This weekend's WEST Sale III

This weekend's WEST Sale III was bloody awesome. I had super friendly, wicked table neighbours - Emm of Emms gEMs and Kara of HEMdesign. Some really cool folks attended the sale that had an appreciation for handmade and recycled/upcycled that was great to see. 

What stuck out the most at this sale were a few things. The nicest older fella visited my table twice because he wanted to look at all of my upcycled magnets. To make these, I head to my favourite thrift shops that save me their vintage childrens books that are otherwise on their way to the trash. I use a sealer on the images I cut out, adhere them to printed cardstock and stick neodymium magnets on the backs. He bought a few from vintage Disney books and we had a neat conversation about childrens storybooks/films now vs. decades ago. 
I later met a nice German father and his little girl who came to Canada from Germany. I speak German near fluently and caught the little lady counting her coins in German, it was somethin'. We talked about Steinbach and other small towns in Manitoba with German communities, which reminded me I need to visit the MCC in Steinbach, because they have the best cardigans.

I'm super pleased with the turnout, the stellar marketing and organization of the show, and the venue the sale was held at. The weather was the best Winnipeg's had this year and I'm looking forward to the next WEST sale.

A few photos..

http://toxiedesigns.etsy.com/

https://www.etsy.com/shop/hoshiidesigns

https://www.etsy.com/shop/smashlyn

https://www.etsy.com/shop/marathon1981

http://www.etsy.com/shop/maryandmaudestudio

https://www.etsy.com/shop/emmspocketgems

Alex (KINDLY<3) watching my table,

https://www.etsy.com/shop/realswanky

https://www.etsy.com/shop/heartfeltyarnwreaths

A few accessories from my table. (Next lesson: space management, oye!)

More photos will be up at the WEST blog, here, shortly. Hope everyone's digging this bitchin' weather, I know today desperately calls for a bike ride. 

It's tomorrow!

See you all tomorrow!!

Food stuff, making, and the upcoming show!

The past little while has been busy for me; making up things for the upcoming WEST Handmade & Vintage Sale III, cooking and baking more (and photographing along the way, 'course), and enjoy the 0.3 seconds of sunshine Winnipeg is graced with each day -- seriously, it's been snowing, raining, sleeting, grey n' gloomy.. what gives?

First off, food really rules. I've been stoked to find a very adaptable recipe online for a great snack/side, called Jhal Muri.

The recipe can be found at my blog, The Hardcore Herbivore. I've missed blogging my recipes and will definitely be posting more on there. Find the recipe here!

Last but not least, the upcoming sale! Huge deal. I'm super excited, it's only a few days away and whatnot, are you folks comin'? RSVP here! I'll be there, selling, and taking rad photos of the event which will be posted on the Winnipeg Etsy Street Team blog shortly after the sale. Get exciteddd.

See you folks

Every day is Record Store Day

While record stores all over are stuffed to the brim with long time vinyl enthusiasts, fresh faces, and soon-to-be-empty pocketbooks.. I find myself melting into my couch-fort, semi-blaring records, and being a big sad sickface.

Over the past few days, I've been slowly cracking away at projects for the upcoming WEST Handmade & Vintage Sale III.

Look out for creepy Vincent Price magnets, pastel hair ties, and all sorts of fun stuff in the near future.

Upcycled vintage material pocketsquares - new in the shop!

This afternoon, I worked on a batch of men's pocketsquares. Each are 10x10", and a few are made from awesome vintage materials. Check'um out! I'm also welcoming custom size requests, 'cos 10x10 doesn't float just everyone's boat. Perfect for all them Madmen parties the youth are having these days.

Find my Etsy listings at realswanky.etsy.com !  x

More bowties, more pocketsquares.

I'm stoked about these new bowties I made in spiderweb, black pindot, and a rad vintage cotton in hazel/fawn. 

listing here

Seriously though, what colour is this?
Keeping mindful of not naming it after any bodily functions (though, yeah, I totally get it)

listing here

listing here

listing here

I'm glad I got postering for the WEST sale finished with last week, because I've recently fallen ill. I'd like to thank my actions from this post, partly, but also the fact that I haven't been sick in AGES! Pre-spring allergies gone awry, s'pose. If you plan a walkabout in the Downtown region and see heaps of neat little fox posters and 8 layers of packing tape, that there was I!

As well, be sure to check out the Winnipeg Etsy Street Team's latest blog post, here, for a tutorial written up by yours truly! Featuring the one and only, the talented, the mercilessly tacky-in-the-good-way, Heat n' Bond. 

Basically spring.

With Spring pretty much in the air, several inches of snow on the ground (and apparently more on it's way come Thursday), it's safe to say we all ought to turn our grungy, tight black jeans into grungry, tight black shorts.

I've been having quite a bit of luck posting my ready-to-wear clothing and accessories on Kijiji. Who'da thunk it? Winnipeggers have always been quick to find a good deal, understandably, and Kijiji is the place to find such deals. I recently completed a rush order on a Queen of Hearts themed swing skirt to be worn under crinoline. Don't mind the brutal shot..

For this skirt, I did a B&W houndstooth satin waistband, a cherry red cotton for the body of the skirt, black cotton trim, and used Heat n' Bond for the number of golden satin hearts that adorned the bottom edge of the skirt. Again, don't mind the brutal shot and Zellers pant hanger. I know, I'm rad. Is Zellers considered vintage yet?

With the WEST sale about 2 weeks away, I've been working on more men's accessories, awful magnets, and things to put in your hair. I'm pretty stoked! Are you headin' down?

Event info here | WEST Facebook group here | WEST blog here

It's a mod, mod world + links loved.

A skinny tie and a pocket square. How else do you finish off a dapper outfit?

Just how could I make a collection of accessories without including my favourite prints? Leopard print, houndstooth, and gingham. More prints and some odd solids are on their way, but in the meanwhile, take a gander and these.

You can find the listings here! Really stoked to get onto the odd solids (avocado, mint, mustard, indigo) and some neat prints (pindot, stripes, and some unusual one-of-a-kind vintage odds and ends). 

Worth a massive mention, I am super happy to say my detachable peter pan collar has been included in POP BAM's latest treasury on Etsy! Take a look over here, they have such a fantastic shop.

While watching the season premiere of Madmen last night, inspiration was spewing from my noggin onto a thousand paper scraps. While the heaps of unexpected facial hair made it's way past my eyeballs into my brain, a whole bunch of ideas made their way in their too. RAD!

Cute enough to spew on.

Maybe making glass tile magnets is old news. I know Etsy is clogged up the arse with comic book upcycling. I guess this means I ought to ensure my upcycled comic magnets don't totally suck. But, why wouldn't you want...

The "HATE" series? {here}

"The End" bunch? {here}

 The ridiculous monster collection? {here}

Skulls galore? {here}

Rocky & Bullwinkle and.. some other randoms? {here}

Apparently I don't mess around with my magnets either, I've gone and stuck neodymium magnets ("rare earth magnets") on the back with a vegan adhesive so strong it's stupid. Don't expect any yellowing, cracking or any other ugly junk on these -- the fronts and backs have been Mod Podge'd, followed by a B&W pindot cardstock backing on each.

Yesterday, I also worked out a batch of spew bibs for infants in some neat fabrics. Youth barf, drool, and leak otherwise.. and that's okay. At least look badass whilst doing so, no?

Spiderweb design here

Indigo leopard print here

Spooky western here

Red and white gingham here

The microfibre backings you can choose from are red, royal blue, and sage green. Eco-friendly, nice lookin', quality-sewing, well-priced. Why the hell not?

ANOTHER new batch of tops!

Since picking up those terribly cheap patterns from the fabric store just a few days ago I have been BUSY, let me tell you. I used up a fair bit of my vintage fabric on a Vintage Vogue pattern.

This is my first time sewing tucks (slightly different than darting or gathering) and it makes for a really neat visual effect. It cinches, the vertical lines play up the waist. A small bunch of fabric emerges where the tuck ends.

Sometimes mannequins really suck at wearing your goods.

Sizes XS-XL with an invisible zipper down the side are ready to go right now!
Take a look at their listing here.