thanks betsy

My darling love, Ms. Betsy J. is planning a limited-edition design collaboration with an undisclosed retailer. Yahooooooooooooooooo! She’s reducing costs on her next runway show and creating a recession proof line of clothes that are more affordable for kids like us. “Nobody really needs new clothing, so what people will buy will have to be something special and tied into a more emotional connection, it needs to feel as if it’s something you don’t already have in your closet.”

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Just another day out of the ordinary…

some people are dull. some people are boring. some people do nothing. some people waste so much time talking about what they want to do that they never fucking do anything. some people sit on their asses and watch the world pass by never taking in the day. some people…NOT Jon Dube. he is someone interesting. he is someone moving through each day making every little thing new again. refresh. renew. redesign. reinvent. he is rocking the boat and making a path for you to follow. its a guarantee if you live in toronto or have been downtown, you eyes have taken him in already. “the free-ness of these clothes is what turned me on to volcom in the first place, well and all the innuendos you can make about “getting stoned”.. but its the attention to detail and the creative freedom that seems to permeate everything their designers and collaborators touch. check out his work and albums: J’ai Le Bait: A journey through the thought process of crazy mixed up guy.

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Art ‘H’ Box Project presents…

FRANKIE RICH! South African born, Canadian citizen, Toronto based Fine Artist Frankie Rich has much of her work housed in both public and private collections across the globe. Included in the collection of the South African Embassy, Ottawa, her work, paintings and sculptures, have been exhibited to great acclaim in South Africa, Canada and the United States. Frankie’s paintings are imbued with a deep sense of spirituality, and her approach is a joyous one, perhaps best explained in her own words: “Art can be understood, it cannot be explained.” Frankie has been invited to participate in the prestigious Arts ‘H’ BOX project, an innovative, roaming screening ‘hall’ which presents major new video commissions by eight rotating international artists. The itinerant nature of the H BOX allows it to travel the world between renowned museums and highlights the exciting fluidity of video, a medium now reshaping the twenty-first century. Each year four new international artists will join the rotating programme while four others give up their places. You can see Frankie’s artwork on Sunday afternoon from 2-5pm at88 Mutual Street, Toronto, Apartment 1008, Entry code 1092. H BOX is an innovative, roaming screening hall, presenting major new video commissions by eight international artists. Designed by architect Didier Fiuza Faustino, the unique structure hosts a rotating, diverse programme of videos by Alice Anderson, Yael Bartana, Sebastián Díaz-Morales, Dora García, Judit Kúrtag, Valérie Mréjen, Shahryar Nashat, and Su-Mei Tse. H BOX is produced by Hermès. Benjamin Weil, executive director of Artists Space, New York, is the artistic director of the project. H BOX was first unveiled at the Pompidou Centre in Paris in November 2007 and has traveled to MUSAC, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Castilla y Leon, Spain, and MUDAM, Luxembourg. Following its presentation at Tate Modern H BOX will travel to…

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City Girl Defines Her Style: Jennifer Herd

Jennifer Herd, a talented artist I know has created this awesome pic ‘City girl”. Her artwork has been entered in the Sony VAIO Contest to be one of the new laptop skins to be manufactured & sold across Canada. I am asking for your help to get her design into the Top 10. It is very simple! Click the photo to follow the link & hit ‘vote for this design’. You can vote every 24 hours. It would be a dream come true for the artist to have her design manufactured by Sony. I’m excited to help make her wish a reality! To check out more of Jennifer’s artwork visit her blog. A little bit about Jennifer: 1. Whats your dream job? – Illustrator for a trendy Toronto animation company 2. What’s your favourite type of music? – Gotta have my blues rock! Oh yeah! 3. What clothing brands best defines your personal style? – I don’t buy particular brands – I love indie and vintage!!

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Totally Kick’in It – Bettykiss Inc. Style

Retro inspired and ravishingly beautiful. One of my incredibly talented friends has created something worth blogging about. With her amazing sense of style and personality to boot, Arianne’s Bettykiss Style Inc. is creating a revolution of clutch couture. Reversible retro inspired clutches that are bashfull and beautiful. Bettykiss Style “vows to remain true to the heart & life of a past era while injecting the sensibilities based on inspiration found in music, fashion & pop culture today.” I’ve been planning how many to order and exactly what styles and fabric I want. You can purchase via the webiste or direct from the group on Facebook (click picture to be redirected). I have known Arianne for several years and I am quite happy to see her true colors showing in such a wearable way. Well, a way I can wear her style now!! To quote and recognize the fabulous designer, “let’s make impossibilities deliciously attainable; temptation just became a little more tangible. It’s ALWAYS been about you – I don’t care what Joni or Janet have to say.”For more information click the photos to be linked up with my girl Arianne and her fantabulous style. ♥

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1992 Fashion = Love & Passion

Last week I picked up this book from a second hand book store on Queen Street. As a child I often spent time sewing with mum at the kitchen table. She used to make all of our dance costumes for competitions and recitals. As for myself, I’d come up with some interesting fashion designs and sometimes dress up my little sister in my ‘unique’ styles. The book has a great introduction to designing & drawing and the best part, it is from 1992! Second hand book stores are so full of life and wonder, you can go on an adventure, travel in time or visit countries & royals. I’m looking forward to the winter to bust out the sewing machine and create some vintage classic, 1992 inspired pieces!

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Let Them Eat Cake!

Edible Marc Jacobs. Amazing. A dear friend, Roxanne is the best cake maker I have ever, ever seen. This Marc Jacobs bag is really a cake, everything is edible on this cake, even the tags are food coloring printed on icing sheets! Roxanne has an incredible talent and passion for custom designing cakes. As I look through the photos of the many, many designs Roxanne has created I am increasingly surprised at the magnitude of talent. Each cake she makes is a masterpiece of confectionery and cake. Her website is beautifully created like each unique item she makes. I have many times opened the site, browsed through the sweet treats and listened to the elegant music that accompanies the creativity. It is with great pleasure and sincerity that I share this with you. Roxanne has a private cake studio in Leaside, Toronto where she offers designer cakes, one-of-a-kind cupcakes, custom sculpted cakes and edible marketing solutions. Her collection is a like a fashion show of couture cakes. And that in itself, is something I truly love. She has mastered the arts of sculpting cakes, mixing colour, and moulding sugar into everything from fresh flowers to fine leather. I encourage that you check out her website and if you have a sweet tooth or event requiring a special touch of class and creativity, contact her & make an appointment.

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420 Volcanic Artesian Water from New Zealand

G’day Mates & Shelia’s! Being from New Zealand I was pleased to come across this fancy volcanic water from NZ this weekend at Fresh & Wild. 420 is a super premium water in a bottle that’s easy on the eye, feels good in the hand and perfectly fits the clientele of elite hotel, bars, restaurants and cafes. Every drop of water has taken generations to filter through the surrounding landscape. That means the water you hold in your hand today actually fell onto the top of a mountain when my great, great grandmother was the same age as I am now. Which is a fabulous story to tell someone you’re trying to pick up in a bar. The 420 spring is situated at the base of NZ’s South Islands Banks Peninsula an extinct Volcano. The water fell on the Southern Alps hundreds of years ago and has spent its time meandering across the Canterbury plains to arrive clean and pure to consumers today. In September 2006, 420 water struck gold on the world stage, winning two top awards at the prestigious bottled water world design awards in Italy. 420 water came up trumps against a record 135 entries from 30 countries, taking home the award for Best PET Bottle and Best Press Marketing Campaign. The gala awards ceremony took place at the San Pellegrino Casino in Italy as part of the Zenith International Global Bottled Water Congress in Bergamo, north east of Milan. ARTICLE It tasted GREAT!! Represent NZ bitches!!! Yahooooooooooooooooo!

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Japanese Fashion Show

I discovered a fantastic boutique near my place this weekend!! There is a fashion show Thursday showcasing fab designs & Japanese fashion. It is at Le Vack Block (Queen & Ossington) and it starts at 7pm. I’m looking forward to it!

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Who is CASIE?

Nah……… Options: CASIE is the brainchild of David Lovelock, M.J. Ebersole and the late John Bownds. Dr. Lovelock, of the University of Arizona, was the principal programmer of the software in the C-language. The program was designed to simplify most of the calculations related to managing a search emergency using modern search theory. CASIE also introduced innovative applications, like Resource Optimization and quantification of the Influence of Clues, as part of a comprehensive package of SAR analysis tools. The Center for the Advancement and Study of International Education (CASIE) is a non-profit organization that promotes multi-language programs and international understanding in K-12 schools in the United States.

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Cool down, down, don’t act a fool now now….

OMG – The World’s First ANTI-ENERGY Drink….this is what my boyfriend would give me when he wants to relax! He’ll say “chill baby, have this” and VOILA, leaning back on the couch all mellowed out.Its carbonated Grape and Melatonin that goes great with Vodka!From the Press Release: “From design to production, every aspect of this calming drink was inspired by today’s popular hip hop artists who embrace the much sought-after hip hop lifestyle that encourages people to capture a stress-free state of mind.” “Turns out, this is a carbonated, grape-flavored beverage spiked with melatonin, valerian root and rose hips. Apparently it is “very, very popular in Houston,” and it’s sold throughout the south in liquor and convenience stores.” The article goes on to say its great with Vodka!! YAHOOOO! Drinky, drinky, sleep sleep…… “So, does it make you sleepy? I asked the publicist. Yes, and she hears it’s good with vodka. Oh, something that makes it more likely I’ll fall asleep while drinking? Excellent.” This was Perez’s Post today!

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Vice Magazine – Show your love for NZ!!

Being a Kiwi, as great as it is, I enjoyed that VICE featured NZ in their global trend report. However, with all the focus on cities around the world, they managed to put NZ, the COUNTRY, not a city such as Auckland or Wellington, or hell, Palmy either!! Here’s what they said: “It’s slightly disappointing that no one in this majestic land actually looks like Frodo or Xena. Yes, that is all most of us know about New Zealand. Oh, and Flight of the Conchords, which isn’t the funniest thing ever, but it’s a little bit funny once in awhile. Eagle Vs. Shark was pretty good too—like Napoleon Dynamite but with cute accents and kind of sadder. What other good movies were made in New Zealand? Oh yeah, Heavenly Creatures. That’s an old fave. So anyway, instead of mythical creatures and lesbian schoolgirls, what we have here is a bunch of young cool kids being cool in their cool clothes that, we are slowly coming to realize, are the same cool clothes as everywhere else in the world. Globalization blah blah blah. Nevertheless, New Zealanders look like a pretty good time. It’s like new rave never stretched its poisonous tentacles all the way over there or something. NZ girls are good at mix ’n’ match. High-end designer pieces (Yohji Yamamoto Y’s, Zambesi) are carefully thrown together with more “street” items and bits of vintage. (MY FAV!) A simple black-and-white outfit accented with a Chanel purse plus arm tattoos plus pink hair with long bangs plus Docs equals “Let’s do this.” And wait, is that a tattoo of the Little Mermaid on her arm? OK, fine, let’s fucking do this. Everything is black-and-white, and color only occurs in the context of a perfect plaid shirt, which is harder to find than…

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