Instant Love at Peacock Pavilions

As I mentioned in the last post, I just returned from Morocco (with a short stay in Paris). It was an amazing experience. I went with my sister, Wendy, and part of our trip was a polaroid workshop with Jen and Amanda of Instant Love. There were eight other woman at the workshop as well. Loved them all. It was so nice to hang out with such an inspiring group of people. I'll be sharing more of our adventure next week.

We stayed at the Peacock Pavilions, owned by Maryam, author of Marrakech by Design and blog My Marrakech, and her husband Chris, an architect. The best hosts ever.  Here's some of our week at Peacock Pavilions....

One of the suites in the Atlas pavilion. 

The communal living room in the Atlas Pavilion. I loved this fireplace, and the chairs covered in vintage blankets.

This is a sample of our breakfasts every morning. I miss them so much. ;)

The ladies.

Henna and cocktail night. 

The Medina Pavilion, and yet another crush on a fireplace. 

Beautiful painted ceiling and pendant lights in a suite in the Medina Pavilion. 

Tiger, one of the many stray cats roaming around the property. Chris and Maryam collect strays ;) 

Some of my polaroids taken with my SX-70. 

I loved our stay. I definitely plan to go back, with my husband along next time. What do you think? Could this be a future destination for you? I'd love to know. 

As for the workshop, I highly recommend it, whether you're a pro photographer or newcomer. I thought it would be a fun way to introduce my sister to the world of polaroids, and photography for that matter, and it was. Jen and Amanda are great teachers and very easy to hang out with. No attitude, super helpful and hilarious. I miss them. 

I have so many images, so I'll post more on Flickr later this week. Back soon with another Morocco instalment!

janis

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Adventures

Hello everyone! Just got back last night and trying to get caught up. I thought I had kept up on emails, but apparently I didn't do that great of a job. Understatement, really. ;) Looking forward to checking in with your blogs...I've seen some great sneak peeks!

Working on a few posts about the last few weeks, so until then....

Now, back to those emails I mentioned. Have a great day!

janis

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I Could Live Here

Heirloom is a fantastic vegetarian restaurant here in Vancouver. It's located in an almost century old apartment block, and it's been freshened up by the team at Evoke International Design.  All art work was custom designed by them as well. The mix of vintage cabinets, modern chairs, old brick walls and beautiful tile, does it for me. It's one of those places that I could live in....

Do you ever walk into a restaurant or shop and imagine living in it? Think you could hang out in Heirloom? 

Have a good day!

janis

Home in the Mountains

I had the pleasure of shooting Trevor Linden's Whistler home for House and Home. For Canuck hockey fans, you'll know Trevor ;)  The interior was designed by Evoke International Design, and prop styling for this shoot was done by Maureen Willick.

Staircase envy. 

Love the mix of materials in this space. It's a modern spin on the mountain cabin.

Have a great weekend!
janis

Compact and Cute

I hope your week's off to a good start! I'm leaving for Morocco today, and trying to get a few posts ready before I leave. 

First up is Megan Close' tiny, 1950's "bachelor" apartment, which is featured in the current issue of Style At Home.  Megan, who is the marketing and social media wiz at The Cross, has created a space that doesn't feel tiny, with lots of storage and a perfect little bed "nook". I shot this story with Megan and Stephanie Vogler (co-owner of the Cross). Take a peek... 

Megan built the headboard and tucked her bed into what would normally be used for a dining table. 

Her bed nook is separated from the living room by some funktified ikea drawers. I quite love that yellow dipped pillow. 

What do you think of Megan's apartment? Anything catching your eye?

That's it for today! I'll have a few more posts set up while I'm away. Now, I better get packing ;)  

janis

Spreading The Love with an Umbrella

Happy Friday! Hope you've all had a good week.

I've recently had the pleasure of being part of the The Love Umbrella Project. Thirteen community leaders were partnered with professional photographers to create an image, using at least one heart shaped umbrella, to show how love illuminates our community. 

It was such a fantastic experience. I was so happy to be paired up with the incredible women of Project Limelight. To use their words:

"At Project Limelight, we want to unleash the imagination, awaken curiosity and give children the opportunity to experience the magic of applause. We have set out to develop a program that offers youth living in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside a safe place to build and artistic community."

Today is Day 1 of 13 days of sharing the images that were created. There will be an exhibition and silent auction, held in Vancouver, on February 14th. To see the first image and for more information, please check out The Love Umbrella Project.  Help spread the love!

Have a great weekend!

janis

Toronto Observations

I have to start by saying, I love Toronto. Such a great city. I was out there with the boys of Evoke (my husband and brother) for business. We checked out the Interior Design Show,and I caught up with a few editors that I work with all the time, but never see. Here's a little bit of my trip....

We checked out world renowned graphic designer's, Stefan Sagmeister's, The Happy Show at the Design Exchange. I left feeling, well, happy. If you're in the Toronto area, you should pop by!

The 24 hour diner at Thompson Hotel, where we stayed, in a mini blizzard. Neon glowing through snow, is a happy sight.

Met Suzanne Dimma, editor-in-chief of House and Home, for lunch. So nice to catch up with her. Here she is, busy at work on the next issue. Looked like a good one ;)

If you like taxidermy, you will love Weslodge. It's everywhere in this modern saloon style restaurant. To be honest, we didn't eat there, but did saddle up to the bar for a drink. Great atmosphere, decor, and they make a good cocktail. 

We had taken the red-eye to Toronto, and arrived at 7:30am. Ouch. Ended up going for an early lunch at Wvrst, which is pretty much a sausage palace. We opted for the veggie sausages....they were delicious. You can choose from a huge selection of sausages, then decide if you'd like a bun or have it served with curry. Simple and easy. 

The Common Thread, an installation by Quadrangle Architects, was one of the exhibits at the "Come Up To My Room" event at the Gladstone Hotel. For more info click here. 

Another installation at "Come Up To My Room. This was designed by Brothers Dressler

the masters of using reclaimed, found and responsibly harvested materials. 

That was a bit of a whirlwind! I also recommend checking out...

Patria: - a fantastic restaurant. Incredible food and service but it's the stunning, and massive, cross-stitched wall that really got me. 

Pizza Libretto: I don't think I've ever had better pizza. They make a true Neapolitan pizza and it's a great space to hang out in too. It was packed the afternoon we popped by, but we managed to squeeze in at the bar. Great value too! 

For some images of the Interior Design Show (IDS 2013), I posted several over at Poppytalk.

Have a great day!

janis