Shop til you drop

I left for Toronto last Sunday to go to the gift show.

Going to the gift show is, in my humble opinion, the best part about owning a shop.

Besides, I had to go.

It's not enough to just buy from catalogues on the advice of sales reps. I've got a vibe happening in this store that takes upkeep.

I need to touch stuff. Flip it over and turn it inside out. Find that balance between quality and price.

And funk.

You can't do that shopping online.

I figure that was probably the last time I'll be able to go for a while since the next show is in January and I'll have another baby by then.

Puh.

I just got back last night and man, did I make some good finds while I was there.

Seriously.

I took a few risks, bought WAY too much jewelry (I'm planning an out of this world accessories and pampering party in October. I'm going to convert my home living room/dining room into a funky little boutique/salon. Watch for it.) and pretty much wore myself out.

My dogs are still barking.

And my little "I'm-pregnant-so-I-can-get-away-with-ugly-footwear" Nike flats stink to high heaven.

They smell like a rat died in the toe.

They may never be the same.

But it was all worth it. Check out the goodies that'll be arriving over the next weeks and months.

Customizable framed signs from Wordstock. By photographer Barbara Rowlandson from Georgian Bay.

You choose the letters, we build the frame. Her aunt (incidentally) owns Mrs. McGarrigles in Merrickville. And she has her own kitchen shop back home. So you know she totally gets the small town retailer thing.

Wordstock also turns their photographed letters into pendants.

A whole new artsy twist on the monogram necklace trend.

More Pouchees! In all colours.

Put all your necessities inside and pop it inside your purse du jour.

Quote-happy photo frames.

Cheap and cheerful clutches and handbags for fall.

More bath bombs.

Not much makes me happier than a full display of these yummy looking things. They make an adorable hostess gift in one of our complimentary truffle boxes with a Blackbird seal.

They even make a special holiday line.

Won't Frosty be adorable floating around your tub while you just sit there watching his sweet little face melt off?

Funky mohair throws and embroidered pillows. Fair trade from Nepal and oh so Anthropologie.

I love houses.
And flowers.

Flower hair accessories, cluster rings in a multitude of colour combinations and swinging bird earrings from a mother and daughter(s) company in Toronto.

Handcrafted silver pendants. Fair trade from Mexico.

Stow and go flats to hide in your purse so you don't have to be that barefoot girl on the wedding dance floor ever again. Nobody likes that girl.

I'd walk around for 5 hours and think "You need to stop".

"Enough is enough."

"There can't possibly be anything else you need out there."

"Nothing more to see here folks."

And then I'd come across a booth like this one and I'd stop dead in my tracks.

As though someone splashed me in the face with a glass of ice water and gave me a second wind.

First of all, the display.

It speaks to me.

It's girly and colourful and shabby and there's a bird cage hanging above a judy covered in buttons.

Buttons!

I seriously was powerless against it.

I exercised as much restraint as I could and placed my order.

Here's a taste:

And loads more.

I haven't even shown you the Christmas stuff.

I don't know if you could handle it.

And isn't it more fun to wait?

Back to work.

xo Em