Picking the Right Glasses, for Your Face!

I’m a huge fan of wearing glasses. They’re a statement piece for your face and can change a somewhat boring outfit into something with a lot more style. I’ve had glasses since my first eye checkup in high school. They were my first ever high end designer item too. I saw a pair of Gucci frames before I went in to get my eyes checked, as we were wrapping up my appointment the doctor told my my eyes were near perfect. You think a girl would be happy about that, no, I wanted those GUCCI GLASSES! Fortunate for fashion, I was able to get them in the weakest possible prescription and Mum & I went home happy after placing the order. Now that I’m grown up (sounds so weird to say that, but anyways) I have to get my own glasses. A good price and easy shopping experience are important. Yesterday I chatted with Derek Derek Desierto’s about his top picks top picks for the spring and summer. Derek is a Canadian celebrity eyeglass stylist and the in-house designer for Clearlycontacts.ca. Listen here: Derek styled my face with the handy Virtual Mirror I told you about in January.  In our short talk I learned that you should pick glasses that are the opposite shape of your face ex. square face, round glasses etc. These are a few of his latest designs w/ Clearly Contacts. Any guesses which ones I picked before looking two inches down the page? (Worst guessing game ever, I know) I went for the fashionable & feminine Birch: They should arrive next week and I will do an unboxing & try them on for you style like I did last time. Follow Derek & I on Twitter at @mrdesierto & @casiestewart.  Check out this TOTALLY rad commercial for HTC that…

View Post

Speaking | The Audio from my SXSW Talk is Now Online

LISTEN TO IT HERE: Psychology of Narcissism & How It Affects Brands I listened to it last night, I think you will like it. I make a couple jokes half way through and the discussion really gets going there. I mention a few brands and we all get some info from Dr. Jacob Small and clinical psychotherapist from New York. It’s about an hour with the final Q&A. Let me know what you think. I’m doing a similar talk about psychology, narcissism and brands in July at NXNE. To attend it get a NXNE pass HERE before they go up in price on April 13th. Not exactly sure the day I’m be speaking at NXNE. I’m on more than one panel and there is a TON of great speakers & panels in both music & interactive. I’ll be giving some tickets away closer to the date. This is of the questions we discuss in the panel and I’d love to know your thoughts on the subject. Do you think the internet breeds narcissism?  

View Post

I heard Tuesday is the most stressful day of the week?

It’s always been one of my favourites. I’ve been working from standing desk every Monday and I’ve found it to really increase my productivity. I’m working with a bunch of new people in exciting projects. I’ve just joined the Board of Directors for a new fashion brand 3F, who has a store at Yonge & Dundas. More on that in the coming weeks… Made my fav lunch today, Campbells Tomato Soup with rye toast. Something about it makes me feel right at home. Mum used to make it for me all the time. Barbie and I turned out living room into a jewellery studio last night. We were much more successful at mess making than starting a new line of anything. We won’t be quitting our day jobs anytime soon. I made this necklace that includes some pieces of old things I had in these many bins. I wanted to make something with keys on it after seeing a few on Pinterest and as SOOON AS I was done. I got an email from Stolen Girlsfriends Club (my fav NZ designers) and they had a similar necklace that just came out. You could say I’m quite on trend 😉 Concierge rung me to let me know I received a fancy looking package from KitKat. Lucky me! It’s actually really cute & full of things to de-stress myself; chocolate, stress ball, tea, iTunes card, note pad and some really good smelling tobacco oil.  The ‘Take-a-Break’ kit came to inform me about National Stress Awareness Month. KitKat is giving away all kinds of money & prizes on their FB page at facebook.com/kitkat. Getting a prize of $100K would CERTAINLY alleviate an stress I have. For now, I’ll take the snacks. Thanks guys! Off to a meeting next door then back home to dive into this chocolate & tea. Have an awesome day! <3…

View Post

LOVE IS THE ANSWER

Email from Mr. Brainwash: On Thursday, March 29th, at 12pm PST, Mr. Brainwash will be releasing “Love Is The Answer”. An eighteen-color screen print on hand torn archival art paper and hand finished with spray paint. Each print is signed, numbered and thumb printed by the artist. Edition:100 Size: 36inx45.5in Price:$1,000 Helloooooooooooo. I want to make some art. Outside painting when summer comes. We’re back to pre-spring temps in Toronto again today. Mega wind. I’d rather be at this game int he sun, sun, sun. I learned today that Albert Einstein married his cousin, Elsa Einstein. Interesting eh. I used to carry around a paper printed from home that was a collection of inspiring words and quotes by Albert E. I called is STEINNIE, mixed up the letters and kept it in my pocketbook. Moleskine. Lemme see if I can find it, yep, inspiration folder of papers. One day I will have a huge office and there will be papers everywhere. It will be lovely because nobody will use paper anymore and they will all be artifacts. One of my favs: The only reason for time is so that everything doesn’t happen at once. One for Saturday: If A equals success, then the formula is A equals X plus Y plus Z.X is work. Y is play. Z is keep your mouth shut. Sometimes I find old blog posts that have been chaged or the links don’t work and I know I need to fix that but it’s fun finding them too. Today I found this creative little writing excerpt from one of my journals. I was wearing tall gladiator sandals, it was 2009. this papers not as good for drawing its better for writing in pen i like when the pencil scratches the paper its thinner than the other paper and i like that one…

View Post

Speaking | BRANDS & NARCISSISM, SXSW

I chuckle to myself at this title and the fact that I’m called upon to talk about the psychology of narcissism and how it affects brands. I know it has a lot to do with how technology and society have changed the way we communicate but it’s still kinda funny. I reckon Mum thinks it’s funny too. I’ve not changed much since I was a kid, seriously. Our SXSW panel was really awesome. The room was packed, we had great discussion and there were lots of questions following. I enjoyed meeting psychotherapist Dr. Jacob Small and discussing my own ‘personality disorder’ and how narcissism is extremely prevalent in todays society. During our panel I learned that Narcissism as a clinical disorder is being removed from ‘the book’ and added as merely a symptom of other personality disorders. Good looking panel, eh? 🙂 It was ADVANCED Level. Oh yeah. Interestingly enough, a couple days before this panel I was written about in local Toronto weekly, The Grid about being an introvert then the very next day an extrovert. I definitely have both sides to my personality but I’m clearly a highly functioning crazy person. I’m speaking at NXNE in June about the same topic and hope you’ll be there to see it. I’m sure I’ll be able to hook up some tickets for our panel closer to the date. Yeeeeeeehaw! All photos by the lovely Kate Killet. Now I am late for lunch w/ Telus. Byeee! Wear sunscreen!

View Post

Juma Installation at Toronto World MasterCard Fashion Week

Toronto’s Juma, unveiled their Fall/Winter 2012 scarf collection at the Edward Day Gallery without the use of models, opting for an installation style event.  An elite group of Monday night fashionista faves soaked in the wonders of Juma’s silky garbs.  In case you didn’t know, Juma is a brother and sister team (Jamil and Alia) who create unisex, progressive ready-to-wear and accessories using their own digital prints inspired by art and travel. The upcoming season’s work was no exception and channeling aspects of local culture, and wildlife from the siblings travels in Thailand and Northern China but adding a spacey 60s mod vibe. I wonder what their trips are like. I can imagine they are quite unlike anything most family vacations I’ve been on! Since launching their line in the 2003, the duo have relocated to New York where they spend half their lives, bringing some inspiration to their designs. According to Jamil, the two of them looked forward to “developing an environment that will embody the personality of the collection.” I guess this was true enough.  The walls of the gallery were draped with dozens of scarves, not unlike the paintings that usually house the gallery’s walls, with glossy lacquered branches hanging here and there.  It was well fitting as Juma’s scarves really are works of art that bring loud psychedelic burps pops of colour to the  minimalist wardrobe that Toronto just can’t seem to escape from. Aside from launching the exotic and always eye-dazzling array of garments and scarves Juma has been quite busy on other fronts brokering deals with Holt Renfrew, (now available in shops!) designing a tutu for the National Ballet of Canada’s 60th Anniversary, and also planning a new store opening, (location still being kept a mystery) but I’m guessing either Toronto, or New York. – JESSE

View Post

MY CITY LIVES: TORONTO’S BEST VIDEO CREATORS & STORYTELLERS

Earlier this year in between my travels I filmed this video with my friends at My City Lives. I’ve got a bunch of videos on their platform and I’ve watched the company grow over the past few years. I’m happy to share with you this awesome vid put together by My City Lives and The Biz Media. Enjoy! Here’s an excerpt from the My City Lives blog. Read the whole post here! Meet Casie Stewart: daily lifestyle vlogger, brand ambassador, and one of Toronto’s most influential bloggers. Casie is a household name in the Toronto social media community – and for good reason – she’s got an infectious personality and an enormous amount of hustle. We’ve been fans of Casie for a long time so being able to collaborate with her was really special. Casie, having worked for brands like MuchMusic and MTV, is well armed when it comes to communicating with different audiences and succeeds in showcasing her talent in her blog, which she has been writing for over seven years now. Aside from creating a constant flow of contents for her blog, Casie has been an avid creator of My City Lives videos for years. Kate was on the scene with her camera. Here’s a few behind the scenes pix from her Flickr stream. My City Lives Co-Creator, Adil Emma & Xavier from Timeless on Queen (before renos was CTS) I like laughing! Thank you to the My City Lives team for featuring me. I love you guys <3

View Post

SPRING TEASER, PLEASER

Its lovely outside today but tonight we’re getting a snow storm and winter will be back here.. I’m made the most of a beautiful day by biking on a Bixi downtown. Weeeee! Jacket: Mubaa leather, Holts Shoes: Ego & Greed, Solestruck.com Shirt: Joe Fresh Overalls: H&M Glasses: Vintage from NZ Lipstick: Kate for Rimmel in Rosetto Today TWO crazy awesome things happened today… (remember when I used to ALWAYS say ‘crazy awesome’) … Anyhoo, CTS, my fav vintage shop ever, reopened today and it looks SO NICE. Also, Lauren and I also went to a Mill. The best mill in town!

View Post

ARRIVE IN STYLE

Über is launching in Toronto and a friend invited me to be one of the first to try it out. So, downloaded the app and booked a car. Less than five min and this fancy thing rolled up… I took it to my hair appt at Darren’s and as I hopped out of the car I had this moment where I was like “ahhh, this is more like it”. Felt like a diva and it was lovely. Walked to a meeting then called booked another Über to take me home. Luxury fleet is so damn glam compared to taxi! Met up w/ Shannon for a celebratory drink, then took one more Über to the Doc Martens party. Man, everybody and their dog blog was there! Helloooooo blondetourage & Beckerman babes! Cass & Em ILU. Had a few beers, (caved and) got maccas then went home to watch Criminal Minds. LIFE IS CRAZY, live it out!

View Post

Share the Love with Me to We Artisans

Today’s video features one of my fav pieces from a company I love & support, Me to We. I’ve been following the path of Craig Kielberger, founder of Free The Children since I was 14 years old. See the entire Me to We artisans collection here  or visit Free the Children for info about how they are changing the world. See my previous posts about the company here, metowe_casie. “Love is the mother who spends her day tending her land to support her children. Love is the daughter who walks for hours every day to collect water for her family. Love comes in all forms—friends, mothers, families, sweethearts. On February 14th, share the love not only with your loved ones, but the world.” * BTW I have successfully added a video to my YouTube channel EVERY DAY this month. Check it out & subscribe here. Give me 20 more days and I will have the hang of this iPhone iMovie thing!!

View Post

Have Confidence in Your Business

Watched this talk last night by Mike Monteiro about being a person who works in the business of being creative. He talks about relationship building and uses good language. The start is amusing and I learned a few things. I drew on iPad while he was talking. He brings in his lawyer, who is quite insightful. Especially when it comes to how to take care of client service contracts as a small business. Sounds boring but it’s not. I watched the whole thing. Having a business lawyer like Weisblatt Law Firm can really help expand and build on your business in the best way possible with sorting out legalities. If the person you are working with has their lawyer on the call, you should have yours. 2011/03 Mike Monteiro | F*ck You. Pay Me. from San Francisco Creative Mornings I like when he says ” I would like designers to stop being bottoms, realize the power you have in the relationship”. (You’ll enjoy that part I’m sure.) I love listening to entrepreneurs talk. It’s like candy for your brain. At the end he says something that I say to you and myself like, errrrrrrry day. Go do something awesome.

View Post

LOVE WHAT YOU LOVE

Here’s a little sneak peek into the dresse we’ll be wearing at Love a Heart on February 9th. The event is a date auction so if you have ever wanted to go on a date with me (or any of the other boys & girls) this is your chance! All proceeds go to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Last year’s event was a HUGE success! Rent Frock Repeat is a Canadian owned and operated business, based in Toronto. The concept is fairly simple – rent a designer dress, wear it, send it back. Erin Bury has talked about it before so I was super keen to give it a go. The babes behind RfR, Lisa & Kristy set up a pop up shop for us with dressing tents complete with wine, treats & cupcakes.   I picked a gorgeous red silk number by Adam. So fitting for Valentines Day <3 There were so many really beautiful dresses to pick from. I love the concept of renting a dress, it’ll be so handy come Film Fest! Raymbo & I have the devil angel thing happening here mooohahah. Who is which?                 Love this dress for another time. Love the back and how it shows tattoo. Raymi is going to be a beautiful blonde baby Björk. For more info on Love a Heart see FB. Thanks Shannon for setting this up and the lovely ladies at Rent Frock Repeat for offering  a 10% discount on rentals with code LOVEAHEART. Go rent a dress for your Valentines date or something special and 10% will go to the Heart & Stroke Foundation. Love ya xo CASIE

View Post

Good things come to those who…

GO OUT AND GET THEM.

Watched State of The Union last night (sounds like a movie, no?). Obama is a great speaker. I find him really charming. I used to blog about him heaps before he was President. Love this photo essay from his college years in Time Magazine. Click image to see it all again. When I was growing up I used to go to dance competitions in New York and Myrtle Beach fairly often. I was in love/obsessed with the American flag.  I had jackets, shorts, shirts, hats GALORE. Jenie and I had matching full sequin flag hats. Snapped this photo at the Boston airport the other day. I love Instagram. In other American news my young Canadian friend from the west coast, Alex Kazemi recently interviewed LANA DEL REY. I love her. Check out his interview here. I’ve been on a bit of an optimism kick this week. I’m working on some exciting projects with awesome people that I will tell you about in DUE TIME. Reminded myself of Optimism Girl last night. Did you know she’s over 16 now? Crazy. This will perk you up no matter what kind of day you’re having. This morning I have a car service taking Sammy & I to Pearson Airport for a luncheon with HP & Air Canada. No, not leaving the country yet though! Will be at the DX3 conference later in the afternoon. Getting really stoked for Austin & SXSW in March. Started prep with my panel mates and loving our ‘Narcism Notes’. Chuckle to myself there haha 😉 Couple goodies from friends for the day:  Album download of Toronto band The Slakadeliqs feat. babe Justin Nozuka (free!) Win a ticket to the CONDO SHOW OR a trip to BAHAMAS from condooutlet.com (on FB) Did you know MIT is starting to offer FREE classes? Oh…

View Post

We’re second best in the world! Embrace Winter!

Toronto’s been named second best city in the world! The big apple took the cake for first place but hey, it’s NEW YORK. Read it here in the Globe & Mail. We had a mini blizzard in Toronto today. When I say ‘we’ I mean Toronto and not the kind of blizzard you get from Dairy Queen! Brrrrr. Took this pano from the balcony just before sunset. The weather was really moody today all up, down, angry, then the sun finally came out. I felt a bit like that too. This video is down by the lake when I was almost BLOWN OVER. keek/casiestewart Stopped by the beach in the afternoon. No really, I went to the urban beach even though it was FREEEEZING.  Sand & snow! Embrace winter! I love how the boats look, pretty, peaceful and cold. I have so man memories from this spot. Hung out at CTS with Emma in the afternoon and she dressed me in a full leather outfit. Decided to walk back from my meeting to get some fresh air. Hanging out with these guys tonight. These are my favourite chocolate treats if you are wondering what to get me for valentines. In celebration of Toronto’s awesomeness and being one of the BEST CITIES to live in here’s a lovely tune from GTA cool kids Walk Off the Earth called ‘Corner of Queen’. Queen Street FTW!

View Post