A Canadiana Wedding...

It's been a busy week for my axe brooches....Liam Vu from Global News (local Toronto News morning show), came by my studio yesterday, and picked up a couple of my axe brooches...he wrote me earlier to let me know that he was wearing one on air this morning....(never finished this post till Friday, so It was actually Tuesday morning). 
I never got to see their on air debut, however, as I was deep in sleep, when his show aired! 
I'm still not getting great sleep due to a noisy early departure of neighbours on a daily basis, so I grab sleep when I can.

I also got a note from a very thoughtful client of mine, Jennifer Pitt,  who got married this summer, in Toronto and had a wedding with a bit of a Canadiana bent to the festivities.  It was very sweet that they chose one of my pieces for their special day....I think the sterling silver and cherry axe brooch looks great here! 
https://www.etsy.com/listing/82925014/secret-order-of-the-lumberjack-society

Their intimate wedding included a lovely lunch at the Brickworks, Cafe Belong, which is a stunning space.  http://www.cafebelong.ca/

Their wedding emphasized an inclusion of exclusively Canadian Designers:  Fluveog shoes, Coriander Girl for amazing floral inspiration, http://coriandergirl.com/, and the dress, made by Mikaella Bridal, http://www.mikaellabridal.com/. 

Her amazing photos were shot by Tyler, from Mango Studios: http://mangostudios.com/

Congrats Jen!

If I could escape the city....Camp Wandawega

It was one of those days when I had to get out of the city....it wasn't a possibility, with so much to do here, so I walked up to the High Park library at the top of the street.  There's a lovely corner on the top floor with vaulted ceilings.  I like to sit on the floor in the corner and pour over the design and gardening books.... It's calming.

I stumbled upon a book called "Found, Free and Flea" which was amazing eye candy, but mostly the story of this place is so fantastic.  The book is a series of collections that the new owners of the property completed after buying and renovating the property.

Camp Wandawega, in Wisconsin, is run by Tereasa Surratt and David Hernandez, and was whimsically purchased by the couple as it was the summer camp that David attended as a child.

Over the years the property has been:

1.  A speakeasy
2.  An Organized crime hideout
3.  House of ill repute (Brothel)
4.  A legitimate family resort
5.  A retreat for Latvian priests from Chicago
6.  Latvian church camp.

Today it's a vintage resort camp insipired by the 1950's ala Dirty Dancing camp resort.  Completely nostalgic and kitschy it's wonderfully inspired!

Check out their website here:  http://wandawega.com/

Happy World Cat Day!

Nothing says amazing like cats....Slinky, sneaky, sexy cats! Meooooow!

The find!

I woke up this morning to find a really thoughtful note from a former student of mine.  She subscribes to the Toronto Life twitter feed, and told me she thought of me because of the recent article she saw about my work....What, what what?  I had no idea at all...so I headed over to the site to check it out.  A virtual high five to the righteous writer and urban lumberjack,  Kevin Naulls for thinking of my work and creating such a thoughtful article! 
Here it is....

http://www.torontolife.com/daily/style/the-find/2012/08/07/anneke-van-bommel-accessories/#more-157063

Design Lines Magazine

Design Lines contacted me for a photo shoot lend in the summer, and the fall
magazine is out!  Featuring jewellers from across the city, the feature was on
mens rings, and featured my solid mens beveled sterling silver satin ring.

The link is here:  http://designlinesmagazine.com/index.php

An Ode to Summer

A lovely ode to summer, by Kinfolk magazine....

Olympics! Amik! Diamond Rings! Bowie!

It's Olympic time again, a welcome distraction from all of the seriously twisted news stories as of late and all the local pubs are playing coverage of the events, cheers and clapping sounds spilling out onto the sidewalk.

I have serious graphic love for Amik....created by  Pierre-Yves Pelletier, Guy St-Arnaud & George Huel for the 1976 Olympics in Montreal, this symbol still feels relevant and contemporary today.  I have a framed silk scarf version of this fellow in my living room, watching over everyone. 


The second version of this little fellow with his (or her) amazing pride stripes is equally as excellent, and reminds me of local, extra awesome and glamorous musician, Diamond Rings whose live show is a trip and worth checking out if you get a chance to see him.  Obviously playing homage to Bowie and channelling him in all the best ways.  Last show I ended up at was at the Garrison on Dundas, trying to wrap my class up on time, on a Friday night....I get there, and one of my students (from the class) is there, explaining that she makes all of Johns jewellery!  Amazing, small world.

http://diamondringsmusic.com/about/bio/