of Rahat Loukum (Turkish Delight) and rosewater. A luscious ambery base of dark coconut, musk and vanilla makes it even sexier and sweeter. It will make you want to belly-dance!

Don't those sounds just delicious?! As you may have noticed, my passion in aromas does tend towards the "foodie" side of life!

As I mentioned, the lockets are new, but they have been made from the originals molds from the 1940's, so that is the original floral scroll design on the front. And because I like to have some true vintage element in all my designs, I've created lovely "patchwork" chains for each locket using bits and bobs of both vintage and new chain. Each one is unique! The lockets themselves are about 44x33mm and the chains are about 32 to 34" long.

You can purchase the lockets here. Or if you live in Vancouver, drop me a line (info@buenostyle.com) to arrange a studio visit.

Indie I Do - Wed YOUR way!

2011-01-20T07:14:00.000-08:00

If you're getting married, or know someone who is - you should totally check out Vancouver's alternative wedding show; Indie I Do!

This event got a nice plug in the Georgia Straight today, and they used a photo of one of my necklaces! Big thanks to photographer Albert Yee, and his lovely model Erin Shaw!

Indie I Do
Saturday, January 22nd, 2011
11 - 5.

I'm a gunna be on the TV!

2011-01-14T12:07:00.000-08:00

If you live around Vancouver, tune into Shaw TV's The Express today to see a wee segment featuring moi! It airs at 3, 6 and 10pm, with repeats on the weekend.

You can check it out here. Scroll through to about the 7 minute mark, although there's a pretty great cocktail recipe right before my segment, if you want to watch!

Part of the segment will show me adjusting this necklace...

You can find it listed here if you fall in love with it!

2010-12-20T10:58:00.001-08:00

Make It, Portobello West, Noel Bazaar, Got Craft, One of a Kind... whew! Of course now that I have some down time, I promptly got sick. Better now than in mid-market season I guess.

I'll be kicking around in the studio on Tuesday 21st and Wednesday 22nd. If you need to drop by for last minute gifties, shoot me an email to arrange a time.

info@buenostyle.com

Happy Holidays and I'll catch up with you in the New Year!

((···This is one of my favorite pieces I brought back from Prague. It was bought at Portobello West by a dapper gentleman who is giving it to his girlfriend for christmas. It's a sterling silver antique filigree watch fob, probably worn by a fancy Victorian lady···))

2010-12-17T11:52:00.000-08:00

Big thanks to all of you who came out to my myriad of holiday markets! If you're new to my mailing list, welcome and thank you for signing up!

Even after all those markets, I still have lots of great stock left. Plus if you can believe it, I've been making more OAK pieces this week!

This last weekend before Christmas, you can find me set up on the second level of the Lonsdale Quay Market at a table on the north end.

Lonsdale Quay Crafty Christmas Weekends
Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver
Saturday December 18th 12 - 8pm
Sunday December 19th 12 - 7pm

If you can't make it to the Quay, please check out my retailers for last minute gifts.

3 down, 3 to go!

2010-12-04T12:03:00.000-08:00

In addition to my lovely retailers, there are three more markets left before Christmas to get your BuenoStyle on!

Got Craft
Royal Canadian Legion 2205 Commercial Drive (@ E.6th Ave)
Sunday December 5th
10:00am to 5:00pm

One of A Kind
Vancouver Convention Centre
Thursday December 9th: 10am – 6pm
Friday December 10th: 10am – 6pm
Saturday 11th: 10am - 9pm 
Sunday 12th: 10am - 5pm

Lonsdale Quay Crafty Christmas Weekends
Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver
December 18th and 19th: 12 - 8pm

Mad Mimi - a great email newsletter tool!

2010-11-23T10:15:00.000-08:00

Ever since I started designing jewelry, whenever I do a market I've been putting out a blank book & pen and encouraging people to sign up for my email updates. Then I would send out mass emails letting them know when I have upcoming events. In the past, I've always just sent out a regular looking email, sometimes getting fancy with bold or even coloured text, along with some links to some of my new work. Ooh, exciting.

I was always envious when I'd get a really nice looking, stylish newsletter email blast from other designers - wow - an actual layout! With embeded photos & links! I always wondered how they did that. (I come from a graphic design background, but my specialty was in printed media, not web stuff).

I noticed that most the the "pretty" newsletters I received used layouts from a company called "Constant Contact". I checked out their website and saw that they had a free 60 day trial so I signed up to try and design my own pretty newsletter. After the free trial, you can decide if you want to pay a low monthly fee to send newsletters to a set number of email addresses.

Well I never even got to try out the free trial! I found their templates and interface to be so confusing and frustrating that I gave up after a few tries. So much for my pretty newsletters.

Then, while I was perusing Handemadeology, I came across a post by a designer that mentioned "Mad Mimi" as her favorite newsletter option. So I checked it out.

Hallelujah! It was friendly and easy to use right from the get go! I had a (very) simple, pretty newsletter with clickable links ready in about 3 hours time. They too have a free trial for up to 100 email addresses, so I wasted no time adding 100 emails and sending out my message.

I had a couple of questions during the set up, emailed the company and heard back from them right away - on a Sunday night even! There were real people on the other end of the email with very helpful answers, and nice personal touches (she mentioned she liked my jewelry!) Excellent customer service! So I wasted no time in joining up; $8.00 a month for a 500 email contact list.

So that's all pretty great, right? But there's more! After your promotion goes out, they immediately send you an email with a link back so you can track where your message has gone, how many people have opened it, how many people click on the links, how many bounced back, etc. It's amazing! Here's an image of the two promotions I sent out (first 100 was the free trial).

And it's fascinating to see that in an email promotion that is sent out to a dedicated email list actually had only has 86 people out of 276 bothering to open up my email (2 days after sending it). I find this surprising, since it's not spam but rather people who signed up specifically *for* my newsletter.

Thought I probably should not be surprised considering the amount of email we are bombarded with on a daily basis, even still, it's a bit of a wake up call. It will probably make me consider juicing up my next newsletter with some type of promotion or sale and makes sure I specify that right in the title, so people will at least open it up to see what the promotion is.

Anyway, I couldn't be happier with my Mad Mimi experience, and obviously I would highly recommend them!

On a related side note, I had a question for them about how to get a copy of the newsletter onto my blog so you all could see it. As you see from the link above, this was the better solution. But in answering my inquiry, a second Mad Mimi employee also complimented my jewelry and mentioned that his mother has and etsy shop too. She works with copper wire and he thought she would love my stuff. He provided her link to her shop in case I wanted to check it out. Then he asked, I didn't mind, if he could pass on my shop's link to her. How lovely!

Of course you could be synical and think that they probably train their employees to compliment people - but you know what - even if they do I don't care!

Oh - and his mom's shop? See for yourself below - STUNNING! And bonus: made with recycled copper wire!

I'm still discovering all the cool things you can do with tracking these promotions, like about "drip campaigns", and "Google Analytics integration". I'll certainly enjoy digging deeper into the Mad Mimi world!

Till next time,
Christi York
www.buenostyle.com

Holiday Markets

2010-11-15T10:00:00.000-08:00

You probably won't be surprised to hear that ladies love jewelry, right? So if you're on the hunt for a unique gift for that someone special over the holiday season, think BuenoStyle!

In addition to my retail stores, I will be presenting several one of a kind and one of a few pieces at markets around the lower mainland this season. I really go into high gear over the fall and winter and tend to create some of my best work during this season! Check below for dates and times.

Portobello West
Rocky Mountaineer Station
November 26 and 27
Noon to 6pm

Noel Bazaar
Victoria Event Center (1415 Broad Street)
November 30th: 5-9 pm
Dec 1st and Dec 2nd: 2-9 pm

Got Craft
Royal Canadian Legion 2205 Commercial Drive (@ E.6th Ave)
Sunday December 5th
10:00am to 5:00pm

One of A Kind
Vancouver Convention Centre
Thursday December 9th: 10am – 6pm
Friday December 10th: 10am – 6pm
Saturday 11th: 10am - 9pm 
Sunday 12th: 10am - 5pm

Lonsdale Quay Crafty Christmas Weekends
Lonsdale Quay, North Vancouver
December 18th and 19th: 12 - 8pm

Etsy Trends

2010-10-26T11:13:00.000-07:00

Every once in a while etsy sends out a mass email in which they define some of the recent "trending currents" they have observed with items listed on their site.

It's always great if they decide to feature on of your pieces in their report because it's great exposure and can lead to future sales.

So I had to chuckle when I got their recent email defining the following trending currents, as I have some items that would have fit perfectly in with their exampes:

Feathers in Flight

These hand patina vintage brass feather charms fit perfectly in that category (as well as into the recent "southwest" trend, by the way!)

Secret Compartments & Literary Chic

Well this Secret Love Letter necklace would perfectly into both categories!

Animal Kingdom

Check! Lovely patina bee charms and wee floral beads. Oh - and did I mention that I'm having a 20% off sale in my etsy shop until Sunday October 31st? It's a great time to do some early Holiday shopping, or just treat yourself!

First Ever Sale on my Etsy site!

2010-10-21T12:42:00.000-07:00

Thanks to the folks at Etsy on Sale, it's now easy to plan a store wide sale with items automatically discounted. YAY! So to celebrate, I'm having a week long sale on my etsy site. Everything listed is 20% off! To get to the site, you have to go to my etsy on sale site.

The sale start at 9am on Saturday October 23rd and ends on Sunday October 31st at 9pm.

As part of the promotion, I'm also doing a special sale for my Facebook Group fans. If you are based in Vancouver and come down to Portobello West Market on Sunday October 31st, I'll give you 20% off anything over $20.00. All you have to do is join my Facebook Group page and hit the "like" button! Then come down to the market and let me know you joined.

This would be a great time to pick up a snazzy OAK piece to wear for the holidays!

Down on the farm

2010-10-08T10:03:00.000-07:00

Maybe you read in an earlier post that I've been volunteering at the Farmer's Market on Wednesdays this summer? Well I decided to take a vacation from the city to go work for a week on Klippers Organic Farm and see for myself where all these lovely fruits and vegetables are grown.

Klippers is located in tiny Cawston, BC. If you've driven through the Okanagan on the old Crowsnest highway (#3), you've driven though Cawston and probably not even known it. It's just past Keremeos and if you blink, you'll miss the Cawston sign and think it's just an extension of Keremeos. With a population of just under 1000, who could blame you? It's nestled in a valley between high mountains on either side and the Similikameen river flows through the flats. Local legend claims the name Keremeos means "the meeting of the winds" and the wind can sure kick up at times.

It was quite a change from my usual leisurely jewelry designer's pace; we were up at 6am and in the field by 7am. But I totally loved the time I spent there. Fresh clean air, still and quiet mornings, hard work all day long and early to bed. Lovely. The farm has several apprentices who live there all summer and into fall, and they really took me under their wing(s) and were happy to show this tourist the proper way to pick a tomato, pepper, eggplant or apple. The amount and diversity of food grown on the farm is truly impressive. It's a hot, dry and near desert-like climate so there's enough heat to even grow watermelons!

It is getting close to the end of the growing season, so many of the fields looked bare - but in those bare field lurked thousands of sweet onions, and I spent a few afternoons pulling up onions and laying them out to dry in the hot sun for a few days so they will be good to store all winter.

Monday is Anna-Marie's "day off" - which means she doesn't work in the fields, but rather in the kitchen! I was recruited to help with the canning that day; classic dill pickles in the morning, and salsa in the afternoon.

They grown over 100 varieties of heirloom organic tomatoes on the farm (as well as both sweet and hot peppers), and whatever is ripe and ready goes into the salsa mix. By the end of the afternoon, we had close to 10 cases (x12) of 500ml jars of salsa. And yes, it is delicious! You can pick some up at any of the weekly winter markets.

I never had to clean out the chicken coop, thank goodness!

And here's the sun setting behind the mountains with the organic apple orchard in the foreground. Sigh.

Choir Lyre

2010-09-24T11:20:00.001-07:00

Choir Lyre, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

Check out what I did with one of those "flea market score" pieces in the photo below!

You can see them in person at Portobello West Market this Sunday!

Flea Market score!

2010-09-21T21:56:00.001-07:00

Flea Market score!, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

Getting ready for the fall markets with a visit to a Sunday flea market!

www.portobellowest.com

First Portobello West market of the Fall!

2010-09-16T11:13:00.000-07:00

It's coming up quickly, September 26th will be BuenoStyle's fall debut at the Portobello West Fashion and Art Market. If you missed me at the Home and Interior Design Show, now's your chance for a peek at my new fall line inspired by my recent trip to Prague.

Bring your friends and make an afternoon of it - they bring in a great coffee truck, and have gourmet hot dogs & crepes! And remember, all the artisans are from the lower mainland - support the local.

These are vintage (possibly antique) än-hangers, from watch fobs that I picked up in Cologne this spring. They were originally manufactured in Germany between 1900 - 1920 and I love how very art deco they are! They all have pieces of stained glass in the centre (the amethyst one has already sold).

First show of the Fall

2010-09-04T11:14:00.001-07:00

My new fall BuenoStyle line is inspired by my recent trip to Prague, Alphonse Mucha and all things art nouveau! Think flowers, flourishes, filigrees and all things flora and fauna.

If you're dying for a peek, come down to the Vancouver Home and Interior Show from September 9 - 12th. I'll also have many of the newest OAK designs.

15 pounds of peaches!

2010-09-03T11:50:00.000-07:00

If you read the post below, you'll remember that I've been volunteering at the Farmer's Market on Wednesday's this summer. I was able to get a smoking deal on 15 pound of organic peaches, so my good friend Steph and I decided to spend an afternoon dong some good 'ol fashioned canning and preserving.

We decided to really go for it and do up some tomatoes at the same time. I talked to Anna-Marie (one of the owners of the farm) about a price for the tomatoes and she said if we didn't mind "seconds", then we could just have a bunch for free. Well by the end of the day that added up to about 25 pounds of tomatoes! There was nothing wrong with the majority of these tomatoes, they were just too ripe, slightly squished, or just plain ugly. Perfect for canning!

Part of the deal with the peaches was that I picked the "ugly" ones too. But the interesting thing about those marks on the peaches is that it's a result of tree bore. As the peaches grow, some of them rub on the branch and in order to close the wound, the tree sends extra sap to that area to close and seal off the wound. This actually makes the peaches sweeter, due to the extra sap. So the next time you see a peach with sort of dark amber-like crystalized marks on the top - grab it!

Steph and I started at 1pm, slicing and pureeing the peaches. If this photo has a bit of a chartreuse cast to it, it's because Steph's kitchen walls are chartreuse, her enameled pot is chartreuse, and that day her T-shirt was also chartreuse.

We decided to make a peach-Amaretto sauce with the peaches because, well, what's not to love about that combination!? Here's Steph pouring in the Amaretto. The recipe called for 6 cups of sugar, we used 4. It also called for a whole bottle of Amaretto, but the peaches were already so sweet and tasty that we only used half. Even with that, the sauce ended up very sweet - but delicious!

Next up, the tomatoes. My original idea was to roast all the tomatoes with garlic, then squish 'em up and jar them. But there were so many tomatoes and Steph's stove is tiny so we ended up doing a combination of both stovetop and roasted. Two batches got boiled down on the stove, two more got roasted in the oven, then we blended them all together. We never bothered with the blanching and peeling that you're supposed to do to get rid of the skins because these jars of sauce meant for our personal consumption (as opposed to gifts). When I use a jar, all I have to do is bust out the hand blender and blend it all together to get rid of the skins. So much faster that way.

It took about 5 solid hours of work and yielded us about 20 one-cup jars of peach sauce, and about 18 2-cup jars of tomatoes. It's amazing to me that people (well, let's face it, women) used to do this for days and weeks on end in order to put up enough preserves to feed the family through the winter. I wonder why we bother with the home canning when you can walk into any grocery store and pick up a can of organic tomato sauce for $2.99 or so. I have no idea why I have this mild obsession with food preservation, but I do know it just gives me pleasure when I look at those jars. Or take a peek into my freezer full of beans and carrots that I have blanched, chopped and frozen - all ready to pop into a winter soup, stew or curry. I guess I feel like it's my way of contributing . . . something? It feels strangely more substantial than making pretty jewelry. Maybe it's the classic Cancer trait of wanting and needing to nourish, feed and nurture? Any other Cancer's out there, give me a shout out in the comments and tell me if you have similar feelings, m'kay?

Farmer's Market on Wednesdays

2010-08-12T16:17:00.000-07:00

When I'm not in the studio making jewelry, you can find me at the Farmer's Market on Wednesdays volunteering at the Klipper's Organic Acres stall.

This has been a new thing I just started this summer, and it's been a blast. I'm a bit of an organic aficionado & foodie in general. I love being around farm fresh produce, talking about food, trading recipes, learning new uses for veggies, and lately have a special interest in food preservation. I recently just started freezing fresh vegetables for use in the winter - it's a learning curve (I got "icy vegetables" the first time).

So here's some photos of my other great love besides jewelry... taken with my iPhone (before I lost it - booooo!). Enjoy, and if you're in Vancouver, come on down to the market on Wednesday's and say hi!

This is Anna-Marie, one of the owner's of the farm. She is amazing - laid back, strong as an ox, beautiful, a fountain of knowledge about organic produce - and she takes no shit from anyone. I want to be like her when I grown up (and she has FOUR kids!).

More photos up!

2010-07-12T13:54:00.000-07:00

If you are interested, check out my flickr site for some photos of my recent eastern europe trip. I'm still going through over 1000 photos, but most of Croatia and Prague are up so far!

Back from eastern Europe!

2010-06-24T10:07:00.000-07:00

And oh my was it ever great! Czech Republic, Croatia and Turkey. 6 weeks of long overdue traveling / vacation. I'll be posting photos on my flickr site soon, but here's some quick photos of some the goodies I brought back from Prague. I was lucky to hit an antique fair in Prague that happens twice a year - good timing! In the background of the photo above is the booklet from the Mucha museum I checked out in Prague.
These are brass and metal bits and pieces I scrounged up in various antique bazaars in Prague. I look forward to spending the rest of the summer creating new OAK pieces out of all these lovely bits and bobs. To be debuted this fall!

I'm outta here!

2010-05-10T11:15:00.000-07:00

I'll be traveling in Eastern Europe from May 11th until June 24th.

Oh yeah!

Prague, Cologne, Budapest, then on to Croatia and then Istanbul.

It's gonna be a goooooood time. Plus I'll be on the hunt for all sorts of new old treasures to bring home and play with. Check back in early July.

Maybe I will find some Euro-kittens to pet while I'm there too.
Love,
Me

Next Up, Portobello West!

2010-04-24T10:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a bit of a whirlwind around here lately. In between training to run a 1/2 marathon and organizing a fundraiser (we raised $1,600.00!!!), I'm also doing a market every weekend before I leave on May 11th to go to Europe. Yeah, it's busy!

Next up is Portobello West this Sunday, where I'll be debuting many pretty new OAK necklaces that I've been busting out lately. Here's a few of them.

UPDATE:
The necklace in the first photo has sold. The other two pictured are for sale at Fine Finds here in Vancouver while I'm traveling in Europe.

Nifty for Fifty!

2010-04-14T21:21:00.000-07:00

I'm so excited to be a part of the 3rd annual Nifty for Fifty sale this year!!! I've literally cleaned out the jewelry boxes for this one... Many OAK necklaces that had yet to find a home have been marked down to $20.00! (originally $60 - $90).

With over 15 local designers ready to part with their much-loved designs and vintage finds for $50 or less, this event is not to be missed!

“It’s definitely a cost-effective way to update your spring wardrobe,” says Melissa Ferreira, coordinator of the event and designer of local label, Adhesif Clothing. “Some of the wares will even be marked off 90%!”

To make things even more exciting, this year Nifty for Fifty will be happening at Five-Sixty, a new space on 560 Seymour that has been serving as a gallery for the Cultural Olympiad. “It’s a fabulous location, and we’ve brought in talented designers to fill it,” adds Melissa.

Van-city shoppers can also revel in fact that ADMISSION IS FREE! Just be sure to block off Saturday, April 17th between 11am-6pm and Sunday, April 18th between 12-5pm for some serious sartorial hauling.

Remember to bring cash or your chequebook - most vendors will be cash only at this event.

Nice article here.

Saturday, April 17, 2010 at 11:00am
Sunday, April 18, 2010 at 5:00pm
560 Seymour

Dinner to dye for

2010-03-30T11:23:00.000-07:00

The other day, I got this random email from an "international team based in Sweden" researching the Slow Fashion movement. I'm sorry, what?

"Our research focuses on how to strengthen and bring momentum to the Slow Fashion movement. We are working to ensure Slow Fashion's move towards sustainability is strategic and accessible. If you are a fashion designer, brand, retailer, buyer, or manufacturer, this is an opportunity for you to take part in meaningful academic research."

Oh. Okay. I'll take your survey.

I also researched their website to make sure it wasn't some kind of *really* elaborate scam, and I came across a video titled "Dinner to dye for". Basically, a group of designers and chefs got together to create an event where the same foods for the dinner also provided dyes for some textiles earlier in the day. I love this idea! They held a workshop earlier in the dye where participants could experiment with dying fabric with natural dyes. Then later in the evening, dinner was served using some of the same ingredients as was used in the dyes.

In case you don't watch until the end of the video, it looks like the people at permacouture (awesome name) were some of the people behind it. San Francisco. Bunch'a hippies - Love IT!

On a related note, I did the Portobello West market this past weekend and I ran into a former jewelry instructor, Sarah Groves, showcasing her Blue Box jewelry line. She has been experimenting with using natural materials to make different patina finishes on silver and copper. Check out her ambassadors! A lot of patina/antiquing processes can be toxic and polluting, so it's great to see her experimenting with natural methods, as well as sharing her knowledge.

The Olympics sucked for a lot of local businesses.

2010-03-24T22:05:00.000-07:00

Yup. Big time. I've chatted with a lot of retailers outside the downtown core and they said that business was down as much as 40% over February last year. And LAST February sucked. The big party was happening downtown, so if you had a shop near one of the big fun zones then you were all set. But if you owned a shop in one of the neighbourhoods outside of downtown, bidness was waaaaay down.

I guess that's what happens when you throw an organized world party - they funneled people into certain areas. And everyone wanted to be in those areas. Not to say it wasn't fun. The Olympics transformed Vancouver like nothing ever has. Going downtown was like visiting a different city.

So, yes, it was fun! See - here we are having fun!

OK - we were recreating the moment Canada won the gold in men's hockey, as we were too busy actually cheering to take any photos *when* it really happened. But I digress...

The only businesses in my neighbourhood that were busier were places like the above local watering hole (The Five Point) showing the events on big screen TV's. So here's my shout out to y'all to remember the small businesses in your neighbourhood. They need your support, or they will have to close and you'll have another Starbucks or Subway in your 'hood.

I'm talking about 'hoods like Cambie Village, Commercial Drive, and Main St. Here is a great source for local businesses: Modern Urban Guides. Support the local!

New York notes, so long overdue it's not even funny.

2010-03-20T21:28:00.000-07:00

This post from the magpie & whiskyjack blog took me right back to the MAD in New York last September, 2009.

Contemporary ceramics was so not in my consciousness that it may well have not existed. Not on my radar at all. In fact the only reason I singled out the Museum of Art and Design was because it was formerly known as the American Craft Museum.

I went mostly because they have a whole floor (at the time) dedicated to contemporary jewelry. 'nuff said.

But I had my mind blown before I even got near the jewelry, when I entered the ceramic exhibit.

Ex-squeeze me? did you just embroider a ceramic cup??? Yeah - you did.

Or how about if you took a whole bunch of old porcelain plates, (you know, those vaguely Dutch ones your grandma had) and stacked them up and then laser cut some of the shapes out? Hmmmm? How would that look? The photos on Caroline Slotte's web site aren't even close to doing these objet d'art justice - they were absolutley stunning when viewed in person.

More awesomeness below from Edyta Cieloch

And then there's Mark Cecula - love his explanation for the work.
Quote; "based on modern technologies of production. In reaction to this fact I chose to reverse the conventional process of creating ceramic object; ready-made industrial china was subjected to the individual destructive process, which was design to inject randomness into standardized production." End quote. YEAH!

Looking forward to the first big market of the season.

2010-03-11T12:18:00.000-08:00

I've often thought that crafters and artisans are a bit of a rare breed. We show up at markets, all of us hauling boxes, lighting and display stuff - it's kind of like the circus came to town. And we're the carnies.

A lot of us "do the circuit". We see each other sometimes every weekend during the busy holiday season, then we go for months not seeing each other at all. January and February and most of March are the down times. So it's a real build up to the first big market of the season. That market in Vancouver is the Portobello West market on the last weekend of March.

The excitement is palpable. All the sellers who haven't seen each other for months are yelling hellos and hugging and smiling. And the people who show up at the market feel the excitement too. New spring and summer goods are on display, bright clothing, colourful artwork, must-have accessories. It's a lot of fun, that first market.

So why not come down and make an afternoon of it? There's specialty coffees and good food available outside. And a whole market full of amazing, hand made, locally designed fabulous finds inside!

I'll be running a contest/draw as well. As you may have heard, I'm running a 1/2 marathon in May and raising money towards cancer research. There will be a donation jar on my table. Anyone who donates $2.00 will be entered in a draw to win a $20.00 BuenoStyle gift certificate. Anyone who donates $5.00 will entered in a draw to win a $20.00 BuenoStyle gift certificate! All you have to do is donate, and fill out the form provided with your name and phone number. It's that easy!

Anyone who donates $10.00 or more will be eligible for a tax receipt as well. Here's the link to my personal fund raising page, if you are so inclined.

I look forward to seeing your smiling faces!

February 2010 was a blast!

2010-03-02T12:36:00.001-08:00

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.

So I ran with panties on my head the other morning...

2010-02-09T13:30:00.000-08:00

Yeah. That's what I said. Panties.

As you may already know, I've signed up to run 1/2 Marathon this May 2nd. So I have to train at least 3 times a week and go for a 30 minute run each time. I'm up to 5km now!

Anyway. The other morning was really chilly, but I HAD to go for a run. I had to get it out of the way, as I was having guests over for dinner later that evening. But it was the first time I had to run when it was quite cold. And for the life of me I could NOT find my ear warmers! Yes, ear warmers. You know, that headband-like thingy that goes round your head and covers your ears.

You may call me a wimp, that is fine. But when my ears get cold, they ACHE. I mean, like an ice-cream headache in my ear-holes. Not. fun.

I was desperate! I rummaged around for anything . . . Fabric...? I thought of cutting some socks open...? What...? Then I opened a drawer and spotted the panties. Brand new, never worn, bought on a whim last September and - too small for my ass. Damn cute - navy blue with white stars and white trim. Handmade even, by Vancouver's own Devil May Wear.

I quickly wrapped them around my head, over my ears, and wound the rest around my ponytail. I hesitated. Would people point and laugh? Would I forever humiliate myself? Does it look like I'm wearing panties on my head???!!!

Topped off with my Team In Training cap, it didn't look too bad... did it? You tell me!

And, yes, I'm still fundraising. Don't forget about the big PRIZES if you donate!

Running a Half Marathon (gulp) . . . and . . . PRIZES!

2010-02-01T21:13:00.001-08:00

In a move very much unlike me, I have signed up for training to run a half marathon this May 2, 2010! Along with it comes the commitment to raise at least $2,000.00 towards blood cancer research.

Those of you who know me understand that I'm not exactly a fitness buff, so this came out of left field. Why, you may be asking? Well, I'm training with an organization called Team In Training, which provides certified coaches, plus volunteer running mentors to all those who sign up for the program. I was really drawn to the supportive group environment. Plus, I knew if I committed to it, it would be impossible for me to drop out before reaching the goal!

I joined in order to personally work toward becoming more fit. But after our first 8:30 am run last Sunday (Yay! no rain!), I went for breakfast with 4 other team members and got a chance to get to know them better. Two of the people running are both survivors of Hodgkins and non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. One guy just got his remission news only 2 months ago! Someone commented that, 10 years ago, his diagnosis would have been a death sentence. That really hit home with me and made me realize how important it is to raise money since research really is progressing that fast.

So, to get the ball rolling on donations, I'm offering up some big incentive prizes! There will be other contests to follow, but the prizes won't be this big, so go ahead and donate NOW!

Anyone who donates $25.00 before February 14th will be entered in a draw to win $50.00 credit towards any BuenoStyle or OAK jewelry!

Anyone who donates $50.00 before February 14th will be entered in a draw to win $100.00 credit towards any BuenoStyle or OAK jewelry!

There's a very very good chance of winning this contest, as I have *just* barely started my fundraising campaign and not that many people even know about it yet!

All donations are tax deductible too!

You can donate on-line here. A tax receipt will be automatically emailed to you. Or, if you'd rather send a cheque, please just shoot me an email and I'll send you my mailing address, and a tax receipt will mailed out to you.

And since I don't have any photos of me running yet, please enjoy this photo of me feeding a squirrel.

Hearts for Haiti

2010-01-30T11:26:00.000-08:00

Here's a great way to shop and give at the same time! Hearts for Haiti is a group etsy shop that has been set up by volunteers.

The way it works is any individual etsy seller can donate items to be sold on the Hearts for Haiti website, then when the items sells, the money goes toward Haitian relief efforts - specifically Doctors Without Borders.

I've donated a few pairs of these heart locket earrings. Great for a wee Valentines treat.

So far they have raised just over $23,000.00!

Hats off to Hearts for Haiti!

www.buenostyle.com

umm, the olympics and stuff . . .

2010-01-22T12:08:00.000-08:00

Ok - I am kind of excited for the Olympics. I'm having a hard time imagining how little ol' Vancouver will explode with people though. I was just dropping off a load of jewels at Fine Finds and the owner was saying that they will be open from 10am to midnight every day! Plus, they and a bunch of other Yaletown businesses will have tents set up right outside the Canada Line station that will be open until midnight as well.

I thought it would be kind of fun to go work there for a couple of days a week during the Olympics - so I'm gonna! I'm mostly interested in meeting people from Europe, then becoming best friends and then they will invite me to come stay with them at their homes. Yes. This will happen.

Jane (owner) told me that they expect 550,000 people to be walking through Yaletown during the duration of the games. And they are staying open until midnight because the nearby live music venues and BC place events all get out at 11:00pm, so about 150,000 drunk people will spill out of these venues around 11pm. Yikes!

I've made a few special "souvenier of Canada" pieces that fit right into the BuenoStyle line. They're made with vintage and antique Canadian coins and I think they are pretty darn cute. Oh - and some rings and necklaces made from vintage military buttons. CUTE!

These pieces will only be available at Fine Finds and and Dream. Oh - I'm also going to go work for Dream a couple of days too. Come say HI!

www.buenostyle.com

The great Studio clean up - again!

2010-01-18T11:41:00.000-08:00

For those of you following along, you may remember the big studio clean up of last year, right around this time. It went from looking like this - to this.

Nice, right? Well, I had the opportunity to move my studio next door to a slightly larger space with a storage closet so I jumped on it. Last August. And I haven't organized it since! So - get ready for the great studio clean up of January 2010! Here's the before photos. Yes, I have been working in this messy space since August! I'll post the "after" photos soon. (hopefully!)

Holiday images . . .

2010-01-06T12:48:00.000-08:00

Thought I'd share a few of my favorite shots from the Christmas / Holiday season. Just for fun . . .
Vintage chandelier crystals and twinkle lights up in the studio.

Beautiful veggie plate I made for our friend's Christmas party. I know, I know, vegetables at Christmas? But it's so nice to have a palate cleanser when all those sugary treats are around. Homemade hummus too.

The traditional human pyramid that happens at our christmas party every year. Don't ask me how that got started, I actually have no idea. This year it happened at 11:00 sharp, so no one was tooooo wasted.

Me and my folks on Christmas day in Victoria, BC.

Took the Clipper down to Seattle on Boxing Day to visit bestest friends, John and Kellie. They have an open door policy when it comes to urban wildlife.

And a pet duck.

Featured in TLC December issue

2009-12-31T10:21:00.001-08:00

Thanks to TLC (This Little City) magazine for featuring my vintage key necklaces on page 25.

These little guys feature vintage keys with vintage clip-on earrings or brooches hand wired to them. I've always thought of them as an affordable alternative to the gold, platinum and silver Tiffany key necklaces!

Holiday Party Necklace

2009-12-08T11:27:00.001-08:00

Holiday Party Necklace, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

Available at the last Portobello West of the season this weekend! December 12 and 13th, 2009. Noon to 6pm both days.

www.portobellowest.com

Two More Winter Shows!

2009-11-30T20:58:00.000-08:00

Two more chances to see and buy some new BuenoStyle and OAK jewelry in person before Christmas;

Got Craft!
Sunday, December 6th, 2009
Royal Canadian Legion; 2205 Commercial Drive (upstairs).
11am - 5pm

The first 30 people through the door receive a FREE, handmade swag bag stuffed full of goodies from all of our vendors. Make sure you arrive early!

&

Portobello West Market
Rocky Mountaineer Station. Saturday & Sunday, December 12 & 13, 2009.
12-6pm both days.

Meet over 110 local artists and designers and shop for one-of-a-kind fashion and art in one of Vancouver's most impressive indoor venues.

The Big One . . .

2009-11-24T10:38:00.001-08:00

I do a lot of markets and events around the "holidays", but the huge 2-day Portobello West Fashion and Art Market is one of the best!

This year I will have all of my best pieces displayed in a booth right at the entrance, including a preview of my Spring 2010 line which uses a new technique of collage images inside the lockets (as shown above). But hey, never mind me, come out to meet over 110 local artists and designers and shop for one-of-a-kind fashion and art in one of Vancouver's most impressive indoor venues.

And don't forget my first ever contest! You might need to pick up a new piece of BuenoStyle or OAK jewelry so you can take a snapshot over the party season and win this!

Two Day November Market, Saturday 28th and Sunday 29th, from 12pm to 6pm.

at the Rocky Mountaineer Station,
with $2 admission for the public (children 12 and under get in free!),

For directions on how to get to the Rocky Mountaineer Station, plus free shuttle information, check here.

BuenoStyle and OAK first ever CONTEST!

2009-11-14T12:06:00.000-08:00

I'm excited to announce the first ever BuenoStyle contest!

Put on your BuenoStyle and Smile!

The holiday season is upon us and I know many of you are getting dolled up for gatherings, office parties, holiday soirées, and don't forget new year eve!

Some of you will be wearing your favorite BuenoStyle and OAK pieces with your outfits. So I want to see your fabulous photos!

Simply snap a photo of your fabulous self wearing your snappy holiday ensemble with your favorite BuenoStyle or OAK jewelry and send it to me. It doesn't matter if it's a group shot, couples shot, or just your fine self. The only rule is that the jewelry must be clearly visible in the shot.

My favorite shot will win this amazing OAK, One-of-A-Kind necklace and earring set worth $125.00!!!

The necklace was made using a vintage escutcheon (keyhole plate), and nickel free raw brass chain with faux pearl accents. The earrings go together with the necklace without being too "matchy matchy", and are hung from high quality gold filled ear wires.

This contest will run from now until January 15, 2010, so you'll have plenty of time to send me your christmas and new years shots.

*** Please note that by sending in your photos, you are allowing me to post them onto my blog, and I may also post it to my Facebook group.

email your shots to: info@buenostyle.com

I'm looking forward to checking out your holiday shots!

For all you broke-ass punks out there

2009-11-04T00:25:00.001-08:00

Check out the new under $20.00 section in my etsy shop!

Upcoming Markets in November and December

2009-10-26T11:45:00.001-07:00

Here's where you will find me selling my jewels this holiday season:

NOVEMBER:
Etsy Under the Big Top Sale
Saturday, Nov 21st 2009, 11am-6pm
Cambrian Hall - 215 E 17th Ave (just east of Main St.)

Portobello West
November 28th, & 29th, 12 to 6pm.
At the Rocky Mountaineer Station, 1755 Cottrell Street

DECEMBER
Got Craft
Sunday, December 6th, 11am - 5pm
Royal Canadian Legion
2205 Commercial Drive (@ E.6th Ave), Vancouver

Portobello West
December 12th, & 13th, 12 to 6pm.
At the Rocky Mountaineer Station, 1755 Cottrell Street

Mixed Metal Earrings - Fanfare

2009-10-24T13:35:00.001-07:00

Mixed Metal Earrings - Fanfare, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

See you at Portobello West Fashion and Art Market on Sunday October 25th!
www.portobellowest.com

I heart designers using sustainable materials

2009-10-20T19:27:00.000-07:00

While I was selling my jewels this past September at the Calgary Portobello West market, I got a chance to roam around a bit and discovered some great designers using eco-friendly/sustainable materials in their designs.

It's a theme close to my heart, as the developer of the Green Christmas Market here in Vancouver.

First up is the one I was most excited to see. Abeego! Designer Toni Desrosiers came up with the idea for a re-usable, sustainable, food-safe alternative to plastic wrap! She impregnates hemp/cotton fabric with natural beeswax. I bought some and it works like a charm. Just rinse off in cold soapy water after use - hot will melt the wax. Plastic is the devil and this makes it a little easier to get away from using it.

I also bought a snappy striped hat from Happy Planet Hats. They make super cute fabric hats with perfect little brims and they are all made with recycled fabrics. What's not to love?
Lastly, I totally heart Natalie Gerber bags! I got one of her evening bags at last years market, it's made from upholstery fabric off-cuts. This year, I was struck with these fantastic bags made from thrifted men's suits of all things. Even the tie is used!
Designer's like this are so inspiring to me. They're not just being eco because they are hand-making things, they are totally taking it to the next level by using sustainable materials. That's commitment.

Cici Clothing & BuenoStyle

2009-10-19T19:17:00.001-07:00

Well, I dropped the ball on this one, because the Cici Fall 2009 collection has been out for months now. But better late than never!

Jenny Yen is the lovely and talented designer for Cici clothing, and a friend of mine. Jenny's Fall 2009 collection was partially inspired by a romantic, 1920's feel and so she asked to borrow some pieces from my line for her catalogue shoot. Take a look at the lovely photographs from her collection - I think the BuenoStyle jewelry was a great fit for her line.

Chains & Roses necklace

2009-10-19T12:00:00.001-07:00

Chains & Roses necklace, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

BuenoStyle will be at Portobello West in Vancouver this October, 2009!
Portobello West:
Sunday, October 25th, 12 to 6pm. At the Rocky Mountaineer Station (1755 Cottrell Street)

Official Olympic Clothing Line Launch at The Bay

2009-10-05T11:29:00.000-07:00

I was working at my studio the other day, trying to catch up on a bunch of my retail orders when I heard on the radio that Dan Mangan and Sam Roberts were giving a free concert at the Bay downtown. Gah! At first, I wasn't going to go. Being your own boss is great, but if you do play hooky, you just don't get paid. I finally caved at the last minute and hurtled down there just in time to see the last 3 songs by Mangan. He ended with the robot song and a nice sing along with the crowd.

There was a ridiculously long sound check before Roberts came on. During which I felt my heart rip out of my chest upon hearing that I had missed the COWBOY JUNKIES play at 12:15!!! WTF?! How was anyone supposed to know about this? Was it a surprise? And how can I get on the mailing list for these events! I would have played hooky all day to see the Cowboy Junkies. Sheesh.

Anyway, the concert was in support of the launch of the official Olympic clothing line by The Bay. I have been a lover/coveter of vintage Canadiana for years and I was hopelessly drawn to the vintage Hudson's Bay Co. imagery. They also kind of lucked out because the look is very hot right now (lumberjack plaids, antlers/deer, toques).

Yes, The Bay (Hudson's Bay Company) is drawing heavily on their heritage logos, and it's a smart move. I was of two thoughts seeing the "Cowichan" sweater in the official Olympic merch line up. My first, emotional thought was, eff yeah! My immediate second thought was; wait - where are those sweaters made? My guess is China.

As it turned out, I checked a bunch of the labels on the official Olympic merch and a lot of it was indeed made overseas. But I was also pleasantly surprised to see several pieces that were indeed made in Canada. Like these hockey pucks, thank goodness! In fact, I asked one of the sales assistants if she could point out a few pieces that were made in Canada. She had no idea what I meant and I explained to her I wanted to buy pieces that were actually manufactured in Canada. She had to ask her supervisor. Her super listened to my question then graciously ran to check with his supervisor. He came back and pointed out one particular sweater that boasted a 'made in canada' hand tag directly on the garment.But, while I was waiting, I also found several chatchkas that were made in Canada (key rings, lanyards) sitting right next to he till.

The official word is the the collection is 25% made in Canada, and rest made offshore.

Politics aside, I have to thank The Bay for giving me a chance to get (this) close to wee little Sam Roberts in such a intimate crowd.

I knew he was not a tall man, but I'm sure most people's first thoughts when he graced the stage were; "wow - he's tiny". Yes, yes he is. And packed with so much charismatic talent - he's amazing to watch.

Get your Fall shopping on at two events this weekend!

2009-09-22T13:47:00.000-07:00

BuenoStyle is back from New York! I rummaged and pillaged the vintage bead warehouses and brought back some rare goodies to share with you. I'll be showcasing the new fall jewels at two different events this weekend:

I Heart Crafts:
Saturday Sept 26th, 11 am to 4 pm. At the WISE Hall (1882 Adanac St)

Portobello West:
Sunday, September 27th, 12 to 6pm. At the Rocky Mountaineer Station (1755 Cottrell Street)

Take a peek here for a small preview:

Hope to see you!

www.buenostyle.com

Autumn leaves

2009-09-21T19:03:00.001-07:00

Autumn leaves, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

Some of the new vintage treasures unearthed from the depths of New York city.

My commute . . . full of kitties . . .

2009-09-10T19:10:00.000-07:00

I just got back from New York and Toronto - a business trip to rummage and pillage all the vintage stock I could find. I stayed in the West Village in New York and it seemed like everyone has dogs there. I do really like dogs, but I really really LOVE kitties. It's weird, but I found I totally missed seeing cats while I was in New York.
In Vancouver, my commute to work involves walking about 10 blocks. And the best part about it is that there's a bunch of kitties that I may be lucky to see and pat along the way. I know most of them by name, and those I don't, i just make up names for them. That squinty one in the photo above? I call her Magnolia after the huge magnolia blossoms I first photographed her under.
These are the cats I know . . .
This is Mr. Mittens. (yes, that is his real name - I only wish I made that up)Liam - a Scottish Fold. A rare sighting, he tends to keep to himself.Liam's wife, and Mr. Mittens mom.
This is Bishop. I just photographed him today smiling in the sun. As we were chatting, another kitty-friend came round and flopped down.Then they had a little cat-fight. Then they were friends again.
This is Dom. You'll see him roaming around on Main St. Sometimes I invite him up to visit my studio. Lucky me!

Vintage bead warehouse

2009-09-04T06:43:00.001-07:00

Vintage bead warehouse, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

I'm in New York, rummaging and pillaging for new vintage goodies for new BuenoStyle and OAK jewelry. Stay tuned!

Cute Blog Alert!

2009-08-26T10:05:00.000-07:00

Lori over at So I Was Thinking . . . sent me a convo through etsy and let me know I've been featured on her Wordless Wednesday posting.

Very cute blog with some great links - I spent a little too much time toodling around on there.

She featured one of my new Sterling Silver Locket necklaces. Thank you Lori!

www.buenostyle.etsy.com

Collage Cluster Necklace - The Tudors

2009-08-18T12:54:00.001-07:00

Collage Cluster Necklace - The Tudors, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

I love watching the show The Tudors on CBC. Not so much for the history I'll admit, but for the jewelry and costumes. This new OAK necklace reminds me of some of the jewelry worn on the show.

See more images of this necklace here.
www.buenostyle.com

BuenoStyle Interview . . .

2009-08-12T10:15:00.001-07:00

Thank you to Christina at Akane for the nice write up on Buenostyle on her blog:. I never know what to say when someone interviews me, but she made me sound somewhat coherent!

Seattle Shenanigans

2009-08-10T19:58:00.000-07:00

I met Kellie Talbot when I was backpacking through Europe in 1994-ish. I was staying at a youth hostel in Paris and I saw her descendng the stairs wearing a Dinosaur Jr. T-shirt I walked up to her and said "Hi - I have the same T-shirt. Such a simple observation started a friendship that remains strong today.

We manage to get together at least once a year - Kellie and her husband John live in Seattle, only a 2.5 hour drive from Vancouver. The visits involve lot's of good food and drink and, more often than not, ridiculous shenanigans.

Kel and I are around the same age, so we have many similar pop culture touchstones (Dinosaur Jr. T-shirts being just one of them). This visit, she busted out her Breyer horse collection. If you were a girl in the 70's, you probably had one of these collectible horses, or wanted one. I only ever had one of these horse figurines, but I would spend hours drooling over the catalogue. So when Kell told me she had about 15 of these horse figurines languishing at her mom's house, I guess I got really excited. Apparently that motivated her to go pull them out of storage... YES!

It was lovely to re-visit these horse figurines, they really are well made and have beautiful details compared to mass-produced plastic toys today. But after the initial awe had worn off, we were kind of like, well, now what do we do with 15 horse dolls?

What indeed? Here's where it started.

And here's (after about 70 photos) where it ended...

Here's a shot of their neighbor's gimpy-cute dog - his name is Dojo (aka Lo-Jo). He's got a regular dog-sized head on a really small dog body.. Plus a backwards leg. He's the sweetest thing.
Kell and John have an open door policy when it comes to local urban wildlife. So the squirrels and blue jays come right in the house to get snacks. This is either "chip" or "chipolina" - I get them mixed up.

Oh. Yeah. And they have a pet duck.

Portobello East market!

2009-08-10T11:13:00.000-07:00

Those of you in Vancouver are no doubt familiar with the Portobello West Fashion and Art Market. Well, it's expanded now and I'm going to be selling my jewelry at the Portobello East market in Toronto at the end of August!

I get to visit a fantastic good friend of mine who moved out there last year. Plus I'm making a side trip to New York to visit the vintage bead warehouses in person! Gooooood times, I'll be coming back with lots of new goodies to play with for the fall and winter season.

Does anyone in TORONTO want to host a jewelry party on the 28th or 29th of AUGUST? It would be a "Portobello East Preview" and you & your friends could get first dibs on all my jewelry! Send me an email if you are so inclined; info@buenostyle.com.

www.buenostyle.com

Vancouver Folk Fest

2009-07-23T10:44:00.000-07:00

I go to Folk Fest every year. The music is not nearly as "folky" as the name implies, it ranges from world to folk to - well, this year Arrested Development closed the Friday night (Yes - they are still together!). Mostly I go down there with a bunch of friends, bring some bevvies and park it on the beach with a few thousand other people. It's pretty much the best people watching of the year. Aged hippies mix with earnest eco-youngsters, Kootenay queens, hoopers, families and people just generally letting their freak flag fly. The main stage faces out to the inlet and you can hear everything, just a wire fence separates those who paid to get in from those who sit on the beach for free.

Went down on Sunday by myself and it was lovely. I was leaning against the wire fence watching Veda Hille and others perform The Craigslist Contata, when a rather cut dude with gangsta tats walked straight up to me and offered me a free wristband to get into the festival. I was a bit confused. Me? (gingham summer dress)... taking a wristband from you? (tattoos, ripped, and SILVER TOOTH)?

Gah - OK - thanks!

So for the first time ever, I went *inside* the fence!
I'm happy to report that there is nothing but magic and unicorns and rainbows inside the perimeter of that wire fence. Also some more hula hoops, plus a beer garden. Pretty much heaven.

I had wanted to see The Great Lake Swimmers close out the Sunday night on the small stage - so - perfect!

Sorry about the crotch shot at the end. I don't know how to edit video on my computer!

www.buenostyle.com

Summer Blues Necklace

2009-07-22T22:59:00.001-07:00

Summer Blues Necklace, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

New styles for mid summer. Check out the etsy shop.

Etsy Visits Vancouver!

2009-07-15T09:54:00.000-07:00

Last night was the much anticipated Etsy meetup. Three people from etsy graced us with their presence; Matt, Anda and Etsy's Chief Executive Officer, Maria.

Matt and Anda are both old school etsyians who've been around for ages - Matt since the very beginning. Maria has been brought in more recently and it was impressive to hear her past credentials with Amazon.com and other big companies. I got to chat with all three visiting "dignitaries." Anda has that funny/quirky quality to her that I am always drawn to. She's got a great laugh and some amazing tattoos. Matt is the rockstar of etsy - he's charming, has great style and used to be in the band The French Kicks. And Maria was, of course, very business-like and professional in a laid back, likable way.

Overall, Maria did most of the talking, she's a very good public speaker and addressed each and every question thrown at her. It seemed to me that the general theme to be a bit on the defensive. She was emphasizing all of the changes that have been made, upcoming changes and new features. I guess there's been a lot of complaints/concerns.

Personally, I've never had many complaints with etsy. Maybe a few, years ago when it was first starting out. But I've mostly found it easy to use, easy to navigate and ridiculously affordable to set up a functioning on-line shop. Yay etsy!

It was a pretty good turnout, about 65 people all together. It was held at the super cute Cambrian Hall, where I put on the Green Christmas market last year. It has great light and the sun was streaming in all "aaaaaahhhhhhhhh" through the windows. Kind of church-like. Yessssssss, the church of etsy.

I ran out of the cute name tags I ordered from etsy's PacoKeko

and it was great to see some old friends and meet new crafty people.
Oh, and you are wondering where I the cute top - it's by Peel Designs and I got at at Dream.

Open Filigree Flower Vintage Locket Necklace

2009-07-08T15:06:00.001-07:00

Open Filigree Flower Vintage Locket Necklace, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

www.buenostyle.etsy.com

2009-06-30T11:18:00.000-07:00

One super fantastic thing about living in Vancouver is that you can cycling around all weekend & head to all the free stuff going on. I swear people who call Vancouver "No Fun City" just haven't been on a bike for a long time.

Two weekends ago, a bunch of us rode over to the west side for Greek Fest. Admission; Free. We managed to stuff our faces with souvlaki, beer, tiropita, baklava, tsatsiki, frapés and topped it all off with a rum ball or two. Free, no, but surprisingly affordable. The resulting belly ache was free though.
This past weekend was especially eventful because our good friend Jessica is gracing us with a rare visit. She's been in Kuwait and more recently Istanbul working as an international teacher and her last visit back was 3 years ago. It's been quite facinating to hear her stories and I've been bombarding her with questions about living in Kuwait as a western woman. Basically it blows. Istanbul is a much better fit for her.

Anywho... After consuming bacon and both breakfast and lunch, I loaned Jess my other bike and we headed off to Jazzfest in Gastown. Cost; Free. Ok, to be honest, there wasn't a whole lot of music we wanted to hang around for, we mostly heard the noodley-noodley jazz type of music that makes me cringe. So we grabbed a beer and met up with Jess's friend Mary - also an international teacher formerly based in Thailand.

It was such a nice day we decided to grab some bevvies and head to this little spot on a pier in Coal Harbour. As we were sitting there with our cocktails, a wedding party getting their photos taken stopped right in front of us.From June to September, you can go to any beach in Vancouver and you will be guaranteed to run into wedding parties getting photos done. I guess it happens in a lot of big, picturesque cities, but I've always found it odd, (yet entertaining).

The guy in the background is not looking impressed.

On Sunday, it was another nice day so we decided to ride to Third Beach via the classic ride around the Stanley Park seawall. Jess said it had been probably 7 years since she'd done that. Cost; Free.

As we're all laying there in various states of suntanning . . . suddenly a wedding party . . . getting their photos taken. Odd. But entertaining.

The Enormous Turnip

2009-06-24T18:38:00.001-07:00

The Enormous Turnip, originally uploaded by area thrifty one.

Everyone dressed like enormous turnips in the 1930s. Sadly, they don't anymore.

gratuitous puppy photos!

2009-06-23T22:57:00.001-07:00

teeny puppeh., originally uploaded by buenostyle.

I saw little guy last night on my way to my long-running girls night event.

He was so new, he didn't even have a name yet. They just brought him home that day.

Black and white

2009-06-23T22:51:00.001-07:00

Black and white, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

gratuitous puppy photos!

He REALLY liked my shoe and kept trying to chew it. Coincidence?.

www.buenostyle.etsy.com

Main St. Car Free Fest. It ruled.

2009-06-16T10:14:00.000-07:00

The Car Free Festivals are a somewhat new phenomenon in Vancouver. It started about 4 years ago on Commercial Drive and was such a huge success that they've migrated to other neighborhoods around the city. Streets are shut down to cars in 4 different 'hoods now.

Car Free Day happened Sunday June 14th and it was a blast! I didn't even get to see it all, as I was set up at 17th and Main for the Blim market along with about 40 other vendors selling my stuff. But with Main St. shut down from Broadway all the way up to 25th, there was crazy festiveness in the air and all the passerby's were in a fantastic mood!
I was happy to see Carol from Cheese and Chutney (and her lovely partner Keith) setting up beside me. I used to work with Carol one summer at the Farmer's Market. These days, she's making the cutest little "Cuddle Cups" - how adorable are these? She hand-throws them on the pottery wheel, and uses recycled wool sweaters to make the wee bands around the centre. You can't see it in the photo, but there's a textured area underneath the wool band so it won't slip off. Smart design. Plus, you can take off the wool cozie and pop it in the wash if you spill on it. These are a new item for Cheese and Chutney, so they're not available on-line yet. They ARE available at; Kingsmill Pottery Shop on Granville Island, 1620 Johnston St. They will also be at the Harmony Arts Fest in Ambleside, West Van, July 31st, August 1,2,3. Or you can email her at cheeseandchutney1@gmail.com.

The Blim market shut down at 6pm, but the Street Fest went until 8pm, so I was able to catch up with some friends, watch some live music and DJ's, and be entertained by some really wasted hipsters so ironic that one of them was on roller blades. They ended up on the pavement and started drawing on one of their friends with sidewalk chalk. Apparently it really tickles.

If you haven't come out to one of the Car Free Day neighbourhoods yet, try to come out next year. It's a great way to connect with the community, has great people watching and free entertainment. What's not to love?

www.buenostyle.etsy.com

BuenoStyle featured in Lou Lou Magazine!

2009-06-11T09:53:00.000-07:00

June 2009 Issue. Page 40.
It's a bit odd, because they made the necklace really small (it's actually a 30" long pendant necklace) and the bracelet really big!

www.buenostyle.etsy.com

It's official. Prizm's Spaceship Superstar has the dumbest lyrics ever.

2009-05-27T15:30:00.000-07:00

But don't trust me, read for yourself:

Every night is a different flight to a different galaxy
Do a sold-out show, then I hit the road in my starship limousine

Get so damned tired and uninspired doin' all these one night stands
It's a giant leap for Rock'n'Roll...but it's too much for just one man

I'm a Spaceship Superstar... gotta solar-powered laser beam guitar
I'm at the top of all the charts on Mars...I'm a Spaceship Superstar!

On Mercury, they're crazy about my stellar rock'n'roll
And I always sell out in advance at the Martian Astrobowl

The fans, they swarm like meteorites to our concerts on the moon
You should have seen us knock'em dead on Venus doin' all our favorite tunes

I'm a Spaceship Superstar...gotta solar-powered laser beam guitar
I'm at the top of all the charts on Mars...I'm a Spaceship Superstar!

If you'd care to view/hear the atrocity in person, click here.

Gorgeous vintage rhinestones & filigrees

2009-05-23T13:56:00.001-07:00

Gorgeous vintage rhinestones & filigrees, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

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

New Boutique - Ingenue!

2009-05-16T11:14:00.000-07:00

The neighborhood of West Broadway just got a little sweeter with the addition of Ingenue. Just opened at the start of 2009, Ingenue brings a little taste of Main St. & Gastown to Kitsilano.

Lovely proprietor Jennifer loves local designers and has stocked her shop with labels like Allison Wonderland, Dace, Erin Templeton, Elroy, Two of Hearts, and of course, moi!

I was dropping off an order there yesterday and I noticed she had this great window display set up with designers names on it - and there I was! I was so pleased I took a photo.

So go check out Ingenue if you are in the area. You can make an afternoon of it - strolling from MacDonald St down to Alma (there's a good thrift store on West Broadway just before Alma). Hungry? Go to Solly's for bagels or to Cafe Mumbai for an excellent Indian lunch.

Ingenue
2821 W. Broadway
Vancouver
604-716-5733

More shots from the Epic eco fashion show

2009-05-13T19:54:00.000-07:00

Pauline from the fantastic line Flora and Fauna sent along another link to some great images from the Epic eco fahion show taken by Yvonne Chew.

The focus was far more on the clothes than on the accessories (of course!), but if you look real close, you can see one of my necklaces on the model here:

EPIC - a good "green" time was had.

2009-05-11T16:35:00.000-07:00

Thanks to all of you who dropped by my booth at Epic and for all your lovely comments. (See more info on EPIC in the post below). The necklace shown above consists of a pair of vintage rhinestone clip-on earrings wired with a vintage rhinestone bow brooch to make one gorgeous cluster. Strung on grey glass faux pearls - many people thought they were the real thing. I'm glad I got a photo of this one because it was brand new and sold to a very nice lady that day.
For me, the highlight was the eco fashion show put on by Fashion High. It was fantastic to see so many talented, hip, fresh designers all choosing to use eco-friendly fabrics as their main medium.
Here's some pixs of my booth set up. On the bottom right are the new blingy key collection. It's my riff on those ridiculously expensive, jewel-encrusted Tiffany's keys that you see advertised everywhere.

Beside my booth were the lovely Basil and Blake from Inkspoon. I was impressed to learn that all of their garments are sewn and printed in Canada - the Kootenays to be exact.

And check out Granville Magazine online - they chose me as one of the top local designers to check out at the show!

BuenoStyle at EPIC this weekend!

2009-05-04T19:17:00.000-07:00

I'm excited about the upcoming "green living" expo EPIC this weekend. I've attended it in the past but this is the first time I will be exhibiting and selling there.

Now - you mat be wondering why is my jewelry considered in the "green" category? Mostly because I use as much vintage and reclaimed material as possible in my designs. By using what has already been produced years ago, my jewelry has a smaller "footprint" than purchasing something brand new. It hasn't taken any new energy to smelt the metal, no stones or metal have been mined from the earth. I love the look of natural stones (sea jasper, quartz, etc) but I will not use them in my designs because I have no idea how they have been quarried from the earth. Many semi-precious stones are mined in poorer regions such as Africa and South America and you have no idea how the workers are treated never mind the environmental impact.

And, generally speaking, I'm committed to eco-friendly practices and packaging. All jewelry items come packaged in recycled tissue and a cute gift bag. I had quite a dilemma about packaging acually. I was concerned that the little gift bags I was buying were probably made in China (sweatshop labour/shipping long distances) but I was adamant that I would not ever buy any plastic or cellophane packaging. Then someone pointed out that people will tend to save those little bags and re-use them instead of throwing them out. At least they won't end up in a land fill, so I decided to go with them.

I'm just starting to research further into ethical mining practices and have found this promising organization, and this great web site - both on ethical mining practices. I have yet to find any information on purchasing ethically quarried stones though.

Epic runs from Friday May 8 (1pm - 8pm) until Sunday May 10 (mother's day!). There will be fashion shows put on by Fashion High, and lots of inspiring green products to check out. Bring your Mom down and make a day of it!

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Etsy Front Page!

2009-04-30T19:23:00.001-07:00

Etsy Front Page!, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

Featured on the front page of etsy today!

Come down to Got Craft in Vancouver this Sunday, May 3rd to see more like this.

Royal Canadian Legion
2205 Commercial Drive
11am - 5pm

I missed getting a screen capture, so the image is courtesy of craftcult.com. if you have an etsy shop, they have wicked features like the "heart-o-matic", and you can search to see if you were featured recently on either the etsy Front Page, The Storque, or a Gift Guide.

OAK earrings grouping

2009-04-27T17:59:00.001-07:00

OAK earrings grouping, originally uploaded by buenostyle.

Check out these fresh OAK earrings at Got Craft this Sunday, May 3rd!

Royal Canadian Legion
@ 2205 Commercial Drive (at E. 6th Ave.), Vancouver, BC
11am - 5pm

The sublime lyrics of Leonard Cohen

2009-04-22T11:00:00.000-07:00

Well, they were the most expensive concert tickets I will probably ever buy, but it was so worth it.

The magnificent Leonard Cohen payed at GM Place last Sunday night (April 19th) and it was a beautiful evening indeed. I have never owned an album, never bought a CD or a book of Mr. Cohen's work. I believe I became a fan by absorption - by default of being a Canadian - and I was quietly astonished by how many of his songs and lyrics I actually knew and could sing along with during the show.

I wrote down the set list as he played and I can't believe I even knew the song titles to most of the songs! There's only 3 songs where I had to write down some lyrics and find out the song name after.

He brought me to tears more than once . . . during Hallelujah . . . during the spoken word piece 1000 Kisses Deep . . . and during If It Be Your Will with the divine Webb sisters singing angelic harmony.

Set List:
Dance Me To the End of Love
The Future
Ain't No Cure For Love
*(missed the 4th song due to a white wine break)
Bird on a Wire
Everybody Knows
In My Secret Life
Who By Fire
Chelsea Hotel
Waiting For The Miracle
Anthem
~ Intermission ~
Tower of Song
Suzanne
The Gypsy's Wife
The Partisan
Boogie Street
Hallelujah
I'm Your Man
1000 Kisses Deep
Take This Waltz
~ encore ~
So Long Maryanne
Then We Take Berlin
Famous Blue Raincoat
If it be Your Will
Democracy is Coming to the USA
I Tried to Leave You

There's many videos all over YouTube of this tour, but none of them really do the concert justice. I"ll leave you with the best one I found so far.

Vintage Score!

2009-04-09T14:27:00.000-07:00

I work with vintage costume jewelry pieces and rework them into One-of-A-Kind pieces for my OAK jewelry line. Living in Vancouver, it's almost impossible to find fantastic, reasonably priced pieces in good condition. So of course that means field-trips!

Last Tuesday I booked my first Zip Car (a Prius, naturally!) and picked up my good friend Stephanie Prins and hit the road to White Rock. It's a smaller city about a 35 minute drive from Vancouver, close to the US border and right on the ocean - which is my favorite part of going there. Any small city or town on the coastline immediately goes way up in my estimation. White Rock is full of lots of old people who drive real slow and it reminds me a little bit of my hometown, Victoria BC - which is on an island, and yes, surrounded by ocean.

Steph and I hit 3 thrift stores all within walking distance of each other. I would recommend Superfluity if you are looking for some serious chachkas . . . they had a fantastic collection of vintage glass dishes, china dishes, figurines, and ceramics. All very reasonably priced. I had heard about this thrift store a couple of years ago after a customer mentioned it to me. I always thought the name kind of odd - until I figured it out - it comes from superfluous!

1 a: excess , oversupply b: something unnecessary or superfluous

Ah.

The last shop we hit up turned out to be a gold mine in my books. I'm looking forward to working with all these lovely bits and pieces for my OAK line in the weeks to come. Check out that little owl - how cute is he? He had a manky piece of fur in his belly that was a bit creepy - I almost left him there. At the last minute I changed my mind and scooped him up. I've now taken the fur out of his belly and I will replace it with a pretty flower or perhaps a glass gemstone? Not sure yet. Keep posted!

Nature's cool. (or - "To see a world in a grain of sand")

2009-03-31T11:12:00.001-07:00

The natural world just blows my mind. Even just a walk in the woods is a source of amazement for me. The details in a curled fern frond, a spider spinning a new web, the colour of a bright orange fungus on a log. And these are things you can see just with the naked eye.

What's even more amazing are the things you can't immediately see with the naked eye. Like looking through a microscope at the intricate details of each single snowflake, or the fractal-like branches of leaf veins.I think it's incredible how the macro images of nature are reminescent of the micro images.
Check out this Google earth image of a dry riverbed in Sahara in northern Algeria; That image was taken from a satellite in outer space! How does that NOT blow your mind!

And check out this Google Earth image of the San Francisco Bay salt marshes:
You could frame this image and hang it in your abode. Gorgeous.

I'm convinced that the natural world is a secret and magical world - and it's good to remind yourself about that once in a while.
To see the world in a grain of sand
And to see heaven in a wildflower,
Hold infinity in the palm of your hand
And eternity in an hour.
~William Blake.

Don't miss the season opener of Portobello West this weekend!

2009-03-24T10:36:00.000-07:00

Designers and customers alike are all abuzz about the big opening weekend of Portobello West Fashion and Art Market this weekend! Come join over one hundred of talented, BC-based designers, artists and like-minded people. There hasn't been a market since mid-december and everyone is starting to jones for their monthly fashion and art fix.

BuenoStyle will be showcasing some brand new designs for 2009 including the hand-painted Patina collection.

Make a day of it; there's fantastic gourmet hot dogs, teas & coffes, and the best crepes in Vancouver. Support your local economy!

Saturday, March 28, 2009 12:00pm - 6pm
Sunday, March 29, 2009 12:00pm - 6:00pm
Rocky Mountaineer Station
1755 Cottrell Street
Vancouver, BC
www.portobellowest.com

Etsy Spring Fling Sale this Saturday!

2009-03-18T16:08:00.000-07:00

If you live in Vancouver, come on down to the cute Cambrian Hall this Saturday for the Etsy Spring Fling Sale.

Over 25 Vancouver-based independent designers & artists will be showcasing their hand made wares.

I'll have a whole bunch of sale items including one-offs, samples and older stock!

Earrings: $5- $10.00!
Necklaces & bracelets from $15.00!

Plus you can check out my new items for Spring 2009 including the Patina collection.
Saturday March 21st
Cambrian Hall; 215 E 17th (@ Main)
11am - 5pm

How To: Antique brooch into pendant necklace

2009-03-04T12:24:00.001-08:00

Welcome to a new BuenoStyle feature - random tutorial of the month!

This month, I will show you one method of turning an antique or vintage brooch into a pendant that you can then turn into a necklace.

If you raid your mother's or grandmother's jewelry box, no doubt it yield up some lovely vintage or even antique brooches. Another source is of course antique stores or, if you are lucky, thrift stores.

The piece I worked with for this project was found in an antique store in Revelstoke, BC. Yes, there is a place called Revelstoke in British Columbia. Gotta love this province!

When I bought this Victorian era brooch, it was missing the back pin, but still had the hinge and hook assembly where the pin would have been attached to.

Your brooch you choose to work with will probably still have the whole pin section intact. Generally speaking, I prefer to get rid of the pin assembly all together when I make a pendant/necklace. Usually, I can use nipper pliers to cut off the pin assembly, but on this antique brooch the metal and solder was very hard. I had to turn to the SAW!

Do not be afraid of the jewelers saw! It looks evil and scary but it can be your best friend! I didn't even know you could easily saw through metal until I took a jewelry techniques class recently. You can find this style of jewelry saw at any jewelry specific supply places. I got this one at Habson's here in Vancouver. You'll need blades too; tell the staff what you need them for and they can walk you through which blades to buy and how to load the blades correctly.

The only thing you need to be aware of is the blade is SHARP and can quickly do some damage if you accidentally start sawing your skin instead metal. I was confident enough to saw the back off using my bare fingers - but you may want to use a ring clamp to hold your brooch. A ring clamp is an inexpensive easily adjustable clamp that will quickly become your "go-to" tool if you decide to do much sawing or filing of metal.

The thing to remember about sawing metal is that you need to let the blade do the work. This means do not white-knuckle it! Keep the handle of the saw lightly firm in your hands, and do not push the blade forward. Just keep it moving in a light but firm up and down motion. The blade's teeth only go in one direction, so it's the downward stroke that actually cuts. You may want to practice on a sample piece of metal until you've got the feel for a nice easy rhythm.

Once you have the back brooch assembly cut off, you'll need to turn to another inexpensive jewelers tool - the file. I picked up this tiny set at Habsons for about $12.00. It has small files in different shapes and roughness. You'll just want to file off any of the rough edges that the saw blade has left. The trick with filing is not to crank the file blade back and forth, the "teeth" only go in one direction, so just move the surface of the blade forward firmly and evenly over the surface.

Let me back up a bit here and point out that whatever brooch you choose to work with should have some obvious way of attaching wire or jump rings to it. With my brooch, there were small openings in the top and bottom that I could manoever some 24 guage wire into and create loops for hanging.

So the thing you want to look for in a brooch (at least with this method) are some type of open areas to use as an attachment point for wire or jump ring - there's two examples in the top row here. The top upper left brooch has open areas on the top and bottom - making it perfect for an asymmetrical necklace. The shiny gold bow brooch in the top row had several open areas on the back of the brooch, making it very easy to attach jump rings.

I decided to make my antique brooch into more of a pendant necklace partly because it was so delicate, and partly because it had already one loop in the centre bottom that would be perfect for hanging this vitnage red glass briolet from.

Ok - so you find your areas to wire wrap or put jump rings through and then you are ready to go. Use whatever design best fits your brooch. If it's a funky chunky 80's brooch, don't afraid to go with some bold chain and over the top faux pearls, etc.

If you want to learn how to make a wrapped loop - there is a great step by step tutorial here.

Here's the finished OAK necklace. If you'd like to see more of my One-of-A-Kind (OAK) creations, check out this link.

If you are interested in the idea of remaking vintage jewelry into something new and intriguing, check out this craftypod review of a book called Vintage Redux. I bought it recently and there's a lot of good ideas in there.

Happy creating!