Whirlwhind Couple of Weeks

This last month has been a bit of a whirlwind for us! Trips to Detroit, two dress sales in Hamilton, another in Ottawa, new craft projects, store re-arranging and more have kept us very very busy. I even managed to sneak a quick trip to Halifax in there so I could participate in Halifax Crafters. Things finally feel like they're settling down now, so I thought it might be a good time to look at some highlights, as told by my iPhone.

1 & 2: Our set up at The Vintage Marketplace in Hamilton along with some of our favourite dresses.
3. Beautiful ladies tried on some of our favourite dresses all day.
4. Hollie worked hard on a hamburger friendship bracelet in our down time.

Not picture: the lady carrying her two dogs around in a baby bjorn that basically killed me with cuteness.
Spending 5 hours steaming dresses, only to get smart real fast and rent a u-haul to take us home.

5: Business lunch on the road to Ottawa. I'm submitting this photo with our receipt for taxes next year.
6 & 7: Tired feet from working all day call for tub soaks. Tub soaks call for colored bath bombs, mud masks, wine, chicken, and episodes of Arrested Development, all at once.
8. New shoes from Victoire!

Not pictured: leaving those shoes out in the rain overnight. The chicken carcass we devoured. Breaking Regine's shelf within minutes of being in her apartment. The dress sale being a total success.

9: The best liquor store in Detroit, as told to us by Google. Google was wrong, but we bought a 40 oz anyway because they were so nice in there. I think the 40 is still sitting in my hallway.
10. I spotted an En Masse mural right by our apartment.

11 & 12: We took "The People Mover" around downtown Detroit, and it's basically a slow moving Monorail that just goes in one big circle. It was pretty great for seeing the sites.
13 & 14: Polar Bears! I'm never one to miss out on an opportunity to visit a Zoo, and the Detroit Zoo is pretty great.
15: In Detroit, this is considered a beer "sampler" and only costs $8.00

Not pictured: everything else. By the time Hollie, Mike, Regine, Katie and Sonny arrived Saturday night my phone was almost dead and no more pictures exist. Too much food from Slow's. An unbelievable, frozen-in-time bar where these owners were asleep when we walked in. They greeted us warmly, gave us complimentary rootbeer schnapps, and then fell back asleep. A Sunday shopping blur.

16: Halifax Crafters all set up and going strong. This is always a great, amazingly organized show.
17: Amy Kenny hard at work showing off her Crownland wears.
18 & 19: I ate a lot of seafood, even though I sort of don't like seafood, and also a lot of delicious breakfasts.

Not pictured: Me flying into the city while Amy, Roisin and Nikki drove. Hauling ass to try to make it to the 6:00pm African Dance class in town, only to arrive and find out the elevator is broken, so I'll have to drag my two, 50lb suitcases up three flights of stairs. So much food. Really big croissants. A car covered in candy.  Amy finding a bottle of "intimate fluid" tucked into the couch cushion, not 2 minutes after sitting down in weekend apartment rental.

20 & 21: Back at home, Hollie and I worked hard to get everything ready for the dress sale, including slashing prices and emptying out the store!

Not pictured: Regine and Kristina's car breaking down on the road in Kingston, and having to wait 4 hours to get a tow and arrange a rental car. All day panic about whether or not they would make it in time for the sale. Serious karaoke skills and possibly the best rendition of Aerosmith I've seen yet. Sleeping for one thousand hours the day after.

And that's that! Whirlwind weeks of dress sales and craft shows and United States trips are done!

Contest Winner Featuring Famous Cat!

A huge thank you to everyone who entered our contest. We let Hollie's cat pick a winner, and he was pretty excited about it.

Congratulations to Candy Venni, and we can't wait to see you all at our dress sale this weekend!

Big Shot Stars... Big Shot Giveaway

Hey guys, things are busy at the shop these days! Hollie and I met up at 7am yesterday for her appearance on CHCH news, spent the morning in meetings, and the afternoon crafting up a new window display we're working on.  We've been spending every spare moment of our day getting ready for the To The Nines Vintage Dress Sale in Hamilton, and it's just over a week away. Excitement!

I'm heading to Halifax for a long weekend to take place in the Halifax Crafters Show, and Hollie's going to be manning the fort while I'm gone. I think the shop is in good hands though.... look how good she is at talking about vintage dresses:

In other exciting shop news, we're holding a giveaway on Facebook right now that you might not know about unless you follow us!  We've posted this poster on facebook, and for every share, comment, or like we'll enter you in a contest to win a $100 gift certificate. What's more, is if you comment on this blog we'll enter your name in too. Comment on this blog AND share on facebook? That's two entries! Bam! Your odds literally just doubled. Amazing.

Anyway, sorry for the all over the place blog, but please believe us that our radio silence only means we are working hard to bring you the best vintage collection yet. We spent the weekend in the states searching for more pieces, and between White Elephant and Victoire we brought back close to 100 new dresses.

So mark May 10th and 11th in your calendars... we can't wait to see you at the dress sale!

Pretty Little Things

It really feels like we've got new products coming through our doors daily. And I'm in love with all of it.



New greeting card designs in from Rifle Paper Co. Can you imagine being as talented as Anna from Rifle? I can't. It seriously blows my mind. Every single design she comes up with is pure gold. Lemme in that brain for just a day, please.

We've got plans to order in some of their dream-worthy iPhone cases, so hopefully these will be on our shelves sooner rather than later. If you've got a style in mind that you'd like, let us know!

Hamilton's own Dear Edna sent us over a whole bunch of her amazing aprons after she returned from a stint at the One of a Kind show in Toronto. Reversible aprons, men's aprons, work aprons, adjustable aprons - she's got you covered! In so many amazing prints and colours, there's one that fits everyone's personality.

And any one of these would make a great Mother's Day gift, just sayin'.

These circle scarves from Snoozer Loser are perfect for spring. Silky and lightweight, but still have that nice layered look to them when you wear them. The hardest part is deciding on whether you like the lucha libre or sailboat print more.

Our new hair accessories from Headmistress are killing me. Please, girls, ladies, women of the world, come in and scoop up these floral crowns to wear to your proms and weddings this season. So delicate and pretty and feminine. I wish I could get away with wearing one everyday. I mean, really, who says I can't?

Meaningful Crystal

Yesterday was a rough day. Some friends (and neighbours) went out of town last week and I drove them to the airport in their own car.  Yesterday another mutual friend came to pick up the keys to the car so he could pick them up at the airport, and the car was GONE. Seriously, gone. I spent hours on the phone with the city, tow truck companies, the police, and leaving voicemails and sending frantic texts and emails to my friends, trying to figure out what happened. Finally, I found out it had been towed because someone reported it as a suspicious car that had been parked all week. In front of my friends house. Heart attack.

Luckily, the night ended on a high note. I got back from The Ship and did something I've been doing almost every day now: checked www.freepeople.com.  And last night? Last night they were there! My earrings, Rare Specimens, are now for sale at Free People.

It is completely and utterly surreal to see them online. On a model. Being called Meaningful Crystals. My mind is blown.

This process started back in January when I received an email while Hollie and I were sitting at Five Guys eating some cheeseburgers. It never really seemed possible that it was actually going to happen. In fact, I thought the first email was spam when I read it and had to give it to Hollie to verify. But as the months past, as each step of the process passed, I got more and more excited.

I'm not good at keeping my own secrets. I want to tell everybody every thought that enters my head, all the time. To keep this under wraps until now, at least partially, has been excruciating. I'm super excited to tell everyone now, and also super super grateful that this happened. Everyone who has supported me and blogged or tweeted or instagrammed Rare Specimens deserves a huge hug (yes! a hug!) from me next time I see you. Thanks guys.

In other exciting Rare Specimens related news, there's a $150 giveaway going on all week at www.abeautifulmess.com  Go enter and win yourself some jewels!

More Babes in Our Dresses, Part 3

Every day I think these might be my favorite batch of pictures. It's so hard to choose because Claire Dam does such an amazing job. I particularly like these ones because of the dresses they're showing off: one is classic and formal, but also a little magical. The other is fun, flirty and easy to wear.

Look for these this weekend at The Vintage Marketplace!

More Babes in Our Dresses, Part 2

Round two of our vintage bridal shoot with Claire Dam Photography. We're not getting sick of these yet, right? Everyone likes pretty girls in pretty dresses. And any these dresses could be yours this weekend at The Vintage Marketplace.

Stay tuned for more shots tomorrow!

More Babes in Our Dresses, Part 1

There's nothing Hollie and I love more than seeing beautiful ladies in our vintage dresses. That's why we were so excited to work with Claire Dam on this beautiful session that we'll be showing you pictures of all week. All of the dresses pictured here are going to be available this weekend at the Vintage Marketplace, so if you like something you see hurry down.

This is just part one Claire's beautiful work. Stay tuned all week for more. Drool.

Spring Fever

We've got a couple of exciting weeks ahead of us over here at White Elephant. First, this weekend we are off to the Hamilton Convention Centre to be a part of The Vintage Marketplace.

We're really excited to be a part of such a well-curated vintage event in our own city! It should be a good time, so come and visit us on Saturday or Sunday. We'll be bringing all of our dresses, which means that you'll be able to scoop up the dress of your dreams before we take them to Ottawa the following weekend for our annual Spring To The Nines vintage sale with Victoire!

This stunner of a dress could be yours! I can't get over this one, it's perfect. We'll be blitzing the blog a little bit with all of the amazing photography that Claire Dam took from our vintage bridal session a couple of weeks back, to show you what kind of dresses we'll have at all these events. And I mean, COME ON. I want to look at these photos all day! Claire is amazing.

Then Jane is off to Halifax with Rare Specimens to be a part of the Halifax Crafters Spring Fair. Good crafting and one of my favourite cities would mean a real good time.

Then we bring the Ottawa ladies here and do the To The Nines vintage dress sale all over again for you Hamiltonians. Oh, plus an art crawl and a weekend birthday trip to Detroit in there somewhere, did I mention those? Spring is so busy with fun spring events, and I love it.

Springin' Up

I'm gonna blog about some new things in the shop! WOAH!!! 

There's still a chill in the air, but maybe we can force the warmer weather through our wardrobes. I've been looking at mine lately, and the little baby goth inside of me really needs to grow up and embrace some neon and pastels. Voz Collective's wooden bangles come from Orange County, California, and maybe I'll wear a few and see if I can channel some of that sunshine, warmth, and bright feelings.

Beautiful new leather and suede bags from Toronto's Isak and Inger. These are BEYOND. Absolutely beyond.

Ugly Bunny is a line of laser cut jewelry made by a couple out in Kelowna, B.C. Inspired by their adventures and the amazing world that surrounds them, all the pieces have a distinctly Canadian feel and are distinctly adorable.

Oh, look! My farm boots! That must mean I've been trudging around in the dirt! Come on, Spring!

We just got in Melissa Gobeil's collection of sterling silver jewelry yesterday and I am SO excited about it. Contemporary, minimalist, and elegant, they are the perfect pieces for any occasion. Melissa is an independent goldsmith working out of Guelph, and we are so happy to now be carrying her designs in the shop!

And one of the more exciting developments outside of the shop, check out this unreal sandwich board that Jane's boyfriend Doug made us. Rich, warm stained edges, dainty gold chain, carrying handle. He's an engineer in real life, and of our dreams. It's double-sided though, which gives us anxiety about having to come up with two different cute drawings now - hence the reason why our Easter drawing is still up. THANKS DOUG!!!!

Next outdoor project - repainting our bench! For people to sit and fight on for our enjoyment all summer. Come visit us sometime soon, and maybe you'll be lucky enough to witness a bench fight.