Season's Greetings one and all!

We will be closed on Dec 24 to 28th.  Open on Dec. 29, 30, 31.  Closed January 1st

Michelle Obama LOVES OLEANA!

I got a morning message from OLEANA:
Michelle Obama chose Oleana!
As the US president Barack Obama was awarded the Nobel’s Piece Prize this year, Norway had the honour of hosting Mr. and Mrs. Obama last week in Oslo.

One of our customers, Heimen Husflid, who is located quite close to Grand Hotel where they were staying, had taken the initiative to give the couple some presents from Norway.

We can now proudly break the news that Michelle Obama went back to the USA with four Oleana sweaters in her suitcase! She got so enthusiastic about her present that she bought three more, all from the Oleana-collection. We take it as a big compliment to our line and it is great fun.

Michelle Obama gets many positive remarks on how she dresses and now you can tell your customers who is buying Oleana that they have as good a taste as she has!!

With these good news we would like to wish you a happy Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Scandinavian Christmas goodies

We've got lots of cute Christmas ornaments this year from the Danish company Maileg, such as mushrooms and little pigs!!  Not only do we have pixies but also boy and girl mice and even angels!  
Of course we have lots of wonderful accessories:  legwarmers from 2 Danes, muffediser from Vancouver's Mimi design, masses of wonderful scarves and mittens, and of course, gorgeous cosy sweaters.
Come and brows!

Remembering the Oleana exhibition

A picture of Laura and me from the last Friday of the Exhibition, BEYOND BORDERS, OLEANA the Norwegian Story, published in the latest edition of Scandinavian Press.

Gastown Shop Hop and Sans Soucie

The Gastown Christmas Shop Hop is this Thursday, Dec. 3rd from 5 - 9pm.  Bring a friend!  It is a festive evening of sales and sips. URBANITY will be offering yummy hot gløgg and special prices on Sans Soucie designs.

For this week only, we have an exhibition of Katherine Soucie's newest work.  The Christmas window looks fabulous!

VANITAS by Katherine Soucie

The recent collection Vanitas, produced by Vancouver based clothing and textile designer Katherine Soucie, is a new series of garments created in response to investigation into the concept of modest indulgence and what that has come to represent in today's society.

This new body of work was initiated through the support of the Downtown Eastside Small Arts Grant Program and Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Soucie who was selected as a recipient of this grant this past summer was inspired to create this new work after being donated an obsolete industrial embroidery machine in conjunction with experiementations with a digital embroidery machine recently acquired by Emily Carr University. This funding not only encouraged the development of new work with this equipment but also has also enabled for other artists and designers in the community to have access to such equipment for research and development purposes.

Soucie was selected among 10 other artists who live and work in the DTES of Vancouver as a recipient of this grant which is a new program designed to help artists and designers produce a new body of work that will allow their practice to be taken to the next level in their career.

Yuletide* at URBANITY

Sunday, November 29th--please come by!

We are starting our Christmas season at URBANITY traditionally, by lighting the first candle on the advent ring, serving glogg, making a decoration (if you wish), being entertained by Anne-Elise Keefer from 1 - 2.30pm, and Pat Ernst from 3 - 5pm. You will be able to make a $5 donation to the Union Gospel Mission who offer meals to our less fortunate neighbours. 
*In Denmark this event is called a Julestue  (yool eh stoo)- literally translated as a "Christmas Room".

Opening of Beyond Borders

THE EXHIBITION OPENED on Thursday evening, September 10th, and will continue until the 26th. The opening was wonderful. Lots of people, food, good feelings, and a super dance performance choreographed by Kokoro's Barbara Bourget.

This is the first opportunity I've had to send you a note to tell you
what a superb job I think you did on the Oleana opening. It was by
far the most sophisticated opening I've attended, with the beautiful
exhibit, splendid food, truly sensational dance (I loved that the
dancers were simultaneously sensuous and awkward---so effective), and the heart felt speeches. You are to be thoroughly applauded for a job exceptionally well done. -- Cher

Oleana is really in Vancouver!

Oleana's Solveig Hisdal, Signe Aarhus, and Kolbjorn Valestrand are here in Vancouver! Kolbjorn and Signe have already cycled around Stanley Park. Solvieg has fitted Molly and Caroline's dresses for the performance on Thursday. We have started to dress the mannequins. It has been a very busy day!! A morning swim was traded out for a good breakfast, a check of the Pendulum, and a quick trip up the sea to sky to Lyons Bay, and a wonderful lunch at a sea-side restaurant in Dundurave. They are loving it and I am loving having them here!!!

Beyond Borders - OLEANA - the Norwegian Story

We are so excited because in just two weeks OLEANA will open the exhibition, BEYOND BORDERS, at the Pendulum Gallery. Press releases have been written, invitations have been sent out, people are RSVPing, and everybody is looking forward to Norwegian Magic coming to Vancouver.

Solveig Hisdal is going to be here! For many of you, meeting Solveig is going to be a very special experience. For those of you who have her book "Poetry in Stitches", this is a chance to have your copy signed. Signe and Kolbjorn will be here too, as will the new Norwegian Ambassador to Canada.

Barbara Bourget from the Kokoro Dance Company has choreographed a dance performance based on a piece of music that uses the sounds of the Oleana Factory.

OLEANA is such a special company with so many facets that make it truly unique, and this exhibition will give Vancouver a chance to touch it.

Oleana on YouTube

My colleague Grete, who lives in Switzerland, sent me a message to say that she has posted some Oleana videos on YouTube. Grete has joined our Facebook group "I love OLEANA", where she has posted links to these and more videos.

I hope you will join the Facebook group, and ask you friends to join too. We need more people to know about OLEANA - the little Norwegian factory that makes very beautiful clothes. Grete calls them "Wearable Culture"!!

Here is a small video from the show Saltsberg in February '09 featuring some of the new Spring designs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j4P9RtZ4EY&feature=related

And here is the DVD that was made for the Oleana Exhibition that took place at the Museum of Decorative Art in Bergen in 2007, to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the firm. It is quite a wonderful DVD, and I am delighted that Grete has made it available on line. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuog-XZKvnM&feature=related

New Arrivals!!!

At URBANITY you can enjoy new spring arrivals although the weather is still chilly. I have received the new OLEANA collection , and the response to the colours and the styles is really positive. You can go to the OLEANA website and look at the pdf catalogue. Notice the new cardigan with a yoke and raglan sleeves. It comes in blue (the colour shown here), green/yellow, and coral. The new V-neck cardigan shown here, comes in blue, coral, and blue/white with a coral band. It is absolutely STUNNING!!!

Join the FACEBOOK group "I love OLEANA" and spread the beauty!!

"Befitting Threads"

On February 15th we opened an exhibition featuring the newest work from West Vancouver Textile Artist Anne Marie Andrishak, and Vancouver based Artist Jessica Bell. For the first time, we opened a show with bubbles!! Anne Marie's work will be on display for one month, and Jessica's will stay until mid April. Jessica uses her sewing machine to sketch, and framed, these pieces are exquisite little (and some larger) works of art.

Gung Hei Fat Choi

It is the Chinese New Year -- the year of the OX. I have learned a little about the traditions around the new year. Red means happiness, so people wear red, and the banners are red. Long noodles, beans, and anything long, means longevity. So in my window I have posted a sign saying Gung Hei Fat Choi which means Happy New Year. The clothes are red, and long. The wool on Alice's collar is from the long coat of a Wesleydale sheep. The merino sweater covering an Oleana dress is long, as is the necklace (impossible to see) made by Danish DesignerBorg. Photographs never do my window justice!!

Marja (mimi) came in with a whole load of 'muffedise' - cute fingerless gloves, just to cheer up these dull and oh so cold days!

January 2009

Working with this blog is proving to be a challenge!! It doesn't want to do what I tell it to do, but what it wants to do!!!

I have two immediate product notes:

- Oleana dresses are perfect for weddings from Brides to Mothers of the bride. They come in 20 different colours, and in two lengths. They have pockets and are lined. They can even be specially made, to fit. They are sustainable too, because they can be mixed and matched, and do not scream "wedding". We found some beautiful images of an Oleana wedding dress here http://onelovephoto.typepad.com/heathergilson/2008/08/a-garden-weddin.html

- On a more immediate note, I received my shipment of Pia Wallén slippers a little late, but this means that I have all sizes in the new dark grey colour.

The store looks lovely, as always, and new people continue to find me and so on one hand my email list grows, but on the other, many people change out their addresses, so I loose a few people each time I send out a mail. I am working on creating a Facebook group too so that I can take advantage of all the possibilities of Internet Marketing.

I want to remind you to shop local in this time of economical change. I think the one truly positive thing that could emerge from the mess is that we return to shopping in small shops, and move away from the big box stores, and that people will buy less, but more beautiful things.

I have been a part of the Modern Urban Guide since its inception 4 years ago, and really admire what the creators of this map are doing. You can find wonderful small shops not only here in Vancouver, but across Canada. Go to http://www.modernurbanguides.com/

Yuletide ended on the 7th of January. In Denmark it is called Hellig Tre Konger, the day when the 3 Kings bearing gifts finally arrived in Bethlehem. In some cultures the 7th of January or 'little Christmas' is a day of gift giving, and if you follow the song, the 'Twelve Days of Christmas' you know that the Twelth day is present overload!!!

I received a card from Pernilla Svenre in Sweden with the prettiest stamps, and the three crowns were stamped on by the post office. I have asked my facebook friends to help uncover the meaning--does it have something to do with the Hellige Tre Konger, or does it have to do with something Swedish. I have scanned it for you to see. Maybe one of you knows??

I took down the advent ring between Christmas and New Year. It was getting very dry and I was a bit worried about the candles. It was nice to take it down, and to change the displays around. It felt good to greet the new year with Christmas put away.