Holy Shipdisturber! A brand new website!

This Thursday, September 1st, we are launching a new website. I'm kind of scared and really excited.

It will be a brand new look for Smoking Lily, thanks to Natalie of Apartment 527. She is the same person responsible for both our previous websites. We hope you like it.

Our web lady extraordinaire, Emira, has updated the technology. The Smoking Lily site will now be accessible on tablets and smart phones. It will be much easier for you, our customers, to navigate throughout the site. There are more catagories for us to play with. For example, Smoking Lily's kids wear is no longer an "accessory" and we can break up the women's clothing into seperate categories. It will be much easier for us to put our prints up on the site, so we will actually try update that page from time to time.

Another huge change....Our blog is moving over to the new website. All in one!

Some things will stay the same. We have decided that we would like to continue the personal touch, so we will still be phoning and sending emails to our mail order shoppers to complete their orders. We love chatting with you.

Glenda has had a lot of late nights processing photos she took for the new site. We have posted a few on the old site, but the new site has them all. She did a fantastic job. Glenda and our long-standing model Dianna took a few road trips to shoot on location to get some good snaps for you.

We are excited to launch our new website and hope that you will enjoy it. We ask that you be patient with us as we transition and become familiar with the new site. As always, we will be happy to answer any questions you have via phone or email.

Love,

Smoking Lily

New Squirrel Hunter

This just in from one of our favourite mail order customers:

"I just recently got back from holidays and just had to tell you that I loved travelling with the squirrel hunter tunic. I wore it paired with the Cotton Cardigan and cropped leggings. I had planned to take photos, but unfortunately most of the time we were rushing through airports so I couldn't stop to do a "fashion shoot" of my cute AND comfortable outfit. Most importantly, those pockets are not only good for stuffing squirrels, they're also great for stashing a passport when you have a billion things in your hands and need to put it somewhere safe and secure quickly. Those ample pockets came to my rescue numerous times, and also allowed easy access when I was being barked at by the customs officer. Thanks for making such great looking functional clothes!"

Thanks Julie!

Lily Inspiration: What I did on my summer vacation.

This summer Rick and I took a little road trip. We drove from Victoria to Oliver B.C., down through Washington State to Pendleton Oregon and then across to Portland. It was a lot of driving, but so much fun.

We relaxed at Tinhorn Creek's guest house and drank in the view.

Wild horses near Osoyoos. I didn't want to get any closer....now you know that I'm a huge wuss.

Rattlesnake country, the Grand Culees.

We took a tour through the Pendleton Woolen Mills. Sounds dorky but we really enjoyed it.

The mill was built in 1909. A lot of the equipment they still use today was made in the 1940's.

Quality control area.

We made some cushion covers from wool that I picked up at the mill.

Silk Screen Workshop

Last night was the final night of our current workshop class and Rachael and I had a blast. We had a great group of people in.

Okay, this is cool. Anna flattened a flower in a book and then she drew it. Good job lady, you taught me something new.

Perfect bread bag by Katherine.

Cathy put a lot of thought into this and ended up with four perfectly matched napkins.

Cathy is doing it! Yah!

Close up of Margot's owl in a tree with hand painted leaves.

Natasha had a little factory going on in the back corner. Pillowcases, bags, tees, skirts, tea towels.. and I'm sure there was more.

Margot prepping her screen to print her onzies she made for her niece.

Natasha came in with a quilt she made in the last week using her sample screen run we did in the 2nd class. Pretty impressive.

Julie's daughter Ruth is getting a great bag for her first day of school in the fall.

Studio Update

Hello

The end of July and August is a weird time in the studio. It's hot, people go on vacation and we transition from making our summer line to our fall line. Today we are sewing skirts that are either left over fabrics or from bolts we never got to in our regular summer production run.

The Keith in the Donna Tunic fabric.

Grey Keith with Maple Pods printed in black and Minnesota Yellow.

Black and white plaid Cypress Skirt in cotton....(I only have three of these skirts already, but I am very excited for my fourth).

Smoking Lily Spotlight: Screen-printing Workshop

Last night was the second evening of our current screen-printing series. I really am enjoying teaching the current group. We burned screens, which is the nerve racking evening. You never know if it is going to work because there are so many variables. It is so exhilarating when it all works out.

Yesterday afternoon I burned a test screen to make sure everything would go smoothly during class. I made a little cactus branch, and today we screened it on the Lucrezia Top. I wish summer would come...

There are still spots available for the August screen-printing workshop! You can call the Johnson Street shop at 250.382.5459 if you'd like to join in on the fun.

Happy Canada Day!

Wow, I really need to do a better editing job, the last line on the flyer blows - nonsensical grammar and a "typo". The fact is, we will be processing all Canada Day mail orders on Saturday July 2nd. If you have questions pertaining to your mail order, Rachael will get in touch with you on Saturday.

In other Canada Day news, the Victoria Times Colonist newspaper printed an article today about Tim's O-Canada art show tomorrow at the milkman's daughter. Here's a link to the article, and here's the related video.

Glenda came over from Vancouver to help Korinne and Tim hang the show. The shop looks really good.

Remember Home.

Here at the studio we are excitedly anticipating and preparing for the O-Canada art show at The Milkman's Daughter, on Canada Day, this Friday. It is going to be fabulous.

There is another art show we are excited about around here, one that we have not yet announced!

Trish, Rachael and I are doing an art show together at The Fifty Fifty Arts Collective, a Victoria gallery located at 2516 Douglas Street (between Bay and Hillside). The opening will take place on Sunday, July 10th between 1pm and 4pm. The show will consist of works using various mediums, including: painting, sculptural installation, living art, and silkscreening, of course! There will be much to see and taste, with delicious food and wine available.

The show will run from July 11th to July 29th, with the gallery open 1pm - 4pm daily.

Random Photos

Tonight, after work, a few of us gals visited Steph and met Oliver. He is so cute, and smelled so good. It looks like Smoking Lily has a new model.

Nicole made this beautiful cake and brought it over to Steph's house. It was a rhubarb bundt cake, so delicious. We need to get her to share the recipe. Great job on the decorations too. Very creative Nicole. (Hey--This is Nicole, I came to share my recipe! I used two cups of rhubarb instead of one and a half and it worked fine...check out Mollie Katzen's other recipes too, they are all fantastic and have never failed me!)

I got my hair chopped off yesterday to celebrate the first day of summer.

Hello Victoria! I flew home, via float plane, after a great visit with some family in Vancouver (plus checking out the Main Street shop - love the new displays Glenda and Erin). I took this photo because I like the tree lines in the golf course and I think it would be a great print.

This is a photo of "the blue bridge" at the end of Johnson Street in Victoria. I'd never seen it from this view before.

Picked up this chair at the auction last week. We are going to re-upholster it in the next few weeks.

There you go, a little random, but I thought I would share a little of our lives.

O-Canada, O-Canoe

Have you heard the news about the Canada Day shindig that we are throwing at The Milkman's Daughter in Victoria on July 1st? Well, shindig might not be the right word. We are hosting an art show for Timothy Wilson Hoey, and a celebration of Canadian made products. For refreshments, Thrifty Foods kindly donated a cake!, and we will have sodas from the PopShop (I got vetoed on the kegger idea).

You can win one of Tim's paintings by entering a draw at the Fairfield Thrifty's in Victoria (no purchase necessary). I saw a photo of the painting online, a pretty awesome canoe.

The upcoming show has inspired me to create some new prints. Nicole showed you the Maple Pods a couple of weeks ago, and this week I finished the canoe print.

Handsome guy posing with his moose.

Linen throw with the new 'Canoe' print will be in stores soon.

I dropped off my vintage Governor General Horse Guards jacket to the cleaners this morning. I'm excited to have a place to wear it (maybe it is turning into a shindig).

We will announce more details closer to the event.

Squirrel Hunter: New Colour Added

We just finished sewing grey tunics. Now, what to put on them?

We are printing these up in an hour or two. If you have any suggestions, let us know.

Random Photos From My iPhone

We went to the Oak Bay Tea Party yesterday. So much fun, though my ride days are no more.

Shooting panda graffiti on Government Street.

My very first Smoking Lily scarf is still well loved.

Edgar.

One of Smoking Lily's new prints, garlic.

Have a great week.

Screen Printing Workshop

Did you ever want to learn how to screen print? We have been getting requests to teach another class so we are running a workshop every month.*

This class is geared towards the DIY person. We will teach you how to make a screen from scratch, which you get to take home at the end. We will take the mystery out of photo emulsion. You will learn how to turn your ideas into prints using several different methods. We will provide you with tea towels and a super special tote made by Smoking Lily for you to print with your own designs.

The workshop is broken into 3 classes. The first series runs July 5th, 5:30 to 7:30; July 12th, 5:30 to 8:00; and July 19th, 5:30 to 9:00. The second series is August 9th, 5:30 to 7:30; August 16th, 5:30 to 8:00; and August 23rd, 5:30 to 9:00.

The workshop price is $220. You will go away with some lovely tea towels and a tote adorned with your designs, plus you take home your own screen so you can print more of the image you create in class. On top of that, you will have the knowledge to do the whole process yourself, from scratch!

We run on a first to pay, first in system. You can register at Smoking Lily 569 Johnson Street, 250-382-5459.

Oh yeah, you will have homework and there may be minimal expenses for materials ($5 or so).

*Not every month forever though.

Giant Bugs make me Happy!

It finally stopped raining this morning, but burrrrr it is chilly. To cheer myself up today I am wearing the Cyress skirt in 100% natural linen. I've received 4 compliments on my way to work, it is a keeper! The new skirt should hit the shops next week.

Cheers, Trish

Another Rainy Day!

Just a heads up, if you are trying to contact Milkman's Daughter, our phones and internet are down. Acorn Electric (I like those guys) are on the way down to fix the problem.

Dominique if you are reading this and wondering why Steph hasn't called you back, it is because we can't find your number anywhere. Give us a shout back at the studio.

We sampled the Cypress skirt this weekend in 100% natural linen and it is beautiful.

Joanne and Harmony sewed some of the Japan Love wallets. They will finally be in the shops today and tomorrow. 100% of the money raised goes to the Red Cross Japan.

Hope Love Japan

A facebook friend of mine, Yukari Peerless, was a few days away from visiting her family in Japan when the earthquake hit two weeks ago. She decided to stay home in Victoria, but not one to sit idley by, she flew into action and planned a fundraising event for this Sunday. Hope Love Japan is being held at the new Parkside Hotel lobby (it is so beautiful).

Smoking Lily designed and made a cute wallet for the event. We came up with three different logos, I couldn't decide on my favourite, so we printed all three. The wallets will be there on Sunday, but if you can't make it down we should have them in our shops by the end of next week. All proceeds are going to the Red Cross.

Spotlight: Mary Chair

This is my favourite Smoking Lily piece right now. It is a chair waiting for the last little touch up in the back room at Milk. Mary, teeth, leaves, tulips, hot pink, coral and gold all in one. Yup, pretty fantastic if I say so myself.

New Garden State Colours!

I'm home again after a very pleasant week in Mexico. We went to Isla Mujeres on the east coast, a short ferry ride from Cancun. Drank lots of beer, ate great food, read lots between my many naps, and got a bad ass sun burn--all the things you want from a holiday.

Just before I left, we finished the first run of the new Garden State Dress, and I snagged one for my trip. I wore it four out of seven days--LOVE IT! The new fabric is bamboo and is great for traveling: breaths, doesn't get stinky, and washes well. The style of the dress was great too, as it feels casual but has class. Right now Apple Green and Periwinkle are available, and very soon we will have Tomato and Turquoise.

Hope you enjoy the photo of Rick and myself practicing for retirement.

Lily Inspiration: Competition

The inspiration at the studio today is a good ol' competition! We are in mass production of duvet sets right now. The super duper vacuuming has been done, so the huge fabric pieces will be clean and fresh for your Valentines bed. Print tables have been cleaned and fresh supple fabric pressed flat, ready for printing. Now what to print? That is where the competition came in.

Trish and I printed the usual suspects that have been so popular (hare, enormous heart, ship... which are in the stores already) but we wanted to come up with something "fun and colourful" to brighten up those bedrooms. She is printing one set and I am doing the other. Whoever's sells first wins! Trish madly called Glenda in Vancouver to get her input, and is going for a more bold scheme: bright green flies and roses are involved so far--but she's not done. I am going for a more "fresh spring is just around the corner" theme involving bikes and grass and little birds. These babies should be ready by the middle of next week, so I will get the completed photos up then. For now, here are some shots of the bedding in progress.