BELLA LA: Valentine’s Gift Guide

 

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Check out my first contribution to BELLA LA! It’s a Valentine’s Gift Guide for both women and men. Thanks to all the companies that helped me put this piece together. They all hail from the West Coast too.

Spoon Me Sweetly – LA, California

Panty by Post – Vancouver, BC

Orox Leather – Portland, Oregon

Happy Spritz – LA, California and Vancouver, BC

C+C Lifestyles by Design – Vancouver, BC

Maison du Soir – LA, California

tiny fern – Vancouver, BC

Packed Party – San Francisco, California

Bekah-Anne Accessories – Qualicum Beach, BC

ELENA:)

NYC Photo shoot

Hope you had a wonderful Christmas. I’m actually enjoying catching up on old TV episodes and sleeping. I have finally finished the Lili St. Cyr biography I have been reading as well (read all about it in a future post).

Back in NYC, I teamed up with my friends from Flytographer to shoot in the streets of Soho. This time, the fabulous Mayleen was behind the camera and we had a lot of fun. She schooled me all about Miami, shooting notable clients and how to be fearless in a “coat that looks like a shag bear that didn’t stand a chance.” Here are some shots with hair and makeup by Bianca and Anthony. As you can see, I’m a fan of the profile shot;)

ELENA:)

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C+C Lifestyles by Design Interview

I find that some things cannot be taught in school. Inspiration, being one of them. You can learn different skills/tools and the history that have inspired others – but your own inspiration is usually mesh between your reality and fantasy with a healthy dose of experience.

I had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with Chrissy, a Vancouver Interior designer and Cory (and their cute poodle Buttons) from C+C Lifestyles by Design to understand their inspiration behind their beautiful timepiece collection.

1) Why did you launch a luxury timepiece collection?

It all began while watch shopping; Cory and I were in the market for a new timepiece. I was sick of seeing everyone sporting the same Michael Kors watch that I had and I didn’t want another mainstream piece. I wanted something that was higher quality and stylish with a vintage appeal. Everything that I fell in love with was well past the 5K mark and I didn’t want to buy something just for name brand sake. Our date night conversations turned into watch design conversations and so we decided to take the budget that we planned on spending on a watch and put it towards designing our very own line.

2) What was your inspiration for the C+C logo?

Cory and I wanted to create a brand that really resonated with our values. We love the finer things, not the pretentious things; we wanted beautiful design, high quality with equally high ethics. C+C seemed fitting as it represents our love story in both romance and business. The name C+C was named after us… Chrissy and Cory. We wanted to create something that was meaningful, elegant, sophisticated and slightly whimsical. The crown represents a dream to build our own legacy and the two birds represent our love story. Our first collection, the Meraki series truly embodies our brand, as Meraki by definition is to create something with creativity and love, to put the essence of yourself into your work. That’s where Lifestyle By Design comes in.

3) Dream collaborations in the future?

For us, our collaborative ambitions are geared towards concepts rather than individuals. I think it’s so important to align oneself with others who share the same values. We are all about building something of integrity and beauty. To us Luxury is measured by time, taste and ethics and so we are looking to see C+C in circles where people echo the same values. There are a lot of amazing artists and designers out there that we would love to one day have the opportunity to work along side with but for now we are having fun just dreaming up and developing our next beautiful design.

To purchase your own timepiece, visit C+C Lifestyles by Design. A % of proceeds from each watch sold goes to the Paws for Hope Animal Foundation.

Be sure to follow C+C Lifestyles by Design on Instagram: @CCLifestyles as well as Chrissy’s design adventures, also on Instagram: @ChrissyCoDesign

ELENA:)