Store Tour: West Elm Vancouver

Happy Friday! How was your week?

I think it's safe to say that pretty much everyone knows the shop West Elm, right? I have to be honest, I wasn't overly familiar with what West Elm was all about.  I've always been a champion of the indie anything, and independent shops, and always will be. I had the opportunity, along with a dozen others in the biz, to be given a tour of the new Vancouver store by Creative Director, Vanessa Holden. I've been a huge fan of Vanessa's, since she co-founded Donna Hay magazine then onto editor-in-chief of Martha Stewart Living.  After that tour, I have a new appreciation of what they're all about, and it's all good.

Here are some of the things that stood out to me....

They have an Etsy section featuring local talent. This collection included Dahlhaus Ceramics and Walter Helena Photography, to name two.

I was told that each store is decorated to suit the city it's in. They gave the Vancouver store a woodsy, crafty theme. Loved the string pieces hanging behind the front counter. 

They have several products labeled "Discovered". One of a kind pieces. A great selection of throws, cushions and rugs. I bought the Kantha Throw in the bottom right corner. It's made of vintage saris hand-stitched by craftswomen in North India. It's beautiful and reversible too! 

Vanessa Holden, top left. I think I need the side table, top right...x2.

Part of the proceeds, from the opening night party, benefited Arts Umbrella. A fantastic place for kids to learn a variety of art forms: dance, photography, paint, etc. Definitely a new appreciation of West Elm.

Are you a fan of West Elm? What do you like best about them? I'd love hear your thoughts!

Have a great weekend! Back next week.

janis

City Living in NYC

This past April, I had the pleasure of hanging out with Jen Ramos of Made By Girl, her husband Matt and Darla the boxer, at their NYC apartment. A small space and, wow, was it ever organized! Their home is in a special issue of Style At Home that's all about organizing. Here's some more of our shoot....

Jen's perfectly tidy office and paint studio. Turquoise candle holders from The Cross. 

Some of Jen's paintings and prints. You can check out more of her work here. 

Matt whipped up a small smorgasbord for us. He's not a chef, but he could be. So delicious. 

Hard to keep my eyes off this box of Sprinkles cupcakes during the shoot. 

Do you live in a small space?  We do, but I can't call it organized. Any special tricks for de-cluttering? Feel free to share your ideas!  

Have a lovely day!

janis

Weekend Observations

Did you have a nice weekend? It always go by so quickly, doesn't it? Sigh.

A little bit of my weekend....

Working on the images from the Butter cookbook shoot. 

I scouted this fun home recently. Keep you posted on where the entire story ends up!

 "Love" print by Jen Ramos of MadeByGirl. Merci, Jen!

What did you get up to this weekend? Fill me in!

Back soon.

Janis

Weekend Observations

I hope you had a great weekend! What did you get up to?  My weekend included a little live painting, a new "girl crush" and a touch of wild nature.....

We went for a bit of a hike at Lynn Headwaters, in North Vancouver. It's about a 25 minute drive from our home in Vancouver. Pretty stunning place. Dense, mossy, loveliness. 

I was familiar with Zoe's work, but I hadn't met her in person. She was painting all weekend at the Fours Seasons in Vancouver, so we popped down to watch. I love her. She's mom to two kids, and a full-time artist. Her paintings are beautiful. If you're in the Vancouver area, she opens her new show on May 31st. Click here for more info. Hope to see you there!

Bye for now! Back soon...

Janis

Banquet for Friday

Well, that week was a blur! I'm really looking forward to catching up on some serious blog reading. I'm a week behind on posts! How's your week been?

Thought I'd wrap up a busy week, with the talented ladies, Sarah and Tammy, of Banquet. I had the pleasure of shooting them for the Storewatch page in this month's House and Home. Their screen printed cards, note books, and large prints are fantastic.

Have to say, my faves are the ship, burrowing animals and the gold heart (not pictured). Not only Sarah and Tammy talented, they fed us warm croissants. How can I not love them? 

Have a great weekend! 

Back soon,

Janis

Sunday Observations

Hi all! Hope you've had a lovely Sunday. Here's a little of my day...

Robert Edmond's show opening is September 21st at Walrus, in Vancouver. If you're in the Vancouver area, come on by! Hope to see you there. 

I was included in Flea Market Style Magazine's favourite blogs (in various categories), along with 5 other blogs, including a friend of mine, Heather. 

One more thing - I posted a give away on Friday. Click here to see what it is! 

That was a bit of my day. What did you get up to? 

Back soon!

janis

NYC and Ace Hotel has comfy beds

They also have guitars. At least they had one in our room, which we took turns playing after a late night out. I only know two chords, so I'm not sure what I was doing. 

Ace Hotel is quite a cool place. It's near the Flatiron building. Fantastic lobby/lounge, lots of taxidermy (sorry, I know that bothers some people), and incredibly comfortable beds and pillows. That's huge for me. Love the hallways, and the light box suite numbers. The only thing "off" was their coffee, but there are plenty of other places to get that.

Table in our room, guitar in background, room key card, front lobby, flower stand, room 607

Comfy bed with fab screen print canvas, bandages for my feet, lounge/lobby, stuffed birds

While in NYC, we went to "an evening with Eames Demetrios (Charles and Ray Eames' grandson), at ABC Carpet and Home. We could only stay for a bit, but it was a great panel of Brooklyn designers. I took a few pics of the 2nd floor of ABC as that's where the event was held. Eames talked about Powers of 10, a short film his grandparents did in 1977. I've seen it a number of times and love it. If you haven't seen it, you should check it out. Click here.

Vintage Italian ceiling lamp, Eames Demitrios (on right), simple vignette

The Arne Jacobsen egg chair, random milling around, patchwork egg chairs by Tal R

We found a great little show called Model Citizens Show. Some interesting jewelry, art, and this stuffed, faceless doll. I decided this was going to be my souvenir of this NY trip, as I couldn't shop much with a looming computer purchase or repair.

A few sights of a truly spectacular city. Didn't have much time to sight see, but caught a few images before we left.

I love the water towers dotted around the tops of buildings. 

If you're in NY, you have to check out this place. Make a reservation at La Esquina. You go through the diner to a secret spot in the basement. Fantastic food and a great crowd. 

As part of the ICFF, Green Point Works set up some of their cute Acapulco chairs on the back of a truck. I adore these and would love a few for our back yard. I have a thing for back yard chairs.

Not sure what was happening here, but it was set up in the meat packing district. I had a couple of drinks by this point. 

A couple of views of the Standard Hotel. An absolutely stunning mid-century building.

A lovely random place to rest blistered feet, Tom Sachs Hello Kitty sculpture at Lever House, another lovely resting spot.

ICFF opening party at the MoMA.

Little Italy. 

That's it for New York. Do you have favourite restaurants, shops, galleries to go to when in NYC? Please share! 

Happy Friday everyone. See you for Baked On Monday # 5 (I think)!

What's your idea of a perfect home?

First I have to say, so much for my "staying in touch" post....10 days ago. I've had back to back shoots (yeah! work is picking up again!), so it's been kind of bonkers. I must learn how to multi-task.

Back to this post....
My idea of a "perfect home" is a place that can be calming and comforting. I'm not a minimal person, but I like a bit of order. Mid-century modern mixed with travel souvenirs, vintage bits, art work, and piles of magazines and books, pretty much sums up our home.  I see loads of homes in my line of work, and I love it when the home reflects the homeowner's personality. The book, Home (pictured above), is all about , well, Home. Stafford Cliff interviews 50 well known people, such as Donna Hay, Lulu Guinness and Eva Zeisel, and asks them what their homes mean to them. Loved it.

Late last year, I photographed two very different homes for this month's issue of House and Home magazine. Both homes were winners (along with 4 other homes) of House and Home's annual Design Contest. One home was kind of a "glamorous" traditional style, while the other was more mid-century modern. As I've already mentioned, I lean towards mid-century modern. What style do you lean towards? I'd love to know (I am a bit of a snoop)!

I adored this home, and the family that lives there were pretty great too. Click here to read more.

This next home was quite traditional, but with a bit of a girlie glamorous side to it. The dogs thoroughly enjoyed the shoot.

One last thing...
A big thank you to Ulla, of Lu Prints, for these sweet owl print coasters. I recently worked with Ulla, and her dog Fin, on a shoot about Ulla and her beautiful work. She makes the best veggie sandwiches too ;)