S.O.S.: Osei-Duro

The lovely ladies of Osei-Duro need your help! Maryanne and Molly have entered a contest with Flipp, a Calgary based advertising agency. Osei-Duro was narrowed down to a finalist with 5 other businesses. The winner will receive 50K of advertising and marketing provided by Flipp. A-mazing! For a small, but growing, business this is an amazing offer that will have such a huge impact on them. Each week the business with the fewest votes gets illuminated. It's down to three businesses, eek, and Osei-Duro is in there. So click here and vote. It's very simple, just enter your email address, and you'll probably want to unclick the box that asks to send you info, and voila done. But, you probably have more than one email address, right? So use them all! And then check back in a weeks time, and do the same if Osei-Duro is still around. My fingers are crossed!

hot hot hot

man, it's going to be a scorcher out there today. maybe you should pick up a copy of fashion magazine's summer issue before you head outside to soak in the sun.

sarah jessica parker is on the outside. and jessica grace kennedy is on the inside! (well, not a picture or anything, but a quote!)

there's a tiny interview with me about my love for mercy clothing! (page 178)

or else, if you're stuck behind a computer all day, you can always check out the article online.

and, hey! look! new chair! an antique chair made from the EXACT SAME mint velvet that our couches are made from! and it's my uncles! i think the universe loves nokomis right now. we love you too, universe. xox.

bags

our teal green cloth bags are handy for many reasons. they make great lunch bags, especially bulky tupperware lunches, like the ones i tend to bring to work with me. they are also perfect for trips to the library. and they make packing luggage a lot easier. shoes in one, socks in another, and then i pack a few empty ones with me for dirty laundry. oh, and they are easy to tuck into your purse, so you can pull them out at other local shops and have an environmentally friendly bag option. they basically make everyones life easier, agreed?

well i recently found a new use for them: BABY ENTERTAINERS!

my 6 month old nephew visited me at the shop this week, and, man, he sure was impressed with the cloth bags. his eyes lit up whenever i would dangle one in his face.


though his favourite part was the handle. he basically sucked the life out it. SO CUTE! BABIES!

oh, isaac, i wonder if you will still like hanging out in a ladies clothing shop in a few more years? i guess by then your older sister will be working here, so maybe together we'll be able to entertain you. until then, you are welcome to as many bag straps as you wish. xox.

THANK YOU!!

Thank you so much for all of you who voted in See Magazine's Best-of-Edmonton issue! We won again for best women's independent clothing store. I wear that badge with pride, so thank you from the bottom of my heart. I am so thrilled that you love noko as much as I love noko. I'm grateful to live in a city where Canadian design is cherised, and I am blessed with the opportunity to have this shop and meet so many amazing and supportive customers.

To say thank you to all of Edmonton, we ran a little ad in See Magazine starting today.

The lovely and talented Emilia snapped this photo, check out her blog to see more of her photos.

Thanks again pals, it's truly an honour.

xox,

nokomis

CCB: Vegas or Bust

If you've got nothing to do this Friday, head down to New City and help get Edmonton's own Capital City Burlesque troop down to Las Vegas for the Exotic World Weekend (kind of a burlesque conference/competition type thingy). Not only with the CCB ladies be performing on Friday night, there will also be a silent auction full of delightful items by Eden Lilly, Blackbyrd Music, yours truly and many more local shops. (There's a 100 noko gc up for grabs with a Hoi Bo tote bag and an Ashley Watson leather bag too!). Fuss cupcakes also made special cupcakes just for these ladies and will be selling them for cheap. OMG, cupcakes, prizes, and burlesque dancing. I'm in!

flora & fauna

now that summer is soon on its way, it's time for new window displays! this was mainly spurred on by the fact that i want my lavender bike back (it was sitting in the window a part of the previous display). so last night, i snuck into the shop and switched things up.

these white vases are always all over the shop (and my home), so i though i would put them to good use.

i was originally going to by those fake birds that sit in wreaths, but then i found the most beautiful sheets of paper. i couldn't resist. i found a cute bird 'pattern' online and grabbed the scissors and glue.




then i started to place the flowers and birds:


oh, and this was a big inspiration as well:

it was one of my (not so bright) first purchases when elizabeth and i got the new space (almost 3 years ago!). i mean it's obviously beautiful and adds character to the shop, spending $160 on 'decor' when new flooring and new racks had to be purchased . . . oh well! c'est la vie! i'm putting it to good use now, right?

then i picked out outfits:

anastasia lomonova sophie dress, 250
biko heart locket, 69

birds of north america wren dress, 195

then, next step, throw it all together, with a few accessories:


and voila:

new windows! plus my bike back! win-win!

lily lily bo-lily

just a wee taste of a few smoking pieces that we got in this week (cause the last shipment lasted for, oh, maybe 2 days)


cape of good hope, 98 (three available, one each of the green, black and grey)


calamity jane top, in the navy bunnies (cute cute cute), only 58 bucks too, so super awesome


deep pocket dress, 130

new market dress (we have it in really pretty bright blue), only 82 bucks!