the arterie: Etsy

Showing posts with label Etsy. Show all posts

23 September 2011

54 - friday favourites: soft & feminine Etsy notes

for this week's friday favourites, i am essentially recycling an Etsy treasury i recently curated featuring a number of my favourite Etsyians and independent designers (a handful of which are also local & Canadian!). i have been so focused on my studies this week that i have not spent much time browsing the interweb, although i always manage to find time to participate in the Etsy community (while it obviously serves as a distraction in ways that are both productive and unproductive, i also think it helps to ground me). i can't seem to stop looking at this collection of lovelies, i think because it plays to the girl in me, which often emerges in surprising and unpredictable ways. while i have traditionally been drawn to earthy, warm, and neutral tones, i am opening myself up more and more to a range of pastels that i find to be a certain kind of feminine, mostly nudes and roses and blushes with soft undertones. they seem to strike a chord deep inside me that i am unable to resist! so instead, i have been embracing these softer notes...

top row: softer notes dress from fashion loft / small feather globe necklace by Another Feather / satin and power mesh Greta bra by Fortnight Lingerie / porcelain necklace by Lila Ruby King

second row: "Kristina" print of an original illustration by Montreal artist Paule T.B. / Blusher bridal veil from Twigs & Honey / "Iceland Morning Mist" photographic print by Carol Fletcher / Simone feather garter by Noemiah

third row: endless summer tote from Fieldguided / Wheel thrown stoneware votive by Sara Paloma / "Pas Si Simple" photo by Mariam Sitchinava / vintage cream leather moccasins from Marie's Vintage

bottom row: lace and linen zipper pouch from Hello Violeta / Irma Vep wrap dress by Alexandra Grecco / "Cliffs" circular photo by Marco Suarez / vintage pink ironstone dishes from xoUda

and as always, have a lovely weekend! i'm taking a break from studying to spend mine with andrew.

xo

14 September 2011

48 - a love letter to fortnight

after a morning meeting and an afternoon of running school and research-related errands, i opted to relieve my stress by going on a hunt to a local department store for Canadian designed and made Fortnight Lingerie, whose sophisticated, luxurious, and vintage-inspired undergarments recently stole my heart. much to my surprise, i found a small collection from last season's line (dramatically reduced to sale prices!) casually hidden amongst the new fall displays. even from a distance, the clean lines, soft hues, and touch of vintage glamour were unmistakable! i nearly gasped out loud with satisifaction and delight at my discovery -- actually, i think i might have. with the kind of luck you want to safekeep for moments like this one, i found a good selection of items in my size. trying them on was like sliding on a glass slipper. all the reviews and feedback i had read online were absolutely correct: Fortnight is made for real women, fitting your body in all the right places; their bras are the most comfortable you were ever wear; and the fabrics and cuts make you feel incredibly sexy while still providing hard looked-for support. feeling like a vintage princess (a term i use selectively, as i am hard-pressed to call myself a princess), i came home with the Elizabeth partial bra and satin/mesh high waist knickers, the Rita low rise lace knickers in both black and white, and the Rita lace long line bralette in white (somehow i don't mind sharing these intimate details...).

founded in January of 2010 by head designer Christina Remenyi, Fortnight is a Toronto-based company that designs and hand makes sophisticated, vintage-inspired intimates from lace, mesh, and satin in a wide range of sizes that actually fit. combining glamour, comfort, and versatility, their designs are seductive and timeless, with the kind of quality that makes you want to fill your drawers with them to wear every day.

the collection is available in exclusive boutiques across Canada and the US, as well as in the Fortnight etsy shop (where a small selection of lovelies are currently on sale!). they are more than helpful and accomodating with sizing, and the risk of buying such gorgeous intimates without being able to try them on is definitely worth it (having been properly sized in a boutique, i found the bras to be "true to size," but had to size up in all styles of the knickers, fitting best in a medium where i usually where a small).

click here for the 2012 collection teaser.

18 July 2011

31 - nova lily!

i'm so exicted to share that as of friday, i finally opened the nova lily shop! over the next few weeks (and months), i will slowly be adding new items as it continues to grow and take shape. it feels amazing to have finally taken the leap and planted root.

in celebration, i am happy to offer a 10% grand opening discount. simply enter coupon code: NOVA10 at checkout. coupon expires at the end of july.

all items are available in the nova lily - handcrafted jewellery & artful goods Etsy shop.

you can also follow nova lily on facebook for info and updates.

17 April 2011

11 - time wasting experiment

as i prepare to re-launch the arterie [blog] after nearly a year hiatus, i am left thinking not just about the passage of time, but about how we both spend and waste time. granted, since i last posted i completed, defended, and submitted a master's thesis on representations of the cancerous body in medical discourse and contemporary art; packed up my apartment in two weeks and drove across the country in a bush-ready 1995 Jeep YJ pulling a U-Haul trailer with my partner and our cat -- an extended adventure during which we broke down in the Canadian prairies three times; arrived in Montreal in an empty apartment the day before i started my PhD with none of my belongings while also having to part from my boyfriend and best friend, who was starting a forestry program in our home province of Ontario, for a year of long-distance after five years of living together and intimately sharing each other's daily lives; and successfully completed a year of graduate coursework in art history in addition to serving as co-president of my department's Graduate Student Association (GSA) as well as a member of our conference committee (The Indiscernible), and preparing submissions to conferences and journals. in the midst of all this craziness, i have somehow found time to pursue my love and the art of making things by hand with the goal of launching my Etsy shop(s) in May 2011. and yet, despite all of these achievements (i am still apprehensive to call them that), i still feel like i have wasted time. like i could have done more, been more productive and focussed and less distracted. or, in perhaps doing too much, i could have taken better care of myself or achieved that truly unattainable thing: balance.

and so this brings me to the real topic of this post: Alyson Provax's brilliant time wasting experiment, an ongoing project in which the artist documents the exact time wasted on various activities and non-activities in a series of letterpress prints. driven by a "compulsion to always be doing things and producing objects," -- one that i full heartedly share -- she also conceives of the prints as permission slips allowing us to thoughtfully spend periods of time in wasteful ways. in other words, it is ok to spend time thinking about nothing or working through overwhelming and even embarrassing emotions. sometimes we need to be able to do "nothing" and not feel bad or guilty about it. there is, after all, unparalleled magic in daydreaming and imagining. it's how ideas take root.