News! Come see my work this Friday at the Junction Design Crawl

 

This Friday I partnering up with Telephone Booth Gallery to display my work at the new men's clothing store GERHARD at 2949 Dundas Street West.

Come on out to the Crawl! It promises to be a great night full of great design + drink!

Participating stores are below.

For more info: www.junctiondesigncrawl.com

This space is saved...

For all the great photos from Cape Cod that I don't have time to post right now.
Coming soon!
a.

Je suis en Vacance

 I am off to Cape Cod for 10 days. 

This fantastic illustration by Bernardo Carvalho perfectly encompasses how I feel - 

Can't wait to jump in the ocean!

Essentials packed

 

Sketchbook
J Crew Pineapple tank
John Irving A Widow for One Year
Shelia Bridges The Bald Mermaid
Stack of Elle Decor
Cape Cod Here I come!

Sketch: Tolix chair

Below: a sketch from last week. 

 

Here is the chair the sketch was based on.

I love drawing chairs and learning about the history of furniture.

The Tolix chair was created by Xavier Pauchard in 1934.

It was originally meant as an outdoor cafe chair but is now often found inside 

- in a rainbow of colours - in very styley kitchens!

Tolix also makes great industrial looking stools.

the chair is part of collections in the MoMA in New York, the Pompidou Centre in Paris and the Vitra design collection in Weil am Rhein in Germany. - See more at: http://themustardceilingblog.com/2012/04/tell-me-tuesday-bam-or-slam-14.html#sthash.mv9dRUq0.dpuf

I have joined Instagram -- Very Reluctantly!

Instagram photo
Friday night 6pm
King Edward Hotel, Toronto
French Martini + my ever present notebook

Ok News flash I have joined Instagram.
I have done so ever so reluctantly as I am already on Pinterest (which I adore for it's organizing + categorizing abilities) + Blogger + Twitter so felt very strongly that I didn't want to spend 1 more second on another social media thingy!! (I believe strongly in living life - not just documenting it!)

However I now realize the big appeal of instagram is the fact that it really is instant - one can shoot post + tweet in about 20 seconds and then quickly get back to living one's life..... so with much reluctance you can now find me here.

Very special night

Last night was a very special night.
My friends Jeff + Tori got married and then proceeded to host the best wedding reception ever.

 

Tori cutting the wedding cake with newly minted husband Jeff behind her.

What a space!! 

(Note blissful wedding couple canoodling in bkgd)

The reception took place in an incredible space  - a former sheet metal shop on Dundas West that's been converted into a fabulous home with stunning art, built ins, lighting and the world's longest kitchen island! I think it's true - you can never have enough counter space. :-)

If you're planning to visit Toronto sometime soon you're in luck... as the home is available to rent through air b+ b!! It can be viewed + booked here. It was also recently featured in Dwell magazine.

 Jeff's fabulous brogues. (He's a styley guy)

Me + Rachel Giese.

Love this pic.

Another view of the space.

Great lighting.

(The upstairs was stunning too!)

  

Who would guess such a special place lies behind this unassuming storefront?!  

Above: Leaving after a very special evening of wonderful conversations, too much champagne, and a

room bursting with love and best wishes for Jeff + Tori. Corny but true!

New work: More illustrations for the LCBO

Here are a few more illustrations I did for the LCBO.

This was for a video on fortified wine.
The woman's face with the roman nose reminds me Leandra Medine of Man Repeller (who I adore)
I gave her a classic red Diane von Furstenberg wrap dress. 
The LCBO requested something very current for the fella's wardrobe so I consulted the spring J Crew catalogue! His outfit is based on their very sharp Ludlow suit.  

 These folks were also drawn for the fortified wine video. Ever since getting my hair cut I find I love drawing woman with short hair. yay! The guy's outfit is again based on j crew items and the couch is inspired by the Spencer sofa at Style Garage which i have long lusted over....

In both videos the figures were cropped. These are the full versions with heads.

 

Here is your friendly LCBO employee ready to help you choose your bottle of red!

He appears in all 7 videos.

 

 Little vintagey globe which appears in videos and in print.

Thanks so much to the LCBO and Blammo for the great gig.

Here comes the Kitchen Reno

 BEFORE

Ok! Floors are in so is now time for the kitchen reno. Above my humble little kitchen.

Here is my TO DO list:

1. Switch out cabinet doors for new white ones.
2. Change handles
3. Replace fan above stove with stainless steel microwave with built in fan.
4. Create storage above with drywall and sliding doors
5. Add 5 pots lights
6. Add backsplash - white subway tile
7. Change counter.
8. Replace Fridge w Stainless steel
9. Replace Stove w Stainless steel

So that the final result might look something like this below:

INSPIRATION FOR THE AFTER!

This is the kitchen of my design saavy + very handy neighbours Vanja + Calder. 
They started with the identical kitchen to mine!
Isn't their transformation incredible?!
Very exciting for me to see what a change of materials and some smart planning can do.
 
*I am currently looking for a contractor to do the drywall and storage unit.*
Any recos most welcome. Thanks!
Also if you have any kitchen reno tips you feel inspired to share - Don't hold back! 
I would love to hear.

New work: Rosé illustrations for LCBO

Here are some rosé illos I recently created for the LCBO. They appear in the online video + in the instore flyers. As a big fan of rosé these were very fun to do!

 

This illo was based on a bottle of Tavel. 

One of my fave rosés. mmmm

 Happy host with an outfit based on a comrags dress.

 

More rosé ... this time in the light blush version.

Cheers!

Sketch: Tufted couch

 I came across this sketch I originally did for the Style at Home booth at the IDS show in 2011.
See here. 

 It didnt make the cut for the mural but have always liked it so decided to revisit today and complete with some colour. ps. I do all my drawing by hand using pen + paper, then scan in and colour in photoshop.

Covet Garden - Jenn Hannotte's home + my lemon tattly

I'm totally inspired by the gorgeous home of Interior Designer Jenn Hannotte featured in the latest issue of Covet Garden.

I really love her delicious mix of materials + time periods for eg the antique warm wood combined with the bright white IKEA cabinet in this shot. 

I also love that many of her savvy reno ideas are very budget friendly!
For eg she repainted these kitchen cupboards instead of buying new and used plywood for flooring.
Love the mix of the kilm +marble table in this shot.
Total inspiration for my own home.
Both photos by Jodi Pudge.

The issue also contains a photo by Ashley Capp featuring my lemon Tattly.

Thanks Covet Garden and Ashley for making my work look so good!

Reno Update: My new Floor!

Ok Decor lovers... New flash: Last week - at long last I got my floor installed.
Readers of this blog will know that it has been a bit of a search for me to find a floor I could love. mmm ... That would be an understatement. BLUSH.

In my search I found many of the floors out there to be very varnished + fakey looking. I felt allergic to them. :-( My goal was to find a floor that looked like it was out of a cottage with a natural + beat up quality and no icky varnish! Happy to say I finally found that floor at Nadurra.

The floor I finally chose is a Wide plank White Oak from Nadurra's Rustic Neue collection. 
As you can see there is a ton of variation between the planks and a gorgeous matt finish. 
Just what I was looking for.

Here is a closeup of the wood.

Look at those knots baby!

In addition to having gorgeous, FSC approved products the customer service at Nadurra is exceptional.  Rob Kingsley gave me very personalized attention and helped me with selection, delivery and follow up. Can't recommend him enough.

Thanks must also be sent to Kim, Janet, Gaby, and Donna who were all incredibly helpful during my flooring saga. So glad it's over. I never wanna look at another floor sample again. :-)
Now onto the kitchen reno!

Ingenious Double Duty furniture

So I have been in reno mode for a few weeks now....
I have been trying to figure out how to accommodate my huge map drawers (where I store my prints) plus have a guest bed.
Et Voila:  The solution below!
Just love this very smart piece built by Fugitive Glue in Toronto.

Tattly Birthday Sale

Tattly is two years old this week! Order by this Sunday and get 50% off your entire order.
Oooh ahh.

Images from June

I've been away from my blog for a while... It's catch up time.
Here are some favourite images from June.

 Hijinks with great Artscape Neighbours Paula and Greg.

More hijinks with Artscapers including Robbie Grunewald above (and his Gin Fizz)

 Printing some more kitchen prints

Design salon!

Kim, Jessica and Donna

Jessica, peonies and birdie plates!

Colleen, Lynda and Heather.

Very attractive Tattly model: Photographer Jon Loek

 

 Sassy Sasha and my pear Tattly

Puppeteer Clea Minaker and her fabulous legs

from the amazing documentary

Look at what the light did now

I can't recommend this documentary enough.

Another screen grab from the documentary

Beautiful.

Watching Casablanca in David Pecaut Sqaure courtesy of TIFF

Toronto looked so beautiful that night.

FYI Free films every Wednesday all summer!
See the schedule here

Play it again Sam.

 Greg Oh and Drake breakfast. 

#Bestneighbourever.