live artfully!
This has to be the most exciting group of amber kits that Canada has ever seen from Trollbeads. These are simply amazing! So many delicious designs packed into each gorgeous group of beads. How to pick?! Each kit is priced at CAD$373 or USD$283.
Drop by to see them in person!
xo
C
Day 30. Can you believe it? The month has passed in a flash. I have so many more ideas now than a few weeks ago… my collection will likely stay in a state of flux for some time, before my bracelets settle into new semi permanent arrangements again.
As expected, I haven’t gone back to my “before” photos even once, and have no interest in trying to recreate old designs. I have too many things I want to try! Of course, the 30 day challenge is an extreme situation… daily pressures and timetables prevent most of us from creating an entirely new composition each day.
Even if we did have the time, some beads simply sing too beautifully together to take them apart! The distilled wisdom to take away at the end of this month long exercise is to go play and have *fun*. There’s absolutely no wrong way to do this!
Finally, a heartfelt thank you to all the ladies who have played along with me over the course of the past month. (If you haven’t been to our facebook page to see their gorgeous designs, be sure to take a peek at the album… ) Ladies, your encouragement, support and beautiful designs have inspired me more than I can say. Thank you to each one of you for all your time and energy!
I hope to seem lots of you in person at our upcoming Trunk Show – if you are in our area on Trollbeads Day – Saturday June 6th – be sure to come by the shop from 10-2 and say hello!
C.
Many years ago now, I was at the life celebration of a dear friend who was taken from this world far too young. We were all doing our best to maintain our composure, and express the happy, positive attitude that our friend epitomized… when a song she had chosen by the artist Dido began to be played.
Here we were, gathered to express our gratitude for her beautiful life, and in the midst of our grief, she thanked us. It was a powerful moment, a devastatingly beautiful and emotional moment… and an experience that will never leave me. It taught me a critical lesson in the enormous power and strength of gratitude.
We are very close to the end of the 30 day challenge… and I wanted to take time now, before it is all over for another year, to make up a gratitude bracelet. This design is composed entirely from beads that have been gifted to me. Of course, there are too many beads from my lovely community of Trollie Friends to fit them all on just one bracelet…but this composition can be a symbol of all the love that can be carried on each of our bracelets.
To all of you who have contributed to both my collection of beads, and my collection of beautiful days… Thank you.
C.
Eeep. There, I went ahead and said it. There’s a holiday coming, and there will be shopping involved. I hear people talking about it as if it’s a terrible chore, and awful burden to be ripped through as quickly as possible. When did shopping for presents get to be so hard?
I can sympathize… the mall is a soulless place, which drains the energy out of my veins too. I avoid it like the plague, especially around the busy holidays. However, there are still places where you can carefully pick out lovely, unique gifts… ones that are worth giving, and are a pleasure to receive. Aren’t we lucky that so many of those places are in Edgemont Village? Take a stroll with me through the village and you’ll see what I mean…
(image courtesy of flohaus.com)
Trims really should be the first place on your list, to create a wonderfully festive feel in your home. Even on a tiny budget I always find something inspiring there. Last year a cinnamon broom was a welcome addition, greeting me with its comforting essence every time I came in the front door.
32 Books has something for everyone… and if they can’t suggest something fascinating from their extensive selection, then they’ll cheerfully custom order anything you can possibly imagine. Be sure to stop by the comfy chair in the corner to give Jem a pat while you’re there.
Pick up a tea at David’s Tea shop while you’re walking through the village, for a relaxing and friendly change of pace.
Order a free range Turkey from one of the Village’s two butcher shops, or ask for fresh ideas of alternative meals – they’re so helpful! For a beautiful array of appetizers browse the shelves and glass case at the Galeria. Yes, they make a mean sandwich, but they also carry prosciutto, crudites, cheese, olives and so much more. The Village wine shop can suggest perfect wine pairings no matter what the menu, and of course, find all the latest gourmet accessories at Call The Kettle Black.
For the fashionista on your list step into Zig Zag, a true treasure trove of amazing clothes, accessories and most of all, shoes! They carry hard-to-find lines that will delight the chicest of sartorialists.
A village institution, no Christmas would be complete without a stop at BC Playthings. I’ve often spotted what looked a lot like an elf, shopping their legendary penny boxes right by the till. These bins of stocking stuffers make everyones’ Christmas jobs a little easier…
Finally, be sure to come visit us at Tartooful for an oasis of calm and friendly service in the busy Holidays… we have new goodies arriving every day from the best local artists, and all over the world, to put big smiles on the faces of all those near and dear to you. We have fresh arrivals by local silver smith Pyrrha, sweet and quirky Pixies by Maileg, cool, modern homewares by Design House Stockholm, luscious precious stones by Shamila Jewels, fascinating vintage jewellery by the Mollard Collection, Redflag’s elegant design and of course… Trollbeads of Denmark. At Tartooful you can expect to be pampered, enjoy your shopping, and find brilliant solutions this Holiday season. We’ll happily wrap your gifts, and even arrange for shipping. Relax, it’s going to be fun, we promise!
See you in the Village…
C.
Lately we’re loving the warm side of white… soft, warm vanilla shades that give us Vancouverites a shot of light in the middle of our dark winter, without feeling chilly.
Cristi has had soft ivory beads on her bracelet for a long time, and lots of us have been inspired by its lovely mix of blue, grey & warm white… in fact, variations on that colour theme are consistently among our favorite designs…
Some ivory beads are hard-to-find retireds – such as “Chai Bud”, “Blue Dot” and “Green Dot”… Many that find their way onto Tartooful’s bracelets are uniques, and others such as “Beige-blue dot” and “Alabaster Amber” have been part of the regular collection and very simple to find on display at tartooful.
In the most recent series of retirements it was announced that “Beige Bubbles” will be leaving the collection, but relatively new beads, such as “Conch”, “Urchin”, “Fireflies”, and “Organic Stripe” 
provide lots of inspiring fresh designs to create compositions that feature warm white.
A number of beads that are not, in fact, warm in tone at all are valuable additions to compositions featuring ivory… soft whites with a touch of cool colour offer a 
complementary tone… Natural stones such as “Rose Quartz, “Rosa Pearl”, and “Green Jade”… Glass such as “Grey Wolf”, “Dichroic Ice”, “White Petals” and “Silver Mountain”… and recently retired and already mourned, “Chalcedony”…
Another intriguing complementary colour for warm white is apricot… this subtle shade is very tricky to find in the Troll collection. The best example probably is the “Pink Prism”, but some “Pink Desert” have a very warm cast to them, and some “Honey Dawn” turn 
out very rosy. I particularly like the combination of warm white, gold, apricot and warm grey – such as natural faceted stone, “Labradorite”, “Grey Prism or or even some examples of “Smoky Quartz”.
Are you inspired by Ivory?
C.
Today we had the pleasure of having Janna of Astrosatchel and Winterluxe visit us at the shop for the day… We took special orders, chatted fashion trends and heard all about the design history of our favorite pieces. You may have missed your chance to join the conversation… but it’s not too late to come see the amazing array of Astrosatchel at Tartooful! Janna has very kindly allowed us to “borrow” her studio for a couple more days – so be sure to swing by the village and take a peek!
The Holidays are lurking just around the corner, and Janna’s hard-working and beautiful designs are perfect for so many people on the “nice” list… Her cashmere is 100% recycled and each piece is locally made by the artist and one-of-a-kind. Her scarves, armwarmers 
and new mittens are perfect for hard-to-please fashionistas and are so easy and lightweight to pop in an envelope and mail to the lucky recipient.
Don’t miss out on her “Sadie Bags” – the sleek and simple, round shape is very now and so comfortable and easy to use.
New this year are her gorgeous, shag cashmere home accessories. You’ll find cashmere shag cushions this weekend at tartooful in colours such as couture 
pink, mod black & white, olive green and rich hues of turquoise. These cushions are the ultimate luxury – so soft and unabashedly pretty! But don’t worry – they’re still 100% recycled and locally made by the artist.
Other stocking stuffer ideas include her oh-so-smart wallets, with their cool industrial snaps and perfectly planned pockets… lipstick cases, the indispensable little case that holds everything in its place, cashmere hot water bottle cozies, d-ring bags for the girl on the go, and sleek pocket clutches. If all that’s not reason enough… don’t forget the bag that started it all: the totally perfect Medium Tote! We have oodles of Totes in all colours and patterns… if one of these beauties is on your holiday list, be sure to pop in and shop early while this amazing selection is in store.
The “Astrosatchel Studio comes to Tartooful”… on now!
C.
There is a beautiful group of transparent and light-filled beads in the gallery right now… I think they would make an amazing composition, one that truly felt light liquid light.
It’s one of Trollbeads great design strengths that they are able to create beads that appear to be lit from within… they use the silver or gold core of the bead to reflect the light back out, through the glass. The result is a shimmering, beautiful piece that never bores. Perhaps the most amazing of these designs is the “Diamond Bead with Gold Core”, pictured above. This is a tour de force of design, with the light beautifully reflected from the gold core, glistening through the perfectly cut crystals. On any bracelet it would be an absolute showstopper.
Other outstanding examples of this light-trapping technique include “Dichroic Ice”, any of the clear striped designs, such as “Light Blue Stripes” or “White Stripes”, and most recently, “White Petals”.
These beads are most effective when paired with intricately patterned silvers that offer a wonderful juxtaposition of texture and colour – such as the “Cherry Blossom” above…
C.
The orange side of the Trollbeads spectrum is perhaps an acquired taste: these are not the first beads that I was attracted to in the collection, but lately I’m finding them totally delicious.
Some of the citrus-y beads that I’m loving in this combination: “Pumpkin”, “Honeydew Amber”, “Golden Cave”, “Troll with Big Feet”, “Power Chakra”, “Sun Circle”, “Rainbow”, and “Red/Purple Chess”. Golden Cave is perhaps an unexpected addition here, but the bronze-gold leaf in this bead looks wonderfully orange when paired with other colours of that tone, and the lilac is a perfect complement. The “Troll with Big Feet” has the perfect blend of orange, green and lilac shimmering in its dichroic stone. The glistening feel is echoed in the “Rainbow” and “Honeydew” beads, which both feel like liquid light.
Yum……
C.
All the glass Trollbeads have their own distinct personalities and expressions, but once in a while something really different arrives that truly stands out.
This time, it’s a “Trinity” silver bead, with its beautiful dichroic glass inserts. The unusual element in this case is a pearly white shade of glass in one of the glass dots! It’s almost like a white opal, with pale, delicate colour shimmering in its depths. The other two colours are soft and pretty blue and lavender…
Seeing this unusual treat of a bead, I was inspired to create a “Summer Whites” bracelet around it:
Light and airy… it’s just the thing for our newly arrived summer sunshine!
to contact tartooful: 604.924.0122 or tartooful@gmail.com
C.
The new jewelry designs of Christy Feaver are simply breathtaking.
The silversmith is known for her chunky, modern pieces, with finishes and patinas inspired by the shorelines of the two continents she calls home… but the newest of her designs to arrive at Tartooful are a joyful riot of colour, set into simple, comfortable and timeless settings.
On a purely girly note, I am totally in love with her pink topaz pieces… (Cristi’s eyes lit up for the sparkling yellow citrines…)
…But there are so many mouthwatering colours in this collection: rich, green peridot, lemon yellow citrine, sky blue topaz, smoky quartz, soft lavender amethyst….and of course, pink topaz.
We also have a beautiful range of her signature earrings on the shelf, as well as an array of her new necklaces, featuring silver Buddhas, lotuses and tassels. (!)
Christy Feaver’s jewelry is pure happiness…
C.
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