July 22, 2008 - It is so amazing how much rain has fallen from the sky as of late! I don’t mind because it gives our gardens a much needed drink but it does make for quiet times at the shop. But what I have to introduce to you will inspire you to put on your wellies, grab a bralie and head to Love, Me for some sweet smiles. I wrote recently about crushes - specifically a designer crush. The work I received this morning is sort of a love at first site experience. I found Keri Rounding surfing around on the internet one day. I wrote her and asked her to join the other talented artists in this shop. Her box arrived this morning and when I opened it, my heart lightened. Seriously, I could feel the slumpy grey rainy blahs slide out to make room for unicorn, rainbow, and icecream cone 6 year old happies. Keri makes woolen felted “sea flora-like” accessories.

I have a rule for myself to not purchase anything for 2 weeks minimum so that my customers can have a fair shot at the cutest of the cute. I am not sure I can contain myself here people…I’m just saying…

July 19, 2008 - I have a personality which is suseptible to crushes. I get crushes on certain food ingredients, fabrics, imagery, artists, musicians - and the list can go on. They are not the heartbreaking painful part nor the fixation part of crushing but rather the sweet tender ”they can do no wrong” admirings.  Someone I fell pretty hard for last year was Laura McKibbon and cul de sac design. Her pottery was something of a culmination of many of my other crushes (colour crushes - bright robbin’s egg blue; item crushes - small vessels and imagery crushes - canadiana). And yesterday, my crush arrived at my doorstep in bubblewrap and cardboard. I took my time unwrapping each piece - savoring the feelings of the first gaze and touch. I encourage you to come in and fall in ‘crush’ yourself.

July 15, 2008 - I saw this video on Double Happiness’s blog - Feist on Sesame Street singing about the number 4. It is so cute. And I agree with Trudy…the best line is “chickens just back from the shore”.

Love, Me will be carrying Double Happiness’s gorgeous books very soon. Her albums were written about in Canadian Living.

July 11, 2008 - I am so excited that two fabulous Canadian magazines have fallen for Love, Me. Check out the latest issue of Wish Magazine (July-August) and LouLou Magazine (July) for blurbs on our fair shoppe.

You can check them both out on our “Media” page. Here is a sneak at the LouLou blurb:

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July 8, 2008 - I will admit right off the bat that this request is biased for three reasons. Reason #1 - I am a huge fan of this super cool, super smart writer - Sue Carter Flinn; Reason #2 - I am also a huge fan of artisan Kyla Francis and her rockin’ roll asthetic; Reason #3 - The entry mentions Love, Me

What am I talking about? Fashion Magazine is doing a reporter search and having various freelance writers write mini blurbs about interesting fashion items and then are narrowing down the search. They are polling the public by allowing them to vote on which finalist they prefer.

Before I send you off to vote for Sue (vote daily!), I want to tell you what I love about Sue:

• She is an arts & culture advocate
• She is an independant business & culture advocate
• She is super sweet
• She has a very cool personal style
• And she is a great writer

What more could you want?

Vote daily. Tell your friends. Vote for Sue at: http://www.fashionmagazine.com/reportersearch/vote/blog/6/

July 3, 2008 - I am doing a lazy blog job today and reposting bits of an interview between the Amy Borkwood (for Toronto Craft Alert) with Lee Mezaros. Lee’s sweet and/or sassy merit badges get tons of giggles, smiles, and “these are soooo great”s from Love, Me customers. Come and pick one up for the special someone (pst…that includes yourself).

Can you tell me a little about your Merit Badges?

The idea for the badges came from a shopping trip I had at a Halifax thrift store in my last semester at NSCAD. I found an old brownie sash with all of the badges still attached, and was immediately struck by all of the work that went into earning those badges, and how wrong it felt to know that someone thought of them as disposable. I began to think about what may be more important to me than tasks completed or techniques masters- I came to the conclusion that I value emotional triumphs and failures far more dearly.

I set out to create something that people could take real pride in giving and receiving, not just because it was cute or nice to look at, but because it held some kind of emotional significance to them. I looked at brownie, cubs, scouts, and Girl Guide badges for inspiration, and I really liked how most of the images on them meant nothing unless you knew how it was earned- random tea kettles, dogs, girls holding hands, cakes, frying pans, magnifying glasses, hobo sacks, books. I adopted that idea as part of my badges- I like that if the meaning is truly personal, it won’t be given away by someone just seeing the badge on your shirt. It gives the person who wears it the option of keeping the meaning a secret, or sharing the experience and telling their story.

I also thought a lot about what makes a textile object more precious to me, and I decided that I value visible qualities that show it was made by hand- that’s how I decided it was important to hand paint and embroider them all. Even if it’s just a small stitch detail, I feel like it’s important for them to be the opposite of mass produced badges- hopefully that makes them more dear to people.

See the whole interview here.

June 28, 2007 - Oh boy - Canada Day is around the corner. Other than the fact that Canada Day also happens to be my wedding anniversary, I am sentimental about Canada Day. I am a technically a dual citizen (gasp!). I was born and raised in the O.C. (California). But thankfully the silver lining of my parent’s split, was the fact that I moved to Canada and became a Canadian citizen. Having crossed the borders back and forth for much of my life, I definately have a unique perspective. I really can feel a shift in culture and attitude entering Canada that is really hard to explain but is shared by others who have had similar repeated border jumping experiences. I thought I would do a love letter list of why I LOVE Canada. Feel free to add your loves in the comment section!

P.S. Have a great Canada Day. Note that along with other businesses, Love, Me will be shut tight.

I love…

• the Health Care system (ours has issues but it is miles better than the U.S.)
• the education system (ditto above)
• Leonard Cohen
• Joni Mitchell  (ok there is some much Canadian music)
• Ann-Marie MacDonald, Allistar MacLeod, and so many MANY great Canadian Authors
• maple syrup
• back bacon (Canadian bacon)
• fall apples (Why do we have apples from China in the supermarket? I digress)
• Lloyd Robertson (”And that’s the kind of day its been”)
• Our national news - it is, for the most part, real news
• Sarah Polley and Ellen Page
• Tegan and Sara (right - some much Canadian music)
• Stuart MacLean
• CBC (it has it’s issue but come one, so great)
• Our recycling programs
• David Suzuki (how cute is the new ConserveNS commercial with him in it?)
• The landscape (side note nod to the Group of Seven and Emily Carr who captured the “essence”)
• La La La Human Steps (my favorite Canadian dance troupe)
• Great comedy - Shawn Mujumder, 22 minutes (heart “On your side” with Nathan Fielder)

And the list could continue here but I would be here all day.

June 18, 2008 - This Saturday, June 21st is the first day of summer. Whatcha doin’ to celebrate? You can not let this day go by without a little cheer! I don’t care what the forecast says or if it has been grey all week. It is time to break out of this spring fog funk, don our gay apparel, grabba bevie with an umbrella, and have some good time fun.

Love, Me will do its part on Saturday with an all day summer clothing sale. We are talking tops, skirts, dresses - oh my! - at some cheer worthy prices. We will be serving refreshments and drawing for prizes. And if that isn’t enough, the ladies upstairs (Simply Reb and Bradshaw Pure Esthetics) will be doing some celebrating as well with complimentary scalp massages and makeup applications along with treats and prizes (until 2 pm). Whoa! Rain or Shine ladies - good summer party times are starting right here - this Saturday, June 18th. Love, Me will be open 10 am - 5 pm. Can I get a whoop whoop?

June 11, 2008 - As I write this post, the fog is rolling past my window. Just two days ago I was sweating standing still! What up? On an upside, it is fun summer times inside the shop. We have rec’d some new stock from some hot artisans who are heating up the media scene. Canadian House and Home readers will be delighted to see Jenna Rose (of the May 2008 issue) back in stock. Jenna has a studio in Guelph, Ontario. Her prints for this summer are birds, bicycles, elm trees, and sweet suburb line drawings.

We also received some cutie patootie bikinis from Deux FM Apparel, stunning silver and shell jewellery from Jen Bennett, fun wood jewellery from new designers Twee, sweet new stationary, and fun cocktail napkins and coasters from Avril Loreti. Those of you who are readers of REAL SIMPLE magazine will recognize Avril Loreti from their summer gift guide. Her cocktail napkins come with fortune prints, faux wine ring stains, designer chairs, modern buildings and are all very cool.

So…shake off the glummies (is that a word?) and come in and feel refreshed!

May 31, 2008 - When I opened the shop of “all Canadian handmade” products, I knew I was only going to play Canadian music in the shop. Not everyone visiting the shop realizes this but many do. I had an experience a few days ago where every song, one customer would say “I love this song” or “I love this band”. We got to talking Canadian music and how much amazing talent there is out there. And then there is our little city…don’t even get me started! This week The Coast explores the issue of arts/culture in this city (props to Kim Munson who spoke on behalf of fashion and who is carried by our little boutique). Anyhow here is a little You tube video of a local band I really enjoy - Down with the Butterfly.