Finding the way...

Greetings all!  It's been a very busy couple of months, and It still seems completely surreal at times that I've moved studios, and began this adventure in a new province, by the sea.

Things are starting to come together, and we've been picking away at projects in order of priority, splitting our days working in the studio and on the home.

A lot of cosmetic changes need to be made, as well as serious things that need to be addressed.  We realized pretty quickly that the kitchen floor was freezing, the room was so cold that it was likely not insulated. The hunch proved correct after some exploratory work, so we've ripped out the kitchen flooring, are insulating the floors, and are bringing the kitchen back down to it's original wood floors which we are saving in the process.  

There have been some curious and unexpected discoveries on the property which has been exciting to explore...a creepy hidden well in our kitchen, fruit trees behind the house, a handmade wooden rake, and amazing flooring under all of the unfortunate linoleum and shag carpeting.

I think I've resigned myself to the fact that my future will involve a lot of wallpaper removal, and plaster repair, which I'm hoping to work on soon.  Our intention is to bring the home back to it's original state, and fortunately the woodwork, flooring and walls are all here, just hidden under many many layers which all have their own stories to tell.

So, we're making progress, but in the midst of our busiest season for our studios, we have to keep on top of our custom projects and orders....so we're not moving as quickly as we would like, but try to celebrate the small accomplishments.  

Going down the road...

Can I catch my breath?

Whew! It's been one hell of a summer, and I've got some exciting news to share!

After years of carefully looking, home viewings, flights to the east coast, offers and anticipation, we've found the perfect new home for us and our studios!

For a couple of months after the wedding and holidays, we began packing, organizing our studios for the move, and selling or donating things we no longer needed.  

We packed everything up in massive truck, and began our arduous journey across the county, and headed for the coast.  

We've arrived in Lunenburg county, Nova Scotia, in a community called Conquerall Mills, and are settling in, and working on our 1880's home.  It's amazing, overwhelming and so very exciting!  I hope to keep my blog updated a bit more frequently when things have calmed down a bit.  

We began by setting up our studios, working on the electricity, painting, and setting up one of the outbuildings as a studio space.

Leaving the city for life in the country is an adventure that we are so excited about, and I hope to share more thoughts on that later.  It's been very busy, with wood stacking, hanging drywall, altering the electricity, painting, removing unfortunate wood paneling and wall paper....stripping wall paper is brutal!

There have been some surprises...(locating a creepy stone well inside our house), yikes! And, finding that the floors are beautiful old growth pine...which we will refinish and work on.

Thought I'd take a moment to connect, and share a few pictures of the place.

Endless Summer....details, details.

It's been such an incredible summer, and i have so many new adventures to report!

I took the summer to focus on my wedding preparations, and my relationship with my now husband, which left little time for blogging or other matters.

It was a hectic, but amazing summer, with incredible memories that will go unrivaled for sure.  The best part about our wedding (other than the event and what that symbolizes for us), was getting everyone together, and making memories both before and after the day.

The surreal venue, Second Paradise Retreat, was transformed by a massive,collaborative effort from family and friends.  I am still completely astounded that everything came together the way that it did, and am truly grateful to have had such supportive and talented friends and family help out the way that they did.

With only seven months to plan the wedding, we spent the winter working on many diy and handmade projects.  We decided from the start that because of our dreams to buy a house together, we would save money by doing what we could ourselves....this involved most of the meal prep, all of the design and decor, the jewellery, the and accepting the help that our friends and family offered.

Everyone was so amazing, and came together at the Second Paradise retreat from all across the country.  As people arrived, they ran with tasks and we began to transform the property into a wedding venue which was no small task!  From my sister and brother in law, Kate and Ian making our arrangements the day of the wedding, visiting a florist and picking wildflowers along the roadside, to my brother David working on our custom playlist for the party, and my sister Rachel and brother in law Matt making and bottling wine months before our wedding, it was very much a collaborative affair!

My father is a superstar, and I will never be able to thank him enough for all of the effort and skill that he put into our whimsical wedding projects.  He found a canoe on kijiji, fixed it, and custom painted it, to serve as our bar for the wedding,  constructed some amazing planters which flanked the ceremony site, a podium for the officiant, beautiful sandwich boards which had our guest list and menu on, and directional arrows to place throughout the property.  He is seriously talented and his time was the greatest gift to us during the wedding!

On quiet snowy days in the winter, I made over 800ft!! of white paper doily garland, which was hung in the reception area, and through the fields to direct our guests to the oceans edge, where the ceremony took place.  If I had shown my family and wedding party the total amount I had prepared, I think I would've terrified them, so I hid it!  I also hand pierced the grey paper mats for each guest at the table setting, made paper garland and pinwheels, place cards, an ice breaker game, and all of the jewellery and hair ornaments and pins.  

I thought I'd share a few of the details from that day with you all....more to come as our wedding is going to be featured on a website, but till then~! xo.

All photos: Nicole Payzant Photography

Earring image: Anneke van Bommel.

Brooklyn, Brooklyn, take me in.

Sometimes, the best gifts are the ones you never expect.
The ones that surprise, amaze and delight you in ways you could never imagine.

I've been so busy in preparation for my (just wrapped) destination Lunenburg wedding that my blog, vintage shop and other obligations were feeling a little, errr, lonely....they needed more of my time.

Usually, the best gifts are the gifts of time and experiences....and at the end of May,
my brother in law gave me and my partner an unexpected, amazing gift...a gift of time
together to re-connect before our upcoming wedding.

He told us to stay in his loft in Bushwick which would be empty for a while...."Someone needs to enjoy the space, right??"  

It was an amazing chance to reconnect, to actually sit down together and focus on all of the excitement and anticipation, while exploring lots of new restaurants, vintage shops and art galleries in New York.

We started our trip off at the famous Roberta's pizza in Bushwick, on a warm day on the patio, to escape the wood ovens blazing inside....The Lil' Stinker pizza and some side snacks, olives and bread, paired with a Other Half Forever Ever IPA were a delicious welcome to the city.  The Momofuku trifecta was also achieved with a visit to the extraordinary noodle bar, the ice cream shop and the Sushi shack.  

We explored Soho, Little Italy, Greenwich Village and other parts of the city, but always found ourselves saying, let's go back to Brooklyn!

Bushwick was so much fun to explore, and there are so many amazing places to check out, we didn't really want to leave.  From Tuttis to Beacons Closet, the Momo Sushi Shack, the taquerias for soft tacos and the secret bar without a name, we spent our days blissed out on a food and shopping adventure.

Spring Wedding Floral Inspiration

The Spring weather has finally arrived, and the transition was sudden and explosive.  Toronto's magnolias exploded, spring blooms erupted across the city, and the trees and hedges seemed to bud and green overnight.

It certainly seems to have collectively brightened moods...steps seem lighter, people quicker to smile now that the weather is much more pleasant.

It's been busy past few weeks, working on wedding rings, custom grad jewellery projects and mothers day presents.  It's been fun to work on these pieces and share in a tiny way with people these celebrations and special moments, that they are so excited about...the energy is pretty inspiring!

I've been planning the details of my upcoming wedding, and it's truly been so much more work than I had planned....working out the details has been fun, and challenging.  Thought I'd share some of my floral inspiration, I'm thinking blush pinks, white florals, wildflowers and lots of greenery.  And I'm really liking the cascading bouquet idea, pretty wild and playful which will compliment the ocean side farm location.  

It's totally a diy affair for the most part, so we'll be taking care of the florals, and will be testing out some of our ideas before the big day...I'll be visiting the flower markets in the next few weeks to test out some of these ideas :)

Spring Jewellery Launch...The Gold Rings

The sun sparkle on silent waters
Collecting beach glass by the oceans edge
The haze of summer
Exhaling.


The Spring/Summer 2015 launch continues, with this series of minimalist gold stacking and hammered rings.  These pair really well with the neckpieces that are soon to come, inspired by the soft, opaque quality of beach glass, and the cottage collections of these holiday treasures as they accumulate on your bedside table.

I wanted to make some timeless gold stacking rings that can be paired with your old favorites, or worn alone, in a warm yellow gold to celebrate the return of the sun, and the longer days to come.

Beach images via: thisisglamorous, Studded Hearts and Oh, Pioneer.

All jewellery designs and images Anneke van Bommel.