Vancouver Update: Cycling Mania!

If you don't generally tune in to The Early Edition on CBC Radio One, you've probably never heard High Velocity, a regular "column" on the show (Wednesdays at 7:50 a.m.) by local radio personality (and wonderful Vancouver shop regular!), Margaret Gallagher. It's a great little report on the local cycling scene and all the issues related to riding your bike in Vancouver.

This morning, Margaret was discussing the controversy surrounding B.C.'s mandatory helmet law; apparently there is a legal challenge currently underway in the name of increasing cyclist safety. I had no idea there was any ambiguity about helmets being good for cyclists' safety, but the programme had some very interesting food for thought. The main argument seems to be that getting a critical mass of riders on the street (which mandatory helmets for adults discourages) does more to increase driver awareness and, therefore, cyclist safety on the road than the benefit provided by helmets in case of a crash. Does anybody know more about these wild new ideas?

In any event, the whole thing got me thinking about hopping my bike and some of the best pieces in the shop right now for going for a ride....with a helmet, of course!

Our leather Bike Bag (on sale for $62) is a great way to travel around town with a few necessities in style. Even better, it comes with a detachable shoulder strap for when your bike is parked!

Our Simple Tees ($29--$34) are nice and long, so your backside won't be showing (no matter how low you've got your handle bars set!). Currently available in a selection of light-weight bamboo jersey and cotton, they are very soft, breathable, and good for layering.

The Garden State Dress ($108) is made of soft, breathable bamboo jersey and has a comfortable, swingy skirt with lots of room for movement. Bamboo jersey is great for getting sweaty in, as it dries out much, much faster than cotton and is naturally anti-microbial--a fancy way of saying that you wont get stinky even if you're sweaty!

Last, but not least, I absolutely love wearing my Cypress Skirt (linen on sale for $89, cotton $69) while riding around town. The high, wide waistband is super comfortable (and good for hiding tummies!), while the full skirt is roomy and long enough to avoid accidental dismount flashing--yay!

Studio Update!

Today is Steph's last day at the studio before she leaves us to have a baby and embark on

motherhood! We will miss her, and wish her and baby all the best!

Here is a photo of Steph doing some last minute drafting:

And to wish her farewell:

Nicole made some button-shaped gingerbread cookies!

And lunch from the amazing Red Fish Blue Fish:

(Scallop tacones!)

And... a few more new things from the studio!

The bike print on the Periwinkle Garden State,

now available in size Extra Small.

New Cypress Skirt colour and print!

Cornflower Blue with our branch and blossoms print.

New Rowan Dowans in the works!

This one is a lovely gold with bees and peony.

Studio Update: Sustainable Plant Fibres

Photo by emrank

Hama Hama Top by Smoking Lily

Here at the Smoking Lily headquarters, we have been hearing the buzz from our customers that sustainability and ethics in the clothing they choose to purchase is equally as important as design and aesthetic.

Our creations are cut, sewn, and silk-screened in-house, right in our hometown of Victoria, BC. We are very consious of sourcing our fabrics and supplies locally, within BC, or within Canada (in that order!) whenever possible; "shop local" applies to us, too, and is always at the forefront of our minds. With more suppliers and mills offering eco-friendly fibres, more and more green choices are becoming available.

Recently, some of our favorite fabrics to use are hemp, organic cotton, and bamboo. Hemp is sustainable in that it is fast growing and requires very few pesticides and no fertilizers. Organic cotton comes from non-genetically modified plants, grown without pesticides or chemical fertilizers, so there is no contaminated surface run-off, and, post-harvest, yields thicker topsoil with higher organic matter content, thereby considerably reducing soil erosion.

Bamboo is one of the most prolific and fast growing plants: it can grow up to one meter per day!! It regenerates on its own quickly after harvest, requires little irrigation, and no pesticides or herbicides (partly due to its naturally occurring anti-microbial and anti-fungal qualities). It improves soil quality, minimizes CO2, and generates up to 35% more oxygen than an equivalent planting of trees. Because bamboo fibres are short, however, they do require processing similar to rayon to be turned into fabric. This process does involve chemicals, but the market is starting to demand cleaner practices, and a handful of companies have led the way into the future by switching to a closed-loop process which captures and reclaims nearly 100% the solvents used; it is only a matter of time before other factories adopt this model, or are left behind.

Some of our current creations that include these sustainable fabrics are: Hama Hama Top, English Bay Dress, Garden State Dress, Suzuki Garden State, Suzuki scarves, Men's Suzuki Shirts, and some of our Onezies and Baby Hats.

Stay tuned for many more of the eco-friendly pieces we are working on for Fall!

Vancouver Update: Snake Eyes

No, this is not another post on our Vegas trip. In our usual Tuesday box this morning (we get shipments of lovely new Lily goods every Tuesday and Friday in Vancouver!) I found something rather unusual - snake heads!

Korinne (who manages the Milkman's Daughter in Victoria) and I had been talking about display ideas and she had found some toy animal heads that she thought would be good to modify as hooks. As Korinne has a good eye and great ideas I agreed that she should send me some to test out. Well, they are hilariously cute/creepy. I will have to figure out how to make them into hooks, as that will definitely be awesome.

For now, I popped them onto the ends of our wall-mounted clothing rails. These should be good for random giggling and silly conversations. Thanks, Korinne!!

Oh, this last photo shows the Garden State Dress in all it's wonderful colours. I should let you know that we now have a few available in Extra Small!

Studio Update: Suzuki Garden State

Did you know that yesterday we posted our 500th post?! Also, that today is St. Patrick's Day! How very exciting. Also exciting, and more related to the topic of my post, is the fact that David Suzuki, the amazing environmentalist, is turning 75! Not until the 24th, but happy birthday in advance!

Here at Smoking Lily we like to honor outstanding Canadians, so in celebration of Mr. Suzuki's birthday, we've made a special edition David Suzuki Garden State Dress. They cost $123, and75% of that will be donated to the David Suzuki Foundation. This is a non-profit organization based out of Vancouver that focuses on issues relating to oceans and sustainable fishing, climate change, clean energy and sustainability.

Our lovely, pregnant, Stephanie was also kind enough to model this awesome dress for us. She asked me to point out that it is perfect for being pregnant in. She also stipulates that it will be quite good for breastfeeding as well. For those of us who are not pregnant, please note that this dress will look hot on you as well and that just because you are not busy creating life doesn't mean you shouldn't wear one, too.

Thank you David Suzuki for allowing us to silkscreen your face all over our dresses. Also for all of the great things you have done, are doing, and will go on to do. Happy 75th!

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.

Vancouver Update: New Stuff!

Exciting news, Vancouver: we have the Garden State dress in stock! And yes, I can honestly say they were worth the wait. (Apparently I'm not the only one who thought this, as we sold out of the dark, charcoal grey/black colour pretty quickly when they came in on Friday.) At the moment we have all sizes (sm, med, lg) available in the lovely, warm, taupe-y grey pictured above, but we should have more of the charcoal/black and--yeee!--some garnet hues in by the end of the week. The fabric is a fantastic blend of cotton, hemp and lycra that has a bit of give, good drape, and a wonderful, slightly nubbly texture that we are pleased as punch about. I have a feeling they are going to go fast on Friday, so feel free to give us a call if you'd like us to put one aside for you....

Also fantastic are these totally wacky, totally awesome skirts that arrived today ($92). Made from some pink plaid wool that Glenda and Trish discovered a few weeks ago, these skirts have a slight flair to them and hit right at the knee--so cute! So, if you need a playfully pink winter skirt covered with prancing deer--seriously, where do those two find this stuff??--we've got you covered.

Monday Morning Housekeeping

Good morning everyone. This morning I was cleaning up my email inbox and thought I would share some of the tidbitås I found. First off, there was a nice email from Kate MccGwire, who wrote to say thanks for last week's blog post. She also wrote tell us this: "I, too, have printed some tea towels--thought you would like to see. I make them to thank the lovely 200 racing pigeon people that send me their pigeon feathers once their birds have moulted twice a year."

I wish I had some bird feathers to trade with her. It is very lovely.

Next up we received an email from Anita Willis to inform us about a article she posted regarding the Milkman's Daughter on Tourism Victoria's blog. You can read it here and you can check out Anita's own blog here. We printed some fabric for her a few weeks ago for an upholstery project she started at home; Can't wait to see the picture, Anita!

And now what you are all waiting for.... The contest winner is..... I have no idea!! How am I supposed to choose, they were all so good. Some are funny, some are witty, there are a few romantic ones and even one from a man (I kind of want to pick him cause I want to see him in a dress). It doesn't help that everyone in the studio today has a different opinion. So I think I am going to do the old fashioned put the name in the hat and leave it to fate.

....So ten minutes and forty-two entries later we have a winner! Congratulations Mia! It is the Garden State Dress!

Thanks to everyone who put in a submission--you made my morning. Liz printed the fabric this weekend and Steph started sewing this morning. Your new Garden State Dress should be in the shops by the weekend.

I'm going to hunt up the sound track for the movie "Garden State" now and and help cut some more dresses.

Have a great week!

Mia, email me your size and mailing details!!!