Whew, that was quite the break!

Velvet bustier dress with gems and passementerie trim!

Sorry for the extended period of no blogging friends, I really needed a break after all the holidays craziness around here. Between the One of a Kind Show disaster trip to TO, the wonderful Souk@ SAT, the last minute Rusty Plum, tons of Etsy orders, and all the usual Christmas stuff at the store (nevermind actual FUN holidays type Christmas stuff!) it's been a crazy couple of months. I needed a bit of time to get away from the blogging and freshen up my mind a bit ;)

AMAZING 80's Bod Con dress (that's short for body conscious folks)

So here we go, back into the fray.

I know it's a bit early to start with the new years resolutions, and I guess my plans aren't REALLY resolutions, more like long term ideas. One of the things on my list is to really get our vintage Etsy shop (www.vintageheadquarters.etsy.com) rolling, so I'm going to be putting more energy into that, and giving you guys regular updates here on the HQ blog. As I mentioned before, we don't want to get into selling vintage clothing in HQ, we want the indie designers to be the shining stars. But there's no way I can stop buying and finding fab vintage pieces, so once again the internet will be my saviour.

Fuschia lace and crepe dress, a 60's gem!

I mentioned this before as well, but for the sake of people who don't obsessively read blogs, if you're in Montreal we can totally pull stuff out of the vintage shop for you so you don't have to pay shipping (pick it up at HQ), although you will still need to purchase the item through our Etsy shop. Pulling items off Etsy and selling them just through our store would be fee avoidance, and we like Etsy so we want to give them the big money when they help us so much ;)

Links to the Sequin Top and ColourBlock Blazer

Anyhoo, long post over, enjoy the pics, more blogging to come I promise!

xo
Angie

Holiday Hours

Christmas print artwork by SeaSprayBlue

OK all you last minute Christmas shoppers, we're here to help! Here are our hours for tomorrow and the next few days:

Christmas Eve: 9am-6pm
Christmas Day: Closed
Boxing Day: Closed (seriously, there's no way independent designers can compete with the discount power of larger stores, so we're taking the day off.)
Dec. 27: noon-6pm
Dec. 28: closed (back to the normal Closed on Sundays thing)
Dec. 29/30/31: noon-6pm
Jan. 1/2: closed, it's the law!

Jan 3: back to normal store hours

xo
Angie & Tyson

I'm open today!

Seeing as it's the last Sunday before Christmas, I'll be here at HQ today from 11 am until 6 pm. So, all you last minute shoppers can come by, have a glass of wine and finish up your list.

See you later,

t

Last Minute Christmas Panic Craft Fair Solutions!

I wanted to make a really long obnoxious post title...I like to think I succeeded fairly well.

So.

Panicked yet? Or are you one of those good folks who've finished all their shopping already? I'm done except for one last thing for Tyson. It involves Future Shop, and I'm not looking forward to attempting to brave the Fortress of Nerditude that is Future Shop at Christmas time. Ugh.

Anyhoo, for those who are interested in doing some QUALITY last minute shopping, I have two great options for you this weekend, both of which are craft fairs featuring handmade goods from your friendly neighbourhood crafters. And if you're not in the mood to deal with the crowds of a craft sale, Tyson will be down at HQ serving all of your Christmasy needs!


First up, Mimi Traillette of plush octupus fame (can we start calling them Octoplushes already!?) is throwing a fun craft fair at the new Usine 106 space, so go check it out and pick up some awesome Christmas presents!

When: Sat/Sun - Dec. 20/21, 12pm-7pm
Where: 160 Roy East, metro Sherbrooke
Who: All sorts of awesome artists, a few of which are:
Broundoor
Mimi Traillette
La Puces L'Agonie

Secondly, after a short hiatus, the Rusty Plum Craft Fair is back! The Rusty Plum/Carnivale Artisinale de Madame Plume has been around for the last 13 years and has grown into a great Mile-End community holiday show that a lot of people have looked forward to. Tyson and I have decided at the last minute to do this show, so I'll be down there bright and early Saturday morning, while Tyson mans the store (after all, he's supa dupa manly).

When: Sat, Dec. 20 10am-7pm
Sun, Dec. 21 10am-5pm
Where: The Ukranian Federation
405 Fairmount West (corner of Hutchinson)
Who: We have absolutely no idea who else is doing this show, although we've been told there will be over 65 vendors! (EDIT: we just found out the PinPals are doing it, so that's one more great seller you won't want to miss!)

I'm sewing leggings as I type this (ha) as well as making feathered hairbands and clips, some cute skirts, logs, logs and more logs, and of course I'll be bringing down some of Tysons awesome mini watercolours and 5x7 glossy paintings, which are soooo good for presents!

So keep supporting handmade this Christmas, they really are the best gifts to give, they say:

"hey, I really thought about you a lot this year, and although I didn't have
the skills/time/ideas to make you something myself, so I took the time to find
someone else who could, and I bought it from them!"

xo
Angie

Montreal Shop Local on Etsy!

"Shop Local" is a feature on Etsy that allows you to search for sellers in any area in the world. Shopping local is a good way to reduce pollution by cutting down on emissions created by the vehicles that ship packages to and fro, and is also a nice way to support local artists! Sometimes you can even contact the artist and arrange for pickup (which saves you some money too) and if you ride a bike or take the bus/metro you're REALLY stepping it up.

In addition to this awesome search function Etsy also asks members from around the world to curate small "Shop Local" articles for their blog (the Storque). The newest addition to this list of articles is the Montreal version, curated by none other than the amazing Yana of Supayana! A big thanks to Yana for putting together a stupendous "Shop Local" article for Etsy including Tyson and myself, yay! Check it out HERE

It's Probably Worth More Than part III

Tonight is the night! Come by HQ for our third annual group exhibit of artworks priced at $100 and under! Some work is already gone, so don't miss out. And like every year, we're letting you take the work home the night you buy it, so you can stick it under the tree for your loved ones to unwrap on Christmas day. (... so much better than that "Biodome DVD)

Silkscreen print on plexiglass
Cecilia Granata
$100.

"Growing"
Aya Kakeda
$50

Various prints
Evan Melnyk
$20 each

"Molar Teeth"
Ceramic
Elaine Ho
$26. each

Various watercolours
Garrett van Winkle
$50 each

If you can't make it out tonight, the show is open as we speak and it will run for the entire month of December AND January. So, you can still swing by and pick up some amazing work.

See you soon,

t.

We're Back!

Well, we survived the One of a Kind Show in Toronto (more on that later) and we're already knee deep in preparations for two more upcoming events:

Firstly:
Souk@SAT - The 6th edition of the amazing modern indie design show we've taken part in for the last 2 years. We love this show! The media preview is tonight and the show "officially" starts on Friday, so come down and say hi, have a drink and do some Christmas shopping. We've got a giant pile of log pillows, a whole bunch of wintry stuffed owls, brand new elastic harnesses, leggings in all sorts of sizes, ruffle skirts, glossy canvas paintings and framed watercolour paintings, with more new stuff to come on Saturday and Sunday, woo hoo!

Where: SAT building, 1195 St. Laurent (just below St. Catherines)
When: Friday-Sat. DEC 12 & 13 \ 12 PM à 9 PM
Sunday DEC 14 \ 12 PM à 5 PM

Secondly:
Our 3rd annual "It's Probably Worth More Than That" Christmas art show at Headquarters opens tomorrow, Friday Dec. 12th. Every single piece of art in this show is $100 or less, and piece have already started to sell, so if you have your eye on a certain artists work be sure to come down to the vernissage this Friday to scoop up your favorite before someone else does!

ALSO


For those of you asking at the store RE log pillows and owls, we have 2 owls down at the store right now (the rest will be at the Souk@SAT) and a pile of log pillows, just waiting for you to take them home ;)

xo
Angie

The Craft Show season has begun!

The giant show floor at the One of a Kind Show,
what have we gotten ourselves into!?

So you may have noticed a distinct lack in blog post in the past few weeks, and I promise you there is a totally legitimate reason. I've been treating myself like a sweatshop worker and have been chained to my sewing machine whilst preparing for the two big craft/artisan sales Tyson and I are doing this holiday season. For example, this Monday night when I SHOULD have been watching "John and Kate Plus 8" on TLC I was sewing eighty log pillows.

Yes, eighty. In one day.

I can only assume that Canadian customs thought my woodgrain fabric order may possibly contain some weapons of mass destruction or cocaine or something, thus causing them to detain my suspicious looking cotton fabric at the border for over a week. Thankfully I had two wonderful helpers to get things done in the end (Tyson and my friend Jill).

So Tyson and I will be heading to TO for the One of a Kind Show from Dec. 1-7th, but never fear, our friend Garry will be manning the store (you know, Garry of the computer theft vigilante justice, don't mess with him!) For all you readers in TO, come to the show and say hi! We'll be showing Tysons art, handpainted shoes/purses and my log pillows and owls. We're heading out with the folks from Furni and PinPals as well, so it should be an exhausting but fun trip. The show goes from 9am-11pm Monday -Saturday, and ends around dinnertime on Sunday the 7th, so there's really no excuse not to come, those are some pretty acomodating shopping hours!

Notice my owls and Tysons shows on the left hand side of the pic?

Upon our return we will resume our slave-like sewing/painting routines and prepare for a few days, at which time the Souk@SAT show will be the place to find us. The store will also be open during this show, we're just going to be juggling back and forth between store/show (there's two of us running this thing for a reason, sheesh!) For all of you folks looking for log pillows and owls, this will be the place to get them, and I would suggest coming early, since the quantities are limited. I will also be selling CLOTHING this year at the Souk, which is really exciting for me, so come check it out and try some of my new stuff on. I will be bringing down leggings (as seen on Kingdom of Style and That's Just my Vibe), chain harnesses (as seen on Fashion Toast and Refinery29), elastic harnesses, a few new dresses, secretary blouses and a cute new skirt design I just came up with.

So those two shows are pretty much taking up all of our time, but if you really want to run the circuit and do most of your Christmas shopping at indie craft shows (which we think it the next best thing to doing all your Christmas shopping at HQ...) here are a few more shows to check out:

- Puces POP holiday edition: Dec. 6th, check out all the info HERE
- Ladyfest Ottawa "Not your Grandmas Craftsale" also Dec. 6th, check out all the info HERE
- Expozine: This Saturday and Sunday! (nov. 29/30) See more info HERE

xo
Angie

Bloggety Blog

What's up in lately in the blogosphere you ask? Well...

First off, a big yeeee-ha to Judy and Mike! (Mike Giles of Furni that is, and Judy Lawrence, fellow former Winnipegger and ladyfriend of Mike) They've put that laser machine that Furni purchased to good use, and have started up a mini collection called Miju. No, not Muji the Japanese answer to minimalist IKEA, but just as good.


Mike and Judy have come up with a great collection of acrylic feather necklaces. They just got a great shout out from Kingdom of Style check it out HERE. For all of you folks wanting to swing down to HQ to purchase one of these beauties, I've already started bugging Judy to bring some down, so they should be arriving shortly. (right Jude? )


Secondly, the lovely Kirsty from London based blog That's Just My Vibe ordered a pair of my burnout velvet leggings a week or so ago and just received them. She was so happy with them she popped them on promptly and took a gorgeous outfit photo mixing the leggings with killer heels & the Comme des Garcons x H&M jacket. These leggings seem to have found an especially good home, can't wait to see what they're paired up with next.


Speaking of leggings, the sequined lace pair I slipped in with Rumi's (from Fashion Toast) chain/zip harness have made their Fashion Toast debut. Paired up with "those" M by MJ booties, they couldn't look any more killer. Rumi recently got together with her friend Kristin and took a drive and did a fun mini photoshoot with a wee video. Check it all out HERE

xo
Angie

A Makeover for Worn!

We just got an exciting e-mail from the lovely Serah-Marie of Worn Fashion Journal telling us that they've just launched a brand spanking new website! I just checked it out, and it's as lovely as I would expect it to be, way to go Worn! We're super sad that Serah-Marie has headed for the big TO, but sooo happy that things are going well for her and Worn. Speaking of the big TO, did we mention that Tyson and I will be there in about a week for the One of a Kind Show? We've been preparing like mad, and are hoping to meet up with Serah-Marie at some point as well, and congratulate her in person! Oh and don't worry about the store (I know you were, for sure) our friend Garry (you know, DJ Garry Vickers) will be taking care of HQ (and our dog Spidey) for the whole week. Little Mary will be going to Elaine (of Roadkill fame) for those who were worried about her as well.

Anyways, a big congrats to Worn, you've just added to my many hours spent online daily!

xo
Angie

New Stuff from My Favorite Mirror

Holy shit, it's freezing in my apartment! I know I'm from Winnipeg and I'm supposed to be superhumanly impervious to the cold, but sadly that's not the case. Mary (our Boston Terrier) is literally INSIDE my sweater right now. She naps, I stay warm, everyone's happy. If there's one plus side to the cold weather though, it's that it gets me in the mood for Christmas, and gets me thinking early about Christmas gifts. For those of you who live away from family you'll understand how quickly that Canada Post "ship by this day or your family will hate you" deadline really creeps up quickly. Well folks, we're here to help.

The coaster sets are also made by MFM and come
in an awesome metal tin, I love them! I love protecting my furniture!

We've been carrying these little goodies by My Favorite Mirror ever since we first opened the store, and they've been a gift giving favorite ever since. Kellee and Matt have added a few new artists to the roster, and we've picked out some goodies from the geniuses at Berkley Illustration, as well as from Jason Levesque aka. Stuntkid. I've been stalking the work of Berkley Illustration for awhile now over at Etsy, and was thrilled to see that they had teamed up with MFM to bring some pocket sized animal goodness to us all. Stuntkid was a fairly new one to me, but I'm in LOVE with his "Girls Are Pretty" series, from which many of the mirror illustrations come.

We also picked up tons of our old favorites, such as Jill Bliss, The Black Apple, Eleanor Grosch, Jen Corace and soooo many more.

For the second time now we also decided to order the fun coaster sets that MFM is now also making. They kind of look like mini mouse pads (rubber botton, fabric top) and come in a really great metal tin. I think these are a great gift as well, but I'm pretty anal about protecting my wood furniture so, you know, maybe just give them to your annoyingly anal friends. We picked up some coasters from Berkely Illustration, Jill Bliss, The Black Apple as well as this cute "Cats Rule" set pictured below, designed by Kellee (owner of MFM) herself (she also works as a graphic designer) We orderd a "Dogs Rule" one too, but it sold already. So I guess that means that the jury is still out as to whether dogs or cats rule more, but it's official that dog OWNERS rule more, and love their pets more...oh!



xo
Angie

Fashion Faux Pas?

Most people with at least a passing interest in fashion will know that many "fashion" people like to throw around a lot of rules. Some of the rules are incredibly out of date, and I don't think many people give them much thought (no white shoes after labour day, purse and shoes must match, only whores wear blush, ladies pinch) OK maybe not that last one, but you get the picture. For a super mainstream example check out the opening credits of TLCs "What Not to Wear" for an example of some of the "new" rules (no miniskirts after 35, bag and shoes do NOT need to match, suede is for summer too!) and the silly list goes on. I could write a whole other post about that crazy show, the things I love (Stacey & Clinton) and hate (the clothes) about it, but that would be....well frankly that would be really boring.


My point here is rules, and the fact that I don't like them. I suppose if you're not that into dressing yourself and find it a bit of a chore rules can be a good way to ensure you aren't walking around dressed like a clown, but for those of use who relish the idea of the mad dig through the closet to put together some sort of outfit, rules are just no fun.


So, with that being said, I'm putting this out there. Socks. With. Sandals.

Oh yeah, I know that's pretty much the grand slam of rules not to break, and I have to say I agree that 99% of the time it's a great rule. A grand rule. A rule to be set in stone. Especially for men. But there's a small exception, and I don't even know how to categorize it, but there's something about this fallish weather that makes chunky wooly cute stockings or socks look absolutely great with some high heeled chunky sandals. So there it is, take it as you will, but I think it's darn cute. In fact I wore it to our last vernissage and the fashion police did not arrest me, so I think I'll continue breaking as many fashion rules as I like.

All images except the one of me before our vernissage (obviously, it's in my home) are by the Facehunter

xo
Angie

blog probs

EDIT: FINALLY! After hours in the help forums I finally figured it out (well, actually some kindly person suggested what I look for)... turns out Tysons posts were corrupted when he decided to accept an error notification. Is there some sort of hidden message here, something about Tyson being responsible for the corruption of todays youth?...who knows...)

Image of the "famed" Confusion Corner in the Peg. Image by CamB on Flickr

Although the photo above may be a really lame example of "confusion" rest assured some major confusement is what I'm feeling right now (btw, I made up the word confusement, it totally doesn't exist. In case some of you were....you know, confused). Some of you regular readers may have noticed our side column seems to have disappeared. We're not sure exactly how this happened, or why, but it's now at the bottom of the blog...yeah, WAAAAY down there. So if you're looking for the important info such as the store address, links to our suppliers, blog archives, submission info and all that other great stuff, it's still here, it's just playing hide-and-seek right now...

xo
Angie

New stuff from Norwegian Wood

image from Moni Belle of www.c20vintagefashion.co.uk

I've been sewing my little fingers off so I thought I'd give you all a bit of an update. I'm still going strong with the "Zip it Up, Chain it Up" harnesses (which I mentioned before HERE and HERE) and have been lucky enough to get some "thank you" shots of customers in their pieces, and even one who used the piece in a photoshoot for her vintage store (see above) so nice!

All three available at www.iheartnorwegianwood.etsy.com

For those of you who saw our table at Puces POP a month or so ago, you would have seen my new elastic harness design. This piece gets a few strange looks when it's dangling from a hanger, but I love how it looks when worn! I've got a few of them listed in my Etsy shop (see the Etsy mini down there on the right) and also have a few down at HQ. For $45 they're a steal, and a great little "update your spring dresses for fall" type of accessory.

"Baroque Floral" and "Bows Trellis" the two new
fabrics I've added to my "Luxe Collection" leggings

I've also added a few new fabrics to my leggings options, which are so far only in my Etsy shop, but you can always shoot me an e-mail if you want to buy something through the store, we do that pretty often now. Oh, and if you've been hankering after the "Asian Tea Party" leggings from my Vintage Collection, now's the time to act fast! I only have enough of this vintage fabric left to make ONE more pair! Check them out HERE or send us an e-mail

Only one pair left (any size), eep! SOLD OUT, sorry!

For those of you wondering about logs and owls, I've got a whole bunch of them cut out and ready to sew up, including a new velvet version of the log(!), I just need to finish up a few custom orders first and then it's time to delve into the Norwegian Wood log/owl forest again.



xo
Angie