5 Awesome Reasons to go to the Spring One of a Kind this weekend in Toronto

As you may know, I never miss the One of a Kind show at Christmas, and I especially love the Spring show :) Why? Because most years it's the first sign of Spring we see, and what better way to celebrate all those little buds on the trees and the tulips starting to pop up than to spend a day surrounded by all the beautiful colours, textures and designs at the One of a Kind show!

Here's a little sneak peek of some of the very talented designers I've been working with recently, who can all be found at the OOAK show this weekend (show runs March 28-April 1 this year, for hours and directions check here)...

Melanie LeBlanc (booth i37) - Melanie grew up on a little island "up north", and her love of rugged natural beauty can be seen in all her unique pieces of jewellery - this is Melanie's first time at the One of a Kind so we hope she has a fantastic time!

Tiny Modernist (booth J23) - designer Cheryl McKinnon uses such amazing fabrics for all her adorable and chic little girls' dresses - this is one of my favourites in her award-winning Overall Dress..

Erin Tracy Designs (booth G9) - Erin will be unveiling her new "Navajo" collection at the Spring show - I love the way these feathers flutter as you move! (I realize this is hard to see in a still picture, so just go get some and see for yourself!)

Mena Dragonfly (booth G21) - ceramic artist Melanie Mena creates a line of clean and simple pieces in the most amazingly perfect shapes. She and her partner have just moved to Prince Edward County where they have bought a B&B, and look forward to serving up many a tasty breakfast on these yummy dishes!

 Jenny Greco (booth L43) - Jenny uses the most exotic nuts and seeds I've ever heard of to create her bold and colourful jewellery - this one has a tagua nut - you have to hold them in your hands to really see  the amazing textures (better yet, try one on!)

I'm so proud to work with all of these lovely and talented designers and look forward to seeing them at the show today :)  If you're in Toronto this weekend, make sure you come check it out too!

{and if you're a designer looking for an awesome photographer/new friend, email me now and we'll get together for tea and a chat about your work!}

Inspired by Colour at the Spring One of a Kind in Toronto

Last week was a crazy busy week, so I didn't get a chance yet to share my experience of the Spring One of a Kind show - anyways, here we go...

I love the Spring show, no matter what the weather is outside you know that sunny days and warm breezes are just around the corner :) The designers always seem to be inspired by this energy and so many of the booths are full of bright colours, pretty patterns, and a hopeful *something* in the air - and this year was no exception.

As Norman and I walked around the show visiting with friends, clients, and some potential new clients, I was giddy with delight over the rainbows of colour that we saw. If you know me, you know I love colour (pretty much all the colours, with the sometimes exception of red)...lots of colour and many colours together :)

{Once again, I owe a big thank you to my fantastic boyfriend Norman, for pointing out things I would have missed, for being charming and conversational, and for walking around the show for over 5 hours with me without ever complaining..}

Here is a sample of what we saw...

SO pretty! ruffled lilac scarves at Leah Bazian's booth..

the CUTEST tiny dresses and hats from Red Thread (Devorah asked if we had a little girl - we said we'd have to work on finding one!)

I also loved their awesome display :)

Fantastic feathery hair pieces in all colours imaginable by Oh Dina! - perfect if you have a wedding coming up this summer...or just want to look fancy wherever you're going!

I loved how fiber artist Nancy Yule magically included every colour in the world into her pieces, without it ever seeming like too many colours :)

Check out these light ribbony scarves..

tiny drawers for tiny treasures :)

and magnets - which you can never have too many of!

These addorable little dresses were from design team Barb and Jackie of Keiko - they are so new that they don't have a website yet, but keep your eyes open because I think they'll be growing fast with such pretty little prints..

and awesomely cute embroidery!

I loved this dress - the dandelion grows as you move from left to right, and on the other side of the dress the wind comes along and blows the fluff all over the place - fantastic concept beautifully executed :)

These scarves by Marie Pierre Daigle were like sculptures made of yarn, silk, and felt - and all in yummy  colours!

I have long been fascinated by glass bead-making, and these pieces by Lunacy Glass were some of the most amazing examples I've ever seen - everything cute and woodland-y you could possibly desire in a necklace!

Glass artist Lucie and I also share a love of Mexican themes and images..

these floral beads had such amazing depth to them!

If these next pieces look familiar, maybe it's because you saw some images from my recent shoot with Jenny Greco - it was great to see her at the show! I love how she carries her love of natural materials into her design of her booth display...

And I know I might be a *bit* biased since I photographed these images for her ;) but I also love these big banners at Erin Tracy's booth - even on a busy day like this, everyone can still see these!

So - Spring inspiration accomplished, I'm really excited about maybe starting a pretty creative project of my own (once our kitchen is done..almost there!) and definitely excited about upcoming shoots with these and other talented local designers :) If you design or make something pretty and you're looking for an awesome photographer in Toronto, I would love to hear from you! Check out my website, or send me an email :)

Happy Spring Everyone!