Spring Sensations

This year we decided to do something different. We signed up for The Spring One of a Kind Show in Toronto. What a great idea! Now we have a marvelous new collection to share with you. The show opens Wed Mar 31st. I highly recommend you visit us in Booth K-47. Here's a look and a big smile ahead for our latest Spring Sensations!



As you can imagine our downtown Atelier has been a Hotbed of activity. As creative entrepreneurs we thrive on these opportunities. That's when we use all our knowledge and artistic abilities to inspire the world. It's hard work but there are great rewards. We thoroughly enjoyed the challenge and I believe it shows.



Gwendolyne has been dreaming of a Tea Cozy design for many years. In January she brought that dream to life in a limited edition of 12. This beautiful Cozy above is entered in the One of a Kind Green competition sponsored by Lipton Tea. By recycling fine tapestry swatches from Toronto's Designer's Walk, Gwendolyne's brought fiber art to the kitchen table. Place your vote in the Peoples Choice award.



People enter our lives for a reason. Some leave with our beautiful creations, others bring us inspiration. This year Victor; above, brought the opportunity for Gwendolyne to create with the finest cotton fabrics from the Netherlands. Thick rich Corduroy, luxurious full velvets in a palette of colour fit for your Spring.



Sometimes simple designs can be the most challenging. Combining silk and velvet is like mixing oil with water. But together they look and feel so good. Gwendolyne knew this and it was the driving force behind her luxurious Velvet Delight wrap. In the end the many naps and fabric tensions became one. Definitely worth trying on.



When the Summer heat arrives the bamboo linen in this year's Carnaby will be a great insulator. This full shaped cap is accented with Antique hand turned vegetable ivory buttons from Gwendolyne's prized collection. She has constructed every peak with a tenacious drive for perfection in a full palette of rich colour.



We're taking more photos these days of people who show us how great they look in our designs. Here are some recent favorites. These pictures celebrate people who share our philosophy of life in the world. What we wear can say a lot about what we believe in. Cheers to all those who feel the same way!

Of the marvelous

Hurray it’s truly here! The big smile on my face says it all. The warm weather has finally arrived and planted its feet firmly into the ground. I remember that sunny day when everyone came out of their collective caves. People were definitely under dressed, but hey, we were all happy and the smiles were infectious. Here I am modeling my new Abbey Road design downtown in one of Toronto's many graffiti alleys.

With all the beautiful weather outside I've been a bit distracted, who can blame me.
Fortunately the natural light streaming in the southern windows of our studio has spurred on my creativity.

I've just finished a gorgeous new edition of Gwendolyne Hairbands for the shop. I love hair bands, but I always had difficulty finding the proper fit and selection was limited. So, last year I created my own.

This year my customers are telling me "hair bands are in". Well I personally didn't think they were ever out, at least not for me. Perhaps it's my long hair. In the Summer, I don't like how the heat can build up at the back of my neck. A Hair band helps to keep me cool. After a swim a hair band keeps the wet hair off my face.
A good hair band can be a great Summer accessory.

Some of my new Hair band designs have miniature vignettes of fabric appliques and antique buttons. They were a lot of fun to make, and are a thrill to see on my customers. Here is Andrea, new to Toronto from the East coast. She was happy to have her Hair band choice custom sized for her on the spot. It is so nice to offer those extras to my customers when I can. We ended up talking about the acting scene in T.O.


As a farewell gift, I gave Shihoko this hair band and best wishes for her journey back home. She is a lovely Japanese woman who worked in our building’s cafe this past year.

My son Aaron and his wife Catalina are teaching English in Japan. On this spring day they visit the temple at Nara and feed the deer who roam freely all year round. Notice the hat.

Over last several weeks there has been a real buzz about the environment here in Canada. It's great to watch this fertile seed grow in our collective conscious. Together we are a powerful force that can stand up and effect change. Wake up that sleepy giant and let's strive for a better world. Last weekend the Green Living Show was happening in T.O. It was exciting to see a show about alternate lifestyle choices become a platform where politicians and environmentalists duke it out for social change. Kudos to David Suzuki for standing up for the environment. Instead of going to the show we decided to venture out and appreciate nature first hand.
We packed a picnic and off we rode to the Leslie Spit; an amazing natural resource and one of our favorite spots in the city.

It was a day full of wonderful surprises. Like ourselves many people were out enjoying the Spit, on bicycle or on foot. So were all the flora and fauna. I have never experienced so many wonderful creatures on one day. It was a special gift for us, to see more. Here is a rabbit passing by William as he was resting on a timber cut down by the beavers teeth.


This quick video William took of me sums up our Sunday outing the best!