Pictures and Purchases!

It's actually my Birthday today! But, I have had a stomach bug for the past few days. It's been a little too long to be food poisoning. I had big plans to go to Centre Island and fulfill my childhood dream of riding 4 person bike and canoeing. But, it's raining as I type! :( I also wanted to go out for a massive sushi dinner - but, it's ruined by my stomach problem. So sad! :/

But, I managed to finish all the sample products for my Men's accessory line called, Dandy! :) I have a meeting with a popular Goth store on Queen Street West this Tuesday with the Owner and Buyer. My only concern is that I will desperately need to break my supply binge for the month of August because I need more black bird skulls. I need enough for more cuff links and necklaces. I also ran out of silver chains prematurely. I really under estimated just how much coverage I would need to cover two consignments and a craft show in September.

I'm actually going to be at the Creative Heart Collective Craft Show at The Gladstone Hotel September 18th. If you are in Toronto, please, feel free to drop by and chat! :)

I have also finished a new range of items which include hair slides and teeny brooches. It'll be posted in my next post! I promise. I will also begin updating my Etsy like mad in the coming days. I know I have been posting a lot of products but never listing. Sorry! I promise to get to it soon! I'll post my complete Men's Collection soon. :)

I have always been really bad at styling my hair. Haha. But, now that I am growing it I have decided to try my hand at braiding. Not bad. I added my H&M flower headband for a Mori and Natural-Kei touch. I'll be updating more outfit posts, too!

My mom made me a Toadstool hat one Christmas. I love it to death and it looks great with braids!

My new apartment is close to so many vintage stores. One notable one is, I Miss You which specializes in 1980's-1970's and under high end vintage. I found this gorgeous leather bag for a mere $25 and it fits my iPad 2! :D

Another vintage store I would recommend is called CTS which is a short form for Canadian Thrift Stores. Their tiered pricing system actually makes things more at a thrifty value then a market value. Many vintage stores in Toronto price their items based on trends and market value. CTS defies this - I got this skirt for $12.99. It's a dropped waist with pintucks, clung lace, ruffles, and cream cotton. It's absolutely perfect for Mori Girl.

So, has anyone made any recent VINTAGE purchases? If so, what? I'd love to see your stuff!

Blogged from my iPhone

Heavy Heart and Purchases

I have finally been feeling the effects of losing a close friend. A best friend for that matter. But, in many ways my life is a lot more simpler and it’s a lot more suitable for my introvert personality. I like placid days of just ‘Me’ time. There’s less drama, less heartbreak of seeing someone intentionally want to hurt themselves with their relationship, and a lot less things to worry about in terms of responsibilities. At the same time sometimes I feel like I am losing it without some piece of her close to me. I think I really lost something and I’m really too stubborn to fully acknowledge it. But, I don’t think it will ever be the same for a little while - she has changed too much even though she may not acknowledge it. That change is the true beast rearing it’s head and I want no part in such pettiness. 

I have been slowly working on my June Collection. But my heart weighs heavily on the fact Canada Post is still on strike and lockdown. I really hope it ends soon - I just sent out an update to all buyers on their items (be it stuck somewhere in Canada or has yet to be sent). It reminds me too much of my York University strike two years ago where students like myself were barred from classes for almost 6-7 months because the Teaching Assistants went on strike. It actually makes me a little depressed thinking about it. I really feel intimidated by strikes and the rallying crowds. I’m sure everyone has their causes but don’t try to get me to join in as it’s not my fight. 

I cheered myself up with a new dye job. I am now somewhere between an ash brown and old remains of my fiery red hair.

And, I went shopping for more supplies. I am the biggest supply hoarder ever. I went to one of my favourite stores (which I live rather close to now). MOKUBA is a Japanese lace trim and notion store and everything they carry is made by their company in Japan. I am in love with pastels right now and you’ll see lots of it in my new June Collection. It’ll also included clothes! This isn’t the only lace I bought either…I’ll do a separate post on that later. 

I have had people ask me why my items are so expensive (I don’t think they are). Well, this is one of the reasons why. I use very very high quality lace. It’s either from Mokuba, heirloom American lace, out of production laces or one-of-a-kind vintage. Mokuba costs me an arm even with my business discount and I don’t compromise. I only go for the best. While, my vintage laces (some which are out of product laces) can never be found again. 

With such limited quantities and amount of time it takes to hand sew (I don’t glue anything unless it can’t be sewn on) my pendant pieces - why should I charge myself under? Also, keep in mind if a pendant necklace takes 2-3 hours to make and the Canadian minimum wage is $10.25/hour then it’ll cost a LOT more then some worker in China making $2 a day. This is the value of handmade and quite frankly to have it not done in a sweatshop means you have to pay the prices. 

I also bought a dress in Chinatown. My close friend, Em, bought a dress different from mine. Looks heavenly on her! I hope we can have an outfit shot of both soon. This was a little more pricy then I’d like to admit but it was so different from the sickening clusterfucks of floral on floral in the store. Plus, I am a huuuuuuuge sucker for flowy georgette and chiffon. I like simplicity with chiffon. It fits me like a glove and looks perfect. I can’t wait to wear it out. I only have another green dress in this tone and for some reason this color looks really nice on my tanned skin. :) 

And, now I leave you random pictures with their explanations below. 

Bubble shorts I was considering on purchasing. Em bought the black pair.

Strange bird eating an apple core in front of my building. I have yet to identify it.

A picture of me waiting for Em to get dressed for a Lolita Meet we never made it too. My eye might not look irritated much in this picture but it got irritated that day because I got gel liner stuck to my contacts...

Brand-spanking-new handmade headpiece! Sparrow Skulls! Finds!

The weather has been absolutely horrible here in Toronto. Hot, cold, hot, cold, rain…and I hear there’s going to be snow on Monday. Seriously, it’s mid-late April and we are getting SNOW?! 

I don’t get it. My program has been all about global warming and how weather patterns / phenomenon such as El Nino and El Nina dictate these shifts yet I still am unable to believe just how directly it effects everyone.  This also means a late growing season for farmers and it’ll effect so many things. I can’t grow my edible flowers yet because I’m too afraid to let them grow outside and starting them inside with such dreary weather doesn’t get my hopes up, either.

That aside, I’ve been out of town and away from my studio due to a slight emergency. But, as always I’ve dragged most of my immediate portable materials with me and I whipped up a headpiece two nights ago (along with a few necklaces but I didn’t take pictures). Currently, I am working hard at expanding my collection for the meeting I have with a local boutique owner this coming Friday. I hope she likes my stuff and buys/carries it at her store!

It’s so beautiful. I can’t bear to part with it unless offered a small fortune. :) It’s very Dolly-Kei and I can’t wait to coordinate it. I really love the warm copper charms I imported which add to the overall warmth and richness of red accents and the red wool bow. 

I begin with a brief laying out of what I prospectively want the headpiece to look like.

I don’t sleep for a whole night working on things like this and at 7-8 AM the sun shines.

I bless my items with the first rays of sunshine. Haha. Then photographing commences. 

On another note, I also got my custom order of plastic casted sparrow skulls from an across the border taxidermist after literally almost 2 months of waiting. It was a long and somewhat tedious wait but well worth what I got. I really wish I had gotten most of the skulls drilled because they look really awesome as necklaces. What do you guys think? 

Also, made a nice find at Dollarama recently. I’ve been desperately looking for millenary branches with buds - I tried Queen West, Fabricland…but was then recommend Michael’s. I found exactly what I was looking for at Dollarama instead - with at least 5 colortones in a huge branch for a mere $1. Score! I left with pale green and cream buds.

Dolly Kei Swap - Finished Handmade Items and More!

Dolly Kei Swap items: the elusive Baroque HUE tights, handmade headpiece and handmade upcycled aboriginal hunted fur with removable bow and chains. 

I finally completed my Dolly Kei Swap items! My besfriend, Aya has been looking for those HUE tights since we saw it on the Anthropologie website. We've tromped though some of Toronto's best and high-end legging stores in Yorkville (3-4 stores to be exact) and never found it. It wasn't until we went to the iconic Bay on Queen-Yonge that we found a few pairs. Aya, Em, and I bought them out. Scary - herd mentality among friends. I bought two pairs: one for my Swap partner because she wanted tights and since we seemed to have similar tastes I went ahead with the purchase. It was a really really good sale. (You'll hear this a lot on here because it's my sad attempt to justify my spending habit). 70% off the original price. These are expensive and limited edition tights so it was really worth it. 

I just finished her headpiece since she liked Mori Girl (like myself) I thought a small and subtle headpiece would be good for both Dolly and Mori Girl. Finally, the epic fur tail. She requested for accessories and wouldn't mind fur. It's upcycled fur - it's not new nor vintage. It's aboriginal-hunted and it's a true wild fox. I cut the tail in half and gave her the top part. I hope she likes it. She stated maroon as one of her favorite colors. Since, I like that color too I had really expensive Mokuba (Japanese-imported) ribbon with a medieval feel, made a rose, and added some Dolly Kei-esque charms and viola! Done. The bow and chain is removable so she can use it in her Classic Lolita outfits, too. Versatility is key to whatever I make. 

Here are some close-ups of the handmade items:

 

And...some pictures of the process of making my flowers:

I hung out with a friend and we went to Zara. He ended up buying a pure leather jacket for a awesome price of $59.99 - so jealous! I bought that pink top and the teddy bear top on sale, also. $6 and $10, respectively. The skirt was an early 2011 buy for $10 at H&M which I knew I could coordinate into Dolly Kei. Oh, and there are my pair of Baroque tights by HUE from The Bay. 

 Lastly, a picture of my coordinate for yesterday. I toned down the eyeliner and I forgot to put on my glasses as I had by sister take this picture with my iPhone before she went to work. Tehehe. I have a fatty face and I'm beady eyed without my glasses. One thing I can say about this coordinate is that playing with 5 colors in Mori Girl is hard.

Headpiece: Handmade by Marionette - my brand 

Cardigan: Costa Blanca

Necklace: Handmade by Marionette - my brand 

Ruffled Lace Top: Shopruche.com

Long Shirt Dress: Shopruche.com

Skirt: Pmall

Belt: H&M

Tights and Boots: Aldo

Le Petit Pig Pins + Consignment

Credit: From Le Petit Pig

I remember selling at the rather under-selling Bazaar of the Bizarre and being approached by a woman who owned a consignment shop in Toronto called Ransack the Universe. I had her card for ages in my purse and finally found it - coincidentally, the location also presided INSIDE a vintage store (69 Vintage Collective) I had wanted to visit for a LONG time. I met up with a local Lolita, Stacy - whose blog I've linked to for those interested - and she directed me to 69 Vintage Collective where the basement belonged to Ransack the Universe. I thought it was distinctly home-grown enough to sell my mom's small variety of amigurumi. But, I have to check out the list of top consignment stores to see what I am up against and who I can appeal to. Also, I saw these CUTE wooden pins. I just HAD to buy them because they reminded me of my bestfriends - Aya and Em. But, I wanted this cute mushroom headed pin for myself - I ended up contacting the local artist who produced them and I should be getting it by this week's end. :)

Em got Little Red Riding Hood (who actually reminds me of my old rag doll) and Aya I bought a 1" Apple Faced character but decided that the Strawberry Face (which is bigger) would be better for her. I got myself a Pine Tree Faced thing, too. Check her out! Her work is amazing and from Toronto.

Looking at these makes me really want to try stamp work because it's a lot less time intensive then most of the crafts I do. I've always wanted to print my own fabric and stamps look easier then silk-screening...

I also recently joined the Mori Girl Secret Santa on LJ. I'm so excited. 

Black Friday - Shopruche.com buys!

I am not American. However, this whole Black Friday thing has really caught on the past few years in Canada.

I am not immune to this whole consumerism culture nor illusionary wealth of Black Friday. I've been shopping for cameras for myself for the past couple of months but I've been indecisive as to what to get. Saw a really cheap one by Olympus for $199 in the Basic Point and Shoot section of Bestbuy. It's simple but the display wasn't working so that definitely didn't help me. I think I need more experience with cameras before throwing myself at the micro 4/3rd prosumer camera. Already, looking at all the buttons on Canon prosumer cameras makes me a little confused.

So, I decided to buy what I know I am most familiar with. Clothes.

Clothes, are simply a girl's best friend aside from make-up. They change the way a girl can feel, look, and the way she carries herself. There's an association with clothes that might seem superficial but at the same time...it's natural. I love clothes. I love the textures, the fabric, the look, the feel...

I ended up buying the following from http://www.shopruche.com:

Originally $61.99  NOW $20

Orginally $54.99 NOW $15

Orginally $36.99 NOW $10

Orginally $37.99 NOW $10

Orginally $34.99 NOW $10

Orginally $9.99 NOW $2

Shipping was $7 (the most economical method)... Quite frankly, I went through all the materials of the stuff I bought and for linen blends, ramie (nettle fabric), cotton, and rayon I thought the price was justified and if anything worth the price. Normally, natural fabrics like ramie would be a lot more expensive. A lot of these would also be perfect for Mori Girl, Natural-Kei, and Dolly-Kei. :)

Giant Posting: The past 3-4 months!

I have been MIA for a little while due to some personal and family issues. The most recent one happened the beginning of this week. I missed a week of school in an attempt to resolve it. Hopefully, things turn out for the better. :)

I have been pretty busy the past few months.

FanExpo Lolita: I took part in a friend's Lolita presentation and fashion show. I lent a lot of items and while it didn't turn out as I had thought it would be (measurement bloopers with people I was lending the items to) it was still an experience. Here are a few pictures and videos of it:

Got our pictures taken with a group of Storm Troopers.

Participants of the Lolita Fashion Show

A selca of Aya and I using my iPhone 4 and an additional complete outfit shot of our Hime Lolita coordinates. I look very tired because I had absolutely no sleep the day before. It's usually like this when I attend a local Lolita Meet and it's even worst when I set one up. I haven't hosted one by myself in over a year because of just how emotionally and physically draining it is. 

Lolita High Tea Meet: My bestfriend, Aya, set this one up at the Windsor Arms Hotel. Definitely, an experience that was unexpected. High tea is very fancy but I found most of the food to be overly sugary for my tastes. Next time, Aya and a few friends of mine will be going to a fancy Yorkville one with macaroons. Here are a few pictures of my outfit and hers:

Interesting angled photo from Aya's photographer friend, Shin.

Aya's gorgeous coordinate. The first time she's attempted Classic Lolita. 

Beautiful chandelier above our table. 

Creations: The past few months I have been having an on-and-off relationship with my creativity. It prompted these creations to be made.

Gyaru fur puff.

Hot pink Gyaru fur puff.

Weekly Outfit Shots since September: If I feel up for it I usually try to dress my best at least ONCE a week to feel as if buying all the (expensive) clothes that I buy is somehow justified. Here are a few that I managed to take photos of.

Danier leather jacket, H&M schoolgirl blouse, Bttsb Circus Tutu skirt that (gift from Aya), and Aldo boots (gift from SO). 

Aldo headband, H&M ruffle vest, Anthropologie dress, UP belt,  Aldo tights, and Zara boots.

Handmade headpiece, Pmall lace dress, XXI belt, and Aldo boots (gift from SO).

Handmade headpiece, H&M cardigan, Jane Marple tartan gown, UP belt, and Aldo boots.

XXI earrings, Zara dress, H&M leggings, and Aldo boots.

XXI wool hat, offbrand turtleneck, handmade necklace, offbrand skirt, Aldo belt, H&M leggings, and Aldo flats.

NUIT BLANCHE: I actually was helping out a friend I met as a customer from work with his fashion show for the Nuit Blanche / The Art of Fashion event. I didn't take many pictures because for some reason one of his models bailed and...well...I got drafted to model one of his creations. It was fun and I loved helping him! Mark Aguliar, you are pure win. Hope we collaborate again someday. 

An interesting creation. But, the hem is uneven. By another designer. 

Could be a wedding dress. By another designer.

Selca of Aya and I at Nuit Blanche after the fashion show. 

 My outfit for Nuit Blanche. I was going with the Belle Epoch theme that The Art of Fashion event had going on...and there's a screenshot of the outfit I modelled for Mark Aguliar. His 'clown' costume. Had me all worried. But, it's actually reminiscent of those French porcelain dolls I had as a child.

SHOPPING / GIFTS HAUL: I make no mistake when I call myself a shopaholic. I love it and it's a bit of an addiction. Here's what I've managed to buy and photograph for the past...3-4 months.

 

A strange fabric I bought from work that I still have absolutely no idea what to do with and Aldo bow bag and bow flats as a belated B-day present from my little sister. 

Beautiful over-the-knee socks from Legs Beautiful in Yorkville. What can I say? I like my hose.

                                                                          

Anthropologie cardigan that reminds me of one of my favourite Japanese brands, Juliette et Justine and tights!

Giant MOKUBA haul. They had a sale recently and I spent $126 on over 70 metres of trims. Collectively, I've spent a little over $300 on trims there in the past 3 weeks. :'( But, you'll see why I did that.

A Gunne Sax muslin dress that I found at an Ossington/Queen vintage store and a beautiful $180 dress that my SO bought for me as an early Xmas present. :)

Crochet gnome houses my mom made for me a few months ago.

iPhone 4 - Facetime! I recently moved away and I don't get to see my dog or his owner much. But since we both have iPhone 4's I have been able to see Cookie daily. Including him in training sessions with food on his face! :)

Aya's Marionette creations for Happi Kiss her Gyaru line: We both love fur even though we previously didn't and I am glad to see her able to work with upcycled fur tails with me modelling them.

HALLOWEEN: My small group of girlfriends decided to go with a theme this Halloween. French Maids. Yes, I wore this to work and my whole department dressed up! Then, after work I had a dinner party at my sister's place in which we all cooked dinner together. :) Best Halloween ever, guys!

The Dinner.

My co-worker, P. and I.

Co-workers: P., M., me, and J.

 The Kapok Shop and Marionette (my lines: Ofelia Ljuv and Noirette) pictures: My mom does crocheting and here are her most recent creations compiled with older ones. While my own creations vary (I hate crocheting) and I've been quite productive of the late. I hope to post everything on Etsy very soon. I had planned to do it a week ago but my computer had erased a piece of itself while my SO was restoring it. I always use MOKUBA trims. Nothing but the highest quality for my products.

Cult of Kawaii!

Gnome Houses + Bags, Hybrid Pigs, Cactus, and Mushrooms!

                      Mori Girl headpiece and Russian Nesting Doll necklace! 

 Mori Girl Flower Headpiece with Narural-Kei earrings made from burnt chiffon.

Burnt chiffon necklace inspired by a paper rose necklace I saw at Anthropologie for $48 CDN.

 Dolly-Kei fur puff and Moite-inspired colored Gothic fur puff made from upcycled rabbit fur.

 Gyaru, Dolly-Kei, and Mori Girl styled fur puffs and tails.

 My latest creations. I revamped the first picture and the puff was inspired by Minnie Mouse.

Mori Girl inspired bag dangles. Hanging position.

Laying down on my bedsheets. Beautiful, no?

The leftover furs that I need to work with. Sorry for the blurry pictures. 

Finally, my most recent outfit: I had been meaning to do a Lolita closet purge and this skirt was one of the things I had been considering. But, now that I am able to coordinate it in Dolly-Kei style. I've decided to keep it.