So many lovely brooches available at my shop in the Lesieville Arts Market, perfect for stocking stuffers, secret santa or gifts for yourself!
Special Delivery for Made You Look Jewellery
There are some very special new pieces that just arrived at MYL this week! Home to a wide variety of talented local jewellery designers, Made You Look is worth a day trip over to Parkdale.
You will find some of my newest watch case pendants, cufflinks, and resin pendants there!
Creative Gift Ideas!
How cute is this set of vintage 70's sewing/cozy home theme embroidery? A perfect gift for that crafty, sewing, knitting or vintage loving friend on your list!
Our Ho Ho Holiday Hours!
Look at all these hours! Starting this Monday, Arts Market will be open 7 days a week, until the 24th!
I will be at my shop every day, as usual this time of year, and look forward to seeing and meeting all of my amazing customers, old and new!
Sail Away With These Great Nautical Gift Ideas!
Much more than jewelry this holiday season, I have more vintage wares and home decor than ever before!
This very unique, near mint, blue velvet Sheffield Manicure Kit, not only contains high quality tools, but is also SHAPED LIKE A SHELL! Don't disappoint your high maintenance mermaid this holiday, make sure to get them this great utilitarian piece to make nail preening even more fun.
I have one set of these great vintage brass repousse sail boat wall hangings, and only one beautiful sweetheart themed vintage necklace with hollow, embossed double sided charms!
Things That are Purple
Let me count the gift ideas I have for you at Arts Market this holiday.. well... maybe I cant count that high. So here are a few purple items for you to peruse <3
For the Readers and the Art Lovers Out There
Acadia Books is a marvel, a wondrous place full of treasures and inspiration. I have been both a customer and friend of Acadia for many years, and have been working with them for some time.
The titles you can see in this post are some of recent books I have picked up that are currently available at Acadia.
I am quite certain there's no better place to go for rare, antique and contemporary art books in Toronto, and they have an incredible selection of early edition hardcover literature and an endless amount of rare and vintage art prints. I am sure there are a few names you can knock off your list there, and you can visit the beloved store kitty Michou in the process!
Black & Gold
I was so inspired by how good my mannequin, Marta looked in the gold embroidered jacket below, that I rushed to my studio that evening to make a series of minimal, elegant black and gold pieces. Using Hematite stones, onyx and found object/de constructed vintage jewelry, each piece is unique and minimal, while still making a statement. You can see the full selection at my Arts Market boutique.
Vintage Arrivals
Incredible silk jacket with golden embroidery and beaded tassels, can be yours to love!
Electric eggplant 1970's pull over dress is shiny and super chic and clearly calls for fabulous cognac leather or gold accessories.
Fresh Holidays Ahead
The time comes, as it always does eventually, that calls for a complete de and re construction of my entire space at the Leslieville Arts Market! I will be stocking the shelves with plenty of new jewelry designs, artwork and vintage arrivals, starting now, throughout the holiday season. I'll see you there, and look forward to helping you pick out the perfect gift, and wrapping it up with a tiny golden bow!
Best Unique Gift Store 2016!
A huge thank you to everyone who voted Arts Market in this years NOW Magazine Readers Choice Awards! We are thrilled to be keeping our title, with over 175 vendors between the three locations, you don't have to look much further for the ultimate local shopping experience.
Making my Enid Hi-Fashion Glamour Doll 2016 A.D Costume
I have had my beloved Enid Doll for many years, as many years nearly, as I have been a what I would call #1 fan of Daniel Clowes work. I generally have a hard time with favorites, but when it comes to comics, his inspiration to me has not be surpassed. He is to many, a voice that helped define and articulate so accurately the authenticity in the silent marvels of the day to day, a minds eye into the most humble, neurotic and relatable characters as well as the internal monologue of the silent rebel, a rebel against rebellion and the struggle in defining yourself, for a start.
This year for Halloween, I decided I would finally get it together and create this Enid Doll costume.
I will show some pictures of the process I used, which was based on my instincts of finding and manipulating existing objects. Please comment if you have a suggestion for me about something I can do differently next time!
I picked up a plastic prop football helmet, and removed the front face guard. Using craft foam, which in retrospect, should have been thicker, I cut out the mask part and smoothed it all down using duct tape.
I then after trying a few different things for the ears, I found one of those cheap hard plastic batman masks, and cut off the ears, which fit perfectly, when turned backwards onto the shape of the helmet. I also used the nose piece for structure.
The gun base is a plastic handle, turned backwards cut off of a toy dart gun, an empty bottle and a suction cup. Actual Enid Doll toys for reference.
Here the paper mache has been lovingly applied, I did also add it to the ears.
Below, I have coated both the Ray-Gun and Mask in wood filler, which was then sanded down very excruciatingly, before being painted.
The finished paint job. I would like to go back and add the extra texture details to the Ray-Gun, but this was my first time, and it got down to the wire for Halloween.
I also painted the back of an old jacket, because it is indeed October, and this costume required one or two, I assume, Enid approved, additions.
I made these lapel pins quickly out of printable shrink plastic. One of Daniel Clowes and the other is the EIghtball #13 cover. Usually when I make these types of pins, I like to coat them in resin, but there just wasn't time for it, as it was a last minute addition.
Outfit: the orange wool sweater is vintage, I picked it up while thrifting, as well as the skirt.
I couldn't believe how perfect the pattern was when I found this skirt. It was much too big for me and much too long so it needed some quick adjustments on the sewing machine.
New This Week at Arts Market
Pendants, earrings and plenty of home decor arrived at my shop this week, make sure to drop in the Leslieville Arts Market location to pick up something special for yourself, or as a gift!
New Bone Collection Designs
Made using cruelty free Python ribs, these naturally inspired necklaces are of my most popular designs. Snag one of the newest pieces at my shop, I rarely make the same design twice!
Beautiful Bracelets
From the depths of my personal jewel archives come these lovely cuffs, one victorian, one vintage! Find these lovely pieces at my shop in the Leslieville Arts Market.
Dainty Details
New this week at my Leslievlle boutique! A sparkling Mechanical Heart and 1/2" circular pendant. Both containing layers of watch parts set over a hand painted background, throughout layers of shiny resin!
Golden, Timeless Things
The newest watch related gems, and an interesting brooch! A few of the recent arrivals at my shop in the Leslieville Arts Market located at 1114 Queen St. East!
Tigers, Gators and Others
Many Moons
"When you reach the moon, then?" acrylic painting and two moon abalone pendants are currently available at my shop in the Leslieville Arts Market.
Brief Rest in Restoule
Roughly 4 hours north of Toronto there is a place called Restoule. It is a place where you can swim in a private lake, a place, where nobody is anywhere around. I only spent one evening here, and had to try and rush the relaxation vibe, but overall I think it is undeniably refreshing for any amount of time. Took a few minutes to do a quick watercolour of the view from the (thankfully screened in, bug free) deck.