Deep Pockets Dress

The lovely Bamboo Jersey dress in our all-over Plate print. Great for looking cute or demure, as Diana so sweetly shows us here.

Thank Goodness For Tea Cozies

I've been battling a tenacious head-cold for the past two weeks and finally took my sister's advice to dowse it with Lemon Ginger Tea. Now I love tea, but I have a habit of making a pot and then forgetting about it. Fortunately my easily side-tracked mind (and thus my tea) has been saved by my trusty Smoking Lily Tea Cozy. For the past 4 years I have been able to come back to a pot of tea hours later and enjoy a hot cup of herbal concoctions. The Lemon Ginger tea in the photo was steaming hot after an hour and a half under the Anatomical Hearts and Jackal Cozy. And thanks to my sister I woke up the next day feeling much better.

Gone But Never Forgotten

These are some of my favourite photos of my mother, Sandra Tacoma. 

Mom's first studio photo session in Friesland, Holland, 1930

Mom Dad and the Car

New to Canada and they look ready for an adventure!

Our family photo 1968.  Mom sewed all our outfits excluding socks and clip on ties.  Mom and my younger sister Valerie are in matching pink crimpoline dresses and Alice and me (finger in my mouth) are wearing matching blue floral aline dresses. The boys never matched.

 

Mom was a pretty awesome lady. I miss her tons.  

Smoking Lily makes beautiful things

New things are happening here around the studio! For instance...a beautiful way to protect your glasses with our printed linen glasses cases. Lined with smooth sage green japanese cotton ($22)! Also, Rowan Dowans are back in style with new metal zippers and awesome print combinations($56)! 

Ships, Hair, and Other Delights...

While cruising the net aimlessly this weekend (I mean, how else is a girl with tendinitis to keep herself entertained?!), I came across this fantastic stop-motion video on the very cute blog, Oh Joy!. Featuring plenty of nautical and victorian-inspired imagery which reminds me so much of so many Lily screens, past and present--oh, birdcage print, why did you have to go?--the video was just too charming not to share with you, dear readers. In addition to being full of Lily-esque visuals and the same kinds of lovely, watery blues and greens that the shop is full of at the moment, it's also a fantastic advertisement for red hair!

Sweet Apron

We have been printing on vintage doilies, hankies and napkins for a while now. But look what arrived in the Vancouver shop on Tuesday! The sweetest apron ever. It was already super cute, but adorned with a little chickadee and a moth it's now sublime. Guess I'll add aprons to my list of things to look for while second-handing.

This is also a great reminder that Print-Yer-Owns are still a possibility at Smoking Lily. Bring in your own apron, or pillow cases, or t-shirt, or skirt, or... and as long as it's primarily natural fiber (at least 60% cotton, silk, wool, hemp...) and lays flat we can silk-screen it with the Smoking Lily image of your choosing. Pricing starts at $20 for any single image, and increases for double images, etc. It's a whole new way to look at your wardrobe!

St. Augustine

It is Tuesday and we have already made a couple of samples. First up, a new dress the St. Augustine. It is made with Japanese cotton, navy with a white print and vintage doily bits.  It looks a little depression era prairie.  

We also made a new cotton printed bag.  It has a handy outside zip pocket for your cell phone and an adjustable strap, an snap closure.  All coming your way in the next week or two.

looking rather pensive in my new dress

trying to look mysterious

cubby hole where we keep our lace bits for the dress

new bag .... like?  oh yeah

Smoking Lily in Salmon Arm

Here are a few shots of Christopher, the contractor who expertly enlarged the Vancouver shop in October, showing his love of his hometown - Salmon Arm. He is wearing a Smoking Lily long-sleeve tee silkscreened with Kyoquot Park and Trouty Fish. Nice tee, beautiful backdrops!

The New Yorker: Smoking Lily is Terrific and Contemporary!

...erm, or maybe that was the Erica Weiner line of bling they describe as "terrific contemporary jewelry"--specifically the France and Hammer necklace--in this week's issue ("Borough Haul: Are you hip enough to shop in Brooklyn?" March 8th). Having carried Erica's quirky but pretty pieces for years, we couldn't agree more.

spring break

We had a visitor to the studio today. Her name is Sophia. Her Mom was here doing a studio beautification project, and it being spring break here in Victoria, Sophia was hangin' with mom. We gave her the job of photographer for some entertainment for both her and ourselves. This is the studio from about 4 feet from the floor. Thanks Sophia. Come visit again soon. 

Second-handing

Sometimes when we are out scouring the globe for cool accessories for the shops and raw materials for production we get a little side tracked. When you're out second-handing thoughts get pulled in all directions - Why did velvet paintings go out of fashion? Who dreamed up toilet paper cozies? Are used hot rollers ever going to be purchased? How can I possibly justify another vintage suitcase (or insert your own personal addiction here) entering my home?

Rhonda (a friend, a brilliant pastry chef, and the woman who makes the ALure jewelry we carry - made from fishing lures and accessories!) and I recently went in search furniture for the Vancouver shop and men's shirts for the Maelle Tunic Erin is so in love with. Here's a little of what we got side tracked by.

Aah, the velvet paintings.

Rhonda thought his housecoat was something Laura Ingalls would have dreamt of owning. It was scarily satiny polyester.

I think this thing must have been a Mrs. Claus costume. It had boa trim on a gauzy red outlayer, but it was lined with the thickest flesh-toned fleece. Here it looks like some pumkin elf nightmare - spectacularly horrible. Guess you had to feel it.

Awesome leather chaps!

Fake Racoon hat - why?

Fortunately, I did find a pile of excellent men's shirts and furniture. So be prepared for an ongoing influx of superb Maelle Tunics and visual displays in the shops.

Own The Closet!

The Maelle Tunic, inspired by Canada's very own snowboarder extraordinaire, Maëlle Ricker, has hit the stores and it is awesome! A versatile piece, it looks great with all sorts of jeans, tights, boots, and flats. Being 5'2", I like to wear mine as a dress with a belt and a cardigan thrown over top (and yes, I can hear our Vancouver customers rolling their eyes and asking, 'What doesn't Erin wear a cardigan with?'--a question for the ages if ever there was one). I think I actually squealed when Glenda and I pulled these out of the box last week and we--and by "we" I mean my Maelle and I--have been inseparable ever since. Best of all, since they're made of upcycled men's shirts, no two are alike, leading one to ask, "Why have one if you can have half a dozen?!" (or at least it leads me to ask. Hmmm.....).

About the Garage Sale and a bit of fun

Hello!

We would like to all to know that YES the Garage Sale will happen sometime. We do not know when yet, so please do not ask. This will be the very first spot that we will make the announcement, so check back frequently! To tide you over, here is another form of a good deal- some random old photos of various shots taken around Lily over the years. If you are an ex employee and are embarrassed by any of these photos, I sincerely apologize and will remove them if you let us know. For the rest of you, enjoy!