The Next Generation

Aiko, who works here in the studio and in Victoria shop is one talented woman.  This is a little video of her daughter,  who is almost three, learning how to sew.  Violet really wanted to use her Mom's sewing machine, but Aiko thought it might be better if she learns to hand sew first.  After the video was taken Violet accidentally sewed her little project to her dress.

Yay! or Nay?

Sometimes creativity strikes and you have to go with it.

I was sitting at my desk doing paperwork the other day, when I suddenly had the urge to paint a frame around a set of vintage mirrors in the shop. I ran out to the front and started penciling in a baroque frame. At first I thought I would just draw an outline and fill it in solidly (my original vision was black). But my pencil kept swirling, and with the sun streaming through the front window I was easily impressed by a customer's comment that it would look beautiful in turquoise (thank you Sarah!). Yes, turquoise I agreed! Moments later a multitude of bright blue brush strokes were gracing the wall. The simple solid frame had become a cartoonesque, fluid, abstraction.

I stood back and took the first long breath in an hour and began to wonder... Is our wall going to stay adorned thus for a while, or will a quick coat of white paint make my creative vision a fleeting memory at Lily? I haven't decided yet.

What do you think?

The Mother of all Garage Sales

Phewf! That was fun!

Thank you to all our awesome customers who attended the Garage Sale in droves. It was all very exciting, but you managed to negotiate the sale with decorum and respect, nary a jabbing elbow or garment snatched from a competitors hands! Giggles and squeals abounded, you were an absolute pleasure to mingle with.

For those of you who couldn't make it, we will keep you posted as to future extravaganzas.

p.s. there were a few limited edition items pulled from the Garage Sale and delivered to the Vancouver shop today! For you lovely loyal Vancouver shoppers who couldn't make it over to Victoria. See you soon.

Mochi Candy

I had some Japanese visitors over for dinner the other night. It was a huge West Coast crustacean fest - live lobsters and crabs (sashimi and cooked) and loads of raw oysters - so much fun.

After dinner I was presented with a hostess gift. Japanese candy. It was very interesting, requiring a lesson in how to open, construct and eat the cute parcel before me. Mochi is a strange and intriguing food - glutinous in the extreme, a challenging dessert - but with sweetened dry rice powder and "maple syrup" on top it is tasty.

Here are some shot's of the Mochi Candy I brought in to the shop for Erin to try. She wasn't convinced of it's appeal upon the first bite (as the photos shows), but she did eat it all, and declared that it had a "good after taste!". We had a lot of giggles (as did the customers we were assisting during the process).

New Poster

New poster for the sale next week.

St. Awesome

Hello fellow height-challenged Smoking Lily shoppers! This is Erin from the Vancouver shop reporting in with the awesome results of my St. Augustine hem-shortening experiment.

For ages now, I've been looking at this incredibly cute (and waist-flattering!) frock and sighing; while the "church length" the dress comes with is fantastic for tall gals and anyone looking for a little knee coverage, it's not so hot on us 5'2" ladies. Then, last week, inspiration struck! Why didn't I just take it to the seamstress across the street and have her lop five inches off? (How long did it take me to figure this out? I'm such a genius, I know...) I am happy to say the shortened hem worked out beautifully and I highly recommend it for my fellow vertically-disinclined fashionistas. Success!

Coachella

Give Me A C!

To beat the 89 degree heat I'm wearing the Clover Point Dress (from 2 summers ago). This shot was taken at the Gobi Tent where I saw Devo! and Band of Skulls and Gil-Scott Heron and...

I had days One and Two really well researched (as other concert going friends will recall that I love to do - right Trish?!). Day Three was a bit more of an experiment.

This is the view from the entrance to the massive polo fields (had to be massive to hold the 75,000 strong crowds). Christina's sporting a Lily V-Neck Tank, and a very handy Coachella fan they were handing out on the way in.

I'm happy to report that the Q Dress is mighty comfortable in 90 degree heat - yay linen!. The Palm leaf headdress was just a ridiculous moment.

A short hike out in the Palm Springs wilderness turned into 4 hour trek, but it was really worth it. The desert has Lily's creepy and beautiful esthetic down pat!