Time flies when you're having fun...

Here is a recap of our Spring show season, in 8 minutes indeed:

March, One Of A Kind Toronto: second time, twice the love...
Great weather set the mood right from the start - and the Easter weekend brought an amazing turn-out. It was so great to see the returning customers, who had not forgotten us since last year - and new ones as well, who were generous enough to support our tiny West coast workshop...

Beautiful Spring day at the lake

J. in her vintage hotel room after the prep day. Trying Ontario wine.

Old style elevator door

The return to the N isle...

Building the Nautical Wall Of Bags

This year, we made some additions to our all-portable clothing-line display: by making DIY makeshift shelving from the shipping boxes. For traveling shows, the most important thing, is to keep it light. 

Beautiful show displays...

Show display details

Toronto themed glass art... so Old-world...

J's hotel - just a short Rocket ride away

The week just flew by - with a lot of spring sunshine, and a few snowflakes, lots of coffee, and work, many evening walks, trips to all-night grocery stores, trying new foods and wines; and getting to know the city a little bit more.

Lychee sake - one of the biggest recent discoveries

A week and a half later, we hit the road to Make It Edmonton.

Snowy surprise

Our line of work makes for a great excuse to travel, and this was our first time in Edmonton. The show is housed in the beautiful Enjoy Centre, an amazing venue with glass ceiling, that lets the sunshine in, and carries aroma of flower hot-houses throughout. After a first morning snow blizzard, the Spring weather prevailed, making it for a beautiful sunny weekend. A great introduction to the new for us city.

Beautiful ceiling and hot-houses

Set-up at Enjoy

Another day, another booth

 Edmonton is a stylish city, with much appreciation to high quality items and willingness to seek out uniqueness. Make It is one of the best attended events there, and this show had certainly showed that. We met folks, who were regulars to the show since the very start, wearing and flaunting handmade clothing and accessories.

Our youngest customer

It felt great to hit the road home after two travel shows so close together. 

The ride home

Posted by Jolanta http://jolavdesigns.com

Jump to the new collection: Spring Summer 2013 Cruise...

image by: Sophia Dembling (2008)

After a couple of very hectic months, we're in the middle of preparations for the One Of  A Kind Show in Toronto - for the second year.
 What we're bringing alongside the regular stock, is a completely new range of designs, our SS 13 Cruise collection...

Contrast of opposing textures, visual changes in an abject in different times during the day, surfaces of different finishes and smooth lines were in the focus for this collection, all wrapped up in a relaxed and joyous mood of vacations. This is definitely our most celebratory collection, with lots of basic colours, and materials, other than leather, introduced to the shells of bags...

Image: Tumblr. Isle Of Pines

Early this year, Chloe Magazine ran a full page feature of our upcoming collection - you can revisit there feature and read Jolanta's interview with the magazine here.

Here are the all new designs of Spring Summer 2013 Cruise

Click on pictures for more info.

Marife  - A large, graceful carry-all with extended braided handles and exterior pockets.  Lightweight and sturdy, made to house your travel, shopping, or work needs. Or even a second bag inside. Has an eye-catching shape and flowy lacing and braid detail.

Marife - black

Marife - red

Exploring burlap fabric - a course and sturdy cloth to give seasonal lightness and contrast to the smooth surface of leather. Features original ink prints of coffee importers.

Marife Burlap

Marife Burlap

Kaia Surf - Elegant gear. A large, relaxed satchel with two sculpted front pockets, adjustable straps and a shoulder pad. It is an understated formal bag, that could be taken through the weekend (trip). Boxy built, the bag shares some of the same detailing, as the previous design, Marife, such as Western lacing and very smooth lines, at the same time creating a completely different, unisex, look...

Kaia Surf - Granite

Kaia Surf - Caramel

Quilchena -  our first backpack! A deep draw string sac, to be worn as a backpack or cross-body. Zipper pocket in the front, and three more pockets inside. Soft, leather, comfortable wear. Hands free. Featuring pleat detail, or plain.

Quilchena Pleat - black

Quilchena - mushroom

Sarah Burlap - an all new version of one of our Permanent designs. Burlap creates a striking visual contrast, making the purse summery, and surprisingly tough...

Sarah Burlap - Blue

Clubkidz - Fun and compact cross-body for a night out, or day. Very easy to wear, strap is adjusted by re-tying the knots at each end. Closes with an oversized flap and an internal magnet. Features a zipper pocket in the back. Will keep your hands free, while all essentials intact. Take it dancing. More colours to come.

Clubkidz - Blue

Clubkidz - Teal And Gold

Clubkidz - Apple Red

Rider  - an easy to wear pleated bag. Stash it into your beach carry-all, throw it over your shoulder; it will look great with flowing dresses, crochet boho sweaters, headbands, jeans, coats, surf- wear - anything. 

Rider - Mint two

So, here you go! The SS 13 Cruise will make its debut at the OOAK show next week, and will appear in retail shortly...
It is NOW available at the Web-shop. 

Our Permanent collection is carried alongside, as well as the remaining styles of FW 2011 Cebrellex.


Posted by Jolanta http://jolavdesigns.com

Prepping for OOAK

My first Spring season show will happen across the country from where I live - in Toronto. The One Of A Kind Spring Show and Sale takes place between March 28 to April 1, and we will be there with the new Collection, and some of the Spring and Summer ad-ons.

Working full time at the day-job created some additional pressures to make enough product, meet deadlines, pre-plan and pre-think everything needed to make this show worthy. Can't wait till I re-gain my half-time in just over a week...

But, beside a few 'fits' of occasional anxiety, and cancelled social get-togethers with friends, I have been coping just fine, even managed to create some completely new items to bring to the show. I have also dreamed up my booth display, and already started the decorating work.

Because I will travel by air, my display must be as compact as possible, collapsible and light. I will show it to you all, as soon as it is ready and set up some six weeks away. Same for my bags, that will take their first trans-Canadian group trip...

The pictures below are of what I have been busying myself with...

Re-purposing men's (and ladies' ) jackets... into OOAK Sarah bags.

Floral embossed suede/ leather jacket: that symmetrical cut is completely accidental!

Now, with ruffles

Beautiful pattern in the back

Completely new design -  zipper clutch bags built from re-purposed jackets (pictures coming)...

Side A and B

Same beautiful pattern

My decorations: the Booth will have fresh colours of white and blue, just a little 'sailor' themed

My wind streamers... I may not have any wind at the Show, but they will pop against the white Show curtain

Table cover - vintage crocheting over white silk mix fabric

We are very excited to be visiting our Eastern friends - many more details about the Show are to come up in this Blog in the next few weeks.

Posted by Jolanta http://jolavdesigns.com

'The Starter' - the return of Fringe...

Fringe played a major role in the very birth of this line nearly three years ago. Some of you know, I am a moderately picky shopper, and would seek out only truly unique items, that satisfy my acceptance criteria. One of those items, was a well made, true to the original suede Fringe bag I could wear for years to come. Fast fashion chains, or department stores in greater Vancouver did not have what I was looking for, so I decided to get some suede and build one myself.

My first bag ever...

Some of you have seen this image... this is the Fringe bag I made back in Spring of 2009...

... The bag got some unexpected attention, some ladies wanted me to build one for them, or just suggested to buy the one I was wearing, so I listened.. and became a designer...

Kerry, Mocha, - I have to post it on the Web-shop!

My simple prototype evolved into THIS bag - Kerry, from S/S 2010 Intro collection, which got us our first retailers, just mere two months into the "business".  Kerry remains one of my most requested designs so far...

In the next six months or so, Fringe exploded in the mainstream retail, with everyone featuring a tasseled design - from Gucci to H&M. Even though, most of the bags were not all that similar to mine, I moved on from shredding suede for Pre-Fall 2010 Coming Of Age Collection.


But, I have not stopped loving Fringe, and that's why nearly three years later, I decided to release a different Fringe design... One of my lovely retailers have said, that i might as well finish a trend I started...

INTRODUCING -  The Starter - an all new Fringe shoulder slouch, coming in Spring of 2012...

Speckled White Elkskin

Featuring a shorter, modernized Fringe, expanded darted base, a zipper closure and front pocket and tie on adjustable straps, this bag is a cross-body, that doubles as  a clutch... For the first time, I have worked with wild leathers - Deerskin and Elkskin, embracing their matte, velvety finish and incredible pliability...

The Starter comes in several colours: BLONDE

SADDLE TAN

GOLD TAN

CHOCOLATE

... and  SPECKED WHITE

I am very excited about my new Fringe design. There are very few of them - and they will make their debut in my first show of the season in Ontario...

Posted by Jolanta http://jolavdesigns.com