Sunday, June 17, 2012

Designer Profile- Georgia Heraty (Social Experiment)

Image by Ben Hurt, provided by Georgia Heraty

Those of you who follow me on Twitter and Instagram may have noticed some very excited posts, pictures, and tweets about a collection of cocktail rings I have been nurturing. Georgia Heraty of Social Experiment graciously agreed to answer all of my questions so that I could feature her and her work on my blog.

After taking a class on jewelry making in 2009, Georgia began making rings for her family and girlfriends as a hobby. As demand grew, she decided to reach out to a few local boutiques in her hometown of Vancouver, to great success. Currently her work is carried at Barefoot Contessa, Violet Hill Boutique, Muse Social Fashion House, and Live Yoga Boutique. But luckily for those of us outside of B.C., in October 2011, she decided to start a shop on Etsy!

Social Experiment truly was a social experiment, Georgia chose the name to reflect the way her business started- as an experiment to see if people would be interested in her product. Each design takes inspiration from the west coast she calls home. She describes the design process as being very exciting, particularly finding new materials and products to work with, and is currently very interested in learning more about gems and their meanings. In addition, she is working on creating seasonal collections, and having themes attached to a lookbook, but is taking her time with the creative process, learning as she goes. 

Since my first order in early spring, I have been  slowly building up a collection of Georgia's rings. I absolutely adore how the natural stones have their own unique and beautiful shapes, and the way the gold wire creates a piece that can be perfectly casual, or the perfect piece for an evening out. And I'm not the only one who is enamoured! Olivia of StyleStruck, Vickie of Adventures in Fashion, and many others have also been spotted proudly wearing Social Experiment rings.

Want to see more, or order your own? Follow Georgia on one social media sites or check out her Etsy shop!

Wednesday, June 6, 2012

Bamboo Ballroom Bloggers' Night


Last night I had the privilege of attending the Bamboo Ballroom's Blogger Night. It was a lovely evening out! The amazing ladies behind the boutique did a  WONDERFUL job of putting together a lovely evening full of fashion fun! 

If you've never been, I honestly recommend checking them out! They have a beautiful selection of women's clothing, with a fairly wide price range and selection of styles. Plus, huge bonus points for their amazing selection of local brands, in both jewelry and clothing! 

It was great getting to hang out with some of my favourite blogger buddies, as well as meet some exciting new people!

Kyla and Stacy, owners of Bamboo Ballroom.

Two very talented makeup artists, Nicola and Amber were on hand; pictured is Nicola Gavins (who is also the Beauty Editor at Georgie Magazine), who did a stunning bold ombre lip on me.

Rachel of BangBangBijoux came and guided us in making our own pendant necklaces. Also pictured is Marie, Vickie, and Kassie.


And of course we shopped! L-R Mark, Vickie, Gillian, the ladies of C'est Classique, Kassie.

It was so fun to get out and have some fashionable fun with some of my favourite local ladies (and gentlemen) of fashion! Thanks again to Bamboo Ballroom for hosting this lovely event, and thanks to Janis for sharing some of her pictures with me!



Monday, June 4, 2012

Livin' it up.

While my thoughts often seem to be firmly planted in a land of fabulous fashion, shoes, and beauty, I actually do have interests outside of those areas. I have several non-fashion loves, but the one I want to talk about today is my love of lifestyle magazines and wholistic living.

I adore my new fashion glossies just as much as any fashionista, but something that gets my heart racing even faster are magazines that inspire me to "pinterest-ify" my entire life. I find that I really enjoy pulling away from the heavy emphasis on appearances in fashion magazines that often leave me struggling to balance my love of fashion, design, and aesthetics with the way that it often leads me to feel more critical towards my life and appearance. I love how magazines like "Whole Living" leave me with an empowered feeling, and a focus on how can improve myself and be happier, rather than constantly searching for the next trend or purchase.

Lately, I've been trying to "walk the talk." For example, I keep saying I wanted to get a yoga pass and start doing yoga regularly. I'm excited to say that after a year or more of talking about doing it, I finally went and did it. Yay! (And of course, I needed a cute bag to carry my stuff to the yoga studio... Which is where my adorable new Bliss yoga bag from Lululemon comes in...)

image via lululemon

But to tie in my point about wholistic living, I've also been making an effort to eat foods that are healthier and more natural. (Plus, "shopping the perimeter" [avoiding canned/processed foods] at the grocery store is way more cost effective, especially when you plan ahead!) Examples of recipes I've been trying includes Quinoa, Kale and Turkey Burgers from local chef and blogger Bianca of the Vitality Guide for Women. I absolutely adore her website, it's full of AMAZING resources for healthy cooking, and her recipes are always incredible. I've been emphasizing lots of green salads, healthier grains, fresh fruits, and lean meats (preferably salmon and chicken breasts). And you can't forget water!

In addition to the yoga and eating habits I've been building, I'm working on my emotional well-being, something I've always tended to ignore, often to the detriment to my overall health. Making better eating choices and being physically active definitely helps in this area, but I've also been loving MindBloom and its corresponding iPhone app, Bloom*. I love how this "life game" helps me keep track of activities  and things that inspire me, in order to encourage me to be more mindful of these goals. 

What do you think about wholistic living? Do you sometimes struggle to balance your love of fashion and aesthetics with self-criticism? What excites you and inspires you to make choices that will make you happier?

Curvaceous Chic: June 2012

This page has moved to a new address.

Curvaceous Chic