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Workspace | Shannon Molenaar of 8FOOTSIX

The Anthology’s Workspace column takes us inside the creative spaces of some very creative people.

The moment I saw Shannon Molenaar’s workspace on the Steven & Chris Show, I invited her to share her home office with us. It’s so proper! So personalized! In her own words, the Toronto-based interior decor blogger behind 8FOOTSIX takes us through the space, which is overflowing with objets and books and somehow manages to be very, very tidy.

Plus, how pretty is that wall colour?

1. I blog from our upstairs office. I enjoy spending time in here because it is filled with my favorite things – books, plants, art, and my collection of milk glass vases!

2. When I look around, everything has a story. Most of the furniture came with us from our condo.

3. The desk (Pottery Barn Kids), the leather chair (Mitchell Gold) and the two black end tables that hold the colour photo printer are a few of the things we didn’t want to give away when we moved, so we shoved them in the office – and it works!

4. I bought the tallboy dresser from Craigslist.  It was a gorgeous wood grain but smelled musty/fishy.  So I sanded it down and painted it white.  It holds… well… everything!

The picnic basket on the chair by the door was given to me decades ago by my sister-in-law and is now stuffed with felt scraps.

5. There are tons of accessories scattered around the room. There is a wooden fish on the wall from Bilbao, where I spent a summer studying Spanish.  There is a pencil crayon drawing of naked chickens (don’t ask) that I made in high school, along with my son’s first painting.

6. Treasures I brought back from Paris flea markets, like my little brass hedge hog, are sitting on the bookshelves, alongside things I found at local thrift stores.

P.S. Get a peek at Shannon’s latest projects here.

P.P.S. Creep the creative spaces of some very creative people, like Erin Shaw of Shaw TV, Erica Lam of The Style Spy, Niki Blasina of A Haute Mess, and Anya Georgijevic of I’m the It Girl in The Anthology’s Workspace column.

P.P.P.S. Know someone whose Workspace should be featured? Send a note to KDundon@TheAnthology.ca

May 20, 2013 by

Beauty | Estée Lauder’s Pure Color Nail Laquer in So Vain

Typically I opt for bright colours on my fingers and twinkletoes (see exhibits A, B, and leopard-printed C). But there’s something about Estée Lauder’s Pure Color Nail Laquer in So Vain that has me putting a sophist-o-twist on my usual palette. It’s as neutral as neutral can be so it goes with everything and it’s slightly sheer so it makes your nails look extra glossy.

It gives me new hope for taupe.

May 17, 2013 by

Pinstagram | Sunshine, stripes and sangria

The Anthology’s Pinstagram column marries the dream (Pinterest) and the reality (Kelsey Dundon’s Instagram photos of places and faces in and around Vancouver).

Earned stripes. My favourite striped Topshop maternity dress and a shirt that would look great on my baby girl once she outgrows all her onesies.

Faster than a… The world’s speediest (and blurriest) Jack Russell Terrier puppy and another kind of speedy beast, this time in wallpaper form.

Good enough to eat. A gourmet bakery-made Pop-tart from Vancouver’s Bigsby the Bakehouse and gilt Oreos.

Mirror mirror. A quiet corner of my living room (lamp from Pottery Barn, mirror from The Cross in Vancouver) and stunning(ly expensive) mirrored pitchers.

Sunshine in a bucket. A bunch o’ daffodils outside Quince Fine Florals and a bushel o’ apples turned into sangria.

Flower power. An orchid fit for my desk (thanks Nick and Shevawn!) and a floral bikini fit for the beach.

P.S. There are more photos where these came from so add The Anthology on Facebook.

May 16, 2013 by

Bookmark | Thug Kitchen

In The Anthology’s Bookmark column we explore some of the most inspiring places on the wild, wild web.

For those who like their veggies clean and their language filthy, I give you Thug Kitchen, a recipe site that’s as b-b-b-bad to the bone as vegan food gets.

The language? Not so suitable for work. But the recipes? So full of veggies even Gwyneth Paltrow would approve. UPDATE: She does.

So bookmark Thug Kitchen already and bookmark The Anthology while you’re at it. Thank you, Tolek, for sending it my way!

[Image from Thug Kitchen, obviously.]

P.S. Beef up your list of favourite links with The Anthology’s Bookmark picks.

April 10, 2013 by

Pinstagram | Now Presenting…

The Anthology’s Pinstagram column marries the dream (Pinterest) and the reality (Kelsey Dundon’s Instagram photos of the best places and faces in and around Vancouver).

Visions in black and white. Kendra Hagerman, Mana Mansour, May Globus and Sunny Shum at Holt Renfrew’s spring trend presentation + a look from Carolina Herrera’s pre-fall 2013 presentation.

Colour pops. A few of MAC’s many lip colours + one of Inaluxe’s vibrant prints.

A (class)room with a view. Spaceship-like windows at Simon Fraser University where I lecture on Digital Communications  + a very dramatic lighting fixture.

A case of the pinks and blues. A nameless new shop on Vancouver’s Main Street (which I wrote about here) + a detail from Kenzo’s fall 2012 collection.

Not-so-pink panther. My favourite desk accessory + Cartier’s killer cat ring (which costs as much as a mid-sized sedan but is totally worth it, I’m sure).

P.S. There are more photos where these came from so add The Anthology on Facebook.

April 4, 2013 by

Trippin’ | Maui on the Wild Side

Of all the different types of writing I do, travel writing is one of my very favourites. Why? Well, because it means hiking, sailing, and spa-ing constitute work. (Diving would be on that list too, except I have a passenger who prevents me from doing such things at the moment.)

In my latest piece for The Province I drove a delightfully sketchy — and scenic — road on Maui. And no, it wasn’t the one to Hana. Slip on your driving gloves, friends. It’s time for a road trip.

Clockwise from top left: Just call me SnorKelsey (bikini by Roxy, c/o Simons). Hitch a ride aboard the Teralani 2. My accommodations the first time I went to Maui (it’s a campground on a particularly beautiful stretch of beach).  The waves on Ka’anapali Beach out front of the Westin. The bamboo forest, a light hike that takes you to a light waterfall. And sugar cane fields lining the highways.

I know what you’re wondering: where do you find the best banana bread on the island? In my article for The Province.

[Photos from Kelsey Dundon’s Instagram feed.]

P.S. You’ll find a few more of my favourite Maui spots on Vitamin Daily.

P.P.S. Island-hopping? The north shore of Kauai will really float your catamaran.

March 26, 2013 by

The Cool Kids | A fairytale kids’ boutique

I’ve been in the market for baby gear lately (more on that here) and of all the online boutiques I’ve found, Vancouver’s Leuie is one that has me under its spell. Its look is dreamy, its nursery decor is fairytale-worthy and I love its minimal, whimsical, handmade aesthetic.

I have yet to visit the shop in person (they just opened one in South Granville) but these are a few highlights from their online boutique. From the top:

A dapper little gent: Chapeau Haut et Cravate.
Bowing out gracefully: L’Timide Queen mobile.
Five-star luxury: the cinq d’etoiles garland.
A bonus? The little bunny-shaped bone china lamp I wrote about on Vitamin Daily.

[All photos from Leuie]

March 26, 2013 by

Wear/Where | Two brights and a bold

I’ve always been a sucker for pink and red (I had a lot of Valentine’s Day-themed birthday parties as a kid). Now, pink and orange have a place in my heart too. Add a deep indigo et voila: a colour trio that would look just as b-b-b-bad to the bone on your walls as it would on your neck.

Where: Removable wallpaper in Red/Blue from Chasing Paper
Wear: J.Crew’s Fan Fringe Necklace

March 24, 2013 by

Beauty | What’s in MAC Senior Artist Caitlin Callahan’s Cosmetics Bag?

If MAC’s entire collection is essentially your makeup drawer, which five products would you consider essential? I met up with MAC Pro Team Senior Artist Caitlin Callahan at Metropolis at Metrotown to ask her exactly that. Turns out one of her favourites is the plumping lipgloss Plushglass and you’ll find the other four on MetropolisAtMetrotown.com.

P.S. I posted a shot of my favourite new MAC lipstick colour on The Anthology’s Facebook page.

March 23, 2013 by