Monday, May 10, 2010

Guest Blog: On Fashion, architecture and flowerpots...

I'm so excited to have this awesome guest blog from Samantha Etane of Montreal visual blog tam+sam! I couldn't check out the Open Doors Design Montreal event so Sam generously agreed to cover it for my dear readers.

Here we go!

This past week-end Design Montreal organized the 4th edition of 'Portes Ouvertes' Design Montreal; designers of all trades - and calibers - opened the doors of their boutiques, studios and atelier to the public.

I saw so many creations, fell in love with so designers, but had to make a choice...

Helmer.
A Passionate creative force who specialize in delicate & unique embroidered pieces for women, Helmer Joseph welcomed us in his St Laurent's boutique-gallery. The designer gives us plaids, polka-dots, lacework, and precious bling with a classy twist.




Incidentally Helmer worked with my next 'coup de coeur' Philippe Dubuc , a designer who embodies the spirit of Quebec's creativity. He welcomed us in his 'atelier' and chatted about his creative process, his upcoming women line he's preparing for Simons, and the challenge of designing women's garment.






Next stop Cardin, Ramirez & Julien , an architecture firm located on The Main. They specialize in sustainable development, and have recently won Rio Tinto Alcan Competition for the design of our new Planetarium.




Jamais Assez
is an interior design heaven. There, you can get colorful and original pieces at very affordable prices. On top of it, made in Quebec.






'Portes Ouvertes' Design Montreal is one of these event that makes you realize how lucky we are to live in a city where the artists and the art are so accessible.

PS: A huge Thanks to Eric, from the Dubuc store, who was rocking the brand like it was nobody's business.

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Street Stylin': May Day Moments

May Day has come and gone and it was a blast. General 54's 4th year anniversary, the celebration of Local 23 and the unveiling of the new Local Annex space went down next door to the General this past Saturday. There was a fashion show, drinks, DJs, giveaways and projections.


The theme for the first show was Nautical Garden Party, featuring vintage dresses and new designs by grob, Enfants Sauvages and Jennifer Glasgow, to name a few. The models, hot-to-trot ladies from the hood, did a fantastic job walking the runway and posing en tableau.


Reema, of Cocoa Locale, looked simply splish-splash in this Glasgow dress, hot off the presses from the Spring/Summer collection. She's also sporting the Brazen Design anchor necklace and vintage shoes.

The second show was a little more glam, and the models poured champagne in the General's honour from an oversized cutout bottle.

The crowd was a fashion show in and of itself and many sported our local talent.

Reanna and Emilie were the suave stylists behind the show.

Reanna (left) was representing Australia in her Something Else by Natalie Wood top and denim leggings by Sports Girl.

Emily (right) is wearing a vintage onesie from their vintage collection Caesar Pony, on sale here. Also, check out Reanna's blog at reannatime.blogspot.com

My little sister Monica (left), wearing Noemiah earrings.

Deborah (middle) is the talent behind Deborah Adams recycled bags and belts and the sweat behind a number of local designer sewing machines. She is wearing boots from Sam Adelman purchased at Little Burgundy, an H&M waistcoat scored at the last S.W.A.P. and a pair of Teenflo pants from the 90's.

Aaron (right) is sporting a Viola Blanca ascot, black 514 Levi's also obtained at the S.W.A.P. and Fluevog ankle boots.

Roxy (left) is wearing a blouse from d.e.p.t., and Hoss ankle boots. Michelle, the genius behind Simone's Rose, is wearing a Vanessa Moore necklace, Betsy Johnson purse, Miss 60 shoes, Pants from Paris Pas Cher!, Foxy Jeans by Michelle Maymond sweater and Brazen Design earrings.


Elaine (left), mastermind behind Elaine Ho (aka Roadkill) jewellery and pepito mimumo clothing, is wearing a Les Copains jacket, belted vintage oversized camisole, Groggy leggings, Full Circle coat and vintage boots found at Value Village, and some knotty roadkill bling.

Yana (right), superstar of Supayana, is wearing a thrifted scarft, cardigan, jacket, purse and vintage boots.


Jenn (left), the 'jenn' of Jennifer Glasgow Design, is wearing a mashup of vintage Glasgow pieces.

Elizabeth (right) of Land of Talk, is wearing an Oasis leather jacket, Vexy shirt, Silence + Noise blazer, and jeans and tanktop purchased at "that sample store on St Viateur near Park". The boots are vintage Charles David and were purchased in New York right before playing on Letterman.


Jeremy (left) is wearing Lucky Jeans shirt and pants and sneaks purchased at Gravity Pope (when're we gonna get one of those?!).

Poppy (right) is wearing an H&M top, American Eagle jeans and Kensie shoes.


Reema (middle) is wearing vintage shoes and an altered vintage dress with a hilarious backstory; her and her father were thrifting in Hamilton while her mom was out of town (a habit they shared that mom didn't condone) and Reema hadn't found anything. Her dad, who is actually colourblind - grabbed a hideous muumuu from a rack and said "What about this?". That muumuu is now the dress you see in the picture, with the sleeves and hem shortened, and one of her go-to favourites.


Tamara, the lady behind This Ilk, is wearing This Ilk, an H&M sweater, Norwegian Wood leggings, Derek Durand camisole purchased at Puces Pop and Aldo sandals.


Monica with Tamara after purchasing a This Ilk necklace. The General opened for an hour after the fashion show and Monica ran over to buy this Enfants Sauvages (left) and grob (right) dress worn during the show.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

MAYDAY! Celebrate General 54.

General 54, one of my favourite Montreal institutions, is 4 years old and ready to get a little loose.

The good people of General 54, Local 23, and their forthcoming store, “The Local Annex” are having a party. They will be opening the door of their pre-renovated and newest location to throw down a celebration for us all.

Kicking off the fun will be a Fashion Show. Wares from the neighbourhood worn by the neighbourhood.

Also a Silent Auction over loud music will be held.

Did I mention music?

DJs Roxy Moron
Dan Lafleche
Mary C.

Visuals by Bearmod

This will be to be a night to remember.

Doors open at 9.
Fashion show 9:30.

NO COVER

Facebook invite.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

All hail the sale: AU CŒUR DE LA MODE

If you missed the Braderie, here's yet another amazing sale of many local designer labels. AU CŒUR DE LA MODE is a Quebec fashion sale that raises money for the Farha Foundation. The proceeds of AU CŒUR DE LA MODE assists the Farha Foundation to continue to help the more than 20,000 men, women and children living with HIV and AIDS in Quebec.

Click here for deets and here for a full list of designers.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Braderie de Mode Quebecoise!

I am sooooooo excited to tell you about this incredible sale happening this weekend: the Quebec Designer Sale. It's going down at Marche Bonsecours and all your favourite local labels will be there and steeply discounted.

Brazen Design was invited to participate so come by and say hi! And if you have had your eyes on anything from the collection, now's your chance! If you mention this blog post, I will give you an extra 15% off the already marked down prices!

Check out the deets here: www.braderiedemodequebecoise.com

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

STYLIST'S OWN 3.0

I don't have time to explain why you should go to this but you should. Go.

Stylist's Own. Edition 3. Deets here.

Monday, April 5, 2010

Brazen Design at the National Women's Show this weekend

I'll be doing my first big show this weekend - I have a booth in the Place Des Artisans section of the National Women's Show at the Palais des Congres. From what I hear, there'll be a ton of free swag, free makeovers and runway shows.

For my part, I will have the entire Brazen Design collection along with some new pieces, and the much sought-after recycled leather fringe earrings - and if all goes well, my booth will be a custom-built-beauty-of-wood-and-bamboo to behold. I must remember to take pics to post!

So the show is 12$... but I have free tickets to give away!

Email me at info [at] brazen-design.com with the subject line "Tickets" and the first five people will receive two!

And look! I have this 2-for-1 coupon for you to download and print! So you and a ladyfriend can go for 6$ each! Woot!

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Springin' Lightly

I think it's safe to say that all Montrealers are yearning for warm breezes, sun and a respite from winter. It's looking like the weekend just may bring us that and so here's my spring fashion roundup. My eyeballs are thirsty for colour, florals and DRESSES. Mmmm.....

All of these goodies are made right here in la belle province by our incredible talent.

Kimono Nudo by Simone's Rose.

Bailey by Valerie Dumaine.

Diana by Jennifer Glasgow.

Carolina Wren by Birds of North America.

Aurore by Jennifer Glasgow.

Tiffany by Simone's Rose.

Rock Wren by Birds of North America.

Fauna by Valerie Dumaine.

Wednesday, March 17, 2010

Dream Team: The Perfect Bag Arrives

Once upon a time, I had a dream. A dream of a purse that could rearrange itself into a variety of bags - laptop, clutch, purse, shoulder and messenger. This dream bag would be a classic black, made of soft leather that was easy on my conscience, and hardware that would stand the test of time. Best of all, it would be hot-to-trot and go with anything I wear.
The bag of my dreams (and yours) has arrived. With a Conscience. The 007 is made from upcycled leather, has plenty of inside and outside pockets, interchangeable fringe and strap accessories, and Mini-me (a detachable clutch).


The creation of a dream bag takes a dream team. In this case, The S.W.A.P. Team, Montreal Couture and local recycled leather accessories designer Deborah Adams (about whom I haven't stopped raving on this blog) joined forces to crowd-source and design the perfect bag, a portion of which will go to supporting the SWAP and Montreal Couture's not-for-profit endeavours."So how do I get my hands on one?!", you ask? Simply sign up for the SWAP's newsletter here to ensure you receive your invite to the exclusive online pre-sale. Only the number ordered will be made to reduce waste. The price has not yet been released but is guaranteed to be less than the retail average with a higher quality production (being the owner of multiple Deborah Adams bags and belts, I can personally guarantee it!).


Ok, stop drooling and go sign up - I don't want to hear "I wish I'd gotten one" when you run into me, 007 and Mini-me on the boulevard.

Wednesday, March 10, 2010

Red Carpet Round Up

I usually completely ignore the Oscars but I was home and needing tv-veg-out-time so I watched the Academy Awards in their entirety for the first time in my life.

I kept waiting to be blown away by the dresses but I didn't fall madly in love with anything. There are, however, some worth mentioning.

I don't know if this was on purpose, but I noticed that a lot of the incredible female talent of Precious: Based on the Novel Push by Sapphire, wore....sapphire blue. (see Michelle's comment below for the real reason - very cool!)

Tanya Kim from E-Talk wore a dress designed by Montreal's own Andy The Anh for the Becel Love Your Heart Campaign - that was pretty cool. It had "love your heart" embroidered on it too.

I really liked Maggie Gyllenhaal's Dries Van Noten number - it was one of the more unique dresses.

I thought Carey Mulligan had the most fun with her outfit: her Prada dress's short front hem showed off her great shoes, and the bust was embellished with tiny pieces of cutlery and other charms.

If I had to pick a Best, it would be Meryl Streep, queen of class. Instead of wearing a big-name designer and getting decked out in swaths of rhinest0ne-encrusted tulle, she wore an awesome white dress from Chris March, a Project Runway contestant.