30DC27: A Doodle

This is what I do - sort of. :P

As anyone who went to elementary school with me will attest,

Grito

Version 1 with my signature big hair, red lips, and the same glasses I've worn for 5 years now

The original is one of my favourite pieces of art in the world because it was the first painting that I was able to really "feel" - as cliché is that sounds.  I made this version four years ago when I was living in France, just for fun...little did I know how perfectly this image would capture many moments in my life since then, unfortunately.

Below is a...more realistic version!

Art & Travel

I put me in one of my all-time favourite pieces of art - Edvard Munch's The Scream :P

“Why do I have to go to the Louvre? What’s so important about the Mona Lisa, anyway?” a friend asked me a month or so ago, when she was planning her big post-graduation Euro-Tour trip.

I couldn’t answer her beyond vague mutterings about

My Dose of Culture

Photo Source

Finding things to do on a Sunday in Spain (and in France, too, for that matter) is a bit of a challenge because the world pretty much shuts down on Sundays - except for really, really touristy places. Originally I'd wanted to have a picnic in the Retiro (Central Park if Madrid were Manhattan) but it's just too unbearably hot now - what's a girl to do?

Go the El Rastro outdoor fleamarket, of course! From about 9-10am to 3pm-ish, the La Latina area of Madrid is bustling with hundreds(?) of street vendors and shoppers. The fleamarket just goes on and on, and you can find almost everything there, except food - clothes, shoes, accessories, fans, knick-knacks, used books, even electronics and small appliances! I went a little late because I was too busy packing, but I was able to stroll around for a good 40 minutes, which was nice.

The sun was beating down on me mercilessly and I could feel the tops of my feet burning to a crisp, but a lot of the vendors had fabrics draped across their booths to provide some shade. I saw a lot of affordable, colourful, boho-chic clothes that I´d love to buy, but apparently, you need to know how to bargain or you´ll get ripped off. I can´t bargain to save my life because haggling just makes me super uncomfortable, so I didn´t end up buying anything.

Also, you have to be wary of pickpockets! El Rastro is one of their favourite hunting grounds, so I kept my purse tucked tightly under my arm at all times.

The Rastro kind of reminded me of the outdoor market I went to in Holland - the very large, touristy one that I can´t remember the name of now - except the one in Holland had a lot of food in, so I like it a bit better. :P The atmosphere was somehow lively but tranquil at the same time. Families were just out, walking around, enjoying each other and keeping an eye out for possible things to bring home. After strolling through the market, many of them ended up in the cafés and bars nearby for a tapas break.

After that, I did the only other available Sunday activity in Madrid - I went to the Prado museum for free. Entrance to the Prado and Reina Sofía museums are free after about 5pm on Sundays, so my friend Charlotte and I decided to go ahead and cross the cultural thing off our lists of things to do.

The line wound around one side of the huge building, but most of it was under shade, fortunately. And when the line finally started moving, it moved pretty quickly, so we didn´t have to wait very long at all.

And being inside the museum itself was heaven, because it was so cool. I kind of wanted to just forget about the art and curl up on one of the benches on the lower level. So the two of us (who are clueless about art) sauntered around with the little brochure in our hands and looked at all the masterpieces. ("Ooh, that´s pretty. Let´s go see that one." "Wow, there are so many paintings of Jesus and people dying in here." "Using breast milk to put out fire? What the what???") I saw Las Meninas, The Garden of Earthly Delights, both the clothed and naked Majas, and Satan Devouring His Child again.

After about two hours, itis hit us really bad because we´d just had a big Galician lunch, so we went outside and did what the locals did - we laid down on the grass under the shade of a tree and just relaxed.

When we felt refreshed (and when the worst of the day´s heat subsided), we walked over to Atocha station to admire the indoor palm garden and turtle pond. The garden was gorgeous, but it was very hot and humid in there, so we didn´t stay very long. The turtles, however, were adroable and there were many of them. It brought back memories of my second trip to Spain when I was 18 years old and travelling with my school!

And that, friends, is how you enjoy a Sunday in Madrid. ;)

Ignorance and Hammeredism

"The Chinese are taking over the world!" a new acquaintance hissed to me secretively today at the inauguration of the Canadian Embassy in Nice, "They're EVERYWHERE!"

This delightful conversation went on in the same vein for a good chunk of time until my friend Vince stepped in to save me from this eccentric lady and moved the topic from the overwhelmingly enormous Chinese population in the world to various aspects of Chinese culture.

I find that this type of make-you-wince-with-discomfort-because-you-can't-believe-people-are-saying-what-they're-saying conversation is actually not all that uncommon when speaking to many European people, particularly if they're a bit older. I'm not suggesting that all Europeans are ignorant, but many, especially the French, just don't censor themselves when speaking. Many believe absolutely crazy things wholeheartedly, and they just want to tell you about it. It's actually very honest in an almost charming way, if you don't get offended.

Over dinner later on that night, my friends asked me how it makes me feel when people say stupid things like that, and I realize that I didn't give them a very complete answer, because I was interrupted by our meals arriving.

It actually doesn't really bother me if I think or know that the person isn't purposely trying to insult me or my race or my culture. Often, they're just trying to relate to me, even if they might be doing an awful job about it. I get that some people are just ignorant, but they're not actually trying to be rude, so I'm ok with it. If they're not uncomfortable, I'm not uncomfortable, and I'll humour them. Besides, I can laugh about it later over dinner and it makes a great story!

And I know people like that won't likely ever get to appreciate awesome poetry like the following. Also written by the great 李白 (Li Bai), this poem urges readers to enjoy life while they can because time is fleeting. Now, at first it sort of sounds like he's only repeatedly telling everyone to go get hammered, which isn't entirely untrue, but it's actually more of a metaphor; this lonely, depressed genius always felt like his talents were not appreciated or utilized by the emperor, so he he derived his greatest pleasure from alcohol. Thus, drinking, in the context of his work, means enjoying life.

The translation is done by Professor Ying Sun of the University of Rhode Island, and "is intended to be idiomatic, apprehensible for western cultures, and rhyming whenever possible."

將進酒

君不見黃河之水天上來，
奔流到海不復回？
君不見高堂明鏡悲白髮，
朝如青絲暮成雪？
人生得意須盡歡，
莫使金樽空對月。
天生我才必有用，
千金散盡還復來。
烹羊宰牛且為樂，
會須一飲三百杯。
岑夫子，丹丘生，
將進酒，杯莫停。
與君歌一曲，
請君為我傾耳聽：
鍾鼓饌玉不足貴，
但願長醉不願醒。
古來聖賢皆寂寞，
唯有飲者留其名。
陳王昔時宴平樂，
斗酒十千恣讙謔。
主人為何言少錢？
徑須沽取對君酌。
五花馬、千金裘。
呼兒將出換美酒，
與爾同銷萬古愁。


Bring in the Wine (Li Bai, 701-762 AD, China)

Can’t you see the Yellow River coming from heaven,
Running to the sea with no return?
Can’t you see the mirror, high and bright,
Weeping over black hair at dawn, but white by night?
Enjoy life when there is prosperity.
Never tip a gold cup to the moon, empty.
Heaven has given me a gift and it’s my turn.
All my forture is squandered, but it will return.
Let's have fun - a feast with veal and beef.
Empty three hundred drinks before we leave.
Master Cen, Pupil Danqiu,
Bring in the wine and I'll keep pouring for you.
And I'll sing you a song.
Please listen and hum along:
The life style of the rich is all fake.
I’d rather stay drunk, never awake.
All sages in history were solitary,
Except those drinkers who left their glory.
When Lord Chen entertained in Ping-Le Palace,
Pricey wine was poured just for joyfulness.
Why worry about spending money, my host?
Bring in more wine and I’ll drink the most.
Take my spotted stallion and fancy fur.
Ask the lad to trade for the wine I prefer.
Drink away the eternal sorrow we all suffer.

Birthday Bêtises & Classic Chinese Poetry

I turned 22 yesterday!

Like many other 22 year olds, I celebrated by going out with my friends and, as my eloquent brother put it, got totally shitfaced, which led to spending the first half of today completely stationary in bed, willing my stomach to settle. How "klassy", I know.

It's not that I have a penchant for sauce (although I do appreciate a good brandy and a good whisky) or that I'm fond of drinking to the point of sickness. My birthday aside, I'll shamefully admit that I was actually trying to drown my sorrows because I just got the most memorable birthday present to date: a broken heart.

Like my girl Amra says, "Les mecs, ils sont tous des connards!"

I relayed this to my indignant and very irritated mother, who responded shrilly, "That's so stupid!!! Why do you have to drink to celebrate? Why would you drink when you're sad, when you know it would just make things worse?!"

I replied that, yes, in the back of my mind I was aware that drinking wouldn't make me feel any better, but I definitely wasn't the first to whom getting hammered to drown out my dolor appeared an inexplicably excellent idea. I then surprised even myself by quoting two lines of classical Chinese poetry written by 李白 (Li Bai), one of the greatest Chinese poets in history:

"抽刀斷水水更流，舉杯銷愁愁更愁"

Paula Varsano translated these two phrases beautifully as

"Plunge a knife in to break the water
the water flows but faster.
Raise a cup to quell the pain
the pain grows but deeper."

It's interesting to note that many of the most revered Chinese poets in history were notorious alcoholics. In fact, they even have a nice name for the eight most famous ones - 飲中八仙 (Eight Immortals of the Wine Cup, according to Wikipedia).

Anyway, after this conversation, I grew curious of what made up the rest of this poem, so I did some research online and found it. However, because the Chinese language is so intricate, I couldn't really understand what the poem was saying even though I could read the words, so I called up my mom to ask her to explain it to me, since she's the best teacher I've ever had.

The poem and the best translation I could find go:

棄我去者，昨日之日不可留﹔
亂我心者，今日之日多煩憂。
長風萬里送秋雁，對此可以酣高樓。
蓬萊文章建安骨，中間小謝又清發﹔
俱懷逸興壯思飛，欲上青天覽明月。
抽刀斷水水更流，舉杯銷愁愁更愁﹔
人生在世不稱意，明朝散髮弄扁舟。

What left me yesterday
Can be retained no more;
What worries me today
Are the times for which I feel sore.
In autumn wind for miles and miles the wild geese fly.
Let's follow them with eyes and drink in tower high.
Your writing's forcible, like ancient poets, while
Mine is in Junior Xie's direct and easy style.
Both of us have ambitions high;
We'd bring the moon down from the sky.
Cut running water with a sword, it will faster flow;
Drink wine to drown your sorrow, it will heavier grow.
If we despair in our lifetime of all affairs,
Tomorrow let us sail away with loosened hairs.

My mom summarized it to me as: What has happened is the past. There might be things that bother you right now, but take some time to look at how beautiful the world is - there's nature and there's literature to inspire us. You might want to drown your sorrows by drinking yourself silly, but in reality, that doesn't help at all. Instead, why not take a carefree trip and enjoy the world and to forget about the things that are making you unhappy?

Nicely done, Mom.

And it just stunned me all over again how brilliant classic Chinese poetry is, especially because of how much meaning and imagery can be captured in so few words, and with so much structure. Beautiful. I think I'm going to look into taking some Chinese lit classes when I go home.

I Love New York

No, I haven't been to New York lately, but my best friend just zipped down there from Toronto for a day. And why? For a concert, of course. She's a super grounded, calm person, but for a concert with greasy, sloppy musicians clad all in black and pants so tight you can almost see exactly how they arrange their privates, there's almost nothing too crazy that she wouldn't do. Granted, thanks to her obsession we got into this awesome party in June, but I'm just sayin' - the girl would probably miss my wedding for what she would consider an amazing, exclusive concert.

So she asked me the night before what she should do in New York since I love the city and she would have many, many hours to kill before the event starts. Naturally, I was baffled that she'd ask me because what I would consider fun is almost the opposite for her, but I appreciate that she wanted my opinion, despite the fact that she seemed almost delighted to refute every single suggestion as soon as I said it.

I told her that if I only had a day in New York, I'd spend it in SoHo looking at expensive things and befriending salespeople, which is exactly what I did in March when I went down to Manhatten for a job interview. Happiness is sauntering down streets lined with wrought-iron buildings and interesting stores, you know - see why I'm so happy in France?

According to my journal entry entitled "Kirna Zabete Smells Weird," these were the highlights from my day in SoHo:

Balthazar Cafe
Right off Spring St subway station there's this cute little bakery attached to a restaurant called Balthazar. I saw the word "boulangerie" from across the street and it drew me like a bee to honey. The bakery/cafe part of it was teensy, which made the place look a lot busier than it actually was. I ordered a Hazelnut Cocoa thinking it would be a hot chocolate with perhaps a shot of hazelnut flavour in it but alas, I think it was coffee. I also ordered a "pain au chocolat" because it was on the menu, and it was handed to me with a "Here's your chocolate croissant" by someone whose eyes clearly communicated, "Here, you pretentious cow." The cashier had a French accent so I asked him, "Etes-vous francais?" Turned out he was a fraud! I thought it was hilarious. Why was he feigning an accent? Commitment to the atmosphere of the restaurant, maybe.

Kirna Zabete
Apart from Jeffrey New York, this was the one place I was totally worked up to see, because I've read about it in my fashion books before. I must've asked almost 10 people how to get there after getting out of the subway station but no one could tell me! But it wasn't suprising once I actually made it there because it was not special at all. I was completely UNDERWHELMED. Firstly, the place smelled funny. Secondly, the interior design was really lacking. Sure, they had very expensive products, but it was decorated like any old store at the Eaton Centre. The displays didn't tiltillate me or make me ache that I can't afford any of it. Thirdly, their salesgirls sucked. When I walked in there, there was a guy dropping off his resume there. He explained that he was actually an opera singer (he even broke out in song) but he needed a job. All the girls were very nasty about him after he left and I thought, is that really necessary? I mean, there must be a ton of people like him who went to NYC with big dreams and couldn't make it. But everyone needs to survive somehow. And there's never any reason to be rude. I felt really bad for him. So yeah. Not worth visiting, everybody.

Anthropologie
I liken it to a more sophisticated version of Urban Outfitters - perhaps an Urban Outfitters for an older crowd. Filled with interesting clothes and cool knick-knacks. I especially liked the small selection of books. I enjoyed myself there.

Vosges haut chocolat
A super fancy chocolate-cafe kind of store. Beautifully decorated and upscale, with a number of fancy kinds of dark hot chocolates you can drink. But what caught my attention was the collection of odd chocolate bars. There was a Thai one, with curry and coconut milk in it. There was a Japanese one with wasabi, ginger and sesame. There was even a white chocolate with olives! I wasn't really interested in eating or drinking anything in there, but it was cool.

Kiki de Montparnasse (!!!)
Oh my God, it was such an experience being in this store. If only I'd been gutsy/rude enough to take pictures of the interior! It doesn't seem right to call it a sex store, exactly, because that would denote crassness and vulgarity, two things that don't apply to this shop at all - but it was a store that sold all kinds of interesting things that have to do with sex. I've never seen anything like a lot of their products before. Sex is an art there.

A very sultry version of Besame Mucho played in the background. Walking inside, you'd think at first that it's a lingerie shop, because there are these gorgeous displays of lingerie that can only be desbcribed as art. Super ornate $700 panties, crystal-encrusted nipple caps and tassles... Then you walk in and see all the toys and books, then there's a beautiful showroom at the back with more lingerie. The dressing rooms are particularly sumptuous - trying stuff on there must be such a pleasure. They are huge and surrounded by this lush curtain.

But the toys! I consider myself pretty cool about things, not easily fazed, but those toys made me all agog. There were cock rings made of jade that, the sign read, could double as necklace pendants, that could cost over $3000 depending on the size. They were graduated, of course, because jade doesn't stretch. Being Chinese and seeing jade on babies and old ladies all the time - well, let me just say that I would never have thought of using jade this way. There were also cock rings that were strands of pearls - obviously more for decoration than for the normal purpose of cock rings. There were paddles covered in croc skin (I love croc!), glass dildoes displayed like art in shadow boxes on the walls, $5 single condoms individually wrapped in fancy paper boxes, massage candles that you melted and then poured on someone, which would then work as massage oil, these incredibly heavy metal things that I was too afraid to ask the purpose of... My God, it was so overwhelming to the senses.

It was one of the most beautiful stores I have ever been in. The decor was truly breathtaking. Plus there were these really pretty salesgirls that were as kind as they were gracious. Everyone who ever goes to New York absolutely must see this store!

Plus I went to this fake sample sale that was strangely reminiscent of the "sample sales" at school, except the clothes were real. But the change rooms were actually an open changing area, so shopping there wasn't a particularly dignified experience.

I had so much fun looking at beautiful things and schmoozing up sales people today. I also learned some smart tricks - a gentle, sweet boy who worked at the Steve Madden store told me that if I ever need directions, the hot dog vendors can tell you where everything is. And in New York, you don't just get street meat - you can also get shwaramas and falafels and fresh candied nuts and all other kinds of cool food off the street.

Plus I loved that I was going to all the actual flagships of companies. I went into a couple, thinking that I'd seen their retailers in Canada before, but here were their home stores! But I wonder how many flagship areas one city needs - there were all the high end stores that are also on Fifth and Madison avenues.

I'm really going to miss the warm weather here - it's above zero and there's no hint of snow on the ground. I was perfectly happy in my leggings and ballet flats, and it was totally warm enough for me to stand on the sidewalk outside on Greene St to do my makeup (I walked into Prada, took a look at myself in the mirror and made the horrible realization that I forgot this morning). I was told that there were really only two big snow days here.

Am totally besotted and enamoured of this place. Must move here, even if it's just because it's warmer!

She Was Stunning | Holiday Giveaway!

The giveaway is now closed. Thanks to everyone who participated!

I think that womanhood is universal. No matter where we’re from, what our backgrounds or beliefs are, we’re connected by a sisterhood based on our similar experiences, especially the challenges we face. We can all relate. That’s why I firmly believe that we should all support each other – and also why I love my friend Sarah’s artwork, which she has transformed into a business of magnets, greeting cards, luggage tags, and most recently, desk calendars.

she was stunning offers these products featuring beautiful black & white photographs of women depicting the stories underneath. The inspiration for SWS came from an assignment Sarah was given when she was studying photography at the Alberta College of Art and Design, where she had to produce a series of ten images that pertained to a theme. The original portfolio was made of metal, with magnetic poetry spelling out the captions. It was awarded “Most Outstanding Portfolio” by her peers. That was four years ago, and she was stunning was born soon after. Now, there are also lines of products featuring just the inspirational phrases, artistically arranged in the company’s signature colours.

The stories were inspired by Sarah’s own experiences and those of her friends. She wanted to portray women just as we are, with our strengths and insecurities, our ups and downs. I think she’s done a very good job of it, because it’s the relatability of the stories that caught my eye in the first place.

I remember I was helping my mum out at a trade show, when I started exploring the venue on a break. Sarah’s booth caught my eye because it was decorated in my favourite colour combination – hot pink, black and white. I sauntered over to have a look, and when I saw a picture of a girl’s legs rocking killer d’Orsay stilettos with the caption, “The night was hers. All hers. She could feel it right down to her three-inch heels.” I thought, That’s me! That’s exactly what goes through my head every time I make myself pretty and go out. I read over all the other stories, identified with them too, and proceeded to gush to Sarah in the most embarrassing way about how much I liked her work. She was so sweet, and since then, we’ve kept in touch.

I loved her magnets first, but I also adore the desk calendars, which is her newest line. They’re so chic, and the magnet-letters, apart from looking cute, are a neat little homage to Sarah’s original idea, and what got the SWS ball rolling in the first place.

Her business has been doing really well; in just a few short years, she’s signed on with a national distributor and her products can be found in over 100 retailers from all over Canada – and counting. You can also find her products online at Orangefish, Ravensara and Two Wolves Trading Company.

And because Sarah loves The Soap Heiress, she will be giving out a desk calendar and a couple magnets (pictured below) to a lucky reader for this holiday season! To enter, send me an e-mail at thesoapheiress(at)gmail.com with “SWS Giveaway” as the subject. Entries must be received by 12:00 AM (Eastern Time) December 14th. The winner will be notified by e-mail and announced here on Monday, December 15th’s post.

For more information and to see the product catalogue, visit http://shewasstunning.com.

One of A Kind: Barbie's Basement Jewellery

“I’m so gay, I sweat glitter,” says my favourite fashion blogger, the fabulous BryanBoy. As a gay man in a woman’s body, I can kind of relate. There’s just something about sparkly things that gets me right there, similar to the effect of the colour pink on me. That’s why every year, I’m inevitably drawn to the Barbie’s Basement Jewellery (BBJ) booth at the One of A Kind.

BBJ is run by this really nice couple, Robin and Ange, who’ve been together for absolutely ever; I remember seeing them at my very first One of A Kind Christmas show! Some years ago, Robin was facing a possible layoff at her really boring full-time job, so she decided to turn her hobby, jewellery-making, into a business. She sold beaded jewellery at first, but then she conceived the idea of making glass bubble rings with a piece of text underneath over a bed of glitter. Later, she came up with the idea of featuring pop culture images in her jewellery, and another line began. Then in 2000, her partner/future wife Ange hurt herself badly at her day job, and when she was recovering, she decided to join BBJ as Production Manager in 2001. Since then, they’ve expanded to making cufflinks, magnets, key chains, belt buckles and lots more. Their belt buckles are particularly popular and Jessica Alba wore one in the movie Honey. Robin and Ange’s work has also been featured in a bunch of magazines.

My favourites are the glittery pieces, of course, which I really wish I could find a picture of so that I could show you. I got my first one from them a few years ago, and I can’t even tell you what a hard time I had picking something out, because I always just want to bring their whole booth home every time I see it. I ended up choosing a bright red glittered ring with the word “rebel” in it. The following year, I began eyeing these two supercute necklaces – one that says “uptown” over light pink glitter and one that says “downtown” over hot pink – get it? At the last Christmas show, I decided that I was going to get one, and I decided to get “downtown”, despite the fact that I’m really an uptown girl, just because I liked the hot pink better. But there weren’t any more necklaces in the style I wanted, so Robin, who is super sweet, custom-made my necklace with exactly the shade of glitter I wanted, despite the fact that she was in the middle of the demanding show and was probably really busy. The next piece I’m aiming for is the charm bracelet, with five charms on it! I just have to decide exactly which charms I want, which will be a challenge...

Go check them out at the One of A Kind beginning next Thursday at booth N-48! You can also find BBJ products at retailers all over North America, at their secure online store, and at Snazzygirl.com. Best of all, they welcome custom orders if you’re looking for something specific!

For more information, visit their website at http://bbj.ca.

One of A Kind: Karen Wilson Hand Bags

Hello, friends! Please pardon my week-long hiatus – it’s been a tough one. A friend in my program just received some very bad news from the doctor and has to go home. I hope she gets well soon – and that she drinks a ton of Second Cup Green Tea Chillers (or Lattes) for me when she gets home. The last time I hung out with her, she was telling me how excited she was to read my One of A Kind series because she loves going to the show with her stepmom every season, so the following series of posts is dedicated to her. XOXOXO, girl!

You know how there was this air of finality when Anna Karenina threw her beloved red velvet handbag into the railroad tracks? A woman who throws away her favourite purse and banishes it to the dirty ground evidently has lost the will to live. This perfectly describes the sacred relationship between a woman and her handbag.

Unlike Anna, however, I don’t subscribe to the idea that there is The One. I’ve long since decided that a harem full of gorgeousness is much more suited to my depraved appetite for prettiness. And the bag I have my eye on for the next addition to my bag harem is a Karen Wilson original.

Every year, Fashion Girl and I make at least one trip over to Karen’s booth at the One of A Kind to stare admiringly at the newest collection. I can’t be there in person this year, but I’ve checked it out online, and let me tell you, Fall/Winter 2008 looks divine. Each season, Karen Wilson Hand Bags releases a new collection of beautiful purses in the 10 styles she’s known for, including functional market totes, elegant gathered frames, fun evening bags, and more. Her pieces are especially well-made and every design is made in limited edition, to keep them special and exclusive.

Go check out Karen’s work at Booth J-25 at the One of A Kind, opening next Thursday, November 27!

Sweet November!

With November always comes three happy occasions: post-Halloween chocolate sales, the birthday of my mom, who is my personal icon in every way (Happy Birthday, Mommy!) and the One of A Kind winter show.

I’m a great admirer of handcrafted things because behind every single unique piece, there is such creativity and care and time involved. I started getting into the craft circuit just over a decade ago, when my mum first began her business. Since then, working at and attending craft shows has become a way of life and it opened my eyes to a whole new side of the world, beyond the homogeneity of the McProducts that our commercial scene is so saturated with, especially in North America. Case in point: you can go to virtually any mall in the States or in Canada, and it’ll probably carry the same maybe 40 brands we see all the time. And it’s not restricted to low-end shopping, either, because if you think about it, Sunset Boulevard, Fifth Avenue, Bloor Street West, Las Ramblas, the Champs-Élysées, and so on and so forth all carry the same few stores with basically the same collections. It’s all the same everywhere – what happened to originality?

Don’t get me wrong – I love my Hermès. And I guess it’s convenient that, when I eventually come to be able to afford one of their pieces, I’ll be able to buy it in any major city (except perhaps the Birkin or the Kelly in more exclusive skins). But what happened to select shops? What happened to buyers going out, and even travelling around, to find special products to sell in their stores? Select shops have so much more personality than chains, and they’re some of my favourite places to shop in.

Craft shows hold the same appeal to me, because most crafters own small businesses and their products really are original - you wouldn't be able to find it anywhere else. That's why every winter, I really look forward to the One of A Kind Toronto show - it's the largest craft show in Canada, featuring hundreds of artisans from all over North America. It's been around for over 30 years and as usual, it's taking place in the Direct Energy Centre of Exhibition Place in Toronto. This year it runs from November 27th to December 7th, from 11am-10pm on weekdays, 10am-9pm on Saturdays and 10pm-6pm on Sundays. It's the most intense, delightful shopping experience - this month, I will be introducing my favourite crafters, who I'd be visiting at the OoAK if I were home, like Brook of Brook's Delectable Chocolates. If you go, be sure to say hit to my mum in booth E-38!

Philanthropy & Colin Asuncion Art 2008

Pardon me for sounding like the worst person ever, but - did you also suffer from charity overload when you were in school? You know, where there are a million different groups out there trying to raise money, crashing your classes and stopping you on campus day in and day out to bug you for cash and inundating your life with ads?

For me, it began in high school. But at least people were earnestly raising money for the sake of their causes and doing charity work really for the charity (except those two or three jerks who were only actually just trying to pad their résumés - but they were never the ones to work hardest, anyway).

In university, I got pretty disillusioned about philanthropy because I felt that people were always using charity as an excuse to do stupid things and/or to make a fool of other people. But maybe that was just unique to my circles. For example, the organization I was in held a frat boy beauty pageant every year. It might sound like fun, but really, we were essentially humiliating people in the name of charity. Some guys liked the attention, sure, but most were forced to participate by their fraternities to make a showing, because they were "pledge bitches." The mentality was, if you have a philanthropy quota to fill every year, might as well make it fun, right? Raising lots of money for charity also gives an organization bragging rights.

I won't even begin to tell you what the fraternities did "in the name of charity." Their events weren't ALWAYS negative or demeaning to women or humiliating or completely assinine, but the vast majority that took place when I was at school were. My point is that a lot of the time, students lose sight of why they are doing charity work and instead use philanthropy as an excuse to do stupid things/have fun at the expense of others, or to party, or to beef up their résumés, or to somehow benefit themselves. And that just crushes the spirit of doing charity work for the benefit of other people out of the goodness of your own heart.

And then there are people like my friend Colin. He holds an art show every year to sell his paintings and display his other artistic work, and he donates the money to a different cause every year. This year the proceeds from admissions will go to the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, which provides care and helps the 1 in 4 affected Canadians. Sure, Colin enjoys painting and creating, but he donates his time, energy and his work for causes he believes in because he wants to make a difference, and I really admire that. I also love to see how he develops as an artist.

He held a joint show earlier this summer, which was fantastic, and his solo show is taking place tomorrow! If you will be around downtown Toronto tomorrow and have some free time between 3:00-6:00pm, go check out his show, located in St. Michael's Choir School auditorium at 66 Bond St. Enjoy the art, the fantastic food and most of all, help make a difference.

A Weekend in Val-David

My bosom is burnt to a glowing crisp. So are my face, arms, back and feet. I also got a heat rash, which was gracious enough to manifest itself on my face.

But it was totally worth it because I had a great time this weekend at Val-David, Québec, and the annual 1001 Pots ceramics exposition (the largest of its kind in Canada) is a definite must-go for all pottery aficionados/as - or good daughters of of pottery aficionadas, who also happen to need a relaxing getaway! It featured over 100 pottery masters from all over the country, and the amount of ceramic pieces there was just mind-boggling.

But for a die-hard city girl who isn't a potter herself, what is there to occupy me in a little town an hour north of Montréal? All the free food, of course!

On Opening Night of the expo, there were a lot of hors d'oeuvres floating around, courtesy of local restaurant sponsors, as well as all-you-can-drink free wine. It was pretty good - as good as massified food can be anyway (by that I mean food made for a large group of people, like in cafeterias and even at weddings and banquets). I had seared tuna with caviar, crispy wonton shells with salmon sashimi salad, all sorts of canapés...I wanted to take pictures of everything I had, but I was too busy eating!

But what takes the cake in Val-David is their organic farmer's market (where I got fried). It takes place every Saturday/Sunday morning until noon on the main street, and there you can find a huge variety of excellent quality organic foods, like veggies, baked goods (mm...chocolate croissants!), waffles, meats, honey, jams, fair trade coffee, teas...and the best part is, there are samples for virtually everything!

We bought some pâté and baguettes to go with our 12-year single malt scotch whiskey later that night, when we roasted marshmallows. That was the life!

Enjoy the pictures!