bimba & lola

I am in Madrid visiting my brother, along with my family, to attend his graduation later this week.  On my first day in the city, I was given a brief shopping tour by my brother’s girlfriend who introduced me to Spanish retailer, bimba & lola.  Bimba & Lola is a funky brand of stylish leather goods, jewelry, accessories and clothing.  Right now I am coveting a couple bags and some accessories that are currently on sale (apparently, July in Madrid = sales).  Still deliberating as to whether I am going to make the purchase but nevertheless, here ere are a couple shots of what I like from their summer 2011 line.

Photo Credits:

(1) The Groovini (2) Plussixfive Magazine (3) Bented (4,5,6,7) Bimba & Lola Store

concrete accessories

Believe it or not, I have nothing, NOTHING, growing in my house.  With the exception of buying myself flowers every now and again, I have no living plants in my place which is kind of sad.  On the sixth floor, I look out over the tree tops, so I see green all the time, but I think it’s important to have a couple of plants to clean the indoor air.  I don’t know why that is, and I’m not proud of it, but it’s reality.  No green or living things.

In an effort to change my no-green predicament, I thought, one way to motivate myself to buy a plant is to first find a cool home for the plant.  Fortunately, I found these adorable and stylish concrete plant holders on Etsy from Obelisk, fine concrete decor.  The seller has other home accessories including concrete vases, bowls, utensil holders, and even a table lamp.  These natural, minimalist items would be a lovely addition to anyone’s space; especially mine.  Now all I need to do is find some moss!

via etsy/at stuart's shop

via etsy/at stuart's shopvia etsy/at stuart's shop

Natural Accessories

Natural Home Decor by lanshala on Polyvore.com

BAG’n’NOUN

I’ve been participating in a 30 day yoga workshop at my studio where I practice seven days a week from 6-7:30am.  It’s incredible how much more productive you are when you start your day earlier with a workout and asana practice.  Today, when I got home, I read through an old issue of Monocle magazine and discovered a cool accessory line from Japan.  Monocle regularly features items from Japanese designers and craftmakers which is great when you’re in Toronto and looking for new and different. 

My find this morning is BAG’n’NOUN.  The colours and lines of their bags are beautiful, vibrant, functional and statements.  BAG’n’NOUN designs and manufactures all of their bags locally in Osaka and uses high quality duck canvas in their products.  I can’t find a picture of it, but they have an awesome looking duffle bag and I really like their narrow, rectangular shopping bag (pics below) which reminds me of the LV shopping bag. 

via outdoor in doors

via plussixfive.com

via 3939shop.com

via another day co

cake stands

Good cake stands are hard to find.  Maybe it’s just me, but I never see interesting cake stands when I am out and about in Toronto.  You can typically find a simple white, round stand, sometimes with a scalloped edge but that’s it.  Perhaps I’m shopping at the wrong stores in Toronto, or maybe Torontonians are not into displaying their cakes and sweets on a pedestal.  Either way, I’ve found a solution: Sweet and Saucy Supply. 

I’ve blogged about Sweet and Saucy Shop before, the bakery run by talented Melody Brandon in Long Beach, California before.  Melody has added a natural extension to her pastry business, cakewear supply, because as her mother told her, people eat with their eyes first- I could not agree more.  Sweet and Saucy Supply offers an impressive, arty and decorative line up of stands, platters, domes and bowls for sale in a wide range of colours.   I cannot confirm yet that they will ship outside of the US, but I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

I tend to prefer whites/blacks/clear glass serving pieces- so here is a sample of my favourites (however, the coloured glass stands are attractive as well):

via sweet and saucy supply

via sweet and saucy supply

via sweet and saucy supply

via sweet and saucy supply

via sweet and saucy supply

one love organics

I love this super cute packaging from One Love Organics, a new skin and body care line from the US.  A company that is driven by producing ethical, natural and environmentally conscious products, One Love Organics will surely be a hit in no time!  Their Skin Saviour product looks like a good moisturizer that I hope to try out.

via duetletterpress.com

via the dieline