Summer at West Elm

Last night, along with some other bloggers, I got to tour West Elm Toronto for a look at their summer collection. Here are a few of my favourite corners of the store - I love the use of colours and layers. West Elm is always such a treat because of the incredible varied inventory they have. Every bit of the place has endless inspiration and wonderful little pieces for your home and lifestyle. I think they excel in their layering of textures - something I would like to get better at in my own home. 

1. A beautiful installation of paper flowers.
2. More paper flowers, handmade in Mexico by local artisans.
3. Waterscape vases that look like tumbled sea glass.
4. A gorgeous grey and yellow table setting.
5. Red, black and white. So simple and chic.
6. Textures for your table!



All photos by MF Miller for Suite Henry. I would also like to clarify that this is not a sponsored post. West Elm did not pay me for any portion of this. I was invited by the Toronto store for a tour and I took photos because I enjoyed the evening. All the bloggers received a small take-away gift because we made the effort to come out and visit. There was also candy. That was nice ;)

Interior Lust: Mjolk

There are certain sites I will always visit for inspiration. Some of them are "mommy blogs," where I read about family life, birth and breast feeding. Others are lifestyle blogs. Some are tumblr sites where I go when I want to imagine I live off in some cabin somewhere and bake pies on my reclaimed wood kitchen island (you know, fantasy land?). And other sites are just for feeding my need to see really, really, really good design. Mjolk's online shop is just that.

Mjolk is located here in the Junction area of Toronto, and is run by John Baker and Juli Daoust. The whole shop - both the actual store and online site - is dedicated to wonderfully designed (and carefully selected) furniture and home accessories. The focus here is Scandinavian design but there are plenty of Japanese artists to go around too. Having been visited Mjolk, I can honestly say that it feels more like a gallery space than a retail store. The beauty here (and really, John and Juli's strength) is how well-curated the whole collection is and how evident the simple utility of each piece is. Form and function are side by side.  

I picked a few of my favourite items from the online shop above. I loved the colour schemes and the simplicity of each of the pieces. Something about this collection feels like a very modern autumn to me.

1. Dala horse, made in Sweden
2. Linen tablecloth by Yumiko Sekine of Fog Linen 
3. Linum big bowls by Finnish ceramicist Nathalie Lahdenmäki 
4. Small glasses  by Japanese glass artist Tsuji Kazumi

Follow Juli and John on twitter @mjolkshop



*All of the above images are from Mjolk

Written Work: Vive Magazine

I've been so caught up in babyland that I failed to mention my latest published work - a piece for the online fashion magazine Vive.

Check out the newest issue Vive Magazine to read my piece entitled "Pursuit of Perfection: Separate the good stress from the bad." Find it on pages 22-23!

I had such a blast putting this piece together (it includes some pointers on how to deal with mounting stresses, professional goals and those nagging voices in your head) because I know, firsthand, how difficult it can be to feel like you've got a handle on everything.

I am my own worst critic and can let my feelings of inadequacy rob me of precious sleep and leave me with nothing but anxiety. I've been struggling for the past two years to figure out where I want to go professionally and how to combine creativity with, ahem, a viable job. I've been taking classes, my end goal has changed a few times and I've come back to one of the things I thought I had stepped away from but can't escape: my need to write.

Oh and somewhere in there I got married and decided that a family was going to happen alongside everything else.

It's hard. We have a stricter budget now that I am on maternity leave so balancing that has been tricky. And while I've got all these ideas in my head for new things, my baby boy is such a huge priority right now. He deserves all of me. He's so small at just nine weeks (even though he is chunking up - almost thirteen pounds!). I am tying to keep a handle on this new motherhood thing and balance it with that person inside me that still wants creative challenges around. I don't think it's one or the other - being a mother has made me value time so much more so when I do manage to sit down to work (which doesn't happen as often as I like) I am at least, way more efficient about it since it is precious time away from my little man. 

I hope to keep the energy going because I do have some plans!

New articles I want to write, stories that need to get told, even some ideas for some original prints - all lingering in my head somewhere.

Cover Image Vive Magazine Vol. 4.2

Follow Vive on Twitter and on Tumblr.

Cool Factor: FalconWright Goods

Love the simple design and hand-made quality of Toronto-based Falconwright leather goods.

Hand-sewn, original silk-screened patterns.

Pretty cool.

Cambie Design and The Spot on Queen

The immensely talented Camille Byrne of Cambie Design is at The Spot on Queen designer market selected dates during June, July and August this summer.

She has richly textured Alpaca blankets, brought in special from Peru as well as hand-picked vintage furniture items found on the eastern coast of Canada.

If you are local in Toronto or visiting the city be sure to check it out!

Check out Cambie's own post on the venue and see the goods here.

Twitter: Cambie Design

Twitter: The Spot on Queen

Weekend Dates:

June

22-24

July

6-8,

20-22

August

10-12,

17-19

 

Michael Graydon Photography

I discovered Michael Graydon, a Toronto-based photographer, through this post and then spent some serious time looking through his website. It's full of great images; interiors, food and lifestyle shots but I was particularly drawn to his photos of details. They stuck out to me as special and I enjoyed they way Graydon has captured all the textures in these vignettes.

Coveting: Covet Garden + Nikole Herriott

The latest Covet Garden magazine turned up in my inbox the other day and the entire issue is focused around Nikole Herriott of Herriott Grace. They've captured her beautiful apartment and wonderful sense of style in a way that is both fresh and true to Nikole's design aesthetic.

It reminded me of how beautiful the Herriott Grace shop is (even though most items are usually understandably sold out!). I always feel like I fail at keeping things simple and elegant and Nikole always manages to do it with a slightly rustic touch that is truly individual.

1. Covet Garden cover shot by Michael Graydon



2-4. Product shots from Herriott Grace by Nikole Herriot

Sneak Peek: West Elm Spring 2012

On Wednesday night, I had the pleasure of an intimate tour over at West Elm, in honour of their spring collection. Neil Gazmen, the Toronto Store manager, guided us (little ol'me and some other lovely bloggers) throughout the store with some real warmth and enthusiasm. It was great to preview all of the fresh ideas bouncing around the place for the new season.

It was also seriously great to hear about how West Elm is looking to highlight their support of one-of-a-kind design and trying to bring craft and design to a whole other level of accessibility and visibility. In addition to their artist collaborations, the company also has several partnerships set up to support local economies around the world - whether it's hand-picked Kantha throws, hand-made by women in India or paper-mache wall art that supports communities in Haiti. West Elm proves that you can be a successful corporate company, be passionate about craft and design and still do some good - you just have to want to!

Some favourite moments of the night:
1. Fantastic installations - they really take their visual merchandising beyond retail and straight into whimsy.
2. & 3. Designer collaborations. Check them out here and here.
4. & 5. My favourite colour combination of the night - coral and stone. It feels modern and inviting, with just the right level of punch.
6. Detail shot of the Kantha quilts. Each is completely unique and hand-selected.
7. & 8. Paper-machier art from Haiti and hand-blocked pillows from India. Both items are produced in partnership with Aid to Artisans.

Letterpress: The Berkeley Suite

My sister got married at the end of this past summer and Chris and I gifted them a custom, letterpress invitation suite for their special day. The venue was an old church, built in 1871, that has now been converted into a hip venue space. I was given free reign for the design and because the venue was so unusual I decided to something outside of what is typical for wedding suites. My sister had mentioned that she liked carnival-era posters with a heavy focus on a combination of different types of font. I played around with designs for a bit before landing on the idea of building everything around the circular design. I wanted it to be interesting but also clean and modern.

I worked with Snap and Tumble for the letterpress portion of the invites. Tanya was extremely patient during the whole process - in total the printing took 10 hrs (!). Each of the 120+ invites had to go through the press five times and that's not counting the designs on the envelopes and the reply envelopes (not shown) that had the bride and groom's return address. The colours were hand-inked and the registration was all done by hand on the letterpress.

It was a huge project but I was pretty happy with how everything turned out. I love that the invitations communicated the individual style of the day and the fun nature of the couple.

Custom Letterpress Wedding Invitations: MF Miller
Letterpress Rental: Snap and Tumble