Whoa!

I am trying very hard to get through THOUSANDS of emails, all requiring pictures, detailed answers and lots of listening.

I am going through the emails and all 2,122 emails JUST RELATED TO BAGS will be answered. 

Please give me a day or two to catch up, run this business, other businesses, advise on tax and legislation, be a mom, clean, make dinner...man, I'm getting tired just typing this!!

Happy Shopping...in a day or two, folks.

Wow!

Wow, that's been a long lull.  Apologies all around but my husband surprised me with a vacation trip last minute.  Needless to say that given the past few months, I needed it.

I guess I owe you a couple of posts.  And boy do I have them!  The first one is going to be a rant about the ASH CLOUD AND THE VOLCANO in Iceland.  Folks, let's be realistic.  Your bag is going to be delayed if the entire world is delayed and if the airline industry lost billions of dollars due to the ash cloud.  I'm no genius but I'm pretty sure the airline industry does not want to ground flights, cancel flights and keep people in airports while they wait for the ash cloud to subside.  So given that scenario, I'M PRETTY SURE YOUR BAG IS GOING TO BE DELAYED IF THE PEOPLE ARE LIVING IN AIRPORTS FOR OVER A WEEK AND A HALF!!

Sorry I don't mean to scream, yell or be bitchy but I'm pretty sure the ash cloud is not a mystery to any of you.  Most of you live near an outlet with news.  I know you send me 3 to 4 emails a week asking about your bag and that tells me you have internet which tells me that you have access to BBC, CNN, CBC, Reuters, Associated Press, etc.  Again, not being bitchy but folks, when the world stops due to an earthquake, hurricane, flooding, A VOLCANO WHICH IS STILL SPEWING ASH AND STILL CAUSING FLIGHTS TO BE GROUNDED 4 WEEKS AFTER IT FIRST ERUPTED, then here's the scoop, YOUR BAG IS GOING TO BE DELAYED.

I write all the above with a smile on my face.  I know that most of you get this and most of you have been just great with even keeping me apprised of what is going on as far as mail in the UK (the major hub for mail that comes to North America from overseas).  Thank you UKers for letting me know. 

I'm more amazed at people who write to me after I explain the ash cloud and ask, "what volcano?".  Seriously?

*jaw drops to ground*


Okay, I get that keeping up with news may not be a priority with some people.  So here goes:  around April 20, 2010, a mostly dormant volcano in Iceland erupted and caused MASSIVE amounts of glass, ash, rock and all kinds of crap to enter the atmosphere.  This ash cloud then floated from Iceland northeast to the wonderful island of Great Britain.  London is the capital city of Great Britain.  London is home to probably the busiest airport in the world:  Heathrow.  Heathrow is the MAJOR HUB and I do mean MAJOR HUB for all the mail in the world that is coming from almost any other country to North America.  I live in Canada.  All mail (this includes your bags and boxes and any thing else you can think of) coming from China definitely goes through Heathrow.  After the volcano erupted in Iceland, all flights from Heathrow were grounded for over a week.  OVER A WEEK.  People that I know personally lived at Heathrow for about 3 to 4 days before giving up and going to a hotel to take a shower.  Others went  back to stay with the friends or family they were visiting.  When flights did resume OVER A WEEK LATER, the airlines were not concerned with mail, boxes, bags, and all that other stuff.  They were under the gun to get people moving from the airport to their homes.

 Then guess what happened?  Just as the airlines cleared the initial setback from the volcano ash cloud, the volcano decided to spew more toxic dust into the atmosphere, causing a secondary and tertiary delay with airlines, people and of course, you guessed it, your packages, mail, whatever you can think of that is transported by mail. 

After all that, where are we?  We are at a point where most packages should be arriving this week, mid week, with fingers crossed and prayer and sacrifices to all Gods.  I have even shut the site down for the past 2 weeks and have not taken any new orders to ensure that we get through this hump together.

Where does that leave you?  Waiting.  With everyone else.  It's not personal.  The volcano apparently doesn't like any of us. 

Happy Shopping...in about a week or two. 

Breathtaking Prada

Remember how I go on and on about Prada handbags looking absolutely beautiful but aren't really made to do the bump and grind of everyday living.  Well, here's why.  Look at this bag!

In the hottest colour of the season, that misty off white, grey colour that goes with everything.  Adorned with a crystal decoration right above the Prada namesake.  The entire bag is held together with straps that are held into place by the teeniest, tiniest rings that are in place with a piece of leather, that has been folded over, and sewn (thus giving the leather another weak point).  BUT LOOK AT IT!!  IT'S FREAKIN' GORGEOUS!

I mean really:

I'm no fan of heavy jewels on my bags (I'll break them in 30 seconds flat and then I'll cry) but even I am like a kid in a candy shop right now.  M-E-S-M-E-R-I-Z-E-D!

All I wanna do is get this bag.  It has no meaningful purpose in my life. It will do nothing for me, except break by day three (Yes, even a real Prada is made exactly like this replica and so the same teeny, tiny leather strip will give out with the 30lb loads I carry and *snap*...bye bye pretty, jewelled bag!)  But I still want it.

Every time I see a new Prada bag, I want it.  I have to often times stop looking at them and then come back in a day or two when I am 38 again, practical and reasonable and need to save my money for things...like HEAT or FOOD or you know...a new Prada bag.

Happy Shopping!!

More LV Drool Coming This Way

LV has this new thing going on (it might be old but I have not noticed it before), where a new style of bag is introduced and really capitalized on with either the Monogram, Graffiti or Damier patterns.  I mean you saw it with the flap bag that I had on sale (and which sold out btw last month) and here it is again.  I absolutely love that they are doing this. 

And I have to admit, quietly, that the more I see the Graffiti pattern, the more I fall in love with it everyday.  If you gave me Monogram anything with hot pink Graffiti on it, I'd look at you like you spat in my lunch, but give me this glorious leather bag with big, bold LV graffiti all over it and I'm all starry eyed and in love. 

It is gorgeous.  These bags came in about a month ago and I am still looking at them in awe.  The reason is that the leather on these bags is PHENOMENAL.  China has quickly and successfully become a leather capital of the world.  In fact a region called Guangzhou, the leather capital of China, has so many leather goods that if you're like me, you'll get a headache in two seconds from the heavy leather and subsequent chemical smell.  Aside from the nasties that are manufacturing, this region prepares leather beautifully now.  Just gorgeous stuff coming from here.  The processed leather is then sent to various factories to be made in the breathtaking bag you see here.

This bag appears larger than it really is.  Yes, it's a good size but since the model is carrying an empty bag, it looks flatter and longer than it really does if you were to put, say, a sweater inside. 

The New LV whatever it's called is going to be $260.00USD and on the site very shortly!

Happy Shopping!!

LV Drool Time

If you're an LV fanatic you know that LV has introduced some very awesome looking new bags. The Scuba (which I secretly love because it's so easy to wear on a day of relaxation) and of course the very popular LV Eden Neo.  The Neo is brand spanking new.  Don't confuse it with the Noe, which has been around for ages. 

Like the Artsy, this bag is being heavily promoted.  It's got its own ad campaign coming out soon and it will be touted as the "it" bag for 2010.  LV has so many bags that they usually have several bags being the "it" bags for the year. 

The Eden Neo comes in three really popular and hip colours including the above khaki, silver and peach.  The peach is to die for.  And so is the khaki.  And while I'm at it, the silver is to die for as well.  Can you tell that this non LV lover is actually smitten?

Silver:

Peach:

The Eden Neo is made from wonderfully supple cowhide with soft lambskin trimmings.  The bag itself has  the classic LV Monogram symbols in shimmery, metallic highlights.    . 

The LV Eden Neo has one or two words that can sum it up neatly.  One of those words would be SEXY and the second word would be PARTY. 

This is the bag for the nights out of dancing, out with friends or on that amazing first date.  This bag is classy and sophisticated while being fun and jovial. 

I've seen the bag in real life and my initial assessment of it is that it is very well made.  The metallic LV Monogram coming through on the cowhide is exquisite and new.  And itself that has a very fun, fresh and "let's get this part going" stance to it.  Summer is around the corner and this is the summer bag to have!

The LV Neo is regularly going to be $260USD but I am thinking of putting it on sale.  Hit me up to give me your opinion.

Happy Shopping!! 

LV Scuba

In my humble and so not important opinion, I think Marc Jacobs has been good for LV.  He's lightened the entire line and while it wasn't the stuffiest line that existed, again in my very humble opinion, it was getting outdated.

I have friends that will sell their first born for anything LV Monogram or Damier.  I do get that once you're in love with Monogram you are a follower for life.  I do get that.  I think I am just amongst the group that now, no matter where I see LV Monogram, I automatically assume it's fake.  It's so played out and so overdone and so saturated that I'm, (and I have to say this quietly because I will get beaten for it) sick of it.  Just tired.

It's clear that Marc Jacobs, a brilliant designer in his own right, understood the importance and establishment of LV Monogram but the dire need to update it.  Since he has become head designer at LV, he's brought so many new versions of Monogram and, again in my opinion, brought them to a more modern light.

One of the biggest requests that I get is for the quintessential beach bag.  A bag that screams this puppy is designer, bitches, but won't make you scream when it gets wet or sand on it.

Marc Jacobs introduced the LV Scuba as part of the Cruise collection.  It's made from the same material as scuba diving suits, a heavy duty neoprene.  It is completely made for the beach.  It is obviously waterproof, water resistant and sand resistant, but it's a designer bag and so it has the bells and whistles of brass hardware and leather which of course are NOT waterproof or water resistant.  You can let you hair down with this bag and rest it on the sand without worry that a day of harsh sun or sand will ruin it but I don't recommend you take it on your next underwater cave expedition either. 

The orange or fuchsia neoprene is embossed with the classic LV Monogram stamp.  We're planning a vacation in a couple of weeks and I already got mine about a month ago.

I tried it out and took it to the kids' swimming classes (no beach for us folks, we're in Canada and it's still below zero here at night time!!).  I let the bag sit on the pool deck while the kids were swimming.  It does get wet but the water does not seep through the bag.  I would not recommend you submerge the bag into water thinking that it won't get soaked.  The bag has a large opening at the top for putting in all your beach goods.

I love this bag but I have to be honest as I usually am.  I personally would not use this bag for anything other than going to the beach or out for a stroll on the boardwalk.  So you have to factor that in and ensure that it will be a bag that you will get some good use out of.  If you only go to the beach twice a year for a day at a time, it might not be worth it for you.

I still have young kids and if we're not on a beach in the tropics, we're at swim lessons or at crappy beaches in Canada (hey, we Canadians, particular in Southern Ontario, have accepted this), or we're on the boardwalk and need our "beach stuff".  I also took the bag out on a great hike last week and it is great for that kind of activity.

A real outdoorsy bag, built to last and with some fantastic summery colours.  The bag alone made me feel like it was a lot warmer than it has been (very cold of late - bordering on snow, sleet, hail and SIDEWAYS rain, folks!!).

The LV Scuba comes in GM and MM.  Truth?  Get the GM.  You will need that extra space and if you're not using it it comes with an inside clip that allows you to make the bag bigger or smaller (see first two pics to see the orange one open and the fuchsia one clipped closed).  I find the MM is too square and too "totey" like.

The LV Scuba is on the site now and is REGULARLY $250USD but for the next two weeks while we hope that summer (geez, at this rate I'll gladly take spring!!)  finally gets to Canada, the bag will be on sale for $210USD and that will of course include shipping and inspection service to Canada and the US.  The cost for shipping and inspection service is slightly higher for other locales.

Happy Shopping!!

Hermes Lindy Held Over

Despite the fact that I am not 100%, it's good to see my little side business kicks my ass and keeps me on my toes.  So while I have been despondent, the Hermes Lindy has been selling like scalped Betty White tickets on SNL!

(She was awesome last night, despite SNL sucking for about 10 years now).

As a promotion that is doing so well, and rightfully so, the Lindy is a great, great bag.  I got some in about 4 months ago and I asked friends close to me to try them out and give me their honest feedback.  They were all astounded.  Most of the bags today still look brand spanking new and I have to be honest, most of my friends, are hardly...umm, lady like?  nor careful with their belongings.  It's probably a good reason that they are my friends, but aside from that, these bags can take a beating, look fantastic and still keep going.  There is something intangible about an Hermes bag.  I don't know what it is but I'm telling you more than any other brand out there, Hermes makes you feel so good.  Even when a person looks at you and says, "what's Hermes", you still feel so good.  The bags are that empowering. 

There's something about the name, the history and the sheer class that you feel when you carry one of these bags, (and remember I'm just referring to the replica - I'd probably feel like Wonder Woman, wrist bands and all if I had a real one!!) that is just inexplicable.

I know it sounds cheesy when I write it but when you actually hold one of these bags, you feel it.  I have had at least 30 people write the exact same sentiment to me.  I think after a lot of deliberation (yes, I'm obsessive like that) I have figured out what it is.

This bag does not feel cheap.  In no way do you feel like you will ever, ever have a broken bag or issues with the bag.  You can do what you want to it and it will withstand the worst abuse.  I can attest to this.  I have been proudly and I mean like a male peacock in heat, carrying my grey 40cm Hermes bag and I have been just amazed. 

I can usually find something to complain about and my complaint with this bag was that I needed a shoulder strap.  You know what, not one day have I missed the shoulder strap, because the bag still fits on my arm and it is a comfortable bag that is so incredibly usable.  If nothing else, when I tire of my Hermes 40cm Birkin, I will tire of the colour or just want something new.  It will not be because the bag broke, or because it started to look worn or because it just fell apart and now looks cheap.  Nope.  That will never, ever happen.

Like I have told many of you that are students in university.  Your university days will pass and you will be interviewing for jobs.  Nothing will speak professional and well put together than this bag or a Birkin or a Kelly.

And the plus is that you will have the bag for years.  When money is tight, you don't need to worry about a sketchy replica or a fragile replica (Prada, I'm looking at you) or a waning replica (LV I'm looking at Monogram Canvas). 

The Hermes Lindy is on sale again this week for $230USD and that includes the inspection service and shipping to all destinations in Canada and the US.  Those services, shipping and inspection, are slightly higher to other locales. 

Happy Shopping!!

Enough!

Okay folks, enough feeling sorry for myself.  I am back.  I might not be as strong as I usually am but I'm back for now.  I simply cannot lie around anymore wondering what if. 

This is life and we deal with our hands the best we can, right?

Moving forward.  Guess what's coming to town?  TODS!!

I never got into this brand basically because it became really popular in Canada as I was becoming a mom and had other things to think about than what was the latest big name.  I have seen TODS in department stores and without a doubt I will say that their stuff is the shizz nizz (as the kids say today or maybe they were saying that three years ago...I don't know!!). 

I know that TODS shoes and clothing will be in high demand once I get my hands on it.  I am currently working with TWO read that TWO web people to get all that "other" stuff (earrings, jewelry, belts, shoes, coats, clothes, etc.) on line.  It is no easy feat.  Trust. 

TODS is a great line and it is classic with many, many uses.  This is a bag that you can take from your office meeting to dinner with clients no problem at all.  The name is so well recognized now that you won't get that "wha?" look on people's faces when they inquire about your bag.   

TODS will be on the site shortly and they too will be around $240 to $260USD. 

Happy Shopping!!

As aside, a big, huge thank you to the many, many people that have written to me for my well being.  I want to thank everyone for their patience with me.  It's been a very hard month for me and my family.  Many thanks to you all. 

Doh!

I think I can officially name myself the delay queen for this year.  I know it's usually my fault or the fault of my factory but there were somethings that I cannot help.

A volcano in Iceland erupting last month has wreaked massive havoc on flights and travel, costing the airline industry billions of dollars.

Having said that, here we are again folks...in another bag delay.  *Holds hands up and says THIS TIME IT'S NOT MY FAULT!!*

I have been extremely up and down with other matters in my life and having said that, I will use my energy to get your bags moving and into your hands.  I will most likely not post for a couple of more days.  I"m enjoying some time to myself.  By all means, write to me to chat, talk bags or get info.  I just don't feel very inspired to show off bags.

Now I am a firm believer of this too shall pass. 

Happy Shopping!!