wishing that this was my view

but unfortunately not, a last minute reno situation and one of us had to stay in town.  the kids went up with j to the cottage for one last hurrah before school starts.  my nose is in my pile of work and hoping to have a bit of a break sunday, maybe a long walk with an iced latte in hand.

I miss them

I hope you will enjoy this last summer long weekend and have a great start to a new school year.

xxa

when you're living through a reno, it's not easy and you dream about sleeping and waking up and it's all done. everyday there's progress and it moves fast sometimes and other times it feels so slow, but I'm hanging in and know that the end result is so worth all of this.  the walls are put up on the third floor electrical is put in and the roof is covered and done, the next step is the inspections, spray foaming the walls and ceiling, putting up the drywall and installing the floors.  I was hoping the kids would have their rooms by school starting. the kids are over the moon about going back to school and having a routine again.

the images above is lliam's room and the opening is a door to a small deck. also on this floor is piper's room, a study and a bathroom. when we planned the third floor we were thinking ahead to the teenage years and wanted a floor just for them and their friends.

our most popular bags are the day bags and the small day bags have been selling all summer long and it's a perfect bag for just the essentials, so I made them with the new TOTEM and BURE prints.  I will also have these prints on other products soon.  I actually made the bure print a bit smaller on this bag (accidentally) even though I do like how they turned out I am doing a new screen with the scale similar to the pocket pouches.  so I will have the bure print in the smaller scale available for a limited time.

I've been swamped with work lately, more than usual and I've been going to bed every night at 3:30-4 am and getting up around 9 am and it's killing me, but the piles of work isn't getting smaller so I have to just keep motoring along.  so I will try to visit here as often as I can, but there will be a few days I might not be here.

renos are going well, but I long to scrub this place, there's a constant layer of dirt on everything.

just a heads up that on the weekend I will have a back to school giveaway on instagram

hi there
I hope you had a lovely weekend.
our weekend started with a craft show and ended with a craft show.  I am coming to the realization, that it's physically demanding and even though when you're doing it, it's fun, but the take-down and set- up is hard. I fantasize of having a crew like bands do and they do everything and you show up and do your performance and they take care of everything when you're done.  yesterday at the pedestrian sunday in kensington it was so vibrant and fun and it made me feel so lucky to live so close to this amazing part of the city.  I busted my butt on saturday and stayed up till almost 4 am (crazy) to get ahead and it paid off, I won't be so behind today. I tell you, I have to re access what I do to make it sustainable and long lasting so I don't get burnt out.

this most recent commission j finished is this beautiful long narrow bench for sam james coffee is a real stunner.  I had a bit of difficulty photographing it because it was so large, I hope to take photos of it in situ. but these photos do give you a bit of a reference to the structure and details.  a third leg structure was added in the centre for extra strength.  I don't know if you can tell in the photos but it has a slight curve and it's not completely straight.

I will be busy this week getting things ready before we head to the cottage so I wish you a great start to your week!!

xxa

I hope you can come visit us tonight at the junction flea - part of the junction design crawl, it's sure to be a fun evening.  I get to have j with me at the booth which is always nice.  I hope to see you there.

also on sunday if you're in kensington market - come say hi to us and crown flora out front of the kid icarus shop - there will be great deals!!

have a wonderful weekend!

is it only one more week and the kids go back to school - yikes!

this summer went by way too quickly

see you monday xxa

I absolutely adore these new prints and that gold is just amazing. I'm not use to putting that kind of ink colour and it's such a nice change.  I will be doing the opposite colour ways on each of the prints and I will also have these prints on the other products we make.  I was just too excited to show you the new prints I thought I would give you a peek. 

the new prints are called BURE and TOTEM printed on my new favourite shape - the pocket pouch

lately it's been so hectic here with having the kids home and the renovations and studio work and I was really missing the joy of sketching out ideas and carving blocks to print.  I am excited for the new year, a new studio space, new living spaces and I feel like I can spread my wings and I'm excited to see what will happen.  I think I'm just missing making work just for fun and not worrying about having to sell it.

I hope you had a fantastic weekend

all of a sudden the summer weather came back - I was a bit nervous last week when a sweater was required when going out.  I love after dinner walks when there's still  a bit of light and the neighbours water their gardens and the smell of bbq still lingers in the air.  your walking and your skin is damp and sticky from the little bit of heat in the air - summers in this city is amazing.

we had been busy all weekend getting wholesale orders out, my deadline for any orders is the end of this month, so that I can have my full attention for the fall/winter craft shows.

the hot weather calls for crisp vegetables for dinner and trying our best not to turn on the stove, we had a great time yesterday at the CNE, it's becoming a yearly tradition.  the kids especially enjoyed themselves, piper had her face painted by the same lady who painted her face at harbourfront centre when we went to their circus event - I feel sometimes that toronto is like a small town - what's the likely hood? 

I really like the look of stamping the prices rather than my fast scribbles on the tags, I like the meditative nature of these tasks, I am really excited about my new prints, I've already printed them (will show you tomorrow) - I love doing new images, I get so excited that I literally do a happy dance when I lift the screen.

have a great start to your week and I will have more to share later on.

xxa

the weekend is here and even though we worked so hard, why is there still so much more to do?

the third floor is taking shape, I really liked the openness, but it's now time to create the interior walls and get the bathroom installed.  the kids are really excited and it's hard not to want to make our bedroom on this floor.  on monday we are going to the CNE which has become a yearly tradition and I know that the summer is nearing an end when the fair rolls into the city.

I finally had a chance to make a few indigo dyed totes.  it's really lovely the variations of patterns on each one and all so equally beautiful.  I will be dyeing again on the weekend to keep my inventory up, I think these will be a hit, since I love them so much.  I also made some more of the large oblong pouches, they sold out so quickly last week and I finally had a chance to restock.

have a fantastic weekend and get outside and enjoy this weather before it's gone!

xxa

for as long as I've known j he's always made these yummy biscuits (his grandmother's recipe), he's combined in the mixture with herbs, cheese, cinnamon and my favourite plain with butter.  he baked these ones while we had dinner and piled fruit inside while the biscuit was still hot.

while christina works hard helping us out in our studio, she is working on developing her own work 

they first launched at the junction flea a few weeks ago and she now has them available online

the work features her own drawings, I think her love of nature is evident.

early next month there will be a city of craft trunk show at the bookhou shop and you will see more of christina's work there, more info on this show soon.

j and I will be designing some new pieces with the smaller hand blown bell jars, more images soon.

hi everyone

I hope you had a lovely weekend - we sure did - I wanted to highlight a bit of our weekend via instagram, there was extra time spent with the kids making up for the week they were away, they sure didn't mind all the extra attention.  by the weekend j was back to his old self and on the mend so he was anxious to get out of the studio too.  friday we went with my sister and her family to check out taste of the danforth, umm bad mistake. there were moments that it felt like a good idea but the crowds were insane and I think that I would prefer sitting in one of the danforth restaurants and enjoying a quiet meal instead of battling crowds and waiting in huge line ups for food, but the kids enjoyed the concept. we checked out the junction flea and it was nice going as a visitor, so much more relaxing than feeling the panic that you have to go back to your booth. we ended the weekend enjoying a meal with j's sister and catching up, it's always great going to her place because she has two kids lliam and piper's age and they are fully entertained while we hangout. she lives near dutch dreams so we headed there after dinner.

I can't believe the kids go back to school in three weeks, I feel like this summer is slipping away -yikes!

I hope you have a great start to your week!

xxa

I hope you had  a great week - we have been excited about the progress of the renovations 

and in the studio we decided to change the design of the large pouches and make a bigger oblong version, my new favourite shape.  I also have it available in the indigo that I should you last week.

this weekend I will also be finalizing some new images - so excited!

I realized that there's only a few weeks or so till school starts, wow the summer is flying by.

have a fantastic weekend friends!!!

xxa

so far the renovations are progressing nicely - the sub-floor is now installed after much of the roof has been removed - next today is removing the angled roof to create the dormer - the kids have been at their grandparents this past week and upon their return they will be really excited to see the transformation of their living spaces.

once they are done the third floor they will begin on our studio spaces and the outdoor deck.

so excited!!

one of the first bags I ever made was from denim - I will have to find one and photograph it. it had hand embroidery on it and I have always loved the look of denim (such a classic fabric) I was really excited to receive this quality denim for cone (a company based out of north carolina).  you saw me use a bit of the denim with the indigo dyed pieces.

so I used the denim in the field bag design and it suits it really well - the fabric has no seam on the bottom and since it has a great selvedge I used that on the end of the bag, allowing no need for a lining. this bag is a bit slimmer than the original field bags making it a perfect scale for your daily adventures.

you can find the FIELD BAG - INDIGO DENIM here.

I've been doing research on wildflowers in ontario - I will post more pictures as this develops.

all images from the wildflowers of ontario website

photos courtesy of margie oomen (resurrection fern)

hello everyone,

I wanted to quickly pop in and say hello, it's a holiday today in ontario and all orders will ship out tomorrow.  we normally go to the cottage on the civic holiday long weekend, but the opportunity came up to do the junction flea plus j was not well so we stayed in the city. since I was busy with show prep and on my own - we decided the kids would have more fun being spoiled all weekend by their grandparents.  

thank you to everyone who made it out to the flea - it was great seeing you all !!!
I was hoping to take photos of the surroundings, but was too busy and margie was kind enough to send over some of her photos for me to use (she always has a camera on her) - I will have to return to the brickworks with j and the kids.  I really enjoyed myself and will probably be doing the next brickworks junction flea.  if you're interested in doing the show you should contact them.

p.s. last photo is crown flora's booth - they have been doing the flea since the beginning and never missed a date.

have a great start to your week 

xxa

hello friends

as usual the week has flown by and prep is underway for the junction flea show on sunday.  I will have some great deals so I hope you will be able to visit.  I will also have different pouches (above) for sale too.  I have only 12 that I listed online - they will be for sale today 12pm EST - please go here for a preview and more details.

I really enjoy doing patchwork - for me it's very meditative.

I look forward to not getting up so early tomorrow, since the tradespeople won't be here.

have a fantastic weekend and come say hi at the evergreen brickworks if you're on the east side of town

xxa

I always like to look at things around me and find beauty and texture on the surfaces

after the end of the work day I went to take photos of all the piles of debris from the roof, our building was built in 1880, oh the life this building must of seen and now more changes.  I also wanted to mention that they have taken most of the roof off and now we have leaks in certain areas of our place from the rain last night, but hopefully they can resolve it today.