On my recent trip to Vancover B.C., I stopped in at Button Button, a unique embellishment mecca for the sewist who just thinks she's already seen it all.
Browsing Colleen's collection of gorgeous, handcrafted buttons is like visiting an art galley full of tiny gems - except that these jewels are more affordable than Tiffany's!
I purchased the lovelies above for future embellishment projects. Likely I'll attach them to one of my caps, or on the lapel of a jacket or shirt. Can't you just see that terrier doggie surrounded by a circle or oval of tiny seed beads, or seed pearls?
I'll be talking more about my experiences shopping for embellishments and looking for sewing inspiration in Vancouver, in my (free) November Enchanted by Sewing audio podcast, which I'll be publishing by the end of this month. You can signup to get an email each time these monthly audio shows are available.
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What a kind and observant look at my city, Laurel! I'm so glad you had such a great time here in my native city and so sweet of you to mention me in the podcast too. (Hugs!) It's great fun to listen to someone with a fresh point of view on things we locals see all the time. It's definitely eye-opening. Thanks for that!
ReplyDeleteI have so many comments that I can't start! The ones I can remember off the top of my head are that the suburb you were trying to recall (in the part about Beadworks) is either Ladner (to the south) or Langley (to the east), I'm not sure which. As for stitching with beads I have used both Nymo (nylon beading thread) and polyester upholstery thread for stitching on fabrics. You want something that doesn't easily get cut by the beads nor stretch out too much nor damages the base fabric. Takes some experimenting indeed. I wouldn't use glue on the surface of your beading though. It would be safer on the back if you really feel it to be necessary.
Coyotes are fairly new to our area, actually within my lifetime, and they migrated north as land was cleared so our native peoples didn't include them in their legends or artwork. They can be pesky but we are learning to live with them! UBC Endowment Lands are actually a separate municipality from Vancouver with their own government. We call the aboriginal peoples First Nations because calling them Indians (as they often do themselves) can be confusing since we have quite a large segment of the population actually from India. In turn they, along with people from Pakistan and Sri Lanka etc. are generally referred to as South Asians. Yeah, it's complicated! Calling the First Nations people Natives is also confusing because, hey, I'm a native too having been born here but am of mixed European heritage. Whew! Can we all be Politically Correct now? If you use some of the Haida or other design ideas in your work you can be accused of cultural appropriation. It helps if it's all your own designs perhaps inspired by...you get the picture. I don't blame anyone in the least for jumping on stolen work! They totally deserve to retain and reinvigorate their culture themselves in their own way. But it can be a bit of a minefield for everyone else who just loves the images.
Sorry. I see this is becoming a thesis! I'm sure there was more, but I'm running out of steam. Do contact me next time you come to town! Or if you have more questions that I might be able to answer.
Once more I missed your comment when you wrote it. Boy, I treasured your nice long letter here. I'm going to enjoy reading it out loud in the podcast this month:-)
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