Delicious Burden

Saturday, March 3, 6-11pm
Headquarters Galerie & Boutique
1649 rue Amherst
514.678.2923

West Coast artists bring their Delicious Burdens to Montreal

Jenn Porecca (California) and Jessica McCourt (Washington) are bringing their folkloric yet sensual paintings to Galerie & Boutique Headquarters in a show that promises to shake one and all out of a winter stupor. Both artists build depth into their work through the use of found wood and other weatherworn finishes, telling their own individual stories through the many female characters they weave into their work. Mysterious, haunting, delicate yet somehow strong, these images sum up the true nature of the female mystique.

The vernissage begins at 6pm on Saturday, March 3rd. Drinks and good conversation will ensue until 11pm during which time Jenn will be meeting and greeting all those who would like a little insight into their work. DJ Garry Vickers will be providing a variety of danceable good times tunes. The show will remain open for viewing during regular business hours throughout the entire month of March.



Jessica McCourt deals in ghostly images of mysterious women. They evoke another time, and most certainly, another place. Working mainly in oil on wood or ink on paper these languorous women draw us into their private wonderlands. Inspired by a modern day blend of influences Jessica merges high fashion, woodland animals, old children's books, antiques, history and 18th & 19th century paintings into delicate, she creates moody compositions that appear to catch a moment in time, often surprising their occupants in their private deliberations. www.jessicamccourt.com



After traveling the world over to Europe, the Middle East, and Asia, Jenn Porreca has laid roots in San Francisco. For the past 9 years she has been spending her time roaming the streets of her city and neighboring woodlands. Finding objects to paint on, carve and burn, Jenn attempts to document every day of her life through her creations, and maintains a strong connection to her urban yet natural environment through her use of found wood, which she uses this to create her tales of "urban folklore," her painted diary. Jenn has shown her work in New York, Los Angeles, Montreal, San Francisco, Tampa, Portland and San Jose.
www.jennporreca.com

Spring = White Pants

I still remember when I first started REALLY getting into fashion, in grade 6 or so. I told my mom I would no longer need her help shopping, other than driving me to the mall of course, and that I now held my fashion destiny in my own two hands, I would be buying all my own clothing from now on. Except of course for winter boots and coat, way too expensive.

So I busted my butt babysitting to get the latest colour of Club Monaco sweatshirt, and saved every penny for a great pair of fashiony (as opposed to Westerny) rust coloured ankle height cowboy boots. But the piece de resistance, in the summer of '95 perhaps, was the pair of white jeans I finally got. Oh of course I already had red jeans, plum jeans, forest green jeans, pale pink jeans, indigo jeans, black jeans, and I think one other colour I can't remember right now... but the white jeans, oh the white jeans.

I remember wearing them ALL THE TIME, I felt like they went with every top I owned, and looked really great with my black suede desert boots. Even though it is totally impractical for a 15 year old girl who lives in the country and goes to bonfire parties to wear a pair of white jeans, I loved them to death a)because my mom thought it was a bad idea to buy them and b) because I had bought them all on my own.

Well, it's time to worship at the alter of the white jeans again. For spring MX has put together the Penelope slim fit jean with a nice stretch twill fabric. I like that they're not quite as heavy as denim, but not so thin that everyone can see your undies. Although I would still avoid wearing the red and purple polka dot ones, that's just asking for a lot! Check out the pic above for a cheeky take on wearing white jeans (Jude, that fanny pack is for you!).

We've organized a little denim table down at HQ for spring, so come on down and check our our assortment, try a few on and then call your mom and tell her that you're old enough to pick out your own clothes!

Anastasia Lomonova

Wow, the sun is shining and spring is really on its way!
What better a time to introduce a new designer to HQ, the delightful Anastasia Lomonova!



Anastasia began her fashion career through her studies at Torontos Ryerson University. In 2004, she moved to Montreal, QC where she apprenticed with designers Valerie Dumaine and Nadya Toto.



After working briefly for a clothing company in Montreal’s Chabanel District Anastasia launched her own line under the Anastasia Lomonova label. Her first casual wear collection appeared in stores in April 2006.



Following a successful debut, Anastasia is focusing on a more refined look, creating a collection that combines unique cuts with expert fit and clever details like delicate pleating, cute little buttons and great colour combos. Fabrics include weightless chiffons, soft jerseys and structured cotton. Lines are clean and polished, yet very feminine and flirty. We think that the mixture of floaty chiffon and smooth silky jersey is wonderful. It takes a bit of the preciousness of chiffon away and really gives it a modern look. Love it!



Anastasia will be dropping off her spring collection later today, so be sure to stop by later this week and have a look see and why not, try on a few pieces too.

For Hire: Personal Stylist

Well, two of my Oscar dress pics were chosen, by two ladies I consider to be very stylish. Did we have a secret pre-Oscar conference in St. Henri? (at the Green Spot perhaps? Or maybe at Black Jack bar?) Who can say, who can say. All I know is that Kirsten can put down a mean poutine, and Gwyneth loves a little fried onions on her veggie burger;) My only regret is that Chanel didn't have time to make a teenier dress for Kirsten, a size or so smaller would have fit her a tad better, and why oh why did you bring the gold purse, I specifically remember us choosing the black clutch with the jet beading. Gwynnie darling, you looked like a vision of perfection from head to toe!

Oscars!!!

Well, the Oscars are on Sunday, so time to gear up for the most important aspect ... the fashion of course. Every time I watch the ceremony, I am always surprised at the dresses that the actresses choose. If I had an unlimited budget, with every designer dress possible at my disposal, I would NOT choose the black strapless column dress, I just would not. This is not the time to look CLASSIC people, there will be no second coming of Audrey Hepburn, so just suck it up and put on a fabulous show stopper of a dress.

So I went through the most recent Fall 07 collections that are coming out right now, and looked back at the runway shots of the Spring 07 collections, and picked some of my favorites. Let's take a look shall we?


Zac Posen



Peter Som



Oscar de la Renta



Elie Saab



Doo.Ri



Christian Dior



Chanel Couture



Carolina Herrera



Bill Blass



Badgley Mischka

So far, my favorite is the Elie Saab dress. There were SOOOOOO many wonderful options though, I couldn't possibly post them all. There were also some God awful horrid options, which I'm sure we will see a few of on Sunday.

Cheers darlings!

Tips from Design*Sponge

Grace over at Design*Sponge organizes these great ladies meet-up nights in NY. She has been kind enough to post PDF files of some of the many tips discussed at the last meeting on her site. I thought a lot of the wonderful designers we work with could use a lot of this info, so I've added the link below for anyone who is interested.



Thanks Design*Sponge!

Design*Sponge Meetup Tips

New Jeans from MX!

Finally! The first sign of spring is here ... new clothing in the stores!

Personally after wearing the same damn jeans all winter I enjoy starting spring off with a new pair. These new skinnies from MX might be just what you are looking for. This new style is available in two nice fabric optins, the Stone Fox grey denim from Spain and the Shikoku Island dark rinse denim from Japan. The grey denim has 1% stretch, and the indigo denim has 2% stretch.





If you're looking for a skinny fit with clean looking details, this is the jean for you. The rise is pretty low, but not crazy at 7 1/2". The fit through the bottom and knee is slim, but it won't cut your circulation off. The little bit of stretch keeps them comfy, no one needs to get rug burn from their jeans! The double yoke detail and curving back pocket seams add a bit of interest without being flashy.




This jean is named Siouxie after punk rock goddess Siouxie Sioux, lead singer of Siouxie and the Banshees. She had great style and rocked quite a few different versions of her "look". Ah yes, versatility in fashion, just what everyone needs. I think these jeans just might fit the bill.




Learn more about Siouxie Sioux by clicking on her name or do a google search and come up with lots more info and great pics of her scaring the shit out of everyones parents!

Calling all Illustrators!!!

Indyish is looking for illustrators to contribute to the ongoing evolution of the relay art project The Assembly.

7 teams of writers authored 7 scripts. 7 directors are using those scrips to produce 7 movies. 7 bands are composing and performing original film scores. To compliment this month-long insanity, and with help from Celtx, Indyish is producing a project 'zine that will contain the 7 scripts. That's where you the fine and talented illustrators come in.

Your task will be to develop an image to compliment one script. You'll be given a text at random and have one week to draw or design something inspired by the document. Your imagery can decorate the script pages, or add a single 8 1/2 by 11 page to the document. Submissions of drawings, photos, collage are welcome but must be submitted in 300dpi tiff or jpg format. Please submit both a colour and black/white version of your piece.

Your work must be finished by Sunday February 25, 2007. The zines will be assembled and made available in basic Black and White in time for the screening and party, March 10 2007 at Friendship Cove. This book will also be published in full colour via Lulu.com. License: CC Attribution as usual.

Please respond ASAP if you are interested in taking part, by emailing Risa@indyish.com.

Outfits of the Week - February 16, 2007

Two pretty disimilar outfits this week, these girls are TOTALLY not friends! Just joshing folks, fashion doesn't determine friendship.... unless it's really, really bad. Hee Hee.

Anyways, here are the outfits:




Darling #1
Restyled vintage Mickey Mouse sweatshirt by Dumb Chauffeur (Winnipeg), reworked plaid shirt with lace applique (underneath) by BLUEprint (Montreal), patchy brooch with mirror by Tilly D'Oro (Montreal), White stretch twill skinny jeans by MX Jeans (Montreal), vintage black patent purse and vintage black patent booties.






Darling #2
Handfelted black neck warmer with vintage button by Olivin Designs (Winnipeg), colourblocked modal longsleeved shirt by Musa & Dutchie (Toronto), Vintage black leather belt with metal detail, handpainted metallic bronze purse by F.S.U. (Montreal), charcoal grey pencil skirt by Homebaked Fashions (Montreal), vintage black leather boots.

Lisa DeJohn on Design*Sponge

What a great day! Besides the shitty weather of course, but it's great because one of our beloved artists who showed at our grand opening show is featured on Design*Sponge, which is one of my most beloved blogs to read.

Grace at DS is doing a new feature showing the homes of artists/designers, and her most recent entry shows the home of Lisa DeJohn. If you've stopped by HQ in the last few months you will have surely noticed Lisa's work above the credenza (Lisa with her piece below at the grand opening)



Lisas home is no exception when it comes to her artistic talent. I find her dining room mix of chairs thoroughly inspiring. What a great way to enjoy many different chair designs!

Anyways, I'm rambling a bit now... but go to DS and check the pics out, they're really great!

www.designsponge.blogspot.com

Odd Bird on Cool Hunting

Way to go Odd Bird!

Check out the kind words for Odd Bird on Cool Hunting.
Although they say she's from Toronto, and I believe she's based in Vancouver. Odd Bird has been part of the HQ family for awhile now, so we're happy to see her getting the props she deserves! In fact, a sweet man bought one of her pendants yesterday as a valentine gift. Good taste!

Check it out at: www.coolhunting.com

For the Valentines Day jaded...

For all those out there jaded by love and suspicious that all boys are useless, a little reminder from the band OK GO that boys can often be charming and at the very least entertaining for 3:26min...
My favorite part starts at the 2min mark, but the whole video really makes me giggle!

OK GO - A Million Ways

Happy Valentines Day wonderful friends!

Remember Valentines Day in elementary school? The great cards you would get? My mom still has all of mine tucked away somewhere in the basement. Thank goodness for moms!

I remember one card distinctly from this boy in my class, who shall remain unnamed for privacy purposes. He was REALLY into computers, and this was the mid-80's, so that was still a bit of a nerdy thing to be into. OK, totally nerdy actually.

His parents were super smart, they played in the Boston Pops symphony, and he was also incredibly intellectually gifted. He was literally BUILDING his own computers in grade 5, and started learning Japanese by audio cassette in grade 4 English class since his english was already so far advanced. And he wore corduroy pants a lot.

Anyhoo, I remember the card he gave me in grade 4, because at this time he was convinced we should all start writing in all caps in a digital type font since computers would be taking over all forms of writing, and of course at the time there was only one "computer" font. So I received the following poem, handwritten in "computer font" on the back of my card (It's also funny to read the poem in either a nerdy voice, or a computer voice):

Roses are Red
Microchips are blue
something about motherboards (can't remember it all)
And I like you.

And that, my friends, is the essence of Valentines Day.

UPDATE: Later in the same year I went to the same boys house for a Lego playdate with another girl and boy. Looking back, they had fabulous retro decor in their house, a grand piano, and A LOT of lego.

DJ Garry Vickers

If you people are looking for something to do this weekend, HQ DJ Garry Vickers will be playing at this party. Check it out and tell him you love him.

Cozy Cardigans

Sweet mother of Jesus it's getting cold! Even a former Winnipegger can admit that it's getting a little brisk out there. Time to break out your cozy old oversized cardigan in a brand new way. Or even better, steal one from some guy you know and it will look perfect! Honestly, I just want to pile about 10 of these on right now. For the love of God, when will it end!!!











I'll be bringing in some new reworked sweaters at HQ this weekend by yours truly. They'll be in the guys section, but really ladies, don't be afraid to dip over to the manly side of the store for some slouchy finds to balance out those skinny jeans and heels. Also, check out the stunning sweaters we have by local Montreal talent Majolie, they are the perfect balance of good looks and warmth.

Valentines Day blows!

Sigh. We all know Valentines Day is lame. But we also know that if you show up to your boyfriend or girlfriends house empty handed you'll be totally screwed! So, here are some gift ideas that are at least cooler and cheaper than roses.


"Love Sucks" book cover by Local By Kristen $25.00

purse by Olivin Designs $60.00


Instead of the real thing get a dog pillow by Salvor Fauna. It's not as good as a real puppy, but it's better than kids. No mess, no diapers, no fur and you wont have to pay for them to go to college for a degree in political science. $45.00 each

Minouchko by La Puce A L'agonie $25.00

Minouchki by La Puce A L'agonie $25.00

Minouchka by La Puce A L'agonie $25.00

If you really must insist on giving your loved one a mix CD with all your favorite love songs, it wont be so lame if you add this book about people who make GOOD music.
$24.00


Yeah, I know, I'm always pushing Jeffrey Brown ($8.00) and Liz Prince ($7.00) books. Everyday relationship stories that we can relate to and usually take for granted.


Cyclops Bunny by La Puce A L'agonie