Things I Love

1) This blog: Summer Goals, by Anne and Christie, who document their goals for summer 2010. Which include: "spending all of our time at the river, having impromptu barbecues, wind-blown hair, and doing crosswords at cafes" (and thankfully sharing all of this with the rest of the world). Get inspired for summer. We've had a terribly long wait, but I can feel it, it's coming.

2) I need this coat. It beckons me. It's perfect for walks in the rain, camping adventures to Sir Winston Churchill Provincial Park, and Penticton. I know, I know, Penticton, it's hotter than Hades, right? I try and make it there every summer, and it always rains cats and dogs. This coat is going to be perfect for sitting a the beach, with the grey sky looming and the brisk breeze in my face.

Allison Wonderland Jericho coat, 256

And check out the most adorable lining:


3) I was at a beautiful music show the Rutherford House last week (Yes! The Rutherford House, a-maz-ing!) and I now have two albums that I cannot stop listening too. The first is Giraffedactyl, by local songstress Megan James. She sang and played the piano in the sitting room, and I couldn't think of anything more appropriate for that room. She has a free download for her EP, 'Yes, We'll Glow', which you can find here. ('See Monster 'and 'Silk Spindles' are my fav's).


Bronze Leaf also played (and I picked up their album at the show), and, again, album on repeat (specifically 'Shell' and 'Text Exit'). Composed of three local musicians, Amy McDonald (who, like so many people I know, is sadly moving to Montreal), Matthew Israelson, and superstar Eric Cheng. Here is their myspace page, and you can also read all about their recent tour adventures here. Both albums come highly recommended from moi. And are local, to boot!

4) Free documentaries! (Especially in this weather!). PBS Frontline has loads of new programs to watch, online. (For those 54 minutes you have to wait after watching 72 minutes on Megavideo). I recently watched 'College, Inc.' about the growing for-profit sector of higher education. I'm talking about investors who pour money into failing colleges and universities, then make them public and make major profits. These colleges and universities usually cater to non-traditional students (ie. aren't necessarily prepared for post-secondary financially or academically) and rely heavily on financial aid (which is the only kind of debt that you cannot 'lose' when you declare bankruptcy). 10% of students attend for-profit schools, but they account for 25% of financial aid (and within three years 44% of for-profit students default on their loans). Anyway, I could go on and on. It's a thought provoking documentary, one that will make you appreciate your Canadian education just a little bit more.

5) The necklace by This Ilk, makes me heart swoon every time I walk past it at the shop. The colours, the length, and the design are all perfect. And it's only $44, so that's kinda perfect too.

This Ilk 'Athena Heliconia' Necklace, 44

'Things I Love' will be a monthly addition to the noko blog (this counts as May, so they'll be one for June too!). It will be a collection of things I covet, adore, dance to, consume and hold dear to my heart. Stay tuned for more.

smokey!

my pal, smokey, dropped off a few of his creations a couple of weeks ago.

smokey magnets, 22 (we have three different sets, all woodland, but this one is favourite, and there is an adorable redhead (hi candace!))

crib boards! 42. i think this makes me want to go camping more than anything else. i see this crib board and i can smell campfire, taste hotdogs, hear fire and feel light rain. anyone else down with camping? oh, and marshmellows. i am a marshmellow monster. everyone is always impressed with the sheer volume of marshmellows i can shove down my throat. ask nicely, and i'll demonstrate one day.

may markdowns!

as i mentioned last friday, i got a little antsy for the red raven sale and marked down a few styles in the shop. and by few, i mean 20 clothing styles and about 10 ashley watson bags. i finally had some time to shoot a few photos of some of the sale stuff for you (thanks rain, i guess you are good for something, after all (besides, you know, keeping farms and gardens happy)).

so, here are a few select pieces that are on sale, right now!

rita di cesare gwyneth dress, regular 230, sale: 179


lily & jae belle bomber, regular 218, sale: 169

allison wonderland granville blazer, regular 169, sale: 99

birds of north america artic tern, regular 220, sale: 169


serendipity grace kelly dress, regular 400, sale: 249

ashley watson finch, regular 420, sale: 249

ashley watson brant bag, regular 340, sale: 199

ashley watson martin duffle, regular 520, sale 320

ashley watson linnet, regular 400, sale: 249 (also available in navy, and HOT PINK (and the hot pink one is super on sale: 199)

the art and craft of mono

our last two designs from mono arrived for the season! drool.




mono frayed scarf, 119, bone (we only received two)


mono frayed spanned dress, 299, mauve, one size fits most (we only got in one!)

both pieces have been hand distressed and are made of 100% tencel. and both pieces are so gorgeous, i get shivers just walking by them in the shop.

OMG! And then there were two!

Okay, so it worked! Enough people voted and Osei-Duro is still in the race for the Flipp Agency contest! They just have one more competitor to knock down and then they are awarded with 50k worth of marketing and advertising help from Calgary based Flipp. Zing, zing, that would be a-maz-ing!

So, tell everyone, please, to click here and to vote! One vote per email address and I know you have more than one. It's incredibly easy and it would make a big difference in the lives of Maryanne and Molly! Merci.

reminder!

heads up! make it! is happening this weekend:


also, if you have some time to kill, check out the lil' interview i did for their blog! you can read it here, through the magic of the internet. my pal sabrina (from sabrina butterfly designs) was also interviewed, read it here! the fun times never stop.

make sure you get your butt down to the alberta aviation hanger this weekend!

cards! new! super cute!

we just received a shwack of new regional assembly of text cards. including ones for father's day (june 20!).
also just a general assortment of cards, perfect for birthdays, lovers and words of appreciation and congratulations:





we also got in new button sets (dinosaurs!) and also mini card sets, which contain 6 identical cards:




Mini-card sets are $12, buttons (3 each) are $7 and most cards are $4, though the ones with buttons and pop-quizzes are $5 (with one or two exceptions).

6 am fun

This morning the peeps from Make It! gathered at the store bright and early. They were going to be featured on CityTV's Breakfast Television, and since I have a big space, we decided to shoot it here at Nokomis! So at 6 am we all rolled in, including Jenna and Chandler from Make It! along with a few of the crafters who will be selling their wares this weekend.

I tried to snap a few photos, but well, it was really early. Below are the three that I took (and I never managed to grab one of myself, surprise).

setting up for the next segment with our host, Bridget

cast and crew!

Kelsey McIntyre with her lovely models

It was a surprisingly fun time, (6-9 am isn't normally a time frame in which 'fun' occurs), and really relaxed and kinda silly. We got in a few plugs for the store, and I even managed to show my face to the camera for 45 seconds. Maybe someone out their caught a glimpse? Mom?

Anyway, it's time for my afternoon siesta. zzzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Make It!

Heads up! Next weekend is gonna be super fun! We're sponsoring Make It - The Handmade Revolution. It's a craft fair featuring Canadian designers and artistans (so kinda like a traveling Nokomis! They have shows in Vancouver and Calgary, as well). It's over at the Alberta Aviation Museum on Kingsway Ave. It's on both the Saturday and Sunday (May 29-30), and it's only $5 bucks to get in. But, I can get you in for free! Just shoot me an email, mail (@) nokomisclothing.ca and you can win two tickets. I'll be giving away tickets to 3 lucky blog readers (so 6 tickets in total), just the first three readers to do that will win. I'm taking my mother's advice, keep it simple, silly.

Anyway, I'm really looking forward to this event. Maybe you could even stop at Duchess on your way there and grab some tastey treats? Sounds dreamy. Hopefully the weather will be more . . . summery, next weekend.

long weekend!

Yeah! Long weekend! And it's pouring and freezing out, in true Edmonton fashion. I actually saw my breath when I stepped outside for lunch this afternoon. Super awesome!

Anyway, it's Friday and we have good news at noko! We got a little antsy waiting for the Red Raven sale so we marked down a few pieces at the shop (over twenty different styles). Including pieces by Dagg & Stacey, Rita di Cesare, Lily & Jae, Serendipity, Eve Gravel and the like. I even marked down about 10 Ashley Watson leather bags! The pieces I marked down are 20-40% off, so come and get them well they're hot! We still a bit far away from the Red Raven sale, but you'll be one of the first to know, so stay tuned!

Oh, and we're open on holiday Monday from 12-5pm.

Meanwhile, I'm going to steal some beautiful photo's off of Emilia's blog to share with you. She borrowed a few pieces from us for a photo shoot she did, and, as usual, they are stunning. Check them out here, or else on her own blog too:






thomas tunic (grey), 180
thomas tank (black), 225