Canadian Design & Lifestyle Bloggers WEST

Jumping in with Both Feet!

2011-12-31T20:16:00.001-08:00

It’s hard to believe that 2011 is only hours away from being over!

And now we’re jumping into a New Year… with both feet… ready to make things happen for ourselves and our new Network!

A New Year means making plans and making things happen! So what would we like to make happen in 2012?

Continue to pull Members together for occasional lunch and/or dinner gatherings
Host BLEND:2012!!
Organize and host blogging/photography/other workshops

What about you? What would you like to see our Network do in the New Year? Is there something in particular that you feel the Network should accomplish? How does the group ensure that our out-of-BC Lower Mainland Members feel included in what we plan?

Please share your ideas and thoughts! :-)

Wishing you, your loved ones and friends health, happiness, success & prosperity in 2012!!

Christmas inspiration from Ikea

2011-12-21T16:57:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas everyone! We want to thank you all from the bottom of our hearts for your support & friendship this year. We are so excited for the things to come in the New Year! With just a few sleeps till Christmas, we are madly running around to finish off those long lists. Are you feeling the rush as well? Here are a few beautiful and inspiring holiday images, from none other than Ikea: if you're in need of last minute gifts, wrapping, or table top decor and accessories you will likely find it there!

Don't you just love the styling in these images? Visit Ikea.ca to see more lovely tabletop, giftwrap, and decor inspiration. And from our homes to yours, may you have a wonderful & safe Christmas holiday with those you love.

with Barbara, Victoria, & Karla

The Perfect Excuse to Get Together!!

2011-12-06T21:39:00.001-08:00

There’s no doubt about the fact that our members love to get together, and we look for almost any excuse we can find to do just that!!

So can you blame us if we insist on getting together to celebrate Christmas?!

This coming Saturday afternoon, December 10th we’re gathering at Jodi* & Darryl** Bueckert’s lovely home and we’re going to have yet another fantastic time… because that’s what happens when we all come together!!

We also eat. MMMM!!

And this time we’re each bringing a nibbley to share. Cheese & crackers, veggies & dip, cookies, cake slices… just scrumptious stuff, I know it!

In the spirit of sharing and giving, members attending are also bringing both a $10 donation for the Union Gospel Mission and a non-perishable food item (or items) to be donated to the Greater Vancouver Food Bank. Members – and our lovely blog readers – not attending the party are encouraged to make donations to similar community organizations!! xoxox

We promise to take lots of photos and share our fun with you!

Members… if you’d like to attend and you haven’t RSVPed yet, please get in touch cdn.dlbwest@gmail.com

Merry Christmas!

Victoria

w/ Nancy, Karla and Barbara

cdn.d&lbWEST Organizers

* Jodi Bueckert’s blog: The Simply Inspired Home
** Darryl Bueckert’s blog: DBueckertPhoto
Other mentioned members: Nancy Marcus of Marcus Design and Colleen Sawatsky from Vintage Home

Let’s Talk Blend!

2011-11-18T06:44:00.000-08:00

Finally a long overdue re-cap of our fabulous event!

On Saturday, Oct 1, our blogger soiree we called Blend 2011 came to life! We held it at The Loden Hotel, a fabulous boutique hotel downtown Vancouver. The food was amazing and the company equally superb!

The event was sponsored by our premier sponsor, Ikea Canada.
We were spoiled by fabulous food, wine and drinks.

Photo: Darryl Beuckert

Photo: Sari McNamee

Many of our Network Members who attended wrote about our fantastic Blend 2011 party so be sure to check out their posts!! You’ll find we’ve listed the posts in reverse alphabetical order by blogger name for no absolutely particular reason. LOL! We’re crazy like that!

Tracey ~ My House of Giggles “Blend 2011”

Sheila ~ SZInteriors “A Story Unfolds for Bloggers, CDLB West and IDS West”

Sarah ~ Prairie Perch “IDS Recap”

Rosa ~ flutterflutter “IDSwest & Blend”

Nancy ~ Marcus Design “blend2011: an evening soiree”

Lily & Rachel ~ Birch + Bird “Our Big City Weekend”

Jennifer ~ Nicole Jane Home “schmooze fest with design design pals…”

Danielle ~ Urbanwalls “IDSwest + Blend = A Pretty Fabulous Weekend”

Carol ~ The Design Pages “Why I Love Being A Blogger”

Barbara ~ hodge:podge “IDS West Re-Cap & Blend2011”

What a wonderful, energy-filled group we had join us for Blend!

Guests:

*Michelle Morelan*	*A Schematic Life*
*Dawna Graham*	*arOka Weddings*
Lily Ellis & Rachel Janzen	*Birch + Bird*
*Albarosa Simonetti*	*Brillante Interiors*
Maria Killam & Irene Hill	*Colour me Happy*
*Darryl Bueckert*	*DBueckertPhoto*
*Astrid Thomson*	*Delight of Design*
*Tamara Komuniecki*	*Delish Magazine*
*Corey Klassen &* *Vanessa Vera Plaframan*	*Design Kula*
*Victoria Lambert*	*Edin's House*
*Rosa Pearson*	*FlutterFlutter*
*Andrea Johnson*	*From My Living Room*
*Dale Kosowan*	*HD Inspirations*
*Heather Ross*	*Heather Ross : The Natural Eclectic*
*Barbara Matson*	*hodge:podge*
*Michelle Mollinga*	*I Dream of Chairs*
*Tracey Ayton*	*Keeping House & Everything Else*
*Karla Adamatsu*	*Kerrisdale Design*
*Yvonne Vanderkooy &* *Peter Vanderkooy*	*Layers & Layers*
*Sharon Laxon & Gary Laxon*	*Layers & Layers*
*Ashli Malinek*	*Maillardville Manor*
*Nancy Marcus*	*Marcus Design*
*Erica Reed Cook*	*Moth Design*
*Tracey Kofoed*	*My House of Giggles*
*Jennifer Findlay &* *Mark Findlay*	*Nicole Jane Home*
*Janis Nicolay*	*Pinecone Camp*
*Sarah MacMillan*	*Prairie Perch*
*Jil McDonald*	*Reflections Interior Designs*
*Lesley Stenning*	*smidegebox designs*
*Sherri Birt*	*So Much To Love*
*Sheila Zeller*	*SZInteriors*
*Megan Close, Darci Ilich & Stephanie Volger*	*The Cross*
*Carol Smyth*	*The Design Pages*
*Sari McNamee*	*The Lovely in Life*
*Jodi Bueckert*	*The Simply Inspired Home*
*Amanda Swanlund*	*Twenty One Two*
*Danielle Hardy*	*Urbanwalls*
*Heidi Nyline*	*Warline Painting*

Our Special Guests

Madeliene Löwenborg-Frick	IKEA Canada our Premier Sponsor!
Andrea Mills	IKEA Canada our Premier Sponsor!
Jen Knight	IKEA Canada - Coquitlam our Premier Sponsor!
Suzanne Dimma	Canadian House & Home
Mark Challen	Canadian House & Home
Kelly Deck	Kelly Deck Design
Shauna Levy	IDS Toronto
Delta Faucets Via Twitter

Zoe Pawlak and Jen Knight, PR Ikea Coquitlam

Photo: Sari McNamee

Jil MacDonald with Barbara Matson from hodge:podge, and one of the four organizers of the CLDB West Network.

Photo: Victoria Lambert

More gorgeousness… designer Carol Smyth from The Design Pages and Meesh Mollinga who’s blog is i dream of chairs.

Photo: Sari McNamee

Photo: Sari McNamee

Not only did Ikea Canada sponsor the whole event but they brought famous guests with them as well. Suzanne Dimma, editor-in-chief for Canadian House and Home, Mark Challen, VP of Communications {also a fabulous designer} and Kelly Deck from Kelly Deck Designs, our local HGTV star and the next "Sarah Richardson" of design!

Photo: Sari McNamee

Suzanne Dimma and Mark Challen

Photo: Sari McNamee

Organizers, Nancy, Victoria, Barbara and Karla with the fabulous Mark Challen!

Photo: Sari McNamee

On the left we have Kelly Deck with our own Michelle Morelan of A Schematic Life. Michelle used to work at Kelly Deck Design so for her, this was a terrific opportunity for her to catch up!

Lighting up the other half of the room, Heather Ross again along with talented graphic designer Rosa Pearson from FlutterFlutter

How fantastic that Sarah MacMillan of Prairie Perch could come join us all the way from Saskatchewan!! She’s pictured here with Tamara Komuniecki, editor of Delish Magazine. Tamara took photos of everyone’s shoes and shared them with her followers on Twitter. What a fun idea that got us all laughing and modeling our lovely heels!!

Looking AbFab, designers Maria Killam from Colour me Happy, Heidi Nyline, Warline Painting and Jil MacDonald of Reflections Interior Designs.

Andrea Johnson (From My Living Room) and Astrid Thomson (Delight of Design) brought even more glam and design talent into the room!

Found hanging out in the back room (we suspect they liked to be nearer to the bar and food {it was soooo good!!}!) Sari found…

Photographer, shop-owner and so much more, Heather Ross who writes Heather Ross : The Natural Eclectic, Michelle Morelan again, as well as designers Amanda Swanlund of Twenty One | Two and Brillante Interiors’s Albarosa Simonetti.

It’s hard to see her in this photo, but the woman also staying close to the bar ;-) all while surround by good friends, Yvonne Vanderkooy from Layers and Layers, a blog AND a fabulous designers resource centre.

Here we have Carol Smyth again only this time she’s mingling with Sharon and Gary Laxon. Sharon is the other very important half of Layers and Layers :-)

Going black & white you’ll find Sheila Zeller with Jennifer Findlay of blog and on-line home “lovely stuff” store Nicole Jane Home and from Edin’s House, and one of our CDLB West organizers, Victoria Lambert.

Many of our members are interviewing and writing blog posts about some of the fabulous Designers taking part in IDSwest.

The highlight of the evening was the drawing of all the fabulous prizes!

A detail post about the prizes and sponsors will follow..

As fun as blending at Blend 2011 was, it was made even more fun because of our door prizes! Thank you so much to those who donated items to give away:

IKEA Canada: $1,000 Ikea Gift Certificate – Darryl Bueckert

Delta -Bathroom Faucet: Sheila Zeller

Delta – Shower Head: Erica Reed Cook

Delta – Kitchen Faucet: Tammie Brown

Nicole Jane Home: $100 Gift Certificate – Deena Easton

The Cross: Designer Guild Pillow - Barbara Matson {thanks to Madeleine Lowenberg-Fisk}

Nancy Marcus: Art Print - Rachel Janzen

Tracey Ayton Photography: Lily Ninkovic Ellis

Zoe Pawlak: Print - Michelle Mollinga

Vintage Home - vintage mirror - Sharon Laxton

Sari McNamee - Photo Canvas Art - Jennifer Findlay

Kerrisdale Design - Laquered Box - Dawna Graham

Delta - Book: Domino: Jodi Beuckert

Delta - Book: Undecorate - Tracey Kofoed

Delta - Book: Pale and Interesting - Suzanne Dimma

Delta - Book: Tricia Guild - Amanda Swanlund

Delta - Book: Thomas O'Brien - Danielle Hardy

Ikea - Vase: Carol Smyth

Bracelet from Mo Funk Designs: Albarosa Simonetti

Even our special guest, the lovely Suzanne Dimma with her prize, "Pale and Interesting"

The drawing of the $1000 Ikea gift card - which Darryl Beuckert won!

{That is his wife -Jodi, in the white dress}

Tracy from My House of Giggles with her prize and Astrid.

Erica from Moth Design with her Delta Faucet shower head!

Photo: Victoria Lambert

Many of our guests were tweeting with @beigeisdead (on behalf of Delta) in the hopes of wining their Tweet Prize… and Sheila Zeller won a bathroom faucet!! @beigeisdead announced Sheila’s win live on Twitter and I helped by posting this photo for the Twitter world to see!! :-)

So many beautiful/handsome faces and simply wonderful people!!!

We can speak for everyone in attendance – and we hope for all of our Network members – when we say… everyone is excited to be part of the growing CDLB West Network!!!

What an absolutely wonderful, fantabulous evening we all had!!

Many of us were still energized after the party so we took things up to our suite…

including some left over yummies from the buffet table!

We chatted, laughed and just enjoyed ourselves until our beds were calling to us.

Then it was off to bed for us organizers – these are the sweet slippers placed lovingly beside our bed by The Loden staff and we just had to share!

Pitter Patter Renew Revive

Perfect words as we scrambled into bed (i.e, pittered and pattered), shut our eyes and got our much needed beauty sleep (yep… you got it… renewed our energy so we would be revived come morning) :-

The next morning a few of us enjoyed a fantabulous buffet breakfast at the Fairmont Pacific Rim down the street!

We are excited at the possibilities the future holds for our network and members.

If you are a design or lifestyle blogger in Western Canada {BC, AB, SK, MB}

shoot us an email to get added to our list!

Barbara

and
Victoria, Nancy and Karla

Meet our Premier Sponsor: IKEA Canada

2011-10-01T06:00:00.000-07:00

It's finally here! Our event, Blend 2011 will be held tonight and we couldn't be more excited. We have so many people to thank for making this soiree possible, our premier sponsor IKEA Canada {who are putting on the entire event for us}, our secondary sponsor Delta Faucets, and of course the Loden Hotel for hosting us.

As you will see in our post yesterday, we had the chance to view the IKEA booth at IDSwest's Opening Gala last night, and it was fantastic! The kitchen on display was so warm & inviting, complete with an oversized farmhouse table :) IKEA has plenty of kitchen inspiration online as they are currently holding their Kitchen Event (Sept 26-Oct 30). Seeing as the Canadian Thanksgiving weekend is only a matter of days away, we are starting to have all-things-kitchen-related on the brain! Here is a bit of inspiration for your tabletop and kitchen {all via IKEA Canada}:

Thank you to IKEA for helping us create a night celebrating social media and design!

with Victoria, Barbara & Karla
cdn dlbwest organizers

IDS West ~ Opening Night Party!

2011-09-30T14:27:00.001-07:00

What a fantastic time we had last evening!!

We started off the evening with a tour of the show floor… WOW!! So many stellar examples of fine design all in one place, let me tell you! Audi cars, phenomenal fashion, stunning lighting, unique and imaginative uses of wood, textiles, tile, colour, appliances… it was all there and sparkling in our eyes!!

But first allow me to introduce you to our hosts – Jason & Leonie from IDS West

We LUV Leonie! She’s been our primary contact and has help Barbara and I with the organizing of every element and aspect of our plans with IDS West!! She’s organized our Media Passes, she’s connected us with the designers some of our members will interview, and has organized our reserved seating for guest speakers like Suzanna Dimma from House & Home and Kelly Deck from Kelly Deck Design!

Thank you Leonie!!

We met Jason – our “tour guide” – for the first time last evening. His history with IDS West goes way back, and believe me when I tell you that he knows everything about the show! His energy and enthusiasm for the exhibitors and their design was very contangeous… we couldn’t have had a better person showing us around the floor

Thank you Jason!!

Now for some photos of the show… and us… and us at the show!!

Jason took us to the Audi VIP Lounge and, knowing that once the doors to the party officially opened we’d no longer be VIPish enough to enter this particular lounge, we took a chance to get our photo taken in this fabulous space! The room was a masterpiece designed by Molo and we were all enthralled with it’s shape and form, furnishings and lighting, not to mention the materials used to produce such a amazing space! Wait until you see it yourself: I’m sure you’ll agree!

Wool Poufs!! LUV

And take a look at that Salari rug… it’s a map of Vancouver! How fantastic, hey?!

The craftsmanship of this chair with its Aboriginal motif panels is wonderful!

It’s a Sabina Hill Harvest Collection armchair (Thunderbird)

Here’s more of Molo’s design, this time in their own exhibit. These ottomans, hanging lighting, walls, tables ~ they’re made with paper or resin composites and are ahh-mazing. Jason was telling us that after the recent earthquake in Japan Molo started making temporary walls to help create privacy in communal living spaces. So fabulous!

When we weren’t exploring the exhibits and mingling with the other guests, you could find us here – at the Tom Dixon Bar – or at the food lounge!!

The next three photos are for Meesh of I Dream of Chairs! And for Danielle from Urban Walls who was my primary chair model.

What do you think of this cow hide chair? When Michelle from A Schematic Life saw it and it’s wonderful pair she said, “Even though I’m a vegetarian, I WANT that!”.

Sooo gorgeous!!

Speaking of gorgeous… for me it was all about Moe’s. Of course that could be because they accented in ORANGE. Happiness!!

Well… except someone jumbled the pillows. Hey: fix the pillows Moe!!

And check out the coffee table… I’m speechless! If I had the room in my teeny-tiny bungalow, I’d WANT this piece! For those of you with children, can you imagine how popular this table would be with its hiding spot?! LOL!

A close up of the top of the table – look at the inlayed wood detailing. FAB!

More pics of us…

My husband and I would like a fire “bowl” for our backyard and I would love something like this! Sorry for the dark photo :-/

The photo of the apothecary cabinet on the left just doesn’t do this piece justice. Sheila from SZInteriors and I were drooling over it!!

The fashion shows were terrific too!

Do any of you remember Cheryl Tiegs? Well, she was there as FloForm’s spokesperson and – for one of the fashion shows – she introduced the models and design. After they walked the runway each model placed themselves in front of a new counter from FloForm… and of course their clothing coordinated with their counter which to my mind was an interesting way to introduce their new line. Too many people for me to see that though!! That’s what Saturday’s visit to the show is for (sans models… and Cheryl Tiegs)!!

Now a couple kitchens…

First, Ikea – and on the front left of the photo, Andrea. She’s one of Ikea’s PR people and will be joining us tomorrow night at BLEND 2011!! We spoke for a few minutes and she’s just as excited for the event as we are!!

I sooo love the farmhouse table! Of course the kitchen is fantastic too!!

My absolute favourite kitchen of the show however was this one from Bowerman’s Handcrafted Furniture. Something like this would be a dream for me! The cabinet doors are a clean Shaker style in a contemporary grey-green as is the counter… yet the way they’ve “waterfalled” the counter down both sides gives the classic cabinet style a contemporary edge that I love. Couple it all with the stunning, rustic table wrapped around and down the front of the island and you’ve perfectly captured everything I love about eclectic design. Sigh!!

Truth be told, the chairs I could do without. But that’s just me. I’d want something lighter because the wood – while beyond-fab – is very heavy. What do you think?

By the time Nancy (Marcus Design), Danielle, Sheila and I made it over to explore some featured lighting fixtures, it was almost time to go home. So because a precedent has been established, I bring my favourite 2 pieces to you near the end of this post…

We never did pull everyone together into one place at one time… but that didn’t stop us from taking one last almost-hole-group shot.

Our Network members are so fantastic! Every time we get together we have a fabulous time and last night at the IDS West Opening Night Party was no exception!! Thank you again to Leonie and IDS West for your support of our Cdn.dlbWEST Network… we’re having a wonderful time so far!!

with Barbara, Karla & Nancy
Your Cdn.dlbWEST Organizers

It All Starts Today!

2011-09-29T14:36:00.001-07:00

I’ve just come from our Facebook page where one of our members (and my co-organizer) Barbara from the blog hodge:podge wrote: “Less than 12 hours!”

Less than 12 hours to what you ask?

The launch of the IDS West trade show and – tonight specifically – their Opening Night Party, that’s what!

Our Cdn.dlbWEST network members are excited!!

Many of our members will start the evening with a private tour of the IDS West show floor where we’ll see all the exhibitors – fantastic design houses like 18Karat, BoConcept, Live Edge Design Inc. and Straight Line Designs, just to name but a very few.

What a fabulous way to start the night!

Then comes the party!!

Tonight’s IDS West Opening Night Party is presented by FloForm Countertops and it features anticipated fashion hits from Vancouver Fashion Week (scheduled to take place the week of November 1st). Music will be pumped out by Montreal's DJ Mario Galego and I’m sure he’ll be keeping us revved up!

It’ll be a night celebrating fashion, design, art and architect; we’re going to have a blast!

Something to keep an eye out for… some of our Network members will be interviewing select designers/artists/architects, etc. from IDS West. As interviews get published to our members’ blogs, we’ll be sure to link to them so you can read about some of the uber-talented individuals taking part in the show this weekend!

In the mean time, here’s a list of who we’re interviewing along with links to their websites so you can see in advance just how fabulous they are!!

Barbara Hulanicki ~ Barbara Hulanicki Design

Brent Comber ~ Brent Comber Originals Inc.

Christian Woo ~ Christian Woo Woodwork & Design

Grain

Iacoli & McAllister

Jennifer Kostiuk ~ Jennifer Kostuik Gallery

Judson Beaumont ~ Straight Line Design

Kelly Deck ~ Kelly Deck Design

Ladies & Gentleman

Martha Sturdy ~ Martha Sturdy Incorporated

Michael Katz ~ Michael Katz Architecture

Molo ~ Stephanie Forsythe & Todd MacAllen

Niels Bendsten ~ furniture designer (connected with Inform Interiors)

Omer Arbel ~ Omer Arbel Office & Creative Director of Bocci

plainMADE ~ Blog

Urbancase

Watch for Tweets from our Network members throughout the night!!! And of course we’ll post some photos HERE tomorrow!

with Barbara, Karla, & Victoria

Cdn.dlbWEST Organizers

P.S. We’re t-minus 2.5 hours now!!

IDSwest event details ...

2011-09-20T21:34:00.000-07:00

The count down is on! Less than two weeks until IDSwest 2011, and we are getting ready to party! Get prepped to don your party shoes at our Blend 2011 cocktail soiree on Saturday October 1st, and much much more. Here are a few event details you'll want to take note of for the duration of the show:

Thursday, Sept. 29th

5:00 pm - A guided tour of the IDSwest show during set-up will take place and allow members to get a sneak peek, ask questions, & meet designers pre-show! {RSVP for the tour via email at cdndlbwest@gmail.com asap}

Directly after the tour the Opening Night Party will take place, with fashion shows, canapes, and drinks to celebrate the start of the show. *Please note that if you indicated on your RSVP questionnaire that you wanted to attend the Opening Night Party or to hear any of the speakers during the weekend show, you will be receiving a Media Pass which grants you access to the entire show (with the exception of Friday Trade Day from 10am-4pm).

Saturday, Oct. 1st

Blend 2011 will be held at the Loden Hotel just a hop away from the Vancouver Convention Centre from 6-10pm.

We are excited to announce that we have reached capacity, the room will surely be buzzing, and the night will be one to remember!

with Barbara, Karla, & Victoria

cdn dlbwest organizers

We’re Going to Party in Style!

2011-09-18T18:59:00.001-07:00

In one of our planning conversations with our premier sponsor IKEA Canada it was suggested we hold our social event Blend 2011: A Fusion of Social Media & Design at a “boutique hotel”. Karla, Barbara and Nancy – lovely women who are much more cultured then I – knew exactly what kind of hotel that was. Me? I had to look it up!

Boutique Hotel: An intimate, usually luxurious or unique hotel environment

Wow! This definition perfectly describes the kind of event we want Blend 2011 to be! It was easy for me to agree to the idea of a boutique hotel.

And the hotel we chose ~ Loden Hotel ~ is boutique-extraordinaire!

Take a look at the rooms we’ll be “blending” in!!

With its lovely white classic architectural features and random modern splashes, THIS is the Grand Salon.

And, attached to this fabulous room is the Voya Private Dining Room ~ wood paneled walls (added since this photo was taken) provide of touch of masculinity that wonderfully balances the the ambiance of the Grand Salon.

Can you see our Network members “blending” in these fantastic surroundings and having a beyond-terrific evening?!

Oh Ya! Of course you can!!

For those of you who are style & space aficionados ~ who wonder about furniture placement for our fantabulous night… well, let me show you!

(I took these photos last week during my visit to the Loden Hotel)

These are the doors that “blend” the two rooms into one (and that’s Kathryn, the events manager at the hotel. I had her stand in the pics so we could get a sense of the room’s scale. Even though the request was strange[!], Kathryn was very obliging!)

And here are my notes showing what will go where in the Grand Salon ;-)

If you’re looking for me at Blend 2011 you’ll find me in the Lounge Section sitting comfortably on a sofa while my organizing colleagues do all the work.

Yep. I’m lazy like that!

This last photo shows the Voya… the perfect room for our food and bar!

I can’t wait!

This is going to be a simply phenomenal evening!

Victoria

w/ Nancy, Karla and Barbara

cdn.d&lbWEST Organizers

Mark your calendars ... Our soiree is October 1st!

2011-09-06T00:37:00.000-07:00

It's official, our evening cocktail reception will be held on Saturday, October 1st and members will find RSVP info via email soon! Stay tuned for more details ...

We are very excited to announce that IKEA Canada will be sponsoring our night! We have been delighted to be working together with the fabulous people at IKEA to create an evening merging bloggers, designers, photographers, and a few very special guests at Downtown Vancouver's boutique hotel, The Loden. Our special room rates The Loden will offer us {for the duration of the IDSwest show} are as follows: $219 for a king or 2 doubles; $239 for 2 queens.

There will be fabulous people, food, design chat, amazing door prizes, and swag bags (Stuff We All Get) with too many goodies to mention! Special guests Suzanne Dimma & Mark Challen from House & Home, as well as Shauna Levy and Kelly Deck will join us during our reception. You won't want to miss out ...

And there is more where that came from! Several events will be taking place for the duration of IDSwest 2011. Check back for info on Media Passes, the Opening Night Party, and more. Pencil it all in, we would love to see you there!!

We are so excited to be sharing these plans with you & look forward to seeing you all, and members can watch for more details to be sent via email. Let's make it a night to remember!

with Victoria, Karla & Barbara

cdn.dlbWEST Organizers

Yes, We’re Having Fun!!

2011-08-19T14:45:00.001-07:00

Canadian Design & Lifestyle Bloggers WEST members always have fun!!

Take a look at Tara Lauren from Lauren Lane Decor… she just secured an old automotive shop. What’s so fun about an old oily shop you ask? Well, it’s beyond fun when you’re going to use it as a studio and shop to make and sell your fabulous repurposed treasures and other lovely things!!

Tara’s fun doesn’t stop there. She’s also the new distributor for Annie Sloan Chalk Paint. Tara writes of chalk paint: “This is THE paint to use for the painted French and Swedish look on furniture where the paintwork shows a patina of history.” You can learn more about Annie Sloan Chalk paint, and purchase some of your own at Tara’s Paint Boutique site!

Being a generous spirit and wanting to share in the fun, starting in September Tara will be offering classes in using chalk paint to create your own antiqued treasures. I may have to take a special trip to Calgary just to take part in a class… really!! I see a Members’ ROAD-TRIP opportunity: a Calgary-hosted Cdn.d&lbWEST Bloggers Party and furniture-painting-with-Annie-Sloan-Chalk Paint-classes anyone??!!

Just last week Nyla Free ~ Nyla Free Designs and Dabble Magazine ~ had loads of fun hanging out with Kimberley Seldon, Brian Gluckstein and Tracey Moore on the set of CityLine!

Nyla’s segment is all about custom rugs… and she was fabulous!!

The “Home Day” episode they were filming aired this past Thursday so it was fun for us to watch! If you haven’t yet seen the episode and you’d like to share in the fun, here’s a link: CityLine’s Home Day, August 18, 2011

Nyla wasn’t the only Cdn.d&lbWEST member having fun on TV…

Jacqueline Corea from The Pink Chandelier and Corea Sotropa Interior Design was on Calgary’s CityTV Breakfast Television (August 8th) where she shared fantastic tips on hanging artwork. Yep! FUN!

This photo has nothing to do with hanging artwork or sharing all the fantastic stuff you know on television (WooHoo Jacqueline!)… but it IS the very first photo I’ve ever seen that shows exactly what I’ve been wanting to do with an occasional chair I have. Of course for me, that’s totally fun!

I love it!! I want this Ikat in a dark orange!!

Jacqueline… you have to tell me where you sourced this phenominal and fun fabric… please!

Okay… enough of what I want… back to the fun!!

How about this: Ashli Malinek of Maillardville Manor will have her principal bedroom’s FAB faux paneled wall, along with a detailed How-To, included in the September issue of “This Old House Magazine”!! Not only that, the same feature is currently on the This Old House website. Fantastically fun stuff!!

We have another FUN magazine photo spread to look forward to…

Tina Barriscale from Half of What I Say is Meaningless… just spent a fun-filled-day with Erin McLaughlin, the Style at Home Editor, and photographer Virginia MacDonald. YES! Several rooms in her new home will be featured in an upcoming issue of Style at Home!!

I hope hope hope that they showcase Tina’s kitchen with its absolutely wonderful Knoll Saarinen table and Eames DCW chairs by Herman Miller in walnut veneer!! {{Sigh!}}

Oh… or her bathroom. Wow!

Tina ~ be sure to tell us what issue of Style at Home magazine you’ll be featured in!!

Michelle Gadd (Elasticpantcity) is definitely having fun! Why? She just opened a new online store she calls Repo Wear.

How fun is this sweet dress?!

Michelle has written all about Repo War HERE

Be sure to drop in!!

We can all anticipate a fun filled day on Saturday, September 24th… that’s the day of the Fieldstone Vintage Market in Abbotsford!

Rachel & Lily from Birch + Bird are working in partnership with the Bakerview EcoDairy to host what should prove to be a fantastic market filled with local handmade and vintage items. I have to save up all my money!!!

Barbara from hodge:podge and I (Victoria at Edin’s House) were very lucky to learn of the fun to come first hand… we were invited to sit on the Jury that determined who the invited vendors would be at the first Fieldstone Vintage Market!

Note the date in your calendar so you can have fun too!

Everything I’ve shared with you is not only fun, it’s absolutely fabulous! But I have one more totally terrific thing to share…

And it’s all about fun!

Today (Saturday morning) many of our lovely Cdn.d&lbWEST Network members are meeting for coffee and chit-chat at Colleen Sawatsky’s house!! I just want to HUG her for opening up her home. How wonderful, hey?!

On her blog Vintage Home today Colleen showed us how she’s getting ready for us! ;-)

I only hope her kitties will make room for us!! LOL!!

There’s definitely an excitement amongst members to gather again, and we’re equally excited to meet Colleen (she’s new to many of us) and see all the well-loved and vintage items in her home (‘cause that’s what she does!).

Yes… for a FUN group, we’re a bit nosey! But in the best possible way ;-)

Photos and highlights of our fun meet-up will be shared very soon, I promise!!

So tell me… are YOU a blogger in Western Canada? Do you want to have fun with us? Click on the “Become a Member” page above, share some info about you and your blog then submit!

Victoria

w/ Nancy, Karla and Barbara

cdn.d&lbWEST Organizers

P.S. We have major over-the-top fun planned for September 28, 29 & 30. Watch for the news!!!

Our Members’ Successes!

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What is a network like ours all about?

Supporting our members and celebrating their successes!!

With that in mind, allow me to toot some horns :-)

Starting with…

Maureen Funk and Sarah Swanson

They’re both celebrating 2 year blog-a-versaries this month!

Be sure to visit their wonderful blogs so that you can give them some blog-love!

Tracey Ayton of Keeping House and Everything Else

Two of Tracey’s photographs (below) have been published in the July/August/September 2011 issue of Somerset Life!!

Tracey calls the absolutely beautiful photo above “Flower in a Teacup” and the photo on the left – appropriately – “Hangers”.

I’m curious Tracey… are these laundry and drycleaning shop hangers from your collection of vintage finds? I love them!! The photo itself speaks to me of symmetry & form, shadow & light.

Just the other day Tracey posted on our Facebook group page (members only) that she wants to participate in an out-door style Flea Market – maybe even organizing one herself – where she would share & sell some of her fabulous vintage items (and maybe some photographs?!).

Then Lily of Birch + Bird dropped into the conversation saying that she and her business & blog partner Rachel will be co-hosting an outdoor market on September 24th (a Saturday) with Bakerview EcoDairy (Abbotsford) called the Fieldstone Vintage Market. Maybe we’ll see Tracey there with Lily, Rachel and – I’m absolutely sure – many of our other Cdn.d&lbWEST members, both selling their wares & creations at booths AND browsing and buying lovely crafts, antiques and other fabulous items!!

Watch this blog for information!!

Speaking of FAB markets!!

Michelle Baldwin and Maureen Funk

Michelle, Maureen and their partner Julie hosted the Ivory Vintage Market on June 25th… and, like their past events, it was a wonderful success!!

From what I heard, the place was packed all day. Even at the end of the day when I dropped by (which was minutes from closing-time) there were still many guests exploring the venders’ tables. Speaking of the venders… I ask a few how their day had been and they all said “Wonderful!” Yes, they said it with the exclamation mark after the word! LOL!!

Here are a couple photos I “stole” from the Ivory Vintage blog showing the morning line-up to get into the market, and the day’s vendors setting up for the crowds!!

There were soooo many wonderful things to see and purchase! I bought a lovely pair of earrings from Maureen (Mo’ Funk Designs) and I can’t take them off ;-)

If you missed this market day, be sure to attend the next Ivory Vintage Market!!

Congratulations Michelle, Maureen and Julie!!

Another terrific success…

Tara Jamieson from Lauren Lane Decor

Today Tara was featured in the Calgary Real Estate Board’s online magazine CREB Real Estate News!!

Scroll through to page 11 where you’ll see this photo of beautiful Tara and you’ll read all about the successes she’s having with her growing furniture refinishing business!

This is wonderful for you Tara… and the exposure will be sure to generate more interest in Lauren Lane Decor!!

More fun news to share…

Fiona Richards from Cafe Cartolina

June was a great month for Fiona; Cafe Cartolina was the featured blog the the June 201 issue of the magazine Romantic Homes!

With a full page of beautiful photographs showing vintage items special to Fiona, you can understand when she tells me that she and her team at Cartolina were very excited!!

This is absolutely terrific for you Fiona… congrats!!

Last but absolutely not least…

Andrea Johnson of From My Living Room

with Tracey of Tracey Ayton Photography

We’ve just learned that fantastic rooms decorated by Andrea – and photographed by Tracey – will be featured in the September issue of BC Home magazine!! Such wonderful news!! Like Tara, this exposure will be a boon to your design business Andrea. And Tracey… we’re going to be seeing more of your photos in all the great magazines. Fabulous for you both!!

Here are a couple beautiful and serene living rooms that Andrea decorated. We’ll have to wait to see which spaces are featured in the magazine though ;-)

To see more rooms that Andrea has designed, be sure to check out her website: Andrea Johnson Design

I’m looking forward to picking up my copy of BC Home when it comes out later this summer… we’re all so excited for you Andrea and Tracey!!

We have absolutely wonderful members!

If you’re a member of the Canadian Design & Lifestyle Bloggers WEST network and you have a success you’d like us to highlight (i.e., jump up & down & somersault about, toot horns really really loud, shout out to the world, etc.!), be sure to let us know!

If you’re a design or lifestyle blogger in Western Canada and you’d like to become a member of our network, get in touch!!

Victoria

w/ Nancy, Karla and Barbara

cdn.d&lbWEST Organizers

Bloggers Helping Bloggers!

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We really DO have a terrific group of Bloggers in our network!!

Case in point: after our last yummy Cdn.d&lbWEST meet-up on July 11th, it was clear to Darryl Bueckert of the blogs Darryl Bueckert and – with his wife Jodi at the helm – Simply Inspired Home that he had a skill that he could share with some of our Network’s members… photography!

As you all know, great photos really are a necessity when blogging! Photos of our projects, our loves, our inspirations; they’re what keep our readers coming back over and over again. That and our wonderful creativity and writing skills of course!! ;-) So many of us (ME!) rely on the automatic settings of our point-and-shoot cameras to do the job and we’re more often-then-not disappointed with the results.

In steps Darryl

Darryl and Jodi volunteered to host a gathering where he’d share the fundamentals of photography… ISO and f-stop’s and aperture and more! How fantastic is THAT?!

Cdn.d&lbWEST members Rosa, Meesh, Rachel and Lily were the students who benefited from Darryl’s experience and generosity.

Be sure to check out these posts to hear/read all about it!

Darryl & Jody: Simply Inspired Home – Photography for Bloggers: Photos 101

Rosa: FlutterFlutter – Photography 101

Meesh: I Dream of Chairs – Enter the Dimension of Imagination

Rachel & Lily: Birch + Birch – Summer Roadtrips… With Kids!

Thanks Darryl & Jodi!!

Victoria

w/ Nancy, Karla and Barbara

cdn.d&lbWEST Organizers

A hint of things to come: IDSwest Preview

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Organizers and members of the Canadian Design & Lifestyle Bloggers WEST network are getting more and more excited about the Event we’ve planned to coincide with the IDSwest this coming September!!

In anticipation of both our Event and this fantastic, annual interior design show, Barbara Matson (fellow organizer of our network) from the blog hodge:podge and Rosa Pearson of flutterflutter took the opportunity last evening (Tuesday) to connect face-to-face with the IDSwest representatives Barbara’s been communicating with… all while our 2 network colleagues immersed themselves in examples of marvelous design!!

Like this Judson Beaumont Hollow Chair!

If you’d like to read a little about their evening, head over to flutterflutter and see what Rosa has to share about the IDSwest Preview! Barbara wanted to post about the evening too, but has been frustrated by Blogger issues. I’d wager that many of us can relate!!! She said that she’d post about it soon… maybe tomorrow… so keep an eye out!!

Also, watch for information about OUR September Event right here! As our plans come together we’ll be sharing with you!!

Keep an eye on the IDSwest website for show updates!

Victoria

w/ Nancy, Karla and Barbara

cdn.d&lbWEST Organizers

Your Are Invited: IDS West Preview Night

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In anticipation of the upcoming IDS West show in Septemeber...

You are invited to an IDS Preview Night!

Location: 555 Great Northern Way

Time: Tuesday, June 21, 2011 from 6-8PM

If you plan on attending, please email your RSVP to: shannon@hethpr.com

Barbara

& Nancy, Karla and Victoria

cdn.d&lbWEST Organizers

Curry & Conversation: Our Summer Meet-up!!

2011-06-12T06:29:00.001-07:00

Let me tell you… we have some fantastic member bloggers!

How terrific would it be if we could get everyone together; each and every writer from all 76 member blogs (about 80 people!) representing design and lifestyle interests, activities and just plain fun stuff spanning BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan & Manitoba? Out of this world fantabulous, that’s how terrific THAT would be!!

The next best thing? Getting 15 BC based Lower Mainland bloggers gathered together around a table filled to overflowing with scrumptious Malaysian food!

Where’s all the yummy food you ask? Well… we ate it of course! :-)

So let me introduce everyone at the table… starting front and centre with Barbara from hodge:podge and moving to the left ~ Nancy: Marcus Design ~ Andrea: From My Living Room ~ Tracey: My House of Giggles ~ Karla: Kerrisdale Design ~ Tracey: Keeping House & Everything Else ~ Rosa: flutterflutter ~ Lily & Rachel: Birch & Bird ~ Jodi: Simply Inspired Home ~ Darryl: darryl bueckert ~ Carol: The Design Pages ~ Victoria: Edin’s House ~ Sherri: So Much to Love ~ Meesh: I Dream of Chairs

We have such a great time at our gatherings (we’ve met 4 times now)! Several of us have attended past meet-ups so conversations just pick up where they left off. Love that!

Even more to love… today 7 new cdn.d&lbWEST network members joined the group and more conversations were started that will continue at our next gathering!!

One discussion we all jumped into ~ the event Barbara & network organizers are working on for late September; an event planned to take place in tandem with IDSwest (Interior Design Show West). Barbara has done a lot of work connecting with potential sponsors, but she’ll share more of that in an upcoming post. Yes, I’m a tease!! What I will tell you is that we’re thinking guest speakers, food & drinks, activities, and lots of fun! Ha!! More teasing, hey?!

Watch this blog for planning updates!!

Now really quickly, let me tell you about Banana Leaf. FAB! Each of us sooo enjoyed the wonderful variety of dishes the servers placed on our table: roti, curries, shell fish, chicken, beef, noodles, rice. Everything was terrific! If you’re in Vancouver we encourage you to plan a meal at one of the 3 Banana Leaf locations in the city.

Our new network is a large and growing group of outta-this-world bloggers, but we don’t all live in Vancouver/Lower Mainland BC. In fact, we’re spread out across the western provinces of this fantastic country of ours! That means that a whole lot of our members are sitting back thinking: “But I can’t attend these gatherings. I don’t live near Vancouver.” Well… we encourage you to reach out to cdn.d&lbWEST members (and other design/lifestyle bloggers who haven’t found our great network yet!) in communities near you and plan meet-ups of your own. Get together for coffee, lunch, a trip to the local vintage shop ~ anything! Let us help you by providing space on this blog for you to connect with your blogger-neighbours… send us your post and we’ll upload right away!

Oh… don’t forget to take lots of photos of your gathering so that you can write another post for the Canadian Design & Lifestyle Bloggers WEST blog because your member-bloggers want to hear all about it!!

Talk around the table today suggested that locally we get together before our September event. Perhaps in August! So where should we meet? Coffee and a browse at Granville Island? Ice cream and a walk in White Rock? Nibblies and antique exploring in the valley?

Share some ideas!!!

Victoria

& Nancy, Karla and Barbara

cdn.d&lbWEST Organizers

It’s “Summer Meet-Up” Time!!

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Back in March the Lower Mainland BC contingent of the Design & Lifestyle Bloggers WEST network gathered together for a scrumptious lunch at La Rustica pasta house in New Westminster… and we had a fantastic afternoon!
And you know what?
Four months is way to long to go between gatherings!!

That’s why we’re organizing another meet up!

If you’re a member of the d&lbWEST, you live in or will be visiting the Lower Mainland, come join us!

When: Saturday, June 11th
Time: 1 to 4 PM

Where: Banana Leaf Restaurant for yummy Malaysian food!!

Oh… and GREAT conversation!!

You definitely don’t want to miss this gathering!!

At the risk of exposing my nerdiness…
Have you ever noticed how many of Gene Roddenberry’s “Star Trek” visions for the future have come true? Cell phones (i.e., communicators) for example!
Well… unfortunately we don’t have transporters in the world yet (“beam me up Scotty!”) because if we did – and IF our Interior & Northern BC, Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba members were willing to have their energy patterns scrambled and put back together again (yikes!!) – we’d be able to bring everyone together for the afternoon!! Wouldn’t that be fabulous?!

The next best thing… consider using comments on this blog post, Twitter (include @dlbWEST in your tweet), or our Facebook Group (our private page – members only – search & request membership if you haven’t done so already) to connect with bloggers in your community and organize a lunch gathering of your own!!
If you plan a meet-up be sure to take photos and write a post for us HERE!
And we promise to write about our gathering too, pictures and all!!

Looking forward to seeing many of our blogger friends there!!

Victoria

& Nancy, Karla and Barbara

P.S. More specific details are being e-mailed to our Members. If you’re a member and you don’t receive the e-mail, please contact us via the “Become a Member” tab above.

P.S.S. Interested in membership with our network? Submit a request via the “Become a Member” tab above :-)

Welcome!

2011-05-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to the new blog for our Canadian Design & Lifestyle Bloggers WEST Network!

On this site you will find a full list of our fantabulous blogger members (be sure to check out each blog!) and you'll find regular information and updates on Gatherings and Events we plan for our network of bloggers!

We'll also use this site to highlight the blogs of our members and we'll share community events that interest them - particularly those our bloggers host or participate in.

If you're a blogger of design and/or lifestyle topics and you live in BC or the prairies, consider becoming a member of our network!! It's a terrific way to support one another as we explore the things we love!

Follow our network, support our bloggers and share in the fun!