Vintage Loves You

The one thing that Jane and I were really excited about when we moved into our bigger space across the street was the huge back room that came along with it. We had just launched our vintage clothing line Ainslie Wood Co. online in December 2009, and every week I would lug home our dress form ("Judy") and bags of clothing and shoot them in the natural light of my bedroom. When finished, I'd lug it all right back to the store.

It was exhausting.

Naturally, one of our first plans was to convert the back room into an office/studio where all the clothing could stay and be photographed when we moved in June of 2010. Then, life happened. And all we could focus on was the bricks and mortar shop. Keeping up with the online world is hard, man.

Bit by bit we chipped away on preparing it. We got ourselves more help in the form of our lovely interns Lindsay, Krysten and Carly. We organized the cuss out of our stock and our office supplies. We painted the back wall the same gray as my bedroom. We uncovered a previously boarded up window for more natural light. It's finally finally finally at the point of being a functional workspace.

The next step was collecting enough beautiful clothing for an amazing relaunch. Which is happening Monday, October 3rd. Mark it on your calendar now.

Jane and I aren't typically hoarders. Besides the fleeting "oh my god, I never want to sell this, it's just too GOOD" feelings that we always experience when coming across an incredible new piece, we almost always try to get it in the shop right away. I won't lie, it's hard. Combined with the anxiety that there is a finite supply of exquisite vintage in the world, I sometimes want to take everything home for myself. But there is something so seriously satisfying about seeing a vintage piece go home with the right person. It fits them perfectly and there's not another piece like it around and it's just meant to be, you know?

But we collected pieces slowly and kept them aside for our relaunch. We were drawn to a muted palette, reminiscent of autumn colours. Rust, gold, cognac, cream, sage. Chunky knit sweaters, velvet, brocade, tartan, capes, fur stoles, wiggle dresses, maxi skirts, leather riding boots. Pieces you can layer with ease. I'm so excited for you guys to see the full collection. It's so much better than this sneak peek. Monday, Monday, Monday.

On top of the clothing that we've been saving for our fall relaunch, we've also got a whole other secret stockpile dedicated entirely for the You Love Vintage and Vintage Loves You event that we'll be attending in Ottawa on October 22nd. It's hosted by our sister souls Regine and Katie from our sister shop Victoire. We have been looking forward to this for MONTHS. For this event we collected strictly party dresses. Tulle, silk, satin, crinoline, bows, and sheen. Although we didn't have a colour scheme in mind, one kind of developed in itself of soft blues, silver, white and rose. It's magical when that happens. This event is going to be bananas. Some of these dresses make me want to cry tears of joy, no joke. If you're in Ottawa, you should definitely check it out. And if you're in Hamilton, maybe you should consider making the trip to our beautiful capital city that weekend.


Looking over this post makes me realize the insane luck we've had lately in sourcing all these pieces. Collecting vintage is how White Elephant was started, and it's definitely both Jane and I's favourite aspect of the job. And, I think we're pretty good at it too. Eventually, we'd like to get our vintage decor back online. Baby steps for now.

Monday, October 3rd. Ainslie Wood Co. is back. We'll probably remind you like a hundred more times before then.

Time Lapse

TA DA! Our good friend Gary (seen here spraying the wall) has a really great interval timer feature on his camera that he uses to document all sorts of his construction projects. He has done some really incredible restoration work on buildings in the core, and it's always so fascinating to watch a couple of minutes worth of footage, that in reality is months worth of work. We commissioned him to do one of our mural from start to finish. Certainly not as much work as restoring an entire heritage building, but we're happy with it all the same.

Enjoy!

PS - I stupidly forgot to mention that Mike assembled all of Gary's footage together. He's our #1 Handsy Boy.

Crafty City

Wednesday night I traveled to Toronto to participate as a guest juror for City of Craft. I was so honoured to be a part of the process, and totally in awe of the efficiency of the City of Craft committee, the talent of all the applicants, and the venue in which the jurying was held - The Ontario Craft Council. The jury consisted of Becky Johnson (founder of City of Craft and of Sweetie Pie Press), Jen Anisef (another founder of C.O.C., of Toronto Craft Alert and a member of The Beehive), artist extraordinaire Hazel Meyer and myself. Jen realized that I was the first out-of-town guest juror that they've ever had. Go Hamilton!

This year they received their highest number of applicants at just over 300. We spent many hours into the night scoring and snacking and soaking up the crafty goodness. It was an incredible opportunity to be introduced to some amazing local talent that I haven't yet come across for the shop.

I went home totally inspired and with a loot bag that included a set of Becky's security envelope buttons (oh, how I've lusted after these!) and a teatowel from Bespoke Uprising. I'm super stoked for the show, happening December 10th and 11th at The Theatre Centre at 1087 Queen Street West. It's gonna be so good.

Hurray for cross-city craft love!

Apples and Horses

This weekend Doug and I made a quick trip up to Meyers Apple Farm. I haven't been apple picking since I was little, and I was excited. (Confession: I was less excited about the apples than I was about the promise of horses and animals on the farm. As a kid we used to pick apples at a farm that had a whole barn full of animals. I remember that there were often puppies and baby piglets, and there was usually no one around to tell you not to climb into the pen with them and pick them up.) I didn't mention this to Doug, but I chose our apple farm based on the promise of farm animals. The promise of Apple Cider came in second, and the actual presence of apples was a distant third.

But there were apples. Lots of them.

The actual amount of apples present was overwhelming. It's hard to imagine a single farm needing to produce that many apples, let alone all the other farms all over the world that are doing it at the exact same time. How many pies can we possibly bake? We decided to forgo the bushel size baskets of apples as we were still trying to finish off an apple pie that my mom had given us a week earlier, and instead picked enough to fill up a 10lb bag. That took approximately 5 minutes, and that included apple eating, ahem, I mean apple quality control testing time.

After that, it was off to what I went there for. The animals.

This is my friend Dog. Dog loves lazing around the farm, keeping a watchful eye on the other animals in the pen. He's always happy to roll over for a belly scratch. I'm sure he has a better, cuter name, but I think Dog suits him just fine.

Oh hai. I am in love with this lovely lady, who came here all the way from Ireland. Isn't she sweet? She was nursing a baby at the time, but she was still happy to come over for some sweet nose pets. I pretty much hogged all the lovely nose petting time I could get, while children and seniors looked on eagerly waiting their turn. Could I have shared? Sure... but I was pretty happy to keep her all to myself.

I think I need a horse. Are there bylaws about keeping one in your backyard? What if I build a stable?

These Days

Seasons changing. Autumn is by far my favourite time of year. The weather, the clothing, the colours, the nights spent at home, the crafting projects, the harvest.  It's the time of year that I feel most inspired. I can feel the lure of getting my den ready for hibernation.

Our friend Christie had been graciously loaning us one of her incredible pieces "from the high level bridge" to hang in our living room, up until recently. When she needed it back for some upcoming shows, we borrowed three of our science posters from the shop and put them in its place. Having such a remarkable piece of artwork hanging in our house for so long was such a gift, and although they can't compare, I do quite like the detail and colour in the posters very much. They match the muted tones I already have running through the house, and satisfy the super nerdy aspect of my personality.



Since getting this book, I've been slowly adding to the amount of houseplants we own. I inherited some from our friend Gabby when she moved back to Vancouver, and picked up a few of my own at the market. I've got a number of the easier plants - pothos, philos, spider and palms - so I decided to take on my first fern.  I'm dedicated to making sure they all survive under my care. It makes me happy to see my window filled with greenery.



As a gift, our friend Tim gave Mike and I this beautiful antique drafting table. We had been on the hunt for one for Mike's studio. And this one is perfect. Solid wood with metal mechanisms. Built in Toronto. The leftover splotches of paint act as a reminder that it has had a good life acting as a tool for creativity.

It will eventually be moving upstairs, but we're in the (long and halted) process of redoing the floors in Mike's room. For the meantime while it sits in our dining room, I placed some family group photos along the bottom. They're mostly of members of my family in Hungary from the 30's and 40's. Farm life, factory life, military life. No one takes posed group photos like this anymore.

We've had a hornets nest growing on the underside of our house for the last two summers. I was ecstatic when Mike first showed it to me, knowing that I may be able to add it to my collection of natural curiosities at some point.

This past weekend we borrowed a 20+ foot ladder to try and clean out our eavestroughs. That was less than successful (we've got a really tall house) but we were able to remove the nest. I had been monitoring it all year, and it didn't seem like the colony came back. There was no activity this summer, and we figured we were safe to remove it. Mike and I alternated being on the ladder and trying to wedge it off, each getting a little freaked out that we would in fact be disturbing an inhabited nest. I feel a little badly about removing it so forcefully, and not coming across it naturally, as I have with all of my other relics. Although the cells inside were dead or dormant, we had a tough time removing them all. Nature is incredible. This solid and exquisite structure made by such tiny creatures.

This year has actually been a really tough year at the farm. A wet, wet spring mixed with a dry, dry summer didn't provide for the best growing conditions.  Not to mention a busy summer. Being able to spend a couple of hours at the farm is amazing and fun and rewarding, but we get to go home after each trip. The amount of work that goes into the upkeep and maintenance a farm is astonishing to think about, and we should all go hug the next farmer we see. Growing food ain't no joke.

We spent all afternoon Sunday picking weeds and harvesting food with a group of friends. Sheepishly, it was the first time in a long time that I was able to make it up, because of my busy summer schedule. It turned out to be among the biggest bounty we've taken home yet this year. Pumpkin, potatoes, tomatoes, beets, rutabaga, brussels sprouts, apples, watermelon, cantaloupe, broccoli, garlic, banana peppers and beautiful zinnias and marigolds from our natural dye garden. I'll be spending time making soups and stews and just a little bit more canning before we switch over to root vegetables for the long haul.

I'm going to try and squeeze out as much inspiration from this autumn as I can. If the year so far has been any indication, it should be a magical one.

Sweet As Ice

Don't they look like the sweetest girls ever? That's Linds and Meg, the owners of Sweet Ice Snow Cones. If you were at Supercrawl (and of course you were) you might have seen their adorable snow cone stand.  At first glance, you might just think they are a snow cone stand like any other, but they are so much more than that.

Meg and Linds make all their snow cone syrups from scratch.  They buy local fruit from Bennett's Apples and Cider, source locally roasted coffee beans from Detour Coffee for their espresso flavors, and crush the ice themselves. Are you impressed yet?

Before trying a Sweet Ice Snow Cone, I never knew how huge of a difference a homemade syrup could make. Who knows what's in those gallon sized jugs of syrup they pour over carnival snow cones? I just spent a solid 10 minutes googling it online, and couldn't find a single ingredient listing. My guess is lots and lots of corn syrup.

Besides the health benefits of the Sweet Ice homemade syrups, there is another way more exciting benefit: the flavors. Raspberry Lemon, Peaches and Honey, Espresso, Apple Cider, Strawberry Lime and more... the taste is out of this world good.  So far I've tried the Peaches and Honey, Raspberry Lemon and Raspberry Mint, and I can't pick a favourite.  I think this means I need to try the rest before deciding.

I'm continually amazed by all the people I know doing wonderful, creative things. Meg and Linds are no exception, and I'm thrilled to see more of their delicious Sweet Ice Snow Cone stand at future events.

And trust me, we will be seeing them. The girls recently acquired this adorable 1960s Shasta trailer, and after some hard work and TLC, you can expect to see Sweet Ice operating out of this baby next summer. That pain you just felt in your heart was complete and utter jealously.

Finally, the girls are busy these days organizing what is sure to be an amazing dance party. DJ Donna Lovejoy, Alcoholic Snow Cones, Lite Brite Decor and more means the Sweet Ice Dance Party is an event you don't want to miss. Seriously. You don't. Go check it out on facebook and buy a ticket in advance. You'll be happy with your decision.

(Photo Credit: Jubilee Art & Design and Steph Gribbe)

Hamilton Totes Are Back

Don't think that now that Supercrawl is over things are going to get quiet over here. Hollie and I are busy with new and exciting projects, continuing to stock the store, and planning upcoming road trips for super exciting things we'll announce soon.  Basically, BUSY.

We have so much new stock in the store these days that I know I need to do a whole blog post about it, but until I get a chance, I just wanted to let all of you know that Jenna rose Hamilton Totes are back!  We got 20 of these totes in stock just before Supercrawl, and they are already going fast. Get them while they're hot!

Supercrawl Guys, Supercrawl

So this weekend was the big event. Big, huge, gigantic event that we spent the last month and a half preparing for. And it was everything we hoped it would be and more. Police estimated crowds of 50,000 strolling the streets of downtown Hamilton. A Super Saturday indeed.

I'm blown away by the dedication and passion of all the people I know who made this happen. The Supercrawl committees, the volunteers, the shop owners and the patrons. Thank you to everyone who made this such a great time.

Isn't that banner cute? Tim (head honcho of Supercrawl) has two young daughters and they surprised their hardworking dad with it last week. He hung it in a place of honour at Supercrawl base camp.

The curatorial committee especially did an incredible job with the selection and execution of pieces.  Max Streicher's "Giants Ascending" was a showstopping installation on the rooftop of Mixed Media. There should be more things like this on the tops of buildings in every day life. How magical is this?

The Beehive pulled together and put up our "Knit Night on the Brain" installation. Many, many, many hours of knitting and stitching and crocheting went into this, resulting in many, many, many sore fingers and hands. It wasn't in vain, because it turned out just awesome. I've never been a part of a big installation like this, so it was pretty surreal to see it all pieced together, and to watch people's reaction as they looked up and realized that it was all knit.

It's already been taken down, and I'm lamenting the fact that it couldn't be a permanent addition to the bar. But, those scarves must now be donated to those in need, and that makes us feel pretty good.

We had so much help with this project, it's crazy to think about. I can say from all of us that we love all of our helpers very much.

Lots and lots of street art, including from the chalk that Jane and I put outside the shop for people to go nuts with again this year. In an article in our local paper, it was mistakenly described as "the children's area". 

A favourite of mine was Hive from the TH&B collective. Another piece of art that you may have missed if you weren't looking carefully enough. I love that kind of stuff. My favourite exhibit of the event was Matthew Schofield's Place Holder at Buttrum & Son. What I wouldn't give to take one of those pieces home with me.

When we have chalk, balloons and candy, I guess you can't blame them for thinking that we were the children's area. What can we say? We try to lure them in early.

Mike and Andrew graciously agreed to be our balloon vendors for the day. After watching "The Red Balloon" in the summer with some friends (currently their three year old's favourite movie) we wondered why you didn't see balloon vendors with the huge bunches of balloons anymore. Turns out it's because balloons sell like hotcakes, and kids are lining up for them faster than you can fill them with helium. Next year, we'll fill every single balloon in advance, and then maybe there will be enough to fulfill my dream of Mike or Andrew almost being able to float away.

Also, the most popular colour for balloons? Purple, by far. Least favourite? Green and white.

The window was a labour of love that was completed with much help. When I told my sister-in-law Allison about our balloon vendor plans, she said it would be cute if our window display was hot air balloons. What a good idea! So we made paper mache balloons, and got our resident artist Krysten to paint most of them, inspired by vintage hot air balloon photos. Jane and I added the textural detailing afterwards, and I wove all the baskets by hand. We bought fresh sod and laid it down in the window. We put in a Jenna Rose Hamilton tote so that it would seem as though the balloons were flying over downtown Hamilton.

Isn't it just the sweetest? And I know, I know. Polarizing filter. I'll get one eventually. I kind of like the dreamy effect that a window glare gives, though.

The night was capped off with an amazing performance from Broken Social Scene. The crowd was massive. It was surreal to see that many people in downtown Hamilton. A great sight. I was lucky enough to capture it from the roof of a friends building.

And now, we sleep. This weekend was a whirlwind. We have some more exciting projects for fall in the works, but I'm looking forward to not having anything too urgent on my plate for the next little while.

Hamilton, we love you. Thanks for an inspiring weekend.

Paint Paint Paint

Well, we couldn't keep this a secret for much longer after it was completed. We spent Labour Day labouring away on a mural of our logo. And we are SO thrilled with the results. We're in love, actually. It brightens up the graffiti covered streetscape a bit. Next time you're on James Street North, look up.

One Supercrawl prep project down, only a couple more to go. Oh man, oh man, oh man. You're coming, right?