the gray hour

I’ve become accustomed to these permanent gray skies.
I’ve started to find methods to alleviate the  gloom that usually accompanies the clouds.

• Going to pick up the camera again. I miss the shutter click.


• Air – Moon Safari on loop.


• Heading home to Dubai in two weeks. Mum says it’s 40 degrees out there. Humidity so thick, you can taste the salt in the air.


• Bought little sister this Hudson Bay Sweater. So soft and classic, perfect for fickle weather such as this.


• Coffee floats, my most favourite morning indulgence. A scoop of vanilla butterscotch ice cream in the darkest of brews.


• Late afternoon naps with my kitty. Better than anything in the world right now.


• ‘Photography is Easy, Photography is Difficult‘ By Paul Graham. A great essay that I’ve been going back to over and over again.

two step

wishing for a simpler time.

Alexi&Coffee

The baked goods sat limp and cold.
The coffee? Watery.
The stale scent of burnt toast hung limply in the air
The rickety wooden tables, held up slumped bodies.
The sharp biting sounds of shattering hearts,
bounced trapped between stained yellow walls.

This was the city’s best break-up bar.
And there I sat.
Staring at you.

Friday Playlist #6 : Spring Gone Sprung Edition.

The sun is out!
I’m prancing about in my fave watermelon dress like a proper lunatic. JOY!
Vitamin D,
Cherry popsicles, blossoms,
patios and park brunches.

I need a bike!
Music under the stars,
sweaty sticky

Oh dear skin, soak up these rays
get yer black girl tan on!

Figure of Speech: a peek at Michael Mercanti’s latest gritty collection.

I had first discovered the Speech jewelry line a few years ago, when I had assisted a Globe & Mail shoot featuring the ridiculously talented singing superstar Florence Welch of Florence and The Machines. I remember being drawn to a particularly thorny silver necklace and was surprised and pleased to find out that designer Michael Mercanti was based right here in Toronto. That same necklace paired with a a super sequin Erin Klienberg sweater made for some serious CanCon and my lusting of all this Speech quickly took off. Mercanti’s past collections have always been lusciously dark. These are certainly pieces for those looking to showcase a subtle morbidity. Thorns, hammered nails, bat skulls and polished coral are hung on necklaces, battered in to delicate cuffs or hung long on silver necklaces.

It’s Mercanti’s latest collection titled, Apocalypse and the Moon, that leaves me quite excited and incredibly intrigued. From watching the teaser trailer it looks like the designer has certainly stepped up his game. While still as dark as ever, the pieces seem well made and sharp to the touch. While still using his trademark rose thorns and coral designs, Mercanti has aslo included semi-precious stones in to the mix by creating raw twisted rings and delicate necklace. While I am not sure when this collection will hit stores, if the video is anything to go by Mercanti will certainly have a hit collection on his hands.

Artist Cyprien Gaillard creates party pyramid. But we’ll call it art.

I’ve mentioned Cyprien Gaillard before. I will  not lie, I was drawn to his face first. Then came the art.
The Parisian born and now Berlin based artist is back on the scene with this hilarious installation over at the KW Institue for Contemporary Art in Berlin. Constructing a massive beer pyramid, Galliard hopes to find the connection between alcohol, socialism and architecture. While that sounds well and good I have to agree with ArtStars’ Nadja Sayej and call it a nod to freshman year or better yet a total metaphor of the Berlin art scene.
Drunken piss-poor creatives having a laugh.
I envy every single one of them.

Images courtesy of KW Institute of Contemporary Art, Berlin.

Awesome vid of Nadja running amok the exhibition.

got to be good

Viens,
blood kicks and flips through these vessels.
Scientific pipes,
transporting life giving devices.

It is these very same veins that
transport venom,
that of the darkest and
vilest kind.

Then I think of you,
and my nerves cool,
heart flutters,
two times.

Your embrace
makes me smile
it is your grimace
and our song
that makes this all
so very bitter.

You have no share of me,
as I have no share of you.
Merely memories,
trapped in this very
darkest of bleakest
hearts.
Welcoming a way out.

mind you,
this could be the
Sudafed talking!

Industrie Issue 3: to feature click-happy Mert&Marcus

Industrie #3 will be hitting newstands May 9th,
but Lord only knows when it’ll hit our Canadian shores.
I’ve collected both past issues and I’ve always been a fan of what has been produced.
Unlike most glossies, I find the in depth interviews with fashion/art/film creatives and creators to be the most fascinating.
It’s a little voyeuristic and perhaps that is why I love it.

25% Off TOPSHOP Sale, starts tomorrow!

 Starting tomorrow, Thursday May 5th  Jonathan+Olivia will be having a 25% off TOPSHOP spring sale, until Sunday May 8th.

To celebrate the bleakest rays of sunshine I give you this ace announcement.

Don’t walk, RUN.

Maryam Keyhani: my current obsession.

I’ve been meaning to write about the incredibly talented Maryam Keyhani and her ludicrously beautiful necklaces for some time now. I first spotted a Keyhani piece a little over a year ago when a dear friend was gifted a gorgeous gold and feathered number from the designer herself. Best birthday present in my opinion and like a starved magpie I’ve been coveting a piece ever since.

Born in Tehran and now based in Toronto, Keyhani sources from Paris and uses her vast education in art, sculture and intrinsic sense of style to create truly original, stand alone one of a kind pieces. These aren’t dainty confections for the faint of heart, it’s precisely the opposite. When you rock a Keyhani you will get noticed and you certainly will enjoy all the attention. I suppose what I love most is Keyhani’s ability to combine an almost vintage aesthetic and feel with a uniquely modern sculptural design twist, which is unlike anything I have ever seen before. Recently picked up by the esteemed Valery Demure showroom, she has already set the Parisian power fash-packs tongues a wagging. All feathers, chains, pearls and leather what she possess is an unquestionably talented eye and I simply cannot wait to see what she dreams of next.

Please

Go Vote.

We are blessed with this chance and it’s our duty as citizens.