Olio By Marilyn

Walk Through Fire: A Memoir of Love, Loss, and Triumph by Sheila Johnson (Audio book)

2026-10-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

"...an inspiring story of overcoming toxic influences, discovering her true self, and at last finding happiness in her work and life."

Synopsis -

From humble beginnings as a schoolgirl and a young violinist in Maywood, Illinois, Sheila Johnson rose to become one of the most accomplished businesswomen in America. A cofounder of Black Entertainment Television, she became an entrepreneur and philanthropist at the highest levels.

But that success came at a painful personal cost.

Sheila grew up in a middle-class family that encouraged her love of the arts and music. But her idyllic childhood ended at age sixteen when her beloved father announced that he was leaving for another woman, an act that shattered her mother and destroyed Sheila’s trust. She vowed she’d never be in her mother’s position—dependent on a man for her sense of self-worth and for financial security. Yet when she was barely out of her teens, Sheila married a man who would take her right down that same unfortunate path.

Filled with sharply drawn, emotionally powerful senses, Walk Through Fire traces the hardships Sheila faced in her marriage and her professional life. Despite her skills as a violinist and music teacher, as well as her obvious entrepreneurial talent, she had to fight to overcome self-doubt and fears of failure. Sheila vividly details her struggles, including battling institutional racism, losing a child, suffering emotional abuse in her thirty-three-year marriage, and plunging into a deep depression with her divorce. And yet, out of that pain came renewed purpose and meaning. In the third act of her life, Sheila Johnson has not only made her mark as the founder of Salamander Hotels & Resorts and the only Black female coowner of three professional sports teams, she has also, finally, found true love.

Walk Through Fire is a uniquely American success story. And it is the deeply personal portrait of one woman who, despite heartache and obstacles, finally found herself and her place in the world.

Review -

This is a wonderful memoir, and I highly recommend the audio book version as Sheila Johnson is the reader. There is something about hearing an author share their story in their own voice that draws me in deeper. It is like she is reminiscing with me over a cuppa. She shares her life in three acts. First was her life from birth to marriage. The second was her life during her difficult 30 year first marriage. The third was her life after divorce where she fought to find her path forward and created success on her own terms.

I didn't know of Johnson before picking up this book, but did I know of BET. What I was looking for was insight into the history of how BET came about, but I received so much more. The author gave me a look inside what being a black woman, a black entrepreneur, and a female black entrepreneur - a triple hurdle - at a time when every step up the ladder was not easy for African-Americans. The pressure on her to keep up the pretence of a happy couple for the sake of the black community as her first marriage became more toxic was enormous. They were role models of success that were needed to inspire those coming up behind them.

When she finally walked away, the gift was not only her freedom and a peaceful home of her own, but her share from the sale of BET. It was now time to spread her wings and figure out what her third act would be. And what a third act! But it didn't come easy. Every step of the way she faced racism, sexism, the collapse of the US economy in the middle of several large projects, and more. Through it all she found not only a way to persevere, but she also found love.

This is a wonderful read (or listen). And it brings home the importance of persistence, believing in your dreams and your instincts, and the knowledge that dreams are attainable if you willing to go the distance, although sometimes it takes years and jumping a lot of hurdles to cross the finish line.

Buy the Book: Amazon US ~ Amazon CA

Meet the Author -

Sheila Johnson is a visionary entrepreneur with a passion for helping others. In the 1980s, she co-founded Black Entertainment Television. She continues to be a powerful influence in the entertainment industry, executive producing several documentary and feature films with humanitarian themes. Johnson has since diversified her business interests. She is founder and CEO of Salamander Collection, which operates luxury properties centred around unique destinations in the US and the Caribbean.

As a partner of Monumental Sports & Entertainment, Johnson is the only African American woman to have ownership in three professional sports teams: the Washington Capitals (NHL), the Washington Wizards (NBA), and the Washington Mystics (WNBA). She is also the first African American woman to own a PGA Championship golf course.

Johnson spearheaded the formation of WE Capital, a venture capital consortium specializing in female-led enterprises with a goal of promoting social impact while generating financial returns. She serves on the education committee of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and is a past member of Barack Obama’s President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities and the Council on Foreign Relations. She serves as a board member of the Metropolitan Opera, the Jackie Robinson Foundation, the Simon & Schuster Publishing Advisory Board, and the PBS Foundation, among others.

Her memoir, Walk Through Fire, was published by Simon & Schuster in September 2023.

Connect: Website ~ Instagram ~ Linkedin ~ Website ~ Blog

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 Post-Interview with Fashion Designer Lily~Rose Babysky of House of Pretty

2026-10-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

Ever since I was young, fashion has been a big part of my life and my journey. I grew up in a home deeply affected by intergenerational trauma, and during the times when I needed protection and safety, I would turn to my paper dolls. I would draw beautiful clothing for them, creating a world of beauty through fashion. That was the beginning of my journey as a designer.

When the pandemic began, I found myself at a turning point. There was a shortage of face masks for people living on Main and Hastings in Vancouver, so I joined an Indigenous company in the area and helped sew 500 to 600 masks that we distributed to the community for free.

At the time, I was studying social work, and I had to decide whether to pursue that path or follow my childhood dream of becoming a fashion designer. After two weeks of thinking it through, I knew I wanted to build something that would allow me to give back to my community in a different way. I wanted to create beautiful clothing, build a successful business, and use that success to support others.

Fashion has continued to find me during some of the hardest moments of my life. When I was incarcerated at Pine Grove Correctional Centre, a woman taught me how to sew. She was one of the most beautiful people I've ever met, and she helped me begin a journey of healing. I don't think she knows how much she changed my life, but I will always remember her.

How did you learn your skills? Were you self-taught, or did you study fashion design?

My creativity started long before I ever attended fashion school. As a little girl, my paper dolls never had enough clothes, so I would constantly draw new outfits and create more designs.

Over the years, different people taught me sewing skills, and I officially learned to sew at Pine Grove Correctional Centre. However, my professional development as a designer really grew when I attended The Cut Fashion Design Academy. Before going to school, I was already doing runway shows and photo shoots, working with models and photographers, and developing my brand. But I felt there was more I needed to learn to reach the level I envisioned for myself.

At The Cut, I learned fashion illustration, pattern making, specification packs, marketing, and the technical skills required to turn an idea into a finished garment. I am incredibly grateful to the people in the fashion industry who shared their knowledge with me. That education helped me take my creativity and turn it into a professional vision.

Who are you as a designer? What is your aesthetic, ideal customer, and brand?

I am Pretty East Van, and my work is all about fashion, reinvention, and building a legacy through luxury lace. What I do is bring really pretty clothing to pretty women. My ideal customer is a woman in her mid-to-late twenties who is active, outgoing, and enjoying life. She might be a nurse, an administrative professional, or a student. She's social, confident, and loves going out and expressing herself through fashion.

The aesthetic of House of Pretty is centred on lace, fitted silhouettes, beautiful fabrics, and clothing that makes a statement. I always say that we're not just selling clothing; we're selling confidence. We're selling a feeling. My brand represents pretty in the fabric, pretty in the design, pretty in the clothing, and pretty in the woman wearing it. I want women to feel pretty, confident, and noticed when they wear my designs. That is the heart of my brand.

What comes easiest for you as a designer, and what is the hardest?

What comes easiest to me is designing. I have an eye for women's body shapes and how a garment will look on someone, especially when working with lace. I love sewing lace and other delicate, intricate fabrics. I also love learning. Every time I learn something new about fashion, I feel almost reborn. It is an honour to develop these skills and discover just how much fashion can teach me.

The hardest part has been believing in myself enough to keep going bigger. As a widow and a woman who has lived through significant trauma, there are times when the past can affect how I see myself. I've experienced judgment throughout my life, and that can be difficult when you're trying to build something meaningful.

I've spent a lot of my life overcoming what other people might have expected of me. Now, I'm focused on building something beautiful and meaningful. I believe House of Pretty has the potential to become a major brand, create financial stability for my family for generations, and help me give back to high-risk women in my community. I want to keep growing, keep learning, and give myself the same chance to succeed that I believe every other designer deserves.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your design process?

My inspiration often begins with the fabric itself. Sometimes I see a beautiful new fabric, and suddenly I can imagine what it could become. Other times, I simply sit quietly with my thoughts and create. I've lived through some very difficult experiences, but when I look at fabric, I see beauty.

My thoughts about fashion are beautiful thoughts, and creating harmony through fabrics and textures has always come naturally to me., I think about how a garment will fit the model, how it will move on the runway, the quality and cost of the fabric, and how it will behave when sewn. It's about understanding how all the elements will work together.

Colour isn't necessarily where my design process begins. Honestly, I could probably design black lace for the rest of my life and be happy. Black lace has a timeless beauty that I love. However, I also enjoy incorporating hot pink, neon colours, florals, and contrasting fabrics. Sometimes a pop of pink beneath black lace creates exactly the effect I want. For me, the fabric, texture, fit, and overall feeling of a garment come first.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you showed at Vancouver Fashion Week FW27.

For VFW SS27 I showed a collection called From Survival to the Runway. It told the story of a person moving from street life and trauma into the world of high fashion. The collection together told a story of growth, beauty, struggle, and the process of becoming something new without forgetting where you came from.

The opening look was deliberately raw. The model appeared barely clothed, with smeared makeup and tape over her mouth. That was my way of introducing the story and making myself vulnerable to the audience. I wanted people to understand that this collection was personal.

As the next looks came down the runway, we began to see the beauty emerge. The fitted black lace pieces represented the beginning of that transformation. They were beautiful and feminine, but they still carried an edge of street life because the journey was not yet complete. Then came the ropes, representing the things that had held me back and the process of untying them. It was about letting go, releasing what had kept me trapped, and allowing myself to move forward.

As the collection progressed, pinks and other elements of beauty began to emerge. The designs evolved until the final look: a dramatic gown covered in beautiful feathers, with intricate patterns and an ostrich-feather back piece. Even in that final look, the black tape remained. It represented strength and the fact that where I came from would always be part of my story. I could move forward without pretending that my past never happened.

The collection was about the beauty and the battle of leaving trauma behind and blossoming into high fashion. You can grow, change, and create something beautiful while still acknowledging everything you've survived.

Do you have a favourite look in this collection?

My favourite was the final look. I put so much time, detail, and effort into that gown, and I was incredibly proud of how it turned out. My children also helped me with that look, which made it even more meaningful to me. It represents what I want House of Pretty to be. When I create clothing, I want people to feel something, but I also want them to appreciate the beauty and craftsmanship that go into the design. The texture, the movement, the model, the silhouette, and every detail have to come together. That final look felt powerful and strong, and seeing it come to life was an incredible moment for me.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

Readers can follow House of Pretty on Instagram and Facebook to keep up with our designs, runway appearances, and upcoming releases. And you can check out our website at www.houseofpretty.ca

I'm currently developing more collections and preparing for future runway shows. I'm also working toward the official launch of House of Pretty's first pieces for sale, planned for early 2027. The first release will feature a lace look and a corset top.

I'm excited to move into this next stage of the business and begin bringing House of Pretty directly to customers.

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

I'm continuing to participate in runway shows, and my next big goals are to open a store, expand internationally, and take House of Pretty to New York. For me, building House of Pretty is about more than my own success. I want to grow a recognizable fashion brand while creating opportunities for other people to learn, develop their skills, and build businesses of their own. I'm excited about what lies ahead, and I know I'm only at the beginning of what I want to accomplish.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

One of the hardest things I've ever experienced was surviving the circumstances I faced as an Indigenous person, including being trafficked as a child and surviving violence that could have taken my life. I've lived through things that many people will never understand. When I share my story, I want people to understand that I'm not sharing it for sympathy. I'm sharing it to create hope for women and children who have lived through similar experiences: high-risk women, those who have been trafficked, and children living on the streets.

I believe we need a turning point in how society treats people who are vulnerable and at risk. We need to challenge the stereotypes surrounding Indigenous people and those who have experienced street life, trafficking, and trauma. I am one of the people who made it through and is now building a future in business and fashion. I'm proud of that, and I'm committed to bringing beautiful fashion into the world through House of Pretty. But I also want my success to mean something beyond the runway. I want other women to see that their circumstances do not have to define their future, and that they deserve opportunities to heal, create, and build something of their own.

My hope is that House of Pretty will become a successful fashion brand while also helping change the way people see women like me. We deserve to be seen for our talent, our ideas, our strength, and our potential—not just for the things we've survived.

Links -

Website - www.houseofpretty.ca (coming soon)
Instagram - @house_of_pretty_
Facebook - www.facebook.com/prettyeastvan

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 Post-Interview with Founder & Creative Director Jeong Hyeon-Park of BULLIT (Answers in both English and Korean)

2026-10-27T04:00:00.000-07:00

Bio -
Founded in South Korea, BULLIT is a contemporary designer fashion label established by Jeonghyeon Park (Founder & Creative Director) and Sunjung Kim (Co-Founder & Design Director).The name BULLIT, is derived from the word Bullet, symbolizes speed, precision, energy, and impact. These concepts are translated into each collection through architectural silhouettes, layered constructions, and innovative pattern development that balance artistic expression with everyday wearability.

The brand explores the relationship between sculptural aesthetics, technical construction, and functional design, creating garments that express strength, movement, and individuality. Rather than following trends, BULLIT is committed to developing its own visual language through experimentation with structure, materials, and silhouette.

BULLIT believes that fashion is more than clothing—it is a form of visual communication that conveys identity, emotion, and presence. Through continuous experimentation and craftsmanship, the brand aims to establish itself as a globally recognized contemporary designer label while expanding through international runway presentations, creative collaborations, and independent visual projects

Interview -

What inspired you to become a fashion designer?

I have always loved clothing, but my journey toward becoming a fashion designer began with a different experience. I used to be very passionate about sports, especially Taekwondo, and over the years, I accumulated a lot of sportswear. As time passed, I found myself throwing away clothes that I had collected year after year.

This made me think about whether there was a way to give those garments a new life instead of simply throwing them away. I became interested in upcycling and the possibility of transforming existing materials into something new.

As I reflected on what I wanted to pursue next, I realized that becoming a fashion designer would allow me to turn that idea into reality. For me, fashion design became a way to explore new possibilities in clothing, rather than simply creating something new from scratch.

저는 원래 옷을 입는 것을 좋아했지만, 패션 디자이너가 되겠다고 생각하게 된 계기는 조금 다른 경험에서 시작되었습니다.

저는 예전부터 스포츠, 특히 태권도를 무척 좋아했고, 그 과정에서 많은 운동복을 모으게 되었습니다. 하지만 시간이 지나면서 해마다 쌓여 온 옷들을 하나씩 버리는 제 모습을 보게 되었습니다.

그때 단순히 옷을 버리는 것에서 그치지 않고, 기존의 옷에 새로운 생명을 불어넣을 방법은 없을까 고민하게 되었습니다. 이를 계기로 업사이클링에 관심을 갖게 되었고, 이미 존재하는 소재를 새로운 무언가로 변화시킬 수 있다는 가능성에 매력을 느꼈습니다.

앞으로 제가 무엇을 해야 할지 고민하던 중, 패션 디자이너가 된다면 이러한 생각을 실제로 구현할 수 있겠다는 결론에 도달했습니다. 저에게 패션 디자인은 단순히 새로운 것을 처음부터 만드는 일이 아니라, 기존의 옷과 소재가 가진 새로운 가능성을 탐구하는 방법이 되었습니다.

How did you become interested in fashion design?

When I started thinking seriously about creating my own clothes, I realized that I needed to develop the knowledge and technical skills to bring my ideas to life. This naturally led me to pursue fashion design at the graduate level.

At Hongik University, I had the opportunity to learn from an excellent faculty through a comprehensive curriculum that provided me with an education comparable to an undergraduate program in its depth and scope. Through this experience, I developed my understanding of fashion design and gained the skills to design and construct garments myself.

This education has played an important role in shaping the designer I am today, allowing me to transform my ideas into actual garments through both design and hands-on craftsmanship.

제가 직접 옷을 만들고 싶다는 생각을 진지하게 하게 되었을 때, 제 아이디어를 실제로 구현하기 위해서는 전문적인 지식과 기술을 갖추어야 한다고 생각했습니다. 이러한 생각은 자연스럽게 대학원 과정에서 패션 디자인을 공부하는 계기로 이어졌습니다.

홍익대학교 대학원에서 훌륭한 교수진을 통해 체계적이고 깊이 있는 교육과정을 배울 수 있었습니다. 학부 과정에 견줄 만큼 폭넓은 커리큘럼을 경험하면서 패션 디자인에 대한 이해를 넓혔고, 옷을 직접 디자인하고 제작할 수 있는 기술도 갖추게 되었습니다.

이러한 교육 경험은 오늘날의 디자이너로 성장하는 데 중요한 역할을 했습니다. 덕분에 아이디어를 구상하는 데 그치지 않고, 디자인과 실제 제작 과정을 통해 제 생각을 하나의 옷으로 완성할 수 있게 되었습니다.

How would you describe yourself as a designer? What is your philosophy, target audience, and the message your brand wants to convey?

I see myself as a designer who constantly experiments, explores, and develops ideas through an ongoing process of trial and error.

My philosophy is that perfection is never truly final. I believe that mistakes, unexpected results, and repeated experimentation can lead to better and more meaningful designs. Rather than seeing failure as something to avoid, I see it as an essential part of the creative process and an opportunity to discover possibilities I might not have found otherwise.

BULLIT is designed for people who appreciate both expressive dresses and streetwear, bringing together contrasting styles and exploring the boundaries between them. Through BULLIT, I want to communicate that failure is not simply an ending, but a starting point for something better. I hope my designs encourage people to see beauty and potential in imperfection, transformation, and the process of becoming something new.

저는 끊임없이 실험하고 탐구하며, 수많은 시행착오를 통해 아이디어를 발전시켜 나가는 디자이너라고 생각합니다.

저의 철학은 완벽함이란 결코 최종적으로 완성되는 것이 아니라는 것입니다. 실수와 예상치 못한 결과, 그리고 반복적인 실험이 더 나은 디자인과 더 의미 있는 결과로 이어질 수 있다고 믿습니다. 저는 실패를 피해야 할 대상으로 보기보다, 창작 과정에서 반드시 필요한 일부이자 이전에는 발견하지 못했을 가능성을 찾아가는 기회라고 생각합니다.

BULLIT은 개성 있는 드레스와 스트리트웨어를 모두 좋아하는 사람들을 위한 브랜드입니다. 서로 대비되는 스타일을 결합하고, 그 사이의 경계를 탐구하는 것을 지향합니다.

BULLIT을 통해 실패는 단순한 끝이 아니라 더 나은 무언가를 시작하는 출발점이라는 메시지를 전달하고 싶습니다. 저의 디자인을 통해 사람들이 불완전함과 변화, 그리고 새로운 존재로 거듭나는 과정 속에서도 아름다움과 가능성을 발견하기를 바랍니다.

What is the most important part of your design process, and what do you find most challenging?

For me, the most important thing is to start. An idea has no real value until I begin to turn it into something tangible. Once I start, the next essential step is continuous development.

I believe in making, making again, and making one more time. Just because something works well today doesn’t guarantee that it will work just as well tomorrow. That is why I believe constant experimentation, repetition, and refinement are necessary to push a design further and discover better possibilities.

At the same time, repetition is also the most challenging part of my process. Developing a design often means working late into the night, constantly questioning my decisions and searching for better solutions. When I construct garments myself, sewing can be particularly challenging because every detail requires careful consideration, and sometimes I reach a point where I struggle to find the right solution.

However, I see these difficulties as part of the process. For me, design is not about getting everything right on the first attempt, but about continuing to work until I discover something better.

저에게 가장 중요한 것은 우선 시작하는 것입니다. 아이디어는 실제로 무언가를 만들어 내기 시작하기 전까지는 실질적인 가치를 갖기 어렵다고 생각합니다. 그리고 일단 시작했다면, 그다음으로 중요한 것은 끊임없이 발전시켜 나가는 과정입니다.

저는 만들고, 다시 만들고, 또 한 번 만드는 과정을 중요하게 생각합니다. 오늘 좋은 결과를 얻었다고 해서 내일도 똑같이 좋은 결과를 얻으리라는 보장은 없습니다. 그렇기 때문에 디자인을 더욱 발전시키고 더 나은 가능성을 발견하기 위해서는 끊임없는 실험과 반복, 그리고 개선의 과정이 필요하다고 믿습니다.

동시에 반복 작업은 제 작업 과정에서 가장 어렵게 느끼는 부분이기도 합니다. 디자인을 발전시키다 보면 밤늦게까지 작업하면서 끊임없이 제 선택을 되돌아보고 더 나은 해결책을 고민하게 됩니다. 특히 옷을 직접 제작할 때는 봉제 과정이 까다로울 때가 많습니다. 모든 디테일을 신중하게 고려해야 하고, 때로는 적절한 해결 방법을 찾지 못해 막히기도 합니다.

하지만 저는 이러한 어려움 역시 작업 과정의 일부라고 생각합니다. 저에게 디자인이란 처음부터 모든 것을 완벽하게 해내는 것이 아니라, 더 나은 무언가를 발견할 때까지 계속해서 작업해 나가는 것입니다.

Where do you usually find inspiration for your collections, and how important is inspiration in your design process?

I usually find inspiration in the world around me. I have always been drawn to birds, which led me to explore the forms of wings and feathers as an initial source of inspiration.

For me, inspiration doesn’t stop at the first idea. I develop it through several layers of research, exploring its background, context, and different interpretations. From that initial inspiration, I look for secondary and tertiary sources that can take the concept in unexpected directions.

For example, the shape of a feather might lead me to explore military aesthetics, structural forms, or a sense of elegance. I am particularly interested in bringing contrasting elements together and discovering new relationships between them.

Inspiration is essential to my design process because it gives me a starting point, but research and experimentation are what allow that initial idea to evolve into something unique to BULLIT.

저는 주로 주변 세계에서 영감을 얻습니다. 특히 새를 좋아하는데, 이러한 관심이 날개와 깃털의 형태를 탐구하는 것으로 이어졌고, 이는 저의 초기 디자인 영감이 되었습니다.

저에게 영감은 첫 번째 아이디어에서 끝나지 않습니다. 저는 하나의 영감을 여러 단계의 리서치를 통해 발전시키며, 그 배경과 맥락, 그리고 다양한 해석의 가능성을 탐구합니다. 처음 떠오른 영감에서 출발해 예상하지 못한 방향으로 콘셉트를 확장할 수 있는 2차, 3차 영감의 소재를 찾아 나갑니다.

예를 들어, 깃털의 형태는 밀리터리 미학이나 구조적인 형태, 또는 우아함에 대한 탐구로 이어질 수 있습니다. 저는 특히 서로 대비되는 요소들을 결합하고, 그 사이에서 새로운 관계를 발견하는 과정에 관심이 많습니다.

영감은 디자인 과정에서 출발점이 된다는 점에서 매우 중요합니다. 하지만 처음 떠오른 아이디어를 BULLIT만의 독창적인 디자인으로 발전시키는 것은 리서치와 실험이라고 생각합니다.

Readers would love to know about the collection you showed at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27.

The Spring/Summer 2027 collection draws inspiration from military wear, protective equipment, and organic biological structures.

One of my main goals was to incorporate military elements into feather-inspired designs. Instead of using real feathers, I recreated the concept of military feathers through fabric patchwork, contrasting textures, and layered constructions.

Through repetitive panel constructions, sculptural volumes, and technical detailing, I explored the relationship between strength and fluidity. By transforming fabric into feather-like forms, I sought to combine the resilience and functionality of military aesthetics with the organic movement of feathers.

Rather than reproducing these elements literally, I reinterpreted them through material experimentation and garment construction, creating a distinctive visual identity for BULLIT that balances strength, texture, and fluidity.

2027 봄·여름 컬렉션은 밀리터리 의상과 보호 장비, 그리고 유기적인 생물학적 구조에서 영감을 얻었습니다.

이번 컬렉션의 주요 목표 중 하나는 깃털에서 영감을 받은 디자인에 밀리터리 요소를 결합하는 것이었습니다. 실제 깃털을 사용하는 대신, 원단의 패치워크와 대비되는 질감, 여러 겹의 구조를 활용해 밀리터리 깃털이라는 개념을 재현했습니다.

반복적인 패널 구성과 조형적인 볼륨, 기술적인 디테일을 통해 강인함과 유연성 사이의 관계를 탐구했습니다. 원단을 깃털을 연상시키는 형태로 변형함으로써 밀리터리 미학의 강인함과 기능성을 깃털의 유기적인 움직임과 결합하고자 했습니다.

이러한 요소들을 그대로 재현하기보다는 소재에 대한 실험과 의복의 구조적인 제작 방식을 통해 새롭게 해석했으며, 강인함과 질감, 유연성이 균형을 이루는 BULLIT만의 독창적인 시각적 정체성을 만들고자 했습니다.

Which look from the collection is your personal favorite?

My favorite look is Look 11, the khaki feather dress. This piece holds a special place in my heart because it is the result of extensive research and experimentation that I carried out throughout my graduate studies.

I spent a great deal of time exploring how to reinterpret feather forms through fabric, texture, and construction. Seeing those experiments develop into a finished garment makes this dress particularly meaningful to me.

The feather dress is also BULLIT’s signature design. It represents the brand’s approach to transforming materials and familiar forms into something new through continuous experimentation. For these reasons, Look 11 is more than just my favorite piece; it represents an important part of BULLIT’s identity.

제가 가장 좋아하는 룩은 11번 카키색 깃털 드레스입니다. 이 드레스는 대학원 과정 동안 끊임없이 연구하고 실험한 결과물이기 때문에 저에게 특별한 의미가 있습니다.

원단과 질감, 구조적인 제작 방식을 통해 깃털의 형태를 어떻게 새롭게 재해석할 수 있을지 오랜 시간 탐구했습니다. 이러한 실험들이 하나의 완성된 의상으로 탄생했다는 점에서 이 드레스에 특히 큰 애착을 가지고 있습니다.

깃털 드레스는 BULLIT의 시그니처 디자인이기도 합니다. 끊임없는 실험을 통해 소재와 익숙한 형태를 새로운 무언가로 변화시키려는 브랜드의 방향성을 보여주는 작품입니다. 이러한 이유로 11번 룩은 단순히 제가 가장 좋아하는 의상을 넘어, BULLIT의 정체성을 대표하는 중요한 작품입니다.

Where would you like to see your designs sold in the future?

I hope to see BULLIT grow beyond the runway and become an internationally recognized independent fashion brand. I would love to see my collections in carefully curated concept stores and boutiques that embrace experimental design and support emerging designers.

Vancouver Fashion Week has been an important step in introducing BULLIT to an international audience, and I hope to build on this experience by connecting with fashion communities and audiences around the world.

Ultimately, I want BULLIT to be recognized not only for its garments, but also for its distinctive design language and philosophy. My goal is to create a brand that continues to evolve through experimentation, challenges conventional ideas of clothing, and finds its own place in the global fashion scene.

저는 BULLIT이 런웨이를 넘어 국제적으로 인정받는 독립 패션 브랜드로 성장하기를 바랍니다. 실험적인 디자인을 가치 있게 여기고 신진 디자이너를 지지하는 감각적인 콘셉트 스토어와 부티크에서 제 컬렉션을 선보이고 싶습니다.

밴쿠버 패션위크는 BULLIT을 국제적인 관객에게 소개하는 중요한 발걸음이었습니다. 앞으로도 이러한 경험을 바탕으로 전 세계의 패션 커뮤니티와 관객들에게 다가가고 싶습니다.

궁극적으로 저는 BULLIT이 단순히 의상뿐만 아니라 독창적인 디자인 언어와 철학으로도 인정받기를 바랍니다. 끊임없는 실험을 통해 발전하고, 기존의 의복에 대한 관념에 도전하며, 세계 패션 시장에서 BULLIT만의 입지를 구축하는 것이 저의 목표입니다.

What are your future goals as a designer and as a brand?

My ultimate goal is to become an artist through fashion and to establish and lead my own haute couture house in Korea. I see fashion as more than clothing. It is a medium through which I can express ideas, explore emotions, and challenge conventional forms. Through BULLIT, I want to continue developing my own artistic language through experimentation, craftsmanship, and the reinterpretation of materials and silhouettes.

In the long term, I aspire to establish a Korean haute couture house with a distinctive identity and a perspective of its own, one that can stand alongside the world’s leading fashion houses while remaining true to its creative roots.

For me, success is not simply about building a commercially successful brand. It is about creating a body of work that reflects my vision as an artist and leaves a lasting impression on the world of fashion.

저의 궁극적인 목표는 패션을 통해 예술을 하는 사람이 되고, 한국에 저만의 오트 쿠튀르 하우스를 설립하여 이끄는 것입니다.

저는 패션을 단순히 옷을 만드는 일 이상으로 생각합니다. 패션은 저의 생각을 표현하고, 감정을 탐구하며, 기존의 형태와 관념에 도전할 수 있는 매개체입니다. BULLIT을 통해 끊임없는 실험과 장인정신, 소재와 실루엣의 재해석을 바탕으로 저만의 예술적 언어를 계속 발전시키고 싶습니다.

장기적으로는 독창적인 정체성과 고유한 관점을 지닌 한국의 오트 쿠튀르 하우스를 설립하고 싶습니다. 창작의 뿌리를 잃지 않으면서 세계적인 패션 하우스들과 어깨를 나란히 할 수 있는 브랜드를 만드는 것이 제 목표입니다.

저에게 성공이란 단순히 상업적으로 성공한 브랜드를 만드는 것만을 의미하지 않습니다. 예술가로서 저만의 비전을 담은 작품 세계를 구축하고, 패션계에 오래도록 기억될 인상을 남기는 것이 진정한 목표입니다.

Anything you'd like to share in closing?

To everyone reading this, I want to say that no matter what your profession is, if you have a goal you want to achieve or even a small thing you’ve always wanted to try, don’t spend too much time overthinking it. Take the first step and put it into action.

Time passes at the same pace for everyone, whether we choose to act or not. I believe that trying something, even if it doesn’t turn out the way we expected, is healthier for both our minds and bodies than never trying at all.

You don’t have to have everything figured out before you begin. Sometimes, the most important thing is simply to start, learn along the way, and keep moving forward. You never know what that first step might lead to.

이 글을 읽고 계신 모든 분께 전하고 싶은 말이 있습니다.

어떤 직업을 가지고 있든, 이루고 싶은 목표가 있거나 평소에 작게라도 해보고 싶었던 일이 있다면 너무 오래 고민하지 말고 직접 움직여 보셨으면 합니다.

우리가 행동하든 행동하지 않든 시간은 모두에게 똑같은 속도로 흘러갑니다. 비록 기대했던 결과를 얻지 못하더라도, 아무것도 시도하지 않는 것보다 무언가를 직접 해보는 것이 몸과 마음 모두에 더 건강한 일이라고 생각합니다.

모든 준비를 완벽하게 마친 뒤에 시작할 필요는 없습니다. 때로는 그저 시작하고, 그 과정에서 배우며, 계속 앞으로 나아가는 것이 가장 중요합니다. 첫걸음이 어디까지 이어질지는 누구도 알 수 없으니까요.

Links -

Website - www.bullit.co.kr
Instagram - @hyeon._.9p and @bullit.official

Poetry - Life in Three Acts

2026-10-26T11:25:00.000-07:00

Photo by Hulki Okan Tabak on Unsplash

Poetry - Life in Three Acts

by Marilyn R. Wilson

Somewhere in the depths of the universe

A decision was made that changed everything

The lucky ones were offered the gift of time

There lives would be lived in three acts.

The unlucky were instead given a taste

An hour, a year, an act or maybe two

Fairness abandoned. Lives lost tragically.

As I sit lost in my chair gazing, but sightless

Spirit's wings carry my thoughts backward

Through all of the moments that wrote my story

Misery, joy, lows, highs, challenges and triumphs

In this moment, as I move back through time

I finally see it - the pattern as old as the cosmos

Clear as a bell. How did I miss it? Three acts.

Act One - The Struggle

Memories of childhood and youth

Blurry, wispy as fog, hard to grasp

I was square peg in a round hole

Standing outside in the cold looking in

My community we’re all in agreement

You are wrong. You are broken.

Love belongs to those who change.

Act Two - The Demands

At 17, in crisis, I flee out into the world

Suddenly money became my master

Rent...food...bills...gas.....car…clothes

My soul cried out, " Find me, embrace me"

But there was no time for healing or discovery

One foot after another, stress pressing down

Next as wife and mother, all I could do was dig deep

Act Three - The Legacy

Here I stand now, writing my third act

Pressures now eased, horizons expanded.

There is time for healing, time for self-discovery

Mining my depths intentionally I discover gold

My legacy, my third act, now faces outward

Arising from a place of acceptance and strength

I chose to share my gold, to spend it raising others

Coda -

Time never shares its secret agenda

No matter. My heart speaks to me loudly

My soul has charted an unerring path forward

My legacy is being built one word at a time.

An article, an interview, a poem, a review

Each a building block in my chosen legacy

Right up to the day I draw my last breath.

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 Interview w/ Fashion Designer Heidi Wilson of Jade McBride

2026-10-26T10:46:10.039-07:00

Bio -

Jade McBride is a Vancouver-based fashion designer who founded her namesake label in 2023, cultivating a world where romanticism meets rebellion. Rooted in female sovereignty, the label empowers women through thoughtfully crafted garments that challenge convention and redefine modern femininity. Blending elegant and edgy aesthetics, Jade McBride creates captivating pieces distinguished by meticulous corsetry, rich textural exploration, and compelling storytelling. Every design is not only an expression of originality, exceptional craftsmanship, and innovative design but a celebration of unapologetic individuality and powerful femininity.

Interview -

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

Growing up surrounded by creative women, I was always drawn to the arts, exploring everything from painting to dance before discovering my passion for garment design and construction. At 17, I left my hometown as a starry-eyed teenager in pursuit of that passion, eventually completing a four-year Fashion Design & Technology degree at KPU’s Wilson School of Design. I founded Jade McBride in 2023 while still in school, building the brand alongside full-time studies and multiple roles across the fashion industry. After completing my education this past April, I began working full-time as a Technical Fashion Designer in Vancouver while continuing to grow Jade McBride, turning my lifelong passion into my career and creative future.

How did you learn your skills?

My journey as a designer has been shaped by a continuous pursuit of growth, both independently and through formal education. Early exposure to sewing classes and personal creative exploration laid the foundation for my skills in fashion and textiles. Driven to refine my craft, I completed the four-year Fashion Design & Technology program at WSD in spring 2026. Throughout my studies, I continued developing my skills through independent projects and research, and I remain committed to exploring new techniques and approaches that challenge me to grow as a designer today.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

Where romanticism meets rebellion, Jade McBride has reimagined contemporary womenswear since its founding in 2023 by Vancouver-based designer, Heidi Wilson. Rooted in female sovereignty, the label empowers women through thoughtfully crafted garments that balance elegance with edge. Defined by compelling storytelling and exceptional craftsmanship, Jade McBride embodies powerful femininity through distinctive designs spanning elevated streetwear to runway-ready corseted gowns.

As a driven, multidisciplinary artist and recent graduate of a four-year Fashion Design and Technology program, I have presented three original runway collections, received multiple awards, and participated in numerous collaborations across Vancouver’s creative community, all by my current age of 21. Drawing from my background as an artist and dancer, my work explores the intimate relationship between garment, body, and mind, while referencing influential women and historical dress to create empowering pieces.

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

Years of refining my craft have made the creative and technical processes of garment design and construction feel almost instinctive; fabric has truly become the language I speak best. As an independent designer, I love every facet of my work, but balancing the creative, promotional, and business demands of building a brand can be challenging. Learning to translate my creative vision into a sustainable, functioning business while continuing to grow as a designer has been my greatest challenge and one of my most rewarding pursuits.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your design process?

Seeing the world through an artistic lens allows me to find inspiration everywhere, often in the most subtle details of everyday life. I frequently draw from personal experiences and perspectives to establish the themes behind my work, then I delve deeper into research to enrich the storytelling woven into each collection. I am particularly drawn to the natural world and historical societies for inspiration, viewing and interpreting them in ways that align with Jade McBride’s central ethos of celebrating and empowering women.

Colour plays an integral role in my design process. Although it was once an area I struggled with, I remained committed to developing my eye as I recognized its power to communicate cohesion, evoke emotion, and strengthen a collection’s narrative. Today, I approach every colour palette with intention, using it to reinforce the story and aesthetic of my work.

Readers would love to know about the collection showed at Vancouver Fashion Week FW27.

Jade McBride’s SS27 collection, Madame Sans Culottes, draws from the French Revolution and the defiant women who shaped it, examining the enduring relationship between political polarization, social unrest, and female empowerment. Grounded in the visual and political landscape of eighteenth-century France, the collection reinterprets the era through a contemporary lens, juxtaposing symbols of wealth and power with those of poverty and labour: workwear-inspired garments and humble fabrics bring thoughtful tension to opulent gowns and luxurious jacquards, all while asymmetrical details persevere throughout the collection.

French revolutionary dress is further explored through period-informed silhouettes, colours, stripes, and floral motifs, crafting a visual language that connects historical references with modern womenswear. Celebrating female agency, each look is inspired by an influential heroine of the Revolution, featuring finer details that reflect the role she played during the period. By presenting rebellion through a spectrum of these female archetypes, Madame Sans Culottes celebrates the many ways individuals can challenge the status quo, encouraging every woman to define her own role in shaping history.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

The Witness, inspired by Madame Campan (1752–1822), is one of my favourite looks in the collection. An educator, memoirist, and lady-in-waiting to Marie Antoinette, Campan left behind a valuable account of the Revolution from within the royal court. Clad entirely in white, the monarchy’s revolutionary colour, The Witness evokes bride-like beauty and innocence while symbolizing royalist allegiance. Intricate lacing across the arms reflects Campan’s indirect involvement in the Revolution, while trailing lace and tulle represent the historical legacy her writings left behind.

This look ultimately encourages viewers to consider their actions and contributions to society, reflecting on how their efforts may shape their own legacies. My favourite detail in this look is the headpiece, created by my mother, who crafted all the headpieces in the collection; it feels especially meaningful to have her work incorporated in this collection as she is the person who nurtured my own creative legacy from the beginning.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

As I prepare to launch my first ready-to-wear line, I encourage readers to follow my Instagram page @jademcbridedesigns, smf check out my website jademcbride.com, and subscribe to my mailing list to get the latest updates on my work and product releases. Clients can also inquire about custom designs or garment rentals via my website or email - studio@jademcbride.com.

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

As an emerging fashion house, Jade McBride continues to expand through runway collections, custom commissions, and stylist rentals, with plans to enter the ready-to-wear market. Following the debut of Madame Sans Culottes at Vancouver Fashion Week, upcoming projects for Jade McBride include a local Vancouver runway show on November 1st and a showcase at Fashion Art Toronto at the end of November. Passionate about supporting fellow artists and fostering community, I am also always eager to pursue collaborations that celebrate local creatives. For product, service, and collaboration inquiries, visit jademcbride.com or contact studio@jademcbride.com.

In closing is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

I’m incredibly honoured to have received the Sue Randhawa Award from the Optical Boutique following my Vancouver Fashion Week debut on October 15th. As an emerging designer, support like this is monumental, and having my work recognized and my vision celebrated means more than I can express. I’m deeply grateful for these opportunities and for the creative community that continues to believe in, encourage, and support my work; Thank you for being part of this journey.

Links -

Website - www.jademcbride.com/
Instagram - @jademcbridedesigns

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 interview w/ Fashion Designer Naya Ahdab

2026-10-24T12:13:58.913-07:00

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career. Looking back, are there any signs in your young years that this would be your future.

I grew up feeling different because of my experience as a wheelchair user. Over time, I realized that this difference could become one of my greatest strengths. When I entered fashion, I understood that I did not have to create what people expected from me or limit my work to my disability.

Throughout my journey, I have always known that I wanted to transform my unique difference—and my disability—into something meaningful. For a long time, however, I was unsure exactly what form this would take. More recently, this path led me to win the second prize—the Prix Coup de Cœur—at the IFM Entrepreneurship Awards, in partnership with the fashion house AMI Paris. This recognition has strengthened my ambition to develop my own brand and establish a genuine identity for it.

How did you learn your skills?

I began my journey in fashion at Parsons Paris, where I earned a Bachelor’s degree in Fashion Design. This program allowed me to develop my creative vision and aesthetic language while building a solid technical foundation in tailoring and garment construction. After graduating, I began participating in various fashion competitions. Notably, I won the David Delfín Prize in Spain, followed by the WARD Prize at the ITS 2025 competition.

A year ago, I joined the IFM to pursue a Master’s in Fashion Management, aiming to complement my creative background with skills in management, entrepreneurship, and brand development. This program is now enabling me to better understand the complexities involved in building, managing, and growing a fashion house.

How would you describe your brand?

I want my work to break stereotypes, question assumptions, and take subjects that may initially feel deeply personal and reveal how universal they actually are. I want fashion to challenge the way we think, look at others, and judge bodies and their place in the world.

What comes easiest to you as a designer? What is hardest?

Storytelling comes most naturally to me. It is one of the main reasons I chose fashion in the first place. I love the idea of telling stories through clothes, whether they come from my own personal experiences, the lives of others, or stories that are no longer being told.

The hardest part is finding a balance between my work and my personal life, and learning when to stop. I am rarely completely satisfied with my designs; there is always something more I want to explore, create, or push further. Learning to accept that a piece can be finished, even when there is still more I could do, is an ongoing challenge.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your design process?

My inspiration comes mainly from personal experiences, everyday objects, and observations of human behaviour, particularly through the lenses of sociology and psychology. I am fascinated by the meanings we attach to objects, the way we interact with them, and how something ordinary can become a starting point for questioning social norms.

My work often begins with a question rather than an answer. I want to challenge people’s perceptions and invite them to look at familiar things differently, without necessarily telling them what to think.

Colour is part of this process, but I am equally interested in the construction of a garment, its volume, and the way materials can be manipulated. I particularly enjoy working with striped jersey, exploring how it can be distorted, transformed, and used to create unexpected shapes.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you will be showed at Vancouver Fashion Week FW27

My collection is called Levez-vous, a title that plays with the paradox at the heart of the collection. It speaks from a position I have inhabited my entire life, but its message is not limited to me. Sitting is universal. We all sit, and at some point, we all have to sit. We sit for different reasons, in different ways, and in different bodies. It is an ordinary, universal position, yet the way we occupy it can become a source of difference, judgement, or exclusion.

This collection explores that contradiction and questions how we perceive disability, the body, and what is considered normal. Why can the same position be perceived so differently depending on who occupies it? What once made me feel separate is, in fact, something deeply shared.

Through object-inspired silhouettes, volume, and the transformation of everyday forms into garments, I want to approach these questions with both seriousness and humour. My aim is to make the familiar feel strange and the serious feel playful, creating clothes that invite curiosity and conversation without targeting a specific audience. Ultimately, I want people to feel welcome in my clothes, while leaving room for them to draw their own conclusions.

You can expect a collection that explores the relationship between clothing, the body, and space through jersey, knitwear, draping, volumes, and evolving silhouettes. The chair is a central symbol, representing rest, work, connection, limitation, and freedom.

Do you have a favourite look in this collection?

I would say the sofa dress. It is funny, direct, and almost impossible to misunderstand, which is exactly what I love about it. It takes an everyday object and transforms it into something unexpected, blurring the line between furniture and clothing.

It was also technically very challenging to make, which makes me appreciate it even more. I love when a design can communicate an idea immediately while still requiring a great deal of thought and experimentation to bring it to life.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

I am not selling my designs just yet, but I hope to introduce a made-to-order model soon. I want to take the time to develop the right approach to production while staying true to the ideas and values behind my work.

What’s next for you as a designer and your brand?

My main focus is on developing the production side of my brand, gaining more visibility, and building recognition for my work. I want to find ways to bring my designs to a wider audience while preserving the experimental nature of my practice.

I also hope to explore menswear, which is a territory I have wanted to venture into for a long time. I see it as another opportunity to question established codes around clothing, identity, and the body, and to continue exploring the boundaries of what fashion can be.

Links -

Website - www.nayaahdab.com
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/nayaahdab/
Contact - naya_dab@nayaahdab.com

Grace: A Memoir by Grace Coddington (Audio book)

2026-10-21T06:10:11.331-07:00

Coddington shares a mix of stories from her personal life side-by side with stories from her long professional career in fashion.

Synopsis -

Beautiful. Willful. Charming. Blunt. Grace Coddington’s extraordinary talent and fierce dedication to her work as creative director of Vogue have made her an international icon. Known through much of her career only to those behind the scenes, she might have remained fashion’s best-kept secret were it not for The September Issue, the acclaimed 2009 documentary that turned publicity-averse Grace into a sudden, reluctant celebrity. Grace’s palpable engagement with her work brought a rare insight into the passion that produces many of the magazine’s most memorable shoots.

With the witty, forthright voice that has endeared her to her colleagues and peers for more than forty years, Grace now creatively directs the listener through the storied narrative of her life so far. Evoking the time when models had to tote their own bags and props to shoots, Grace describes her early career as a model, working with such world-class photographers as David Bailey and Norman Parkinson, before she stepped behind the camera to become a fashion editor at British Vogue in the late 1960s. Here she began creating the fantasy “travelogues” that would become her trademark. In 1988 she joined American Vogue, where her breathtakingly romantic and imaginative fashion features, a sampling of which appear in this book, have become instant classics.

Grace will introduce listeners to the colorful designers, hairstylists, makeup artists, photographers, models, and celebrities with whom Grace has created her signature images. Grace reveals her private world with equal candor—the car accident that almost derailed her modeling career, her two marriages, the untimely death of her sister, Rosemary, her friendship with Harper’s Bazaar editor-in-chief Liz Tilberis, and her thirty-year romance with Didier Malige. Finally, Grace describes her abiding relationship with Anna Wintour, and the evolving mastery by which she has come to define the height of fashion.

Review -

I didn't grow up around fashion. We were low income and our focus was on getting by. So it was interesting when I fell into interviewing people in the fashion world for a few magazines, and then co-owning a local fashion magazine, I quickly realized how little I knew about history of the industry, so have been working my way through memoirs by those - like Grace Coddington - who have had a long career, and fabulous stories.

Like others I have read, this one is really two books mixed together. In parts she shares her personal stories outside the fashion world - where she was born, what her childhood was like, how she entered the fashion world, personal stories from her time as a model/editor/creative director, marriages, her beloved cats and more. She writes beautifully, so I felt I was right there along with her.

The other part of the book is all taken from her decades in the fashion world. There are lots of insider stories and short tales from her work with a wide range of professional photographers, makeup artists and more. She gives behind the scenes looks at what is was like to work in the publishing industry, including Vogue, and shares some of the quirks of many of the talented artists she dealt with. There are photo shoot stories - both favorite shoots that went well along with those that slid out of control. I simply skipped over all the names as I didn't know them, and focused on the story told.

If you are interested in looking back on the fashion world starting at a time when models did their own hair and make-up, or if you know all the famous names and want to hear more about them, then you'll find this a great read. I loved this as an audio book as hearing Grace tell her story brought it alive for me.

Buy the Book: Amazon US ~ Amazon CA

Meet the Author -

Grace Coddington is a Welsh fashion stylist, former model, and the former creative director at-large of American Vogue She is the author of several books. and an illustrator (mostly for her own pleasure). She lives in New York City and Long Island with her partner, Didier Malige, and their two cats, Bart and Pumpkin.

Connect: Art+Commerce ~ Instagram

Easy Chicken Balti

2026-10-16T11:02:24.960-07:00

How can anyone who has to get a meal on the table every day not love an all-in-one dish whether slow cooker, sheet pan, or one pot. I was reading a fiction book and one of the characters was enjoying a dish called Chicken Balti. Out of curiosity, I paused to look up what that was.

What I learned was Chicken Balti is a fast-cooked, vibrant British, Indian-inspired mild curry made with tender chicken, fresh tomatoes, onions, garlic, ginger, bell peppers, and spices served with rice or naan. Okay, it sounded interesting and well worth a try.

After searching a bit I decided to go with an easy recipe from a site called Easy Peasy Foodie. The only change I made was to substitute an orange or yellow bell pepper for the green. Just not a fan of green bell peppers. While I have no idea how traditional this recipe is, I loved that it came together easily, had a nice milder flavor as my husband doesn't enjoy a strong curry, and it looked delish. I didn’t have any naan, so served it with rice this time.

Never tried Balti before either? This is an easy recipe to start with it. If you enjoy it too, you can explore more options on how to amp it up. If you want more heat, I would start by increasing the dried chili flakes. Enjoy!

= = = =

Easy Chicken Balti

Ingredients -

1 T                  Olive oil
600g               Chicken breast cut into bitesize pieces
1                   Sweet onion sliced
2 cloves          Garlic crushed or grated
1 cm               Fresh ginger peeled and grated or minced
½ tsp              Dried chilli flakes (or to taste, see Note 1)
1 tsp              Ground cumin
1 tsp          Ground coriander
1 tsp              Smoked paprika
2 tsp              Garam masala
400g can         Chopped tomatoes
200 ml               Water (use the empty tomato tin to measure this - ½ tin=200ml/7oz)
1                   Red Bell pepper, diced.
1                       Orange or yellow bell pepper, diced (the recipe said Green but no my fav)
Salt and pepper to taste
2 T                  Fresh cilantro, roughly chopped - plus extra for garnish

Instructions -

Place the oil in a large non-stick frying pan, over a high heat, for 1 minute. Add the chicken breast pieces and fry for 3 minutes, until nicely browned, but not quite fully cooked. Remove to a plate, together with all the juices.

Turn the heat right down and place the pan back on the heat. Add the sliced onion and gently fry, stirring frequently, for 2 minutes. Add the garlic, ginger, chilli flakes, cumin, coriander, paprika and garam masala, and gently fry, stirring frequently, for 1 minute. Add the tinned tomatoes, water, chopped peppers, salt and pepper to the pan and stir.

Turn the heat up high and bring to the boil. Then turn down and simmer for 10 minutes. After 10 minutes, add the part-cooked chicken pieces and cook on low for a further 10 minutes, checking occasionally to make sure it’s not getting dry. (If it gets too dry, simply add a splash more water and stir.) Finally, turn off the heat and stir in the fresh cilantro).

Garnish with extra fresh cilantro leaves and serve with pilau rice and naan bread.

Best in Murder (A Mac Faraday Mystery Book #15) by Lauren Carr

2026-10-14T04:00:00.000-07:00

One Collar. Two Dead. Total Chaos.

Synopsis -

When a priceless platinum-and-diamond collar vanishes at the Mid-Atlantic Classic Kennel Club Invitational—Best in Show at the Spencer Inn, it looks like the ultimate high-society theft. But when two women connected to the glittering event are murdered in quick succession, the case explodes into something far more deadly.

Mac Faraday and his troublemaking German Shepherd, Gnarly, dive headfirst into the glamorous, cutthroat world of championship dog shows. Amidst perfectly groomed champions worth small fortunes, ruthless competitors, and million-dollar egos, the trail leads to a missing Irish Wolfhound whose value goes well beyond his blue-blood pedigree.

As tensions rise between Spencer PD and the county sheriff’s office, Mac’s team races to untangle a web of greed, betrayal, and long-buried secrets—all while the elegant resort descends into delightful canine chaos. With show dogs of every shape and size turning the Spencer Inn into their personal playground, Gnarly does what he does best: stir up trouble and sniff out the truth.

Fast-paced, laugh-out-loud funny, and packed with four-legged mischief, Best in Murder proves that in the high-stakes world of Best in Show, the biggest prizes come with the deadliest risks.

Review -

This is the 15th book in the Mac Faraday series by mystery writer Lauren Carr, and in my opinion, the best so far. Her years of experience writing over 30 mystery titles have honed her skills to a high level. The plot is extremely complicated, but flows smoothly. The characters come alive, I can see them in my head as I read. While the story is full of danger and police sleuthing, it keeps from going too dark with a welcome touch of humor tucked in here and there - often the result of the shenanigans of Gnarly, an enormous, extremely intelligent German Shepherd who is also the mayor of the town, and a band of local kids.

The setting for Best in Murder is a prestigious dog show being held at luxurious Spencer Inn owned by Mac Faraday. Pedigreed dogs, rich owners, cutthroat competition, enormous egos, several murders, a stolen diamond dog collar, a missing Irish Wolfhound show dog, a disgruntled cop, and a criminally inclined biker with a vicious poodle all come together in this tale. As each new element dropped in my lap, I was pulled in further until it was impossible to put the book down. I consumed it.

While all of these books stand alone as a complete story, if you haven't read any of this series before, I suggest you start at the beginning. I have read them all.

Buy the Book: Amazon US ~ Amazon CA

Other book reviews for this author -
It's Murder My Son HERE!
Killer Deadline HERE!
The Nutcracker Conspiracy HERE!
The Last Thing She Said HERE!
Spring Thaw HERE!
Crimes Past HERE!
Murder by Perfection HERE!
ICE HERE!
TwoFer Murder HERE!
A Fine Year for Murder HERE!
Killer in the Band HERE!

The Murders At Astaire Castle HERE!
Candidate for Murder HERE!
Cancelled Vows HERE!
Kill and Run HERE!

Shadow of Murder HERE!

Chris Crossed Murder HERE!

Shadows of the Missing HERE!

Meet the Author -

2022 interview HERE!
2015 interview with author journey HERE!

Lauren Carr is the author of over thirty acclaimed mystery novels, with more than half a million copies sold worldwide. Her fast-paced series—the Mac Faraday Mysteries, Chris Matheson Cold Case Mysteries, and more—blend twists, suspense, humor, and unforgettable characters (including clever German shepherds!). It's Murder, My Son organically hit #1 in Mystery on Amazon, and her books consistently rank in the Top 20 Police Procedurals in the US and international markets.

A popular speaker and publishing consultant, Lauren lives on a mountain in Harpers Ferry, WV, with her husband and two spoiled rotten German shepherds. Book reviewers and readers rave about Lauren’s seamless genre-crossing into mystery, suspense, crime fiction, police procedurals, romance, and humor.As owner of Acorn Book Services and iRead Book Tours, Lauren helps fellow authors navigate publishing. She’s a frequent speaker at schools, conventions, and youth groups.

Follow her adventures (and the dogs!) on Instagram @TheMysteryLadie and join the Mystery Club newsletter for exclusive stories!

Connect: Website ~ Instagram ~ Facebook ~ LinkedIn ~ Youtube

Vancouver Fashion Week FW27 interview w/ Fashion Designer Myriam Jean-Louis of MJL

2026-10-12T11:02:31.193-07:00

MLJ will be showing their latest collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 on Friday, Oct. 16th. Tix purchase HERE!

Bio -

There are designers who follow fashion, and there are those who invent a new category. Myriam Jean-Louis belongs to the second group: she places Bakoua, a vernacular material of Caribbean basketry, at the heart of her creative vocabulary.

Born in Guadeloupe and raised between Martinique and Paris, she grew up in contact with major fashion houses, Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, and the bridal gown ateliers of the Parisian show-business world. The last protégée of Monsieur Antoine Nisas, the first Black couturier admitted to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture, she established her MJL label in Strasbourg in the late 1980s.

In 1993, she presented a collection at Espace Cardin under the guidance of Monsieur Pierre Cardin in Paris. In 2000, she established a factory and a luxury boutique in Tunisia, before returning to settle in Martinique in 2005. Since then, she has pursued the same mission: to gain recognition for Caribbean Haute Couture alongside European and African fashion, and to give Bakoua, coconut cloth, and calabash the status of noble materials in Haute Couture.

Interview -

Tell us a little about your background and what led you to make fashion design your profession.

I was born in Guadeloupe and grew up between Martinique and Paris. From a very young age, I was surrounded by the major fashion houses: Printemps, Galeries Lafayette, and the bridal gown workshops in the Parisian show business district. I first observed fashion closely, then I experienced it firsthand.

I presented my first collection in Strasbourg in 1986. It was called "Bo Kay," with a tropical garden theme, and it was entirely hand-painted. Afterwards, I held a fashion show at Espace Cardin, under the patronage of Pierre Cardin. In 1993, I won the Best Young Fashion Designer competition sponsored by Paco Rabanne. I opened a showroom and then an MJL boutique in Strasbourg. Later, I established a garment factory and a luxury boutique in Hammamet, Tunisia.

In 2005, I returned to put down roots in Martinique. One day, someone told me, "We know European fashion, we know African fashion. But not Caribbean fashion." That sentence became my mission. It's what drove me to create the Afro-Caribbean Fashion Association and the AFRO.K competition. Since 2018, it has also guided my work with Bakoua.

How did you acquire your skills?

I learned in the workshops, through hands-on experience. I was fortunate enough to train alongside Monsieur Antoine Nisas, the first Black couturier admitted to the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. He instilled in me a commitment to meticulous cutting, finishing, and high-quality workmanship. The rest I developed through experimentation, especially with fabrics. No one taught me how to transform Bakoua into a couture textile; I had to invent that expertise myself.

How would you define yourself as a designer? Your aesthetic? Your clientele? Your brand identity?

I define myself as a Caribbean Haute Couture designer. My idea is simple: our materials have their place alongside silk or velvet. Bakoua, coconut canvas, and banana leaves have long been relegated to the realm of crafts. I transform them into noble materials.

My aesthetic combines Martinican craftsmanship, such as basketry and weaving, with a touch of fine jewelry, using Swarovski crystals. I create unique pieces and complete sets, with matching accessories and jewelry.

MJL is a recognizable signature in its cuts, shapes, and colors. It's entirely handmade, from raw fiber to finished piece, and has a strong message: to assert a distinct Caribbean fashion identity.

What comes most naturally to you? What is most difficult?

What comes most naturally to me is the dialogue with the material. I look at a fiber and I already see a silhouette.

The most difficult part is the time. I hand-dye all my white and silver pieces, strap by strap. It's the longest and most delicate step. But it's also this time that gives the piece its value. The other difficulty is recognition. It's still necessary to convince people that Caribbean fashion has its place in international Haute Couture.

Where do you find your inspiration? What role does color play?

I draw my inspiration from our roots: our traditions, our gestures, our women, our rhythms. Martinique is an inexhaustible source.

Color always originates from the material. I work with the natural palette of Bakoua: the tanned fiber, then hand-dyed. White, gold, and silver require the most work, since each strip is dyed individually. For me, color isn't simply applied to the garment. It arises from the fiber itself.

Readers would love to hear a little about the collection you will present at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27.

The collection is called "Back to Our Roots." It's a return to our foundations. It revisits the figure of the "tété-négresse," the Caribbean nurturing woman. The bustier silhouettes symbolize femininity and the power of nurturing.

You'll also hear the bèlè and the drum, our traditions of dance and rhythm. As for materials, Bakoua is of course featured. I'm also presenting a new technique: a starched fabric that takes on the appearance of parchment. It's a story told through fabric, from raw fiber to exceptional piece.

It is also a historic moment, as it is the first time a designer from Martinique has shown at Vancouver Fashion Week.

Do you have a favorite outfit from this collection?

If I had to choose just one, it would be the strapless silhouette in white and silver Bakoua, "the bride" »

Where can readers purchase your creations?

Ready to wear can be purchased on the website in the MJL shop. You can also reach out to me through any of the links before for more information, or for custom orders

What are your plans for the future?

My goal remains the same: to have Caribbean couture recognized by the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. Vancouver is a step, not an end. I want to continue exploring new textures, from weaving and braiding to banana leaves. I also want to showcase Martinique on other international runways.

A documentary is currently being filmed about this adventure, produced by Kairochi Netwo

Links -

Website - www.myriamjeanlouis.com
Instagram - @myriamjeanlouisofficiel
Facebook -www.facebook.com/styliste972/
WhatsApp - +596 696 01 77 64
Behance - www.behance.net/myriamjeanlouis-mjl
LinkedIn - www.linkedin.com/in/myriam-jean-louis-117a961b3/

Your Inner Library

2026-10-12T04:00:00.000-07:00

I came across the idea of an inner library on a poster going down my Facebook feed. What is said was powerful. Unfortunately I see it shared everywhere, but haven't been able to discover who wrote it first to credit. If you know, let me know.

"I learned something very beautiful today. In French, bibliothèque intérieure means your inner library, the invisible shelf you carry inside filled with every story that's ever shaped you. All the books you've loved, the heartbreaks you've survived, the random quotes that stuck, the memories that built you. They all live there, quietly reminding you of who you are and how far you've come."

As I was reading it, images were rising in my mind. Memories flooded in of reading, watching something, talking with a friend, doing an interview, unexpected AHA moments, and sometimes just random thoughts arising as I walked along the river. All my life I have been intrigued by people's stories but haven't really been able to explain it or say why listening to someone share literally gives me goosebumps. I think this quote nails it.

When we sit with each other and share, we are opening our inner library to another. It is like reading a really great memoir, except you aren't alone. You can feel their energy and their emotions and their passion bring the story they are sharing alive. I know how easy it is to just tell the facts, whether when writing or speaking. But when you sit face to face over a cuppa and just talk, something magical happens.

Looking at all the elements listed above that have shaped who I am today brings a smile. I love the idea of thinking of them as a book I am writing within, instead of in the outside world. And the last chapter will be finished, the last page turned, only when I finish my journey in this world. Until I take my last breath, there will always be new pages written.

One image I was given in an interview years ago was of all of us having pieces of gold, bits of wisdom, in our pockets. As we move through life we can share these pieces of gold with others to help lift them up. They can also share their gold with us in our time of need. Now I have an added new image. There is also a library within me of chapters from every moment of my life up to this one. It isn't until the end it will come together as a book. Until then, I can read to others from the chapters already finished when asked to - offering them something hopefully of use - a bit of wisdom they need to move forward, support in a low moment, or even ideas to consider as they problem solve.

All of this, of course, is offered to me by others. All of this I freely offer to others in return. But I do add one special gift where appropriate and welcome - a big, giant, mothering hug. I started this somewhere in my early fifties. Not everyone wants one and that is fine. But when they do, it connects the two of us in a moment of mutual kindness. It is a gift we offer each other. In that moment the world disappears. The struggles disappear. We simply pause and enjoy a moment calm connection. Joyous.

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 interview w/ Fashion Designer Chloe Duncan of CLDCMNTY

2026-10-10T04:00:00.000-07:00

CLDCMNTY will be showing their latest collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week on Friday, Oct. 16th. Purchase tix HERE!

Bio -

Born and raised in North Vancouver, BC, CLDBOY studied fashion design at Blanche Macdonald Centre in Vancouver. They launched their edgy streetwear brand CLDCMNTY (“Cold Community”) during summer of 2025. Shortly after, CLDBOY was awarded with the VFW award by Blanche Macdonald to debut a collection–LMFAO– at Vancouver Fashion Week FW26.

CLDCMNTY is more than just streetwear —it's a movement. Born through community, CLDCMNTY represents the outsiders, the ones who move without a care and speak through style. We reflect the relentless energy of those who chase their passion, hustle with purpose, and stay grounded in their roots.

Interview -

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

Growing up I would say I was a bit of a “Jack of all trades.” My life revolved around academics and athletics. Art was always a hobby or side obsession of mine, however I hadn’t ever truly considered the possibility of pursuing any art until University applications came around. In my soul I knew that path wasn’t for me and I felt very stuck.

It wasn’t until a friend mentioned how much I loved fashion and she asked me if I had ever considered pursuing it. After that conversation it was like the biggest puzzle piece in my life clicked together and that night I applied to Fashion school. I have been working incredibly hard ever since.

How did you learn your skills?

All my design skills come from studying fashion design at Blanche Macdonald Centre. I went into the program in 2023, not knowing how to sew. I finished the program in 2024 with a portfolio and a graduation collection of two looks.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

I move with intention quiet in presence, loud in energy. I build in the background, create when no one’s watching, and stay grounded when life shifts. I’m not chasing validation I’m chasing change.

My design style is very intuitive. Rather than designing as whole or focusing on the concept as one, I design each look completely separately from one another. I have spent many days and nights studying my own aesthetic which has lead me to trust my intuition when designing. So you could say I don’t see my designs as a whole until they hit the runway. But I know I can trust my design skills and aesthetic to connect everything as one. Each piece or look is an art piece in itself and my collection is a museum.

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

I have a very analytical and logical brain. I thrive with numbers and structure however sometimes that puts my own brain in a box. I love the pattern making process as well as the sewing process. I am a very hands on person so all of the laboured work is easiest for me.

Designing on the other hand has always been my struggle. I have always considered myself an artist, not a creative. I don’t sketch my designs, I simply take notes of what I want. The designing process for me is always the hardest and longest process of making a collection.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your design process?

All of the inspiration for my collections come from music, pop culture, and my own life experiences. I interpret the sound of my favourite songs into what I think they would look like physically. I often imagine celebrities or public figures wearing my looks while I sew them, which inspires a lot of the details. I am also my own inspiration. I analyze my thoughts and life patterns creating characters for each. I personify my intrusive thoughts and take what they say and twist them into art.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you will be showing at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27.

My second collection - 12;10 - is inspired by the study of numerology and astrology. I broke down the characteristics of each number 1 through 12 as well as every zodiac sign and combined each meaning with its corresponding number placement. I then compared the stereotypes to the way I interpret each sign and combined both to create the designs for each look. Some are direct references to the zodiac and some I have connected to movie/tv characters or things I deem similar to the sign.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

My favourite look changes each day, however I often find myself gravitating the most towards look 7, Libra. It features an A-line gown with exaggerated sleeves made from cotton khaki. My dear friend Shannon, @maddefensive, an amazing artist painted the dress for me. I can’t wait for the world to see it.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

Readers can inquire about purchasing designs through my brand email at cldcmnty@gmail.com

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

Up next for CLDCMNTY after VFW SS27 is flying across the water to the capitol of fashion. Thanks to Global Fashion Collection CLDCMNTY will be showing a collection next season's AW27 at Paris Fashion week.

In closing is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

Believe in yourself and your dreams will come true. :)

Links -

Website - www.cldcmnty.com
Instagram Brand - @cldcmnty
Instagram Portfolio - @cldboyofficial

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 interview w/ Fashion Designer Bella Kim

2026-10-09T09:00:00.000-07:00

Bella Kim will show her latest collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 on Sunday, October 18th. Purchase tix HERE!

Bio -

Born in South Korea and shaped by a life across shifting borders, Bella Kim is a New York-based designer redefining fashion through material reclamation. She synthesizes global sensibilities, weaving diverse cultural motifs into a singular, sophisticated aesthetic. By fusing historical remnants with experimental fabrication, she finds beauty within the decay. Her practice acts as a conduit between artisanal tradition and high-tech evolution, transforming neglected relics into wearable art for the contemporary.

Inspired by the Titanic, this collection fulfills the unfinished 1912 voyage to NYC. The collection utilizes 100% recycled fabrics, transforming scraps into intricate trims. Vintage clothing, discarded sails, linen tablecloths, and deadstock fabrics were repurposed then integrated into a pivotal silhouette. Through staining and crystallization, it captures "defiant beauty" within decay.

Reimagining Edwardian silhouettes for today, the collection proves that the elegance of those lost souls has finally arrived. Bella Kim envisions these garments being worn by women who, like herself, crossed borders with hope in search of a new beginning in New York. Inspired by the untold stories of women who were meant to arrive from London in 1912 but whose journeys were tragically left unfinished, her collection reimagines their resilience through fashion. As the culmination of her studies at Parsons, the collection serves as both a tribute to those lost dreams and a celebration of every woman courageous enough to begin again.

Interview -

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

From a young age, I always tried to express myself and my feelings through garments. Seeing the John Galliano fashion shows on TV when I was young truly inspired me to create art through fashion, and that spark made me realize this was the path I wanted to dedicate my life to.

How did you learn your skills?

I self taught all my drawings and fashion sketches, but I learned how to sew, construct, and pattern make at Parsons School of Design in New York, where I majored in and graduated with my degree in Fashion Design. I also learned technical skillsets used in the actual fashion industry through hands on internships.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

My name is Bella (Gyuri) Kim, and my brand philosophy is based on classic elegance with a modern take. I take discarded fabrics and transform them into couture like pieces through creating silhouettes and textures that show the literal passing of time. People often think classical styles are outdated, but I want to prove that things get even more beautiful after time has passed. I try to honor what has been weathered, give new life, and show the beauty that was concealed inside. My customer is someone who connects with this ethos, appreciating garments that carry history, emotional depth, and intentional sustainability, while standing out as wearable art."

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

The easiest part for me is creating and generating new design concepts. The hardest part is evaluating whether those designs actually tell the exact story I want to showcase and if they properly depict historical accuracy.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is color to your design process?

I find inspiration in historical events, nature, and the human body. Freehand draping and physically constructing garments on the form also lead me to discover new inspiration and ideas organically. Color is deeply important, but I believe vintage and faded colors give more luxury and sentimental value to a piece, so I like to keep my palette mostly muted with purposeful pops of color.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you will be showing at Vancouver Fashion Week FW27.

I am showcasing my graduate collection, Resurrected 1912: The New York Arrival, which is inspired by the Titanic Incident. This collection fulfills the Titanic's unfinished voyage from London to New York, built entirely from discarded materials, recycled fabrics, and vintage clothing, with trims and embellishments made from scraps.

For this collection, I felt a strong personal resonance with the incident as an international student from South Korea coming to New York, so I could imagine how everyone on board was full of hopes and dreams of starting a new life. I wanted to fulfill their dreams as I fulfill mine of graduating from my dream school and launching my career.

I have always been captivated by the beauty of the Edwardian era and all of its glory, believing that the beauty of these garments cannot be erased just because they have deteriorated or been torn apart. To bring back the beauty that should have arrived in New York, I reimagined Edwardian silhouettes and incorporated silhouettes formed through underwater deformation. Through natural staining and crystallization, this collection proves that the beauty they had has finally arrived.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

I cannot choose just one favorite, but my tweed look holds a special place because it was the very first look I created for the collection. Making that piece gave me the spark and inspiration to build out the entire concept.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

It is not available for purchase yet, as these are one of a kind collection pieces, but soon I hope I can expand my work and create ready to wear garments for sale.

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

I want to show the world and myself what I am capable of as a designer, spread my ideals about sustainable craftsmanship, and send a meaningful message through my work. Looking forward, I want to build my career and let people know my story as I grow, preparing for the day I eventually build my own fashion empire.

Links -

Instagram - @bgktangerine
Email - bellagyurikim@gmail.com

Cheesy Hamburger Potato Casserole w/ Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup

2026-10-09T04:00:00.000-07:00

Why do I keep trying so many recipes? To keep me going in the kitchen and cooking from scratch. I go through periods where I am inspired and can create something delish from random ingredients. Unfortunately there are also times when I am not motivated or inspired. Those are the times I recipe scroll until something pops.

This potato and ground beef recipe was a reel posted on a Facebook page called Quotidian Recipes. Plain, simple, and inexpensive recipes like this are what I grew up eating. And or course it used the ubiquitous can of condensed cream of mushroom soup. I had hamburger, I had potatoes, but I never use condensed soups.

What I decided in this moment was I would try this recipe that reminded me what my mom would cook (we didn't have a lot of money, so meals like this stretched the budget), but would also use the experience to find a replacement for the condensed soup I refuse to use. As much as possible I try to cook everything from scratch. Luckily I found a made-from-scratch, super easy replacement on a site called Salad in a Jar. I added this recipe below the casserole recipe. I was intrigued by their site, so I am going to explore it more in the future.

Again, this is a plain, simple old-fashioned casserole, not a gourmet creation. But if you grew up low-income like I did, it just might hit the spot. And if your kids like their food on the simpler side, it could be a hit with them too. Enjoy.

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Cheesy Hamburger Potato Casserole

Ingredients -

1 lb.                     Ground beef
2 lbs.                     Thinly sliced potatoes (I like red, and with skin on. They liked Yukon)
1                     Small onion, diced
2 cloves                  Garlic, minced
1 C                      Diced canned, no salt tomatoes, drained
1 T                          Olive oil
1 tsp                       Paprika
1 tsp             Garlic powder
½ tsp                       Onion powder
¾ tsp                   Salt
½ tsp               Black pepper
1 recipe                  Homemade Cream of Mushroom sub (or 300g cancondensed cream of mushroom soup)
½ C                          Milk (for me this would be skim or almond milk)
½ C                     Beef broth
2 C                          Shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided

Optional - parsley for garnish

Instructions -

Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease a 23 × 33 cm (9 × 13-inch)

Wash and potatoes (I like skin on, but you can peel them.) Slice them about 5 mm thick so they cook evenly,

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground beef and onion. Cook 6-8 minutes, breaking the beef into crumbles, until browned. Drain excess grease. Add garlic, paprika, garlic powder, onion powder, salt, pepper, and diced tomatoes. Cook 1-2 minutes. In a bowl, whisk together cream of mushroom soup or the fresh made sub recipe below, milk, and beef broth until smooth.

Arrange half the sliced potatoes in the bottom of the baking dish, slightly overlapping them. Spread half the beef mixture over the potatoes, spoon over half the soup mixture, then sprinkle with ½ cup cheese. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, beef mixture, and soup mixture.

Cover tightly with foil and bake for 50-55 minutes. Remove foil. Check potatoes with a fork; they should be nearly tender. Sprinkle the remaining 1½ cups cheese evenly over the top. Bake uncovered for 15-20 minutes, until the potatoes are fully tender and the cheese is melted and golden. Broil for 1-2 minutes for a deeper browned top if desired.

Rest for 10 minutes before serving so the casserole sets. Sprinkle with parsley (optional) and serve hot. Refrigerate leftovers for up to 3 days.

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Homemade Condensed Cream of Mushroom Soup (Easy)
Recipe from Salad in a Jar - sub 1 recipe for 1 can cream of mushroom condensed soup

Ingredients -

1 tsp                      Onion powder
2 T                          Cornstarch
1T                          Oil
⅛ tsp                      White pepper
¼ tsp                      Salt
pinch granulated sugar
1 C                      2% evaporated milk
¾ cup                      Fresh mushrooms, sliced

Instructions -

Add the onion powder, cornstarch, oil, white pepper, salt, granulated sugar. amd 2% evaporated milk to a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Add the mushrooms and pulse 2-3 times to chop them.

Pour mixture into a 2-quart bowl. Microwave on HIGH for 3 minutes, whisking after 2 minutes and again at the end. Add 30 seconds more if needed for thickness.

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 interview w/ Fashion Designer Luisa Fernanda Castillo Alzate of Luisa Castillo Studio

2026-10-08T04:00:00.000-07:00

LFC will show their latest collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 on Friday October 16th. Purchase tix HERE!

Bio -

Luisa Fernanda Castillo Alzate is a Colombian fashion designer and a student at Colegiatura Colombiana. Her work seeks to combine innovation, textile experimentation, and conceptual design. She has participated in academic and research projects focused on developing new proposals for the fashion industry. Her brand explores the relationship between art, identity, and the transformation of materials.

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

Fashion has always been a way for me to explore creativity, identity, and the relationship between people and their surroundings. Over time, I realized that fashion design allowed me to bring together my interest in art, materials, and conceptual development. That is why I decided to pursue my professional education in this field and continue building my own creative language through my studies and projects.

How did you learn your skills?

I am currently studying Fashion Design at Colegiatura Colombiana, where I have developed my skills through academic projects, research, experimentation, and hands-on work. My education has allowed me to explore different materials, textile processes, garment construction techniques, and different ways of approaching design from a conceptual perspective.

Who are you as a designer? What is your aesthetic, customer, and brand?

As a designer, I am interested in combining innovation, textile experimentation, and conceptual design. My aesthetic explores the relationship between art, identity, and the transformation of materials.
I am interested in creating garments where the material plays an important role within the concept and can communicate an idea or create an experience. My work seeks to find a balance between the conceptual, the experimental, and what can become a fashion proposal.

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

What I enjoy most and find most natural is developing concepts and turning an idea into a visual and material language. I enjoy researching, experimenting, and finding different ways to communicate an idea through garments.

The most challenging part is taking a concept from the initial idea to a finished garment while maintaining its artistic intention without losing sight of construction, functionality, and balance within the proposal.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your design process?

I find inspiration in nature, art, materials, human behavior, and the relationship between people and their surroundings. For my collection Fitomorfosis, the main inspiration comes from plant life and concepts such as adaptation, transformation, and permanence.

Color is important in my process because it helps create the atmosphere and emotional language of a collection. However, I also consider texture, structure, silhouette, and materials to be essential elements.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you will be showing at Vancouver Fashion Week.

Fitomorfosis emerges from a dialogue between human knowledge and the essence of plant life. The collection reflects on the human ability to recognize life beyond our own existence, to understand it, interpret it, and transform it. The garments interpret the organic structures of life as symbols of adaptation and permanence. The collection combines industrial precision with handmade processes.

One of the main processes in the collection involves working with different layers of laser-cut materials to create volume, depth, and relief. The base is made from natural linen, while the upper layers use leather-like synthetic materials to help create structure and tension within the garments. After the laser cutting process, each opening and edge is manually frayed. This process creates a contrast between technological precision and a more organic, handcrafted transformation.

The collection consists of 12 looks: 4 menswear looks and 8 womenswear looks.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

Honestly, I don’t have a favorite look. I love all of the looks in the collection because each one represents a different part of the overall concept. I really enjoyed the creative process, and I feel that every look has something special that contributes to the collection as a whole.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

My designs can be purchased through my social media. Anyone interested can contact me directly to learn more about the available pieces or to request a personalized design. I can also create each design according to the person’s measurements and needs, making the garment feel more personal and unique.

What’s next for you as a designer and your brand?

I want to continue building my identity as a designer through research, experimentation, and the development of new fashion projects. I also want to continue participating in national and international fashion platforms, developing my brand, and exploring new ways of transforming materials and communicating concepts through fashion.

In closing, is there anything else you’d like to share with readers?

I would like people to see fashion not only as a way of dressing, but also as a tool for communicating ideas, exploring identity, and creating connections between different forms of life.
With Fitomorfosis, I wanted to create a space where technology, craftsmanship, nature, and human creativity could come together through fashion.

Links -

Instagram - @lufashion__20

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 interview w/ Fashion Daphne Charot of XOA

2026-10-07T04:00:00.000-07:00

XOA will show their latest collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 on Sunday, October 18th. Purchase tix HERE!
Biography -

Daphnée CHAROT is a 22-year-old French fashion designer and a graduate of ESMOD Paris’ Bachelor in Fashion Design. Trained in both fashion design and pattern cutting, she is passionate about the architecture of clothing: cut, volume and construction. Drawn to menswear, she specialised in Menswear during her final year at ESMOD, developing her own creative vocabulary and approaching garments as a whole, from sketch to finished piece.

In 2026, she founded XOA, named after her Vietnamese grandmother, who moved to France in the late 1940s and worked as a seamstress at Balmain. The name pays tribute to her family heritage. Primarily a menswear label, XOA proposes a contemporary vision of men’s clothing that combines elegance, originality and wearability: carefully crafted garments, distinctive in their cuts, volumes and choice of fabrics. One guiding principle underpins this approach: clothing should never constrain the wearer, but bring out the best in them.

Her first collection, Back to Black, inspired by Amy Winehouse’s song, exposes the construction of the garment by revealing elements that are usually hidden. Unlined pieces, transparency and construction details become part of its aesthetic. Wool, leather, organza, tweed and denim come together in shades of black, where contrasts in texture and layering create a structured, minimalist aesthetic. Selected as one of ten finalists at the 2025 « Festival International des Créateurs de Mode de Dinan », Daphnée presented eight silhouettes from the collection.

Invited to Vancouver Fashion Week in October 2026, Daphnée will present Frimas, an entirely new second collection of eight silhouettes. Reinterpreting selected codes of 1940s fashion, she breaks away from Back to Black to explore a palette of whites and ecrus, punctuated by shades of brown. This new collection remains true to XOA’s identity: carefully constructed, expressive and deeply personal menswear.

Interview -

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

I have always been drawn to the way clothes are built, not just to how they look. What interests me is the relationship between an idea, a silhouette, a fabric and the way everything comes together through construction.

As I studied fashion, that interest became more precise. I realised that I was especially attracted to menswear because of its structure, its codes and the freedom you can find in reworking them. I like the idea of starting from something familiar and gradually shifting the proportions, the volumes or the details to create something more personal.

Creating Back to Black was probably the moment when everything became more concrete for me. It was the first time I really carried a collection from the initial idea through to the finished garments. Then, being selected as a finalist at the Dinan festival gave me the opportunity to present that work outside school and see how it was received. That experience gave me the confidence to continue developing my own direction.

How did you learn your skills?

I trained at ESMOD Paris from 2022 to 2025, where I studied both fashion design and pattern cutting. From the beginning, I really enjoyed being able to move between the creative and technical sides of a garment, because for me they are closely connected. During my final year, I specialized in menswear, which allowed me to deepen my understanding of cut, volume and construction while developing my own collections.

I also learned a great deal through hands-on experience. During my six-month internship at Pointneuf, a Paris-based fashion atelier, I worked on fabric preparation and cutting, hand and machine finishing, and quality control for pieces produced for fashion houses and designers. It gave me a much better understanding of the level of precision, organization and technical skill required in a professional workshop.

I am now continuing to develop this technical side of my work at AICP in Paris (Académie Internationale de Coupe de Paris), where I am specializing in menswear pattern cutting.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

As a designer, I am very focused on cut, volume and construction. I like garments that have a strong identity through their proportions, materials or details, but I also want them to remain wearable. For me, creativity should not make clothes difficult to live in.

With XOA, I am developing a contemporary vision of menswear built around a balance between elegance, originality and wearability. I am interested in creating pieces that feel distinctive without becoming overly formal or excessive.

I tend to design for people who pay attention to cut, detail and individuality, and who want clothes with personality while still being able to wear them naturally in everyday life.

Pattern cutting is also central to my approach. I do not see fashion design and construction as separate stages: they constantly influence each other, and this dialogue is an important part of the identity I want to build for XOA.

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

What comes most naturally to me is working with silhouettes, volumes and proportions, and then finding the right construction to bring an idea to life.

What I find more difficult is knowing when to stop. I tend to keep questioning a proportion, a detail or a construction because I always feel there may be another way to improve it. Learning to trust the balance of a garment and make those final decisions is something I am still developing.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your design process?

Inspiration can come from many different places. It may start with an image, a reference, a detail that catches my attention, an old drawing, or sometimes simply a fabric, its texture or the way it falls. I do not necessarily begin with a complete concept. I often develop an idea progressively, moving from a first visual impression to a silhouette and then to the way the garment can actually be constructed.

Colour is important, but it does not always come first in my process. I tend to think initially about silhouette, volume, proportion and material, and then colour helps define the atmosphere of the collection and reinforce its identity.

Frimas is a good example. After the almost entirely black palette of Back to Black, I deliberately wanted to move in a very different direction, exploring whites and ecrus with shades of brown, while introducing touches of olive green and tartan through the linings. That change of palette helped create a completely different mood while still remaining true to XOA.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you will be showing at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27.

The collection I will present in Vancouver is called Frimas. It is my second menswear collection and consists of eight entirely new looks.

The name “Frimas” is a French word that evokes the first cold days, frost and wintry mist. That atmosphere is reflected in the collection through a pale palette of whites and ecrus, punctuated by shades of brown, with touches of olive green and tartan appearing in the linings.

The collection is inspired by 1940s fashion, but rather than reproducing the period literally, I wanted to reinterpret some of its codes in a contemporary way. You can see this in elements such as high-waisted pleated trousers, broad shoulders, a fitted trench coat, adjustment tabs and trouser turn-ups.

In terms of materials, I worked with wool, leather, denim and gabardine. Rounded volumes, reworked proportions and contrasts in texture create a visual thread throughout the collection. Above all, I wanted the clothes to feel distinctive, but also genuinely wearable.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

I have several favourite looks in the collection, but if I had to choose one, it would be the look that closes the show: the gabardine trench coat with its tartan lining, paired with jeans also made from gabardine.

What I particularly like about this look is the way the tartan plays with the idea of what is hidden and what is revealed. It appears in the carefully finished lining of the trench, on the reverse side of the trench belt and as a bias detail on the turn-up of the pants. These elements are not immediately visible all at once, but they gradually reveal themselves through movement and closer attention.

For me, this look brings together several elements that define Frimas: references to the 1940s, attention to construction, contrasts in texture and detail, and the idea of creating something distinctive while still being genuinely wearable.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

XOA is still at an early stage of development, so the collections are not currently available through retail distribution. At this stage, I am continuing to learn, develop my technical skills and refine the identity of the brand while working on new collections and future projects.

Anyone interested in the pieces, collaborations or upcoming developments can contact me directly through my website, Instagram or by email.

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

My priority is to keep learning and strengthening my technical skills. I have recently started a one-year programme at AICP in Paris, specialising in menswear pattern cutting, which allows me to build further on what I developed at ESMOD and through my workshop experience.

I also want to continue gaining professional experience, discovering different ways of working and learning from people with more experience in the fashion industry.

At the same time, I want to keep developing XOA through new collections and projects, gradually refining its identity and exploring how the brand can evolve. I am not trying to rush that process. I would rather let it grow through the experience, encounters and opportunities that come along the way.

In closing is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

Presenting Frimas at Vancouver Fashion Week is a very important moment for me. It is both a real opportunity and a great chance to present my work on an international stage, and I see it as an exceptional experience at this point in my journey.

Creating an entirely new eight-look collection in just a few months has been a real challenge, but also an opportunity to push myself further and clarify what I want to express through XOA.

I am especially looking forward to seeing how the collection is received by an international audience. At this stage of my journey, every reaction, conversation and piece of feedback is valuable because it helps me keep learning, questioning my work and moving forward.

Links -

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 interview w/ Fashion Designer Emma Ireland Shepherd of Emma Ireland Designs

2026-10-06T04:00:00.000-07:00

Emma Ireland Designs will be showing their latest collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 on Saturday, Oct. 17th. Tix purchase HERE!

Bio -

Educated at the renowned Fashion Institute of Technology in New York City and Blanche Macdonald Centre in Vancouver, Emma Ireland Shepherd has built a career that combines fashion design, technical development, and education. Alongside her work within the fashion industry and as an instructor at VCAD and technical developer for the brand Aisle, Emma continues to develop her independent label, Emma Ireland Designs. Incorporated in 2019, the brand is an outlet for creative self-expression grounded in strong technical design, craftsmanship, and a distinctly female perspective.

The Emma Ireland Designs aesthetic is best described as hyper-femininity presented with unapologetic confidence. The brand embraces the visual language of girlhood and traditionally feminine craft, using colour, texture, embellishment, and playful details to explore the realities of womanhood. Taking a girly inspiration and using it to ignite a sense of liberation, Emma Ireland Designs is for the rage-filled feminist who still wants to wear the pretty dress. The clothing celebrates femininity not as something passive or performed for others, but as something powerful, complex, and worthy of taking up space.

Following “Love Letter to Girlhood”, Emma’s latest collection, “The Feminine Gaze”, expands upon the brand’s exploration of femininity, this time of that girl all grown up. The collection examines the contradictions inherent in the woman’s experience: softness and anger, beauty and discomfort, vulnerability and defiance. Through playful craftsmanship and colourful designs, “The Feminine Gaze” asks what fashion can look like when women are no longer dressing to be looked at, but instead creating, dressing, and expressing themselves for one another and for themselves.

Interview -

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

Fashion has been the thing I have consistently loved throughout my life. I was drawn to clothing and making things from a really young age, but moving to New York to study at the Fashion Institute of Technology was when it became clear to me that this could actually be my career. Since then, my path has taken me through a lot of different sides of the industry, including design, technical development, education, and program management.

I currently work as Design and Product Innovation Lead at Aisle, while continuing to develop Emma Ireland Designs as my own creative practice. I think having both sides of my career is really important to me. My industry work satisfies the very technical, problem-solving part of my brain where I get to be collaborative, while my own brand gives me somewhere to be completely creative and make things simply because I feel strongly about them.

How did you learn your skills?

I studied at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York, where I received my AAS in Fashion Design, and later completed the Global Fashion Design program at Blanche Macdonald in Vancouver. I also completed the Provincial Instructor Diploma Program for Adult Education at Vancouver Community College, which eventually led me into teaching fashion design and developing curriculum. In teaching fashion courses like sewing and pattern making I learned a lot from my students and coworkers that really expanded on what I learned in school.

My education gave me a really strong technical foundation, particularly in patternmaking, garment construction, technical design, and understanding how clothing is actually made. A lot of my creative development, though, has come from years of experimenting, sewing, making mistakes, working in the industry, and figuring out what feels like me. I am still constantly learning.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

Emma Ireland Designs is hyper-femininity with a bit of a bite to it. I love pink, bows, lace, embroidery, beading, tiny details, exaggerated femininity and anything that feels a little excessively girly. But I am not particularly interested in femininity as something delicate or passive. I am interested in the humour, anger, confidence, friendship, contradictions and shared experiences that exist alongside it. My customer is someone who wants getting dressed to feel personal. She does not necessarily want the most practical or universally appealing thing in the room.

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

Concept and storytelling probably come most naturally to me. I usually know exactly how I want a collection to feel before I know what every garment is going to look like.

The hardest part for me is probably knowing when to stop, although I’m not sure I actually believe in stopping. I love embellishment, layers, trims, texture, colour and tiny handmade details, and I’m a firm believer that if something feels like it needs a bow, a ruffle, some beading and three more charms, it probably does. More is more in my work, and I’ve learned to trust that instinct rather than edit it away. The challenge is less about simplifying and more about making all of those elements feel intentional and like they belong in the same world.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your design process?

Most of my inspiration comes from experiences rather than traditional visual references. I am really interested in womanhood, relationships, nostalgia, female friendship, frustration and all the little experiences women immediately recognize in one another.

Colour is incredibly important to me, I use exclusively warm colours with a strong emphasis on pink and red. Colour is part of the emotional language of not just the collection but the brand itself. I am drawn to colours that feel feminine, nostalgic or slightly playful, but I also like using them in ways that challenge the idea that femininity has to be quiet or tasteful.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you will be showing at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27.

My Spring/Summer 2027 collection is called The Feminine Gaze . It is a continuation of my previous Vancouver Fashion Week collection, Love Letter to Girlhood , but this time that girl has grown up.

The collection looks at the frustrations, expectations and contradictions of being a woman, and what femininity looks like when it is defined from within rather than through the expectations of other people. There is softness and prettiness in the collection, but there is also anger and defiance. I wanted to explore the idea that you can love all of the traditionally "girly" things without performing femininity for someone else's approval.

At its core, The Feminine Gaze is about the pleasure of getting dressed for yourself and for other women. It is the outfit your boyfriend hates and thinks is weird, but another girl compliments you on in the bathroom.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

My favourite is probably the finale look because to me, it really sums up The Feminine Gaze. It features a long, pale pink metallic organza skirt with a silk taffeta corset that has a heart shape patterned into the bust, topped with a cone-shaped princess hat inspired by one my mom made for me for Halloween when I was a kid. It feels like this very exaggerated, romantic childhood idea of what femininity looks like, but I’ve styled it with reading glasses and a book called How to Offend Men . I love the contradiction of it. She looks like the princess I wanted to be as a little girl, but she has grown up, has opinions, and is probably a little less interested in meeting prince charming.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

Emma Ireland Designs currently operates primarily as an independent creative label rather than through traditional seasonal retail. Many of the pieces I create are one-of-one or produced in very limited quantities, with an emphasis on craftsmanship and making something special rather than mass production. Readers can follow the brand and upcoming releases through Instagram at the link below.

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

Right now, my focus is on allowing the brand to grow in a way that still feels personal. I am interested in exploring limited releases, special pieces, collaborations, styling and opportunities to get the work in front of more people without losing the handmade quality that makes the brand what it is.

Professionally, in my role as a designer at Aisle I have become even more involved in the development and manufacturing side of the industry. I think everything I learn through that work inevitably makes me a stronger independent designer as well.

One day in the distant future I would love to have a little store that sells handmade goods and custom clothing from my brand and others that align with the brands identity. I’m 28 years old and recently married and bought my first home so I have lots of time to continue my craft and learn before I start selling people products. In the meantime, Emma Ireland Designs is a passion project with no real objective other than as a creative entity.

In closing is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

I hope people have fun watching this collection. There are definitely serious ideas behind it, but I never want fashion to become so serious that we forget how joyful and ridiculous getting dressed can be. The Feminine Gaze is ultimately a celebration of being one of the girls, being entirely yourself, and wearing the fun dress out to drinks because why not have a little fun?

Links -
Instagram - @emmaireland_designs

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27interview w/ Fashion Designer Leidy Laura Rendón Cardona of Lady Laura Clothing

2026-10-05T08:55:58.651-07:00

Lady Laura Clothing will show their latest collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 on Friday, Oct. 16th. Purchase tix HERE!

Bio -

Leidy Laura Rendón Cardona is a Colombian fashion designer and weightlifting athlete, a combination that has given her a unique perspective on the human body, movement, and clothing. Her design philosophy is based on the idea that human beings grow through spiral movements and processes of fractal transformation, inspiring garments that accompany these physical and mental journeys. Her work moves naturally between commercial and experimental design: she creatively directs her brand, LADY LAURA CLOTHING, while exploring experimental patternmaking as her field of research.

In 2025, she was selected for Colegiatura’s Transmission Balenciaga project, where her Fractal outfit was published by the Cristóbal Balenciaga Museum. From there, her work evolved into the Áurea collection, presented at Colombiamoda 2025, followed by her first commercial brand collection, CORPÓREA, presented at Colombiamoda 2026. What she will present at Vancouver Fashion Week 2026 is a fusion of both: the Fibonacci spiral dressing the body through complexity and experimentation, combined with new techniques emerging from her research into body biomechanics and translated into a more commercial language. A collection that stands by one conviction: movement is the greatest trend.

Interview -

Tell us a little about your journey to choosing fashion design as a career.

I grew up surrounded by fashion. My great-grandmother made quilts from fabric scraps, my grandmother owns a garment workshop that is still operating, and my mother is a self-taught fashion designer and the best dressmaker I know. I grew up watching her make any garment, costume, or dress I imagined possible. Little by little, I understood fashion as a way to speak about myself and who I am, but also as a tool to help other people express and explore themselves.

How did you learn your skills?

I study Fashion Design at Colegiatura, where I have learned about patternmaking, textiles, collection development, and creative direction. My other great teacher has been my mother, Beatriz Cardona. I have learned so much from her, and I continue to do so with every project.

Who are you as a designer? How would you describe your aesthetic, your customer, and your brand?

As a designer, I study how the human body and mind work through clothing. My aesthetic is experimental, maximalist, and structured. LADY LAURA CLOTHING aims to accompany people’s physical and mental movements and is created for those who want to express themselves and explore their identity through clothing.

What comes easiest to you as a designer? What is the hardest?

The easiest thing for me is creating structured and coherent concepts based on life experiences. I enjoy turning those experiences into narratives and collections. The hardest part is making my designs more commercial and able to be sold on a larger scale without losing their essence.

Where do you find inspiration for your new collections? How important is colour in your process?
My inspiration usually comes from analysing my own experiences and studying human behaviour. Colour is very important because it is part of the concept and helps communicate what I want to express through each collection.

Tell us more about the collection you will present at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27.

Biomechanical Spirals is a maximalist collection that finds a balance between geometry and fashion. It explores new structures through garment construction and transforms experimental patternmaking into silhouettes. The patterns originate from the Fibonacci spiral and are combined with research into biomechanics and body movement.

Do you have a favourite look from this collection?

My favourite is the look that opens the runway show. It was the first one I made, and it represents how complex and, at the same time, enriching this entire creative process has been.

Fractal Fashionfilm

Where can readers purchase your designs?

They can contact my brand directly through Instagram at @ladylauraclothing or through my personal account, @leidy.laura6.
Portfolio: www.leidy-laura-rendon.com

What’s next for you as a designer and for your brand?

My next goal as a designer and as a brand is to enter the French market with my designs and continue developing LADY LAURA CLOTHING internationally.

In closing, is there anything else you would like to share?

I want to recognize my mother, Beatriz Cardona, because she has been a fundamental part of this project. Without her, none of this would have been possible. I would have loved for her to be with me in Vancouver.

Links -

Sitio web - https://www.leidy-laura-rendon.com/
Instagram - @ladylauraclothing and @leidy.laura6
YouTube - www.youtube.com/@LeidylauraRendon

Relax Your Grip

2026-10-05T08:23:20.474-07:00

At every stage of life I seemed to have gripped something tightly. As a child and tween it was holding onto who I was and my beliefs. Being brought up in a family and community that I did not fit into made this oh so important. There was a cost. My self esteem suffered, and my memories are blurry. But I am proud I was able to stay true to who I knew I was deep inside. Gripping tightly during that time was a positive thing, but as I grew into an adult, it was a hard habit to break.

When I became a mother, birthing 3 kids closely together (3-1/2 years from oldest to youngest), I found myself gripping tightly again. I had very little real support other than my husband, and the majority of the women I met through my children weren't a good match. There were a few amazing women who I connected with that became my lifelines, but they were few and far between.

When my kids started getting bullied and suffered with the isolation that brought, I fell apart. I gripped tight - a mother bear always on high alert. The anxiety of trying to shelter them, the worry about the long term effects, trying to work from home, make the meals, and deal with the finances took their toll. Looking back I realize I really needed counselling to find a way to release the heavy stress, but we couldn't afford it. So I gripped tight to my sanity and charged like a bull through it all. Not the best choice for myself or my family, but thankfully we all survived.

Somewhere in my fifties while interviewing, my eyes began to open a bit. While I don't consider myself a perfectionist - housecleaning in particular isn't my forte - I began to realize how tightly I held onto my inner self. I kept people at arm's length, sure that if they knew the real me they wouldn't be impressed. As I dove deeper in to interviewing and writing, I was hard on myself when I didn't think I had done a mediocre job, or made a mistake. A good question to ask at this moment is why being hard on ourselves comes so easy, but being proud of our achievements can feel egotistical.

Interviewing, a couple wonderful mentors, and a growing supportive community that began to build around me changed my life. I wouldn't have gotten there if I hadn't finally understood I needed to relax my grip. I needed to let the real flawed me hiding inside out, and let the real, flawed world that surrounded me in. I learned it was okay to be selective, to choose the right friendships where I felt we had common goals, diverse connections where we rejoiced in our differences, and a wide range of ages to keep me inspired. and from getting in a mental rut.

Unlike other life lessons where I seem to have to keep re-learning them as I let things slip, this one seems to have stayed with me. I don't always feel good about myself, and not everyone likes me, but I have learned to sit in those spaces calmly and work through my feelings. The question I always ask myself when a tough moment arises is if there is anything I need to address in my personal healing or growth that triggered this. If yes, then I try to take action. If no, then I know I need to simply release the feelings and walk away.

How tight are you holding on, and what is it you are grasping? No matter if an emotion, a relationship, a behavior pattern, a job, a belief - if it is meant to be a part of your life, you won't need to cling to it desperately. You also do not need to be always perfect, always right, always well put together, always have a neat and tidy house, always have a great relationship. You are allowed to make mistakes, be messy, to have people who don't approve, and to wallow in the joy of being alive.

Relax into it, and have a great day!

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 Interview with Fashion Designer/Artist Roy Luo

2026-10-03T04:00:00.000-07:00

Roy Luo will be showing their latest collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 on Saturday, Oct. 17th. Tix purchase HERE!

Bio -

Roy Luo is a Canadian designer, based in New York, that views design as a tool to challenge gendered bodies and material culture. Their work is situated in the queer canon, toying with garments at the threshold between art objects and wearables. Their career spans technical design, patternmaking, and material exploration, punctuated by their role as a commercial knitwear designer. They hold an MFA from the Fashion Institute of Technology, along with a Bachelor of Design from Toronto Metropolitan University.

Interview -

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

I've always sort of known I was going to end up in the fashion world! I started sewing as a kid by making doll clothes, and eventually started making my own clothes in high school. I enrolled in fashion school, but the pandemic hit us pretty hard towards the end of my studies and I never felt completely satisifed with my work. Afterward, I worked as a technical designer for a few years. I knew that eventually I wanted to work on my own practice so moving to New York was a big step toward that goal, as was pursuing my MFA.

How did you learn your skills?

I was first self-taught via YouTube, but my undergraduate studies established many of the technical skills I use today. It was also sort of night and day as my Master's degree did not challenge me at all technically, but was rather a good exercise in creative storytelling and branding, a large part of fashion that does beyond the hard skills.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

I like to think of my work as intuitively playful! I usually don’t design around a season or gender in mind, rather story-tell through a funhouse lens. I think kitsch is so crucial to my work and that’s kind of why I think of John Waters as my ideal customer. I like to keep things fun!

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

Having too many ideas at once is always seems problem; I tend to find inspiration everywhere I go, especially in the way I process and build a line through color. The real challenge is always editing and finding what details work well together and what needs to be left out. There's so many good ideas each collection that are better left out just so things can breathe.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your design process?

I usually find inspiration through nostalgia and the mundane, this collection sort of shot off of the bouquet bag I had created in my thesis. I like replicating real objects in these unreal ways, and it was nice to build off the thematic element of roses.

Some Assembly Required

Readers would love to know more about the collection you will be showing at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27.

“Toy Garden” is my sophomore collection where I’m tending to all my creative ideas through play. I thought a lot about the relationship between play and labour, I often treat my creative process as a garden of ideas to be nurtured. It takes a lot of real labour to be a practicing designer, but it never feels like work when it’s framed as a form of play. I also had a lot of deadstock materials left from previous collections that I wanted to interpret in a new way. I see this collection as a regrowth.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

One of my favourite looks is the opening look. Mainly because of the fabric, it took hours to diecut the houndstooth by hand. I also love that it's a backless jacket, especially one that shows off a detail like the spade accessory, which also repeats later on in this collection.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

Some of the three-fingered gloves from both this collection and my previous collection are available on my site (royluoart.com) in limited quantities! Only because I make them myself, I'd love to release more but I wanted to test the demand first.

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

I'd love to figure out a way to scale! Whether that means producing more collections or finding the right supply chains to get more of my work available to wider audiences.

In closing is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

I’m just extremely ecstatic to share my work this season! I haven’t been on a Canadian runway since 2024, so it will be a nice homecoming.

Links -

Website - www.royluoart.com
Instagram - @royluoart

Poetry - I Know You, and Yet....

2026-10-02T04:00:00.000-07:00

Photo by Joshua Sazon on Unsplash

I know you and yet....
by Marilyn R. Wilson

From the first time we chatted

I felt I knew you, although not the details.

There was a feeling of lifetimes together,

Of lesson learned, experiences shared.

The energy of our meeting was powerful,

And intense, and joyous, and overwhelming

I knew you from the first moment, but

With the passing of years, and then decades,

I began to discover your multitude within.

Together we shared life's roller coaster ride -

Tragedies, successes and playful moments.

And each exposed a new facet of your soul.

The lens shifted, hearts' doors opened wider.

Conversations grew deeper and impassioned.

We embraced each other, loved unconditionally

Stood side by side to facing down dark storms

Bravely shouldered each other's heavy burdens

Cried buckets together, laughed until we cried

Our life journeys hold two distinct stories.

The journeys we share that bind us together

We breath the same air, walk the same paths

Know each other as we know ourselves, but

When apart, separate stories are written

The catalyst for lively sharing when next we meet.

I know you, and yet...

Our souls are deep as the ocean

And mysterious as the heavens

It will take a lifetime, maybe more

To discover all your secret thoughts

To know everything that is the sum of you.

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 - Pattern Nation, CLAIRE Upcycled and Jaqke Austdone Collaboration

2026-10-01T04:00:00.000-07:00

Pattern Nation, CLAIRE Upcycled and Jaqke Austdone Collaboration featuring one-of-a-kind, gender-neutral sustainable fashion and wearable art will showing on the runway on Sunday, Oct. 18th, Tix purchase HERE!

About the Collection -

Pattern Nation x CLAIRE UPCYCLED + JAQKE presents a 1 of 1, upcycled, streetwear collection for Vancouver Fashion Week SS27

This collection is inspired by the power of collaboration. These designers all have different journeys, traveling the world to different countries, taking inspiration along the way. The through-line here is the eagerness to create using found materials with artistic talent.

Collection Statement:

This collection, "MEANT 2 B" is a 1 of 1, gender neutral, sustainable fashion collection consisting of bold, colourful, wearable art design and streetwear construction created by Pattern Nation x CLAIRE UPCYCLED + Jaqke. These designers are bringing art to the forefront of fashion and blending in deadstock fabric provided by Fabcycle (Vancouver). Come see how this collection merges original textile design and deadstock fabric sourced in South Africa by Pattern Nation, original designs screenprinted on scrap fabric by CLAIRE UPCYCLED, and conceptual composition by Jaqke Austdone. Be aware, you may feel inspired, tap into your visionary senses and want to wear colour.

Sustainability & Brand Values:

Eco Fashion is the future when it comes to the work of these designers. Using deadstock, scrap, thrifted, vintage, secondhand and donated materials, this work is a sustainable momentum in a world of overflowing landfills. All artwork is original and hand-drawn to then screen printed or applied through different construction techniques that make it unique.

These designers all represent parts of the Queer community, and diversity, self-expression and gender-neutral fashion is a big part of their work. Future Goals. The future of these designers is to continue to elevate the fashion world with their innovation of merging art and secondhand clothing as individual creators as well as a collaborative collective of artists.

Designer Statement:

Pattern Nation, {a slow fashion, sustainable clothing design brand, artist collective and creative platform for colourful humans who creates a world where colour and pattern are part of all aspects of life} and eco fashion brand, CLAIRE UPCYCLED with conceptual designer, Jaqke Austdone {who create 1 of 1, wearable art, with work displayed in the UK and sold across Canada}, are joining forces to collaborate on an entirely upcycled, gender neutral, streetwear, runway collection.

Bios -

Pattern Nation is a slow fashion sustainable clothing design brand, artist collective and creative platform for colourful humans run by cosmic partners and spouses Cyd Eva and Costa Besta and friend and artist Brianna Klassen. We create handmade one of a kind & small run ungendered street wear and accessories, interactive art installations called blobs, visual art and surface pattern designs, fashion films and photography, DJ & live music sets, events, workshops, collaborative projects and more.

Cyd Eva is a queer visual artist, fashion designer, Art Teacher, event producer, dancer, installation artist and surface pattern designer from Coquitlam so-called BC Canada. She has a BFA in visual art from Simon Fraser university, a degree in Fashion Design from Cape town college of fashion design and participated in Durban university of technology’s pattern drafting program. She is the founder of the brand Pattern Nation and designs original art for pattern nation, she sews and creates many of our products and is the inventor of our blobs: interactive play sculptures. Cyd also teaches art and design at Vancouver Community College, Evergreen Arts, & Place des Arts.

Website ~ Instagram

CLAIRE is a queer, multi-media artist who runs CLAIRE UPCYCLED, an eco fashion brand, creating 1 of 1, gender neutral, wearable art streetwear. Creator Claire Scott grew up in Stratford, Ontario with the passion to turn heads and create a difference in the creative world. She has repurposed and upcycled over 2500 articles of clothing, been published in national magazines, won awards for her artist and activist pursuits, and displayed her work internationally.

Website ~ Instagram

Jaqke Austdone is a queer multi-media artist from Vancouver, currently based in the UK. With an education in fashion design and a background in agriculture, Jaqke has found inspiration in the natural world while exploring new avenues of self expression, conceptualizing and reimagining old garments into new creations.

Instagram

Almond Flour & Date Chocolate Cake (no dairy no gluten)

2026-09-30T04:00:00.000-07:00

In addition to my grandson, I have several friends that avoid gluten and dairy. So I am always on the lookout for new recipes. The main meal usually comes together pretty easily, but the dessert can be a challenge. I honestly hardly ever make dessert. In fact I only have one go-to recipe I only make every 3-5 years. Yup. Not often.
Suddenly a new supper get-together was upon me. I needed to come-up with a dessert idea without gluten and dairy so went through all the recipes I had earmarked to try, and decided to go with this chocolate cake offering from The Conscious Plant Kitchen. For once I followed the recipe the way that it was written. I know - surprising.

Then, as she only made suggestions for finishing, I created a simple chocolate drizzle by just winging it. But it you want, she offers a recipe for Vegan Chocolate Ganache on her site. Up to you. I was happy with how I finished it. Note - it is important to use Medjool dates. I found them for a great price at Costco. The dryer generic ones just don't work.

As I thought about how to finish the cake, I discovered a small container of salted caramel cashew-based non-dairy ice cream that hit the mark. I added just a small scoop on the side. The flavours paired really well, so I will use these 2 together in the future. My grandkids are also coming in November, so I will be absolutely making this for them. It really was good.

If you give it a try, be sure and let me know how it turned out.

= = = =

Almond Flour & Date Chocolate Cake (no dairy no gluten)

Ingredients -

1-1/2 C                           Medjool Dates - (do not sub other dates)
1/3 C                               Maple Syrup
1/4 C                              Smooth Peanut Butter
1-1/4 C                        Almond Milk (unsweetened)
2-1/2 C                            Almond Flour
1/2 C                              Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
2 T                                   Flax Meal
1 tsp                               Baking Soda
1 tsp                               Baking Powder

My Dairy Free Chocolate Drizzle -

1 pkg Enjoy Life Semi-Sweet Mini Chocolate Chips (no gluten or dairy) (225g)

1 T Coconut Oil

Small handful of sliver almonds lightly toasted in the oven

Instructions -

Preheat the oven to 350°F (180°C). Line a 9-inch springform round cake pan with parchment paper, on the bottom and on the sides of the pan. Oil the bottom and sides with cooking oil spray. Set aside.

In a bowl, add dates, cover with boiled water, and set them aside for 5 minutes to soften. Drain the dates over a sieve to discard the water. Place the soaked dates in a food processor with maple syrup, peanut butter, and almond milk. Process on medium-high speed until smooth. Add remaining dry ingredients and blend again until a thick, smooth chocolate cake batter forms. Remove the food processor blade, scrape down any batter that sticks to it into the food processor bowl. Use a rubber spatula to transfer the batter from the food processor to the cake pan.

Bake the cake for 55-65 minutes - foiling the top of the pan after 30 minutes to prevent the cake from darkening or burning on top. Insert a toothpick in the middle of the cake to check the baking time. If the toothpick comes out clean or with a little crumb, it's ok. If it's wet, it needs a longer baking time.

Let the cake cool down for 10 minutes in the pan at room temperature, then run a knife around the cake pan to loosen the cake. Open the springform on carefully to release the cake and place on a cooling rack. Let the cake cool down for 2 hours at room temperature before icing or slicing.

While cake is cooling, add the chocolate chips and coconut oil to a small sauce pan and warm gently on low on the stove top, stirring regularly. When smooth, set a side for a few minutes to start cooling, but not too long. With a large spoon drizzle the chocolate back and forth across the cake top, letting it drizzle down the sides. I went around the cake too, adding a little drizzle on the sides where needed. Sprinkle the toasted slivered almonds on top.

Cut in wedges and serve with dairy free ice cream or dairy free whip.

Vancouver Fashion Week SS27 interview w/ Fashion Designer Somaya Ahmadi of Somaya Fashion Studio (Canada)

2026-09-29T04:00:00.000-07:00

Somaya Fashion Studio will be showing their latest collection on the runway at Vancouver Fashion Week on Thursday, Oct 15th. Purchase tix HERE!

Bio

Somaya Ahmadi is an Afghan-Canadian fashion designer and founder of Somaya Fashion Studio, a Vancouver-based womenswear label. A graduate of LaSalle College Vancouver, she creates collections that explore confidence, transformation, femininity, and identity through contemporary design. Her work is distinguished by sculptural silhouettes, considered construction, and a balance of strength and elegance.

Since presenting her work at Vancouver Fashion Week, Somaya has continued to develop her creative voice through projects including the Cashmere Collection 2026 and, most recently, the presentation of her SS27 collection THRESHOLD at New York Fashion Week with Global Fashion Collective.

Through Somaya Fashion Studio, she believes fashion should do more than dress the body—it should give women the confidence to take up space, embrace their presence, and express who they are.

Interview -

Note - Single SS27 runway images: Gorunway.com. Additional images sourced from @somaya_fashionstudio and the VFW website.

Please share a bit about your journey to embrace fashion design as a career.

My journey into fashion wasn't completely straightforward. Growing up in Afghanistan, fashion design didn't really feel like a realistic career path for me. After coming to Canada, I had the opportunity to explore what I actually wanted for myself, and fashion became a way for me to express things that I sometimes couldn't put into words.

Once I started designing, I realized how much I loved being able to take an idea or emotion and turn it into something physical. Over time, it became more than something I enjoyed doing. I knew I wanted to build a career and eventually a fashion house around it.

A lot has happened quite quickly since then. I've had the opportunity to present my work at Vancouver Fashion Week, be featured in Vogue Mexico, participate in the Cashmere Collection 2026, and most recently present THRESHOLD at New York Fashion Week with Global Fashion Collective. Every experience has made me more certain that this is what I want to build my life around.

How did you learn your skills?

I studied Fashion Design at LaSalle College Vancouver, where I learned the technical foundation of design, pattern drafting, sewing, garment construction, and developing a collection from concept to completion.

At the same time, so much of what I know has come from actually doing it. Creating collections, working under deadlines, fitting different bodies, making mistakes, changing designs at the last minute, and seeing my garments move on a runway have taught me things that are difficult to learn in a classroom.

I'm still learning all the time. I don't think there is ever really a point as a designer where you feel like you've learned everything.

Who are you as a designer? Aesthetic? Customer? Brand?

I would describe my aesthetic as feminine, sculptural and confident. I love creating shape around the body, playing with proportion, structure, draping and unexpected details. There is usually something familiar in my designs, but I like changing the proportion or construction so it feels different.

The Somaya woman isn't defined by an age or one particular type of person. I actually really enjoy designing for women at different stages of life. What connects them is confidence. She's someone who wants to be seen, isn't afraid to take up space and uses clothing as part of how she expresses herself.

Ultimately, I want Somaya Fashion Studio to grow into a contemporary fashion house with a very recognizable point of view.

What comes easiest for you as a designer? What is hardest?

Ideas come easiest to me. I can look at a fabric and almost immediately start imagining shapes, details and different ways it could move on the body. Sometimes the final garment ends up completely different from the original sketch because I respond to what happens while I'm making it.

The hardest part is knowing when to stop. I'm always thinking, “What if I change this?” or “What if I add something here?” I can keep developing a garment forever if I let myself. I've had to learn that editing is just as important as creating.

Where do you find inspiration for new collections? How important is colour to your design process?

My inspiration usually starts with an emotion, experience or question rather than a specific visual reference. I think about something I am experiencing personally or something happening around women, identity and society, and then I start looking for a visual language that can communicate it.

Colour is very important, but I don't normally begin by deciding on a colour palette first. The story comes first, and then I think about what colours belong in that world. Sometimes colour is emotional, and sometimes it's there to create tension or change the energy of a silhouette.

Readers would love to know more about the collection you will be showing at Vancouver Fashion Week SS27.

THRESHOLD explores the space between who we have been and who we are becoming. The collection came from a very personal period of transition in my own life—the feeling of standing between something familiar and something completely new.

Architecture became a visual language for that feeling. I looked at archways, curtains, woven forms and structural shapes as symbols of passage and transformation. Throughout the collection, structure and softness exist together, and the silhouettes gradually move toward a greater sense of confidence.

The collection has also had its own journey. THRESHOLD was recently presented at New York Fashion Week with Global Fashion Collective, and bringing it home to Vancouver Fashion Week feels like another chapter of the story.

For me, THRESHOLD isn't really about arriving at a final destination. It's about having the courage to move forward even when you don't completely know what is on the other side.

Do you have a favorite look in this collection?

My favourite is actually the first look of the collection. It’s a black cropped top with a wrapped, sculptural construction paired with low-waisted, voluminous trousers. I love the contrast between the structure of the top and the relaxed shape of the pants.

It also felt like the right look to open THRESHOLD. It introduces a lot of the elements that continue throughout the collection—structure, movement, proportion, and confidence. There’s something very strong about it, but at the same time it feels effortless and wearable. I think it represents my aesthetic as a designer really well.

Where can readers purchase your designs?

At the moment, my pieces are available directly through Somaya Fashion Studio. Because many of my designs involve detailed construction and are produced on a smaller scale, clients can also contact me directly through Instagram for availability and inquiries.

I'm currently working on expanding the retail side of the brand and making the collections more accessible to clients.

What's next for you as a designer and your brand?

Right now, my focus is on turning Somaya Fashion Studio from a young independent label into a sustainable fashion business. I’ve spent the last few years developing and establishing my creative identity. The next chapter is about building the business around that—developing stronger retail opportunities, reaching more clients, building relationships within the industry and continuing to present collections internationally.

My long-term goal is to build Somaya Fashion Studio into a contemporary fashion house while continuing to create work that has something meaningful behind it.
In closing, is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

As an Afghan-Canadian woman, I don't take the opportunities I've been given for granted. There are so many Afghan girls and women who have the talent, ambition and dreams to pursue creative careers but don't currently have the freedom or opportunity to do so.

Somaya Ahmadi | FW26 | Vancouver Fashion Week

That stays with me whenever I reach a new stage in my career. I want to build something meaningful with the opportunities I have, and I hope that as my platform grows, I can use it to continue bringing attention to the voices and stories of women who aren't always given the space to be heard.

Links -

Instagram - @somaya_fashionstudio
Tiktok - @somayafashionstudio

Discover, Learn, Forget, Re-Learn, Repeat

2026-09-28T04:00:00.000-07:00

There is a great big, giant glitch in my learning process. And it's starting to piss me off. I seem to have to keep learning the same lesson over and over. Huge personal shifts came about when I began interviewing and sharing people's stories over 19 years ago. It took a few years to realize what was happening, but I was being changed. I was learning self-acceptance and the joy of being surrounded by diversity just by hearing all those stories. And that changed my life in countless ways.

Next came a nudge from the universe when it dropped an incredible mentor in my lap. I was seated next to her at a writer's get-together and couldn't concentrate as I could literally feel her energy. I was nowhere near as spiritual as she was, had no idea even how to find my chakras, but for I think five years her guidance helped me grow in incredible ways. Then one day I knew it was time to move on. It took me a year to follow through as I knew I would have to be responsible for my own spiritual journey, but I finally stepped away.

Two things have led to life being challenging ever since, and I have slid backwards in so many areas. The first was leaving my mentor whose support kept me on track without a lot of effort on my part. I just didn't fill the empty space with a solid habit or other type of support. I got lazy, and have been paying the price. The second came with the COVID lockdown. I quit doing face-to-face interviews and moved to email Q and A's. There are many things better about the email interviews, but I miss being in a room listening to someone and connecting with their energy.

So the 2 things that helped me grow were no longer there. And it has proven a challenge to take personal responsibility for finding new support or creating new habits and sticking with them. It is so easy to put off exercising, meditating, reading personal growth books, or taking classes. It is easy to procrastinate. What is forgotten when this happen is the pieces of gold I carry in my pocket, wisdom accumulated over time, began to disappear. Life shifts. Inner light dims. Focus is lost, and I have forgotten who I am and why I am here.

Over the last year I struggled. My confidence has been evaporating. While I am able to keep writing, the magic and creative energy was getting harder and harder to connect with. One day I realized how long it had been since I had felt inspired. Then I had to send in a piece of writing for a challenge that I knew just wasn't good enough. It was lacking that special sauce that turns good writing into art. Of course, the first thing the negative inner voice threw out was maybe it's time to walk away. Or in simple terms - you are no longer good enough.

Yesterday I decided it was time to address what was happening. I decided starting the next day, today, I would change how I moved through my day right from the start. I would spend the first few hours with a different outlook. Then I just followed the crumbs. First I decided to read a chapter in a new memoir I had started called Aging Wildly by Linda Edgecombe. There it was. I realized I had let most of the lessons I learned from interviewing and my mentor slip away. I simply quit thinking about them.

Next I checked out what was trending on my blog, and was floored to see an article asking, "What do you want to do with your one wild and crazy life," was getting attention. How strange is that? I read through that article and the universe threw out the same hint yet again. I had forgotten what I already learned. It is time to remember. Time to get my focus back, to move through my days intentionally and embrace the life lessons already in my arsenal. It seems I am stuck in a loop where I discover, learn, forget, and re-learn on repeat. It's time to break the cycle.

While deep in thought, my muse suddenly appeared from out of nowhere and whispered in my ear. It had been so long. I have missed her so. An idea for a poem speaking to what I was feeling arose. I went to the computer and let it flow. Does this mean I know whether I will keep writing? No. What it does offer is in this moment I have found hope that I can get back on the path and follow the signs without expectation. I'll simple let go and see where the future leads me.