guest blog / Julia Black: Getting into Auggie

Recently I was invited to celebrate the one-year anniversary of Auggie, a splendid children’s boutique in the charming Yorkville neighborhood. The delightful shop and its big sister fashion store next door, Augustina, are top-notch destinations for your holiday shopping. At Augustina, the stupendous in-house brands have recently expanded to include fragrances, jewellery and leather goods, and over at Auggie you will find all sorts of darling gift ideas such as vintage Babar and Winnie The Pooh framed prints, 3 Sprouts organic canvas storage bins, durable Beatrix backpacks, and so much more for your child and home — all of which can now be ordered online here. And while toasting the 1 year-old Auggie I was so happy to find out store owner, Cristina Burgess, and her sister (and graphic designer) Genevieve will soon be adding a super-marvelous kid's bedding collection that includes sheet sets, duvets, pillows and quilts to the mix. So, while we all venture out to tackle our last-minute shopping lists, I hope you get a chance to enjoy all the holly-jolly goodness found at Auggie and Augustina. Happy shopping!

Stepping out in Tokyo #1

A few weeks back I found myself in Tokyo, meeting up with my world travelling other half (you can check out his kid-friendly travel blog here) and my little sister (aka Blink London). Well, it was BRILLIANT, and what an absolute culture shock too. We hit all the sights, shopped ours socks off, and generally wandered around checking out as much as possible. One of the neighbourhoods that we thoroughly enjoyed was Nakameguro, a jumble of streets and alleys filled with a boho mix of fashion and interiors shops, much of them vintage.

Oooh vintage, such a magic word... Anyway, of course we spent the whole day just in this one 'hood and found a slew of cool stuff. Those first three shots are from Hiige which was all about vintage Scandi gear (we scored some great fabric which'll be sewn into cushions soon). Pics 4 and 5 show Hatago International, next door to Hiige, an ultra cool mini shop jammed to the gills with vintage airline paraphenalia. Jantique is next in the pics, and was like hitting a French or Belgian flea market, and then finally Acme Furniture, which was a great mix of vintage industrial gear (lots of it from the US) as well as new pieces. For more, read my sister's fashion-y take on Nakameguro here.

Frocks and rugs

While I'm knee deep in projects for the Toronto International Film Festival I thought I'd take sec and share these snaps with you. Gorgeous, no? They're shot by Vivianne Sassen and styled by Yasmine Eslami and were snagged from the current Liberty magazine (have a look here). The story, to me at least, shows how seamlessly fashion and interiors seem to creatively bounce off one another, with incredibly lush and inspiring results. Oh, and of course it isn't just about the clothes. Each of the rugs, and even that rather barmy chaise lounge, is for sale.

It's (not) a wrap

Fashion designer Diane von Furstenburg is best known for her iconic wrap dress, but here's something altogether non-fashion related from DvF that was just too jammy not to share. Diane (along with best friend and interior decorator Olivier Gelbsmann) is in the midst of working with Claridge's, a posh London hotel, on re-designing 20 suites and rooms that are all expected to be finished by the end of this year. Here's a few snaps from the four rooms that are ready so far, one of which - the Piano Suite - rents out for an eye-watering $13,850 a night. I'm all over the nutty prints and high-contrast shenanigans, but what do you think? [Images: Claridge's]

                                 

Give me Mercy and give me Liberty

I'd heard that Richard Lyle and Jennifer Halchuk of fashionably cool clothing line Mercy were having a Sample Sale, but what I didn't realise (until the v. stylish Nathalie Atkinson kindly emailed me) is that they're also selling some of the gorgeous Liberty fabrics they've used in recent collections. Umm, hello, Liberty fabric (and others) starting at around $25 a yard! I'm starting to get palpitations thinking about all the smashing pillows I could make, or maybe a quilt, perhaps upholster a chair seat or two... The Sample Sale runs from now until Sunday in Toronto - click here for the studio address - and if I elbow you while rummaging through bolts of fabric, I'm sorry.

The industrial Dutch at V&R

I saw all the Tweets about the ultra cool Viktor & Rolf runway show in Paris for Fall/Winter 2010, but only just realized that there was an extra layer of fabulous added to the show by the edgy Dutch design team of Studio Job. The couple behind Studio Job - Nynke and Job - collaborated with V&R and designed that stunner of a backdrop, inspired by the marquetry designs on Industry, this collection of furniture and objects created back in '08. Love it, love the tones of grey, and can totally see it as a surface treatment on textiles or wallpaper. And well, it doesn't hurt that I've always had a thing for erstwhile supermodel Kristen McMenamy - who V&R undress and then re-dress on a revolving stage - ever since she shaved her eyebrows off back in the '90's. Ah, the things we remember from Fashion Television and Ms. Jeanne Beker...

Staying in Martin's room

Yes, I think I'm on a bit of a hotel room jag right now, since this is a suite designed by edgy Belgian fashion designer Martin Margiela for a hotel/spa set in a vineyard in France. The hotel is Les Sources de Caudalie and the room Margiela designed is the grand suite L'ile aux Oiseaux. Check the hotel's website out in French and you'll see the suite before its transformation (it's a woodsy cabin on stilts set on a secluded island and looks totally charmant). So, perhaps the new look is a little incongruous with the rest of the hotel, but it certainly does have a rather dreamy edge with all that white painted wood, faux panelling wallpaper and mirrored cubes. If you fancy checking in it is a bit of a splurge at 650 Euros a night, but those that do decide to snuggle up to the pillowed headboard will apparently receive a special gift signed by Margiela himself. Via the NY Times Style Magazine [Image: Xavier Bejot]

Boxing day comes early

I do love a bit of good packaging, so when I was shopping in H&M the other day and saw these fab gift boxes I knew I had to post them. The snaps below show the lids of the boxes which have a cool trompe l'oeil photo of a box-in-a-box-in-a-box-in-a-box. Love the fashion-y animal print one, the red patterned option feels fresh, crafty and Swedish, and the painterly kid's design is super sweet. All three were designed at H&M's Swedish headquarters, and are free with purchase. And hey, anything that doesn't need to be wrapped with paper and then tied with ribbon this time of year gets my vote, though you might decide they're too cool to gift and keep them all for yourself.

{Giving it} Virginia Johnson for Hudson's Bay Co.

Giving it is all about my take on what makes a great gift. Phew, since last week my brain has been totally wrapped up in creating an overgrown English garden in a studio for a book cover shoot. Fun and lots of work... Anyways, back to gifting! I am a huge fan of Canadian designer Virginia Johnson, and just love her point of view, whether it's illustrating a book for Kate Spade or creating printed fabrics that always feel loose, fresh and summery. So, you can guess I was super happy to discover she'd created a special lightweight scarf smothered in bright and sketchy elks as part of HBC's new Hudson's Bay Company Collection. If you fancy one, or fancy giving one to a v. special person, then check out the full collection at The Bay's Queen Street location (yep, along with Best Made Co's point blanket inspired axes).

A bit more from Viv

My mate Stacey over at H&H blogged about Cole & Son's new collection created by fashion designer Vivienne Westwood, and I thought it was too good not to check out further. Dame Vivienne is one prolific so-an-so and a total favourite of mine, though I've only ever owned one Westwood piece, a denim jacket I scored for cheap at Century 21 and wore for years 'till it fell apart. So, I went to town digging for more shots of the just-released collection, and this is what I came up with. Check the snaps of the wooden mannequins below to get a taste of the line and you'll see why Stacey, and I, both love it. It's nutty and interesting and has some great historical and fashion-y references going on. That Squiggle pattern first appeared in Westwood's Autumn/Winter '81 Pirate collection, Cut Out Lace showed up on the runway in '07 and Insects is apparently based on fabrics from Queen Elizabeth I's wardrobe.

For more Westwood you can also order a CD here of all her fave runway tracks, and the books below - quite the spurge I must say - are the Vivienne Westwood Opus. A limited edition tome available with 9 different covers that features large scale Polaroids of her fashion over the decades worn by friends and family. And of course there's her work with The Rug Company. I totally covet the pillows she designed and her rugs, well, how could you not love this one? Finally, that last snap is of a vibrant Dame Vivienne at the end of the runway of her Spring/Summer 2010 collection, and yes, that is a stuffed toad peeking out from under her jacket. [Images: 1-3. Cole & Son. 4. Opus. 5. Via Daylife]

    

A fashionable seat

Rick Owens. Rick Owens. Rick Owens. If you don't know who he is, the NY Times - for one - thinks him influential enough to dedicate this Profile In Style to the man and his passions. He's actually a Paris-based American fashion designer (here's his website; his look definitely on the darker side), who also designs limited edition furniture with a sculptural Neo Gothic vibe. His influences range from Modern design icons like Eileen Grey, and artists like Brancusi, to the skate parks of his native California. Cool? Definitely. Brutal? Yep. The kind of thing you'd like in your house? Well, I think I could find a spot, but how about the rest of you?

If you're in the UK over the next while you'll be able to see more of Owen's work at the London gallery of Sebastian + Barquet.

  

Montreal mon amour

I love Montreal. There, I said it, I moved to Toronto years ago and I still miss MTL and try (albeit unsuccessfully) to stop in for a few days at least once a year. So this morning, researching new gear that was debuting at Design Week in Milan, I ended up - somehow - on a pretty new online store called Montreal State Of Mind. The site is dedicated to Montreal based designers from the worlds of fashion, art and decor and there were a few things that caught my eye that were totally worth sharing. The doormats from Couper Croiser are so sweet and cool, and way more fun than the yawn inducing mats usually on offer (yep, the second one can be customized), and that arty piece following the mats is actually a numbered hand silk-screened scarf by atelier b that I think would look totally smashing framed as artwork, or stitched into a pillow. Seeya, I'm off to rake our freshly roto-tilled garden into shape and get the Eco-Lawn seeded! 

   

Sneak peek - Anthropologie

Last night was the press preview for the new Anthropologie store at the swanky Shops at Don Mills. Okay, I hafta say it's totally worth cadging a ride with a friend and heading up there. The store is bee-utiful, and crammed with the kind of pretty gear that Anthropologie does so well. My focus was the home goods - there's lots, and they're as colourful, eccentric and playfully chic as always - but the clothes and accessories are obviously boffo too, judging at the number of editors taking notes and tripping along with a hanger or two. I could have bought tons of stuff, but my faves, other than their classic latte bowls (which were only $5, btw), is the stunningly eclectic selection of hardware (click here to take a look) and all the odd and unusual vintage finds scattered about the store. And talking of vintage, just check out that wildly cool giant office lamp below. Anthropologie flings opens its doors for the first time today, and I've a feeling it's going to be busy...

   

Trash talk

Today is a busy one - Meetings at Flare this morning about the October issue and upcoming features, a couple of last minute questions about Style Scout for the National Post this Saturday, and then shooting for the new season of The Style Dept (debuting on HGTV this Fall). Phew. In the meantime there's a couple of minutes to squeeze in lunch and a quick post...

As a kid I trained in fashion and then eventually segued into decor, so I always enjoy a hot bit of fashion-y craziness, especially when it translates into interiors. This Aubusson style flat-weave wool rug by Vivienne Westwood for The Rug Company shows, basically, Dame Westwood's trash. Now that's some design chutzpah.