Summer flowers

We were expecting  a summer collection from McVerdi in Denmark, but it never arrived, which for a while was a bit of a worry.   As it turned out though, the collections that did come seemed to be perfect for the weather we have been having.  We are close to August which is bound to be sunnier than July, and so I am pleased that a small collection of Indian cotton dresses from Anokhi via Magic Mountain, have arrived.  The dresses are made by Anokhi in India for Magic Mountain which is an Ontario based company.  They are block printed in wonderful colours.  It is still my dream to bring Anokhi directly from India.

I ordered more linen 'lantern' pants from Cut loose which are on their way.  Because I have had requests for them, I have also ordered a good selection of corduroy pants for the autumn -- basic cord pants that are the perfect basic casual pant.

Two of the 6 Liberty print dresses have been sent from Up The Wooden Hills in Sweden -size S and L. Two more are expected to be sent over the coming weekend. I am very interested to see the first two dresses which should arrive before the end of the week. Designer Lisa makes each dress herself

I have just enjoyed some days at home while Mieka has looked after the store.  I have enjoyed exploring all the new shops and coffee shops in Gastown.  I will add these two special places to my list on the right hand side of this page, but in the meantime, if you are in Gastown, do visit Olla Flowers, a most unusual flower shop on the second floor (where Mooncruise used to be).  And although there are lots of places to enjoy a cup of good coffee, I have totally fallen in love with Nelson the Seagull on Carrall Street.  They make their own slow-rise bread and everything is organic.  It has become a popular spot for lunch.  They serve their delicious coffee in thin cups, so it is piping hot.

Grab the sun!

As I write this there are soft clouds in the sky on a beautiful summer evening.  We are still receiving summer clothes, and when the sun shines we want light printed cotton dresses, so those are coming too.

Last week we received another small shipment from Fog Linen.  I had been waiting with glee to see what the 'carat' pants would be like, and we had a lot of fun in the shop as people tried them on.  They are very practical and somewhat unusual.  They look like a skirt-- a skirt you could wear on a windy cliff with no fears of it blowing up over your head.  Carat pants are very popular in Japan. 

New Arrivals

Last weekend I was in Toronto.  Just as I was leaving for the airport boxes began to arrive.  Mieke worked hard to get everything unpacked, steamed, and priced.  I think we have a wonderful collection of linen clothes to suit just about everybody looking for casual clothes that will look lovely for years.  I have chosen a few to show you here, and there are more.  (formatting in this post is very strange...please keep scrolling down, it is a long post)

Many of you are familiar with the felt jewelry that we carry that comes from Peru.  There is a new felt necklace available in three colours, and some very simple ribbon earings that play with 4 different colour palettes.

I get many requests for Cut Loose, and always have a list of people waiting for special items.  We have sun dresses, tops and skirts, pants, tees, and jackets.  In this image you can see a skirt and top belted with an Anokhi indigo patterned scarf.  The felt necklace is locally made.  The 'dotty' scarves on the right are striped on the reverse.  Tied loosely they are stunning, and soft too. On the lower right is a selection of linen scarves that have been available in all the summer colours. 

Nygaardsanna sent me another dress in three colours that has an uneaven hem and small buttons (and button holes) all the way from top to bottom.  The Nygaardsanna dresses are very popular and only get more beautiful with wear.  They are made from beautiful thick linen in a soft weave.  We have a number of dresses and blouses from their 'hytnes' collection that harks back to the simple clothes worn at the turn of the 20th century in the countryside.  You can see one of Patsy's necklaces on the mannequin to the left.  Urbanity is the only shop in North America carrying Nygaardsanna (noo gohrds anna) - no relation to the other.

Fog linen work has a small collection of clothes as part of their larger collection of homewares. The linen is grown in Lithuania, and the clothes are made there. Each collection brings surprises in the pattern of the weave, and like Nygaardsanna, there is a country feel to the designs.  I joke that these clothes are 'one size fits small'.  Lucky are those who fit these lovely designs.  We have dresses, shirts, and pants..

I am excited by the small collection of linen clothes that arrived yesterday from a designer in China.  Each of the 8 pieces are different from the other, but all of them have a very interesting design. These dresses are for those of you looking for something bold and funky.

We only have one GudrunGudrun piece left. This cardigan is made from silk yarn with 'stars' knitted with rough Faeroe yarn. GudrunGudrun (a partnership of two women with the same name) have their garments knitted on the Faeroe islands.  They also make thin woolen 'shirts' from eco merino that are knitted on machines in Latvia. They make many wonderful sweaters, and I am looking forward to carrying more.  The cardigan shown is unisex.

This is Oleana's newest alpaca cardigan that is inspired by a traditional Norwegian sweater from Fana.  We have paired it with Nygaardsanna linen shorts, and a white shirt from Guatamala.  We had these shirts last summer, and they have been brought back by popular demand.  There are 5 classic styles available made from a robust cotton fabric.

We have been promised a very hot summer, a bit sun sure would be nice!  Nothing is more comfortable than clothes made from natural fibres when the weather is warm. Urbanity focuses on clothes made from only natural fibres.

Oleana is moving!

Arne Fabrikker  ca. 1880

Oleana's production has outgrown the space it has occupied since starting in 1992.  News of the move has been posted on Oleana's website.  Oleana is moving a few kilometers away from their present location to Ytre Arna, a town that was built around the oldest textile factory in the Bergen area -- Arne Fabrikker, dating from 1845. The building lies right on the Sørfjord.  Ships used to bring cotton from Egypt and the Americas directly to Arne Fabrikker -- the first mechanised cotton spinning and weaving factory in Norway. You can see an old film from the cotton mill where bedding was made.  It is not subtitled, but is still interesting. 1000 people used to work in this factory!  Oleana with its 60 factory workers will have space to grow in comfort!  Oleana will celebrate their 20th Anniversary next year in their new home!

May 17th

We acknowledged Norway's National Day today with an extra-special newsletter, and a window boasting our newly arrived Oleana Peony cardigan and checkered blanket.  A teeny Norwegian flag is pinned onto the belt on the mannequin, and was seen by a Norwegian passer-by who did not know about Urbanity and the Scandinavian selection we carry.  For those of you who don't get my email newsletter, here is one of the goodies it contained today.  You might remember this beautiful voice from the Winter Olympics at Lillehammer.

A taste of Oleana spring has arrived!

Yesterday was a wonderful day!  The sun was shining and a delivery of long-awaited Oleana sweaters and blankets arrived.  We quickly unpacked, priced, and made phone calls and sent emails.  Many people have been waiting for their chosen sweater, but we did get a few extra.  The pictured cardigan is covered in Peonies - no two flowers the same, and two butterflies too!

Knitting Values into Fashion

More than two months have past since Signe and Torbjorg came to visit, and tantalized everybody with the beautiful new Oleana spring collection!  (You can see Torbjorg here wearing the very popular long cardigan in a new spring colour.)  Partial shipment will hopefully be sent this week, so please make sure your name is on the list of first recipients.  You can see the collection on http://www.oleana.no/
If you missed the lecturegiven by Signe at Kwantlen on February 21st, you can now see it on YouTube.  It has been posted in several parts under the title "Knitting Values into Fashion"