Movin' and Shakin'

Things have been busy busy around here lately. We’re heading into fall, which means a busy store season with lots of restocking, SUPERCRAWL is just around the corner and we have big plans for that, and on top of all that, I just moved. Again.

The best part about my new place (well, that’s a lie, there are a million best parts about my new place) but one of the best parts about it is it has a beautiful finished attic that has been waiting patiently for someone to use it. As soon as I saw it, I knew it would be the perfect place to set up a home office, something I’ve always desperately needed but never had room for. This room will give me the space to keep all our White Elephant files and documents in one place. Hopefully this means I will be able to come up with a somewhat coherent filing and organization system that will keep me on track with all that pesky bookkeeping work.

I haven’t even started using the space yet, and already I’m dreaming about how to decorate it. For now, I started simple with one of my favourite Oh My Cavalier prints from the shop.

This beautiful desk and chair was already in the attic, on loan from a friend who needed someplace to store extra furniture. Aside from that, I haven’t really done anything else to the room yet except move our paperwork in. The windows are my absolute favourite part, and the maple tree view isn’t bad either. I moved in a plant that I’m determined to keep alive, and a little glass Bluebird that I’ve brought with me through many apartments because it reminds me of the one my mom always above our kitchen sink.

Of course, I brought an old love seat up there too, so that Pepper has somewhere to lie while I’m working away. She’s already taking advantage of this every chance she gets.

Back at the shop, things are busy and exciting. We have tons of new product coming in every day, and hardly any time to display it. We’ve been very slowly re-merchandising corner by corner, with the hope that everything will be done by Supercrawl.

We just got these beautiful wooden bracelets by Voz Clothing and Art last week, and already I’m struggling to decide which colours I should take home. A huge new shipment of We Dream In Colour came in a few weeks ago as well, always a store favourite.

I’m thrilled to say we now carry pottery by Bread and Butter Pottery, a Halifax-based artist we met at the Beehive Craft Fair. I can tell you right now that every day those Bacon and Eggs don’t come home with me is a miracle of self-restraint.

On Friday we received a HUGE shipment of Steel Magnolia pieces, and they are already going fast. We have a ton of pieces out in the shop right now, and more that are waiting to be displayed.

Finally, Hollie and I have been doing a lot of vintage shopping for White Elephant lately, and I may have scored by favourite piece ever. This giant model sailboat is a dream come true, and at this point, a labour of love. The sails had to come off to fit this thing in my car, and since then I’ve spent hours trying to get it all back together. I think I finally succeeded.

That’s just a little taste of what’s being going on around these parts. There are so many exciting things happening these days, I can hardly keep up.

A Look Back

These pictures came to us by way of our friend Matt Jelly, who received them from them another friend. Originally, these photos came directly from the owner of Hamilton Jewellers, a store that was on James Street North when these pictures were taken, and is still standing there today.  I believe the current owner took these himself, back in the good ol' days.

When I saw them, the first thing I did was gasp at how pretty our little shop looks. I love how bright and vivid the purple tiles are, and that the original Susie's Cafe sign still hangs. Those tiles are the first thing Hollie and I ever noticed about our building, and for years we dreamed of one day operating White Elephant in it because of them.  It's amazing to us that we are now in our dream building.

The more I looked around the picture, the more I am nostalgic for this forgotten time. Just look at Leon Furs in all it's glory.  That sign is different than the one standing there today, but it is as beautiful as ever! And the House of Kay building is blowing my mind. What I wouldn't give to have something other than a vacant warehouse operating there today!  It's also amazing to see that the picture and street scape extends past the Leon Furs building, and isn't just a gravel parking lot. Sigh.

Despite what we may have lost, isn't it amazing to look at this picture and realize James Street is now just as vibrant as ever? Leon Furs is in the process of being renovated as we speak, Susie's Cafe has been transformed into White Elephant, and the rest of the street is constantly undergoing some form of transformation.  In the last five months we've seen Relish Vintage, Humble Pie, and Home all open their doors, and Mulberry Street Coffee House just celebrated their first anniversary as well. Good things are happening.

PS. It's not lost on me that there appears to be someone being arrested in front of our shop in the first picture. Some things never change.

Urban Planning

This year marks the 50th anniversary of one of my favourite books, The Death and Life of Great American Cities by Jane Jacobs. I first read it when Mike and I moved back to Hamilton more than five years ago. I had always deeply romanticized the idea of living in Toronto, but once we actually made the move, that big city felt exceptionally lonely. We weren't a part of anything bigger. We moved back, finally felt at home, and started getting active within our community.

I initially read this book to help me better understand what elements need to be at play to create a truly great city. While reading it I couldn't stop nodding my head in agreement. Jacobs undeniably knows what she is talking about. I could recognize immediately that Hamilton has incredible potential to become a great city from what she spoke of. Her analogies are easy to understand and it's a highly informative, relevant and straightforward read. I find myself referencing this book often. I feel nerdy citing it as one of my favourite books, but it's true. You should read it.

Lately, we've been receiving a lot of comments on the blog from Torontonians about how we're making the idea of moving to Hamilton easier to digest. It's an amazing compliment to receive. If I could guess as to why, it's because we show an appreciation for the beauty that Hamilton has to offer. That we can be a diverse, vibrant and culture-filled city.



Yet, we're in the process of losing another building in our core. Yesterday demolition started on the Federal Building - a landmark I've known all my life. While not exceptionally beautiful or architecturally stunning, it is a crushing defeat all the same. And there has been a blatant disregard to properly save the stone panels that noted Canadian sculptor Elizabeth Holbrook was commissioned to create for the facade.

The Board of Education Building sits across the street, facing the same perilous fate of destruction. And I am tired of writing polite letters to city council asking them to change their views. I am tired of signing petitions. I am tired of getting invested in buildings which aren't my own only to see them torn down by shortsighted developers and council members. I am getting tired of fighting, and there is still so much work to be done, and I am still so young in the grand scheme of things. That is not a good sign when you have young people who are dying to be active in your municipality and your poor choices are making them apathetic. Engage your citizens. Make them proud.

I grew up spending time downtown. I am a born and bred Hamiltonian. I, with many others, am working tooth and nail to make this city a better place. To clean up our image to those who stick their nose up at us, as a primarily blue collar city. To make our downtown a place that people want to move to from other cities, or spend time in with their families. A core rifled with unused vacant buildings, and even worse, parking lots from the buildings that you've let be destroyed for little good reason, is not the best welcome mat. As a Hamiltonian who lives and works (and works and works and works) downtown, I demand better.

If you want to get involved and get your voice heard you can contact Jason Farr, the councillor for downtown Hamilton, and Mayor Bob Bratina. Let them know that heritage preservation is important, that reusing old buildings is almost always a better alternative to demolition. Let them know that we've already lost so much. You can check out this page on saving The Board of Education building, before it's too late. We're a city of ambitious people. We always have been. I have to believe that we have the potential to create change.

And read Jane Jacobs. As much and as often as you can.

Sweetness

I'm beginning to get nostalgic for summer already. It's been the best of recent years. Filled with bike rides and ice cream cones and beach trips and and great projects. I want to remember every second of it.

Apricots are one of my favourite summer fruits. My palette tends to leans more towards sour and spicy, which means I find their tart flavour intoxicating. They've got such a short season, so when I saw them appear at the market I knew I had to try my hand at preserving some. I preserved them in two ways - an apricot and honey jam, and the halved fruit in a medium syrup of sugar and honey. The trick to this both times was to let the fruit and honey and sugar macerate. The jam I let sit for a couple of hours, the preserves overnight. Holy moly. The pieces of fruit were literally dripping with sugary sweetness. I can't wait to crack open a jar in the winter accompanied with some good cheese.

And I think apricots look so darn pretty, too. Exactly like summer. I've been canning as much as possible these days. Stuff that I'll actually eat and appreciate come winter. Batches of jams and fruits and pickles and beans. I can't wait for tomatoes.

Summer isn't too busy around White Elephant. Both Jane and I believe in a really fair life/work balance, as hard as it can be with us both still working other jobs. We don't stress too much with huge projects in the summer. A new window display here, a little remerchandising, a couple of restocks of new product, but nothing overwhelming. We've gotten a lot of help from Krysten, Lindsay, and our newest addition, Carly, in terms of taking care of things here while our summer calendars get booked with weddings and farming and camping and generally taking advantage of every second of beautiful weather before the dark and the cold set in. We love these girls.

Besides, we have to save all of our energy for Supercrawl in September. It's going to be amazing this year, with an incredible lineup of musicians, artists and events. Jane and I have been brainstorming ideas for months, and it's really going to be go time in a couple of weeks on a couple of huge endeavors. Literally, huge. The definition being "extraordinarily large in bulk, quantity, or extent".

One smaller project that we have been meaning to get underway ever since we opened, probably, is to customize our shopping bags. We finally got around to ordering a new rubber stamp with our updated logo. Krysten got to stamping these just in time for this week's Art Crawl. We might take an exacto knife and trim off some excess rubber that is leaving extra markings, but we're kind of in love with the way they look. DIY perfection.



What was that I was saying about not really taking on big undertakings in the summer? Well, to be honest, this month is kind of an exception. But it's not my fault. It just kind of happened. Along with our regular Art Crawl festivities of candy and socializin' at White Elephant, which happen every month, we've got The Beehive Summer Craft Fair that will be happening this weekend as well. Which we planned the date aaaaallllll the way back in February. We're such a big collective, and we're a pretty efficient and organized group, so no complaints of overextension there.

But then, I was invited to participate in an art show. It was a very flattering offer, and I couldn't turn it down, to be shown alongside some really great talent. Thus, some of my photographs will be available to view during Farewells at Buttrum & Son (144 James Street North) this weekend. I've been back and forth to Toronto for 15 minute errands at Toronto Image Works about five times this month. I'm as happy as I can be about how they turned out, besides all that nasty, pesty insecurity about putting up pieces for display, that I imagine naturally comes along with things like this. The store and the craft fair, I am immeasurably proud of, but I am for the most part promoting other people's beautiful designs with all my hard work. These photos are my own. That's scary. Please be careful with my lionheart if you stop by for a peek.

It seems as though these things would happen in three's. Hopefully you'll be able to make it out to this month's crawl. It should be a great one. And the best way to bid goodbye to the sweetest of summers.

Cheese Please!

Last week I came across a super easy Homemade Ricotta recipe on Shutterbean. So easy, I was determined to make it that very day. I guess when you are supposed to be packing up your apartment (I'm moving) making cheese is a way better idea.

I found the recipe here, but it's originally an Ina Garten recipe that you can find here.

Step 1: Gather your ingredients. Realize there isn't a good place in your kitchen to take pictures, so lay everything out nicely on the floor.

Step 2: Notice the recipe calls for "Good White Wine Vinegar" and NOT "Good White Vinegar". Become significantly less confused about what exactly constitutes Good White Vinegar. Be happy you have some White Wine Vinegar in the pantry, and re-take the picture.

Step 3: Cover a large sieve with a double layer of damp cheese cloth, and sit it over a large bowl. Get another large stainless steel pot out.

Step 4: Pour the milk and cream into the pot. Stir in the salt, and slowly bring it to a boil.

Step 5: Stir in the vinegar. Turn off the heat and let it sit for a minute. Argue in this time about whether you should put another layer of cheesecloth down. The vinegar will make the milk & cream start to curdle, turning it into curds and whey.

Step 6: After your timer starts beeping at you to let you know a minute is up, pour the mixture into the cheese cloth lined sieve. Let this sit for 40 minutes, occasionally discarding the liquid in the bowl.

Step 7: Realize you’re late for work. Ask your boyfriend to take a picture of the finished product for you. Become impressed with his cheese photo taking skillz. (You should also take the cheese out of the cheese cloth at this point, and put it in a bowl and eat it. You can cover it with saran wrap and it should keep in the fridge for 4-5 days.)

Come home later that night to discover your dog got into the garbage can and ate all the cheese-soaked cheese cloth. Watch in horror as she tries to wretch it up, but it gets stuck in her throat so you have to help pull it out.  Have a fitful, sleepless night because you are terrified she ate more of it and it's going to cause a blockage in her stomach somewhere.

Wake up to the joyful sight that your dog is still happily alive.  Begin searching for recipes to use your homemade ricotta with.  I'm going to try this.

THE END.

PS. You can probably skip most of step 7. It's optional.

MARRIED

On the weekend, a bunch of us had the immense pleasure of attending Kate & Erick’s wedding. It was amazing. First of all, have you ever seen such a beautiful set up? Kate crafted most of the decorations herself, her mom and aunt grew the flowers for all the centerpieces in their gardens, the Beehive girls made the beeswax candles, and Kate and the bridal party made the adorable jam favors that are sitting on each plate. Plus, the entire wedding party came the day before to start setting up. Kate even made her own wedding cake. Amazing, right?

Oh, but that’s not all. Outside there were croquet games and lawn bowling. Antique quilts in the grass for lounging, baskets of fresh fruit, lemonade, and after the ceremony…. Mojitos! I promise the pictures above are not staged, even though they look like some bizarre casual wear catalogue.

The wedding was held at Balls Falls Conversation Area, which has absolutely beautiful grounds. Our group arrived a little early, so we got to walk around and explore. The waterfall that area is named after had run completely dry. I think we might need some rain around these parts.

On the left is Kieran C. Dickson, demonstrating why he should be the next Lord of the Dance. Watch out Flatly, Kieran’s coming. (He was actually walking that way because he was so happy with his croquet playing, but Riverdance is so much more fun.) On the right is some more wedding loungers who I suspect were a few mojitos in at this point.

Here’s where the pictures get a little tipsier. I don’t have any pictures of the beautiful ceremony because my camera wasn’t good enough to capture anything but fuzziness inside the adorable old chapel. All the pictures from this point out are from the…. DANCE PARTY.

DJ Donna Lovejoy absolutely killed it with her musical selections all night; she had the whole wedding dancing for what must have been hours. At one point the school bus shuttle we had booked (yes, we took a school bus) arrived at the wedding to take us home, and a bunch of people came up to me to say “pleasssssssssseeeeeeeeeeeeeee…. just one more song!” I’m pretty sure that is the sign of a successful dance party. Even Hollie (who was the event’s official wedding photography) got to put down her camera and dance for the evening.

Kate & Erick danced their butts off as well, and managed to bring the adorable stag & doe that was originally intended for her wedding cake, but ended up as place holders at their sweetheart table onto the dance floor. Have you ever seen a cuter married couple?

All in all, it was an amazing night, and I’ve heard not one, but MANY people refer to it as the best wedding they’ve ever been to. Good job you guys, good job.

PS. YOU ARE MARRRRRRRRRRRRRIEEEEEEEEDDDDDDD