Cookievonster for Brandee Buble

I love my talented friends! My friend Evon, (Cookievonster) has been making me cookies like crazy for years! It all started with a cookie for my birthday and most recently she has made cookies for my book The Love List.

Not only has Evon made cookies for my book, but for Brandee Buble as well. Brandee (sister of Michael Buble) has written a cute kids book entitled, O’shae the Octopus (available everywhere). And of course, Evon captured the book perfectly in a a stellar cake!

Fabulous work Evon and can’t wait to read your book Brandee (we should do a book swap)!

ELENA:)

5 Minutes 5 Questions: Ruben Perez

One fun Saturday night in NYC, I found myself at (le) Poisson Rouge dancing away to an 80’s cover band music. In between songs, my friend introduced me to Ruben Perez. Ruben has been an events coordinator extraordinaire for over ten years. Born and raised in the Bronx, he has a vast appreciation of music and a passionate eye for street art.

Here is 5 minutes/5 questions with the multi-facteted Ruben Perez.

1) How long have you lived in New York?

All my life.  I was born and raised in The Bronx.

2) What is your favorite thing about working in nightlife?  

That it’s not a desk job.  Whenever work starts to feel stressful I just remind myself that I could be working a 9-to-5 in a cubicle somewhere and I immediately feel great about what I do again.

3) If your life had a theme song, what would it be and why?  

“The Boss” by James Brown.  A little James Brown swagger has served me well in life.

4) Where is the best place to grab food in NYC at 3 am?  

Before 2:30am, Lucky Strike has been my go-to for well over 10 years.  By 3am I get less picky.  There are a bunch of great places to choose from but I’ll take an egg breakfast at a diner and be content.

5) What are the top three characteristics on your Love List (characteristics or qualities you are looking for in a potential mate or your current mate)? 

Funny – what is life without laughter?

Adventurous – I’ve had a lot of fun in my life but almost all of it has been in New York.  I’m craving adventure and a desire to take risks in my life now more than ever and I need someone who shares that.

A good communicator – I couldn’t imagine feeling emotionally connected to someone who I couldn’t have honest and open communication with.

ELENA:)

5 Minutes 5 Questions: Mrs. Chaplin

I adore Olympia Le-Tan clutches (the workmanship is amazing), but not the price tag unfortunately.  Check them out on Net-a-porter. I found a wonderful lady on Etsy, by the name of Tatiana Kononova. Her shop, Mrs. Chaplin sells handcrafted clutch purses for a fraction of the price.

Through our interactions, I asked her if I could interview her. Here is 5 questions/5 minutes with Mrs. Chaplin herself, the talented, Tatiana Kononova.

1) How long have you lived in Moscow?

For almost 30 years now as (I was born here).

2) How did you start making clutches?

I came across an Olympia Le-Tan clutch in some fashion magazine and really fell in love with the idea. After a shock from seeing its price had passed I started thinking whether there was a way I could make something similar myself. I googled some DIYs but wasn’t entirely happy with the final results they offered. So I decided I should come up with my own method. I had some sewing experience before but frankly speaking it was the first time I tried embroidery)) The first clutch I made was a Russian translation of a Tove Jansson’s book called “What’s next?” (which actually reflected my mood at the time as I was between jobs). It wasn’t flawless but all my friends were amazed when they saw it and suggested I should start a small book-clutch business. I thought “Why not?”).

3) What is your favourite thing about embroidery clutches for people around the world?

I’ve always loved books and not only just reading them – simply holding them in my hands felt a little bit like magic. Now I like looking for interesting covers that I think might look nice as clutches. Transferring a picture onto a canvas with felt and thread is kind of a challenge but really exciting one. And of course it’s very inspiring to know that people from so many different countries are interested in my work.

4) How did you come up with your shop name, Mrs. Chaplin?

I wish I had a nice story about this but the truth is that I simply don’t remember where it came from) I recall that when I was setting up my iPhone a couple of years ago I needed to name it somehow for the account settings and Mrs.Chaplin was a first thought from the top of my head. How I came up with it is still a mystery to me.

5) Name three characteristics (in no particular order) on your Love List? (characteristics or qualities you are looking for in a potential mate or your current mate)

I guess these would be:
– intelligence (I think this is the main quality for two people to have something to talk about if they decide to be together for the entire life and not just for one night);
– tolerance (I can be a real pain in the ass sometimes and I’m grateful to my husband that he is usually wise enough to let my craziness slide without starting an unnecessary fight);
– love of life (I am a kind of person who enjoys simple pleasures in life like finding another good restaurant or seeing an interesting movie. My husband is pretty much the same so it helps us not get bored by the daily routine).

ELENA:)

5 Minutes 5 Questions: Jen Reiher (Flytographer)

These are my two favourite Flytographer shots. The first is from my Paris Flytographer shoot with Pierre Torset from February. The second picture is from Johnny Wolf in New York in April.

I decided I had to interview with Jen Reiher, who is the shoot concierge for Flytographer. Totally organized and personable – you are definitely in great hands when you book a shoot. I should know 😉

Here is 5 minutes/ 5 questions with the lovely Jen Reiher.

1) How long have you lived in Victoria?
My entire life – minus a GAP year spent volunteering in the UK. It’s hard to imagine leaving Victoria! It’s the perfect size, has an amazing food scene and the weather is the best in Canada!
2) What are your top three favourite cities in the world to visit?
So far? Budapest, Hungary; Seoul, Korea & Portland, Oregon. However… since starting to work for Flytographer the top 3 places on my ‘to visit’ list are Placencia, Belize; Lisbon, Portugal & Cancun, Mexico!
3) What is your must need travel accessory?
A very timely question… I’m travelling to Vegas for the first time in a few weeks and just starting to pack my bags and the one thing I need to find still is a great hat…! It’s a super important accessory for fashion as well as practicality for sunny destinations, but in winter a toque is a pretty classic Canadian accessory, too.
4) What’s the best part of reviewing all the pictures from all the photographers around the world?
Just how many authentically magical moments our photographers capture! I always get a little bit chocked up when I’m uploading the photo sets because the personalities and emotions just leap out of the screen. I think this is because we are capturing such meaningful moments and connections between people and places like anniversaries, honeymoons (or second honeymoons!), engagements, birthdays & bucket list trips.
5) Name three characteristics on your Love List? (Qualities that you look for in a potential mate/or your mate has already)
This was basically the gist of my wedding vows…

  1. Nerdiness: My husband and I started talking because we are both Mac nerds, and we’ve never stopped sharing geekery with each other.
  2. Adaptability: openness to change, and the ability to grow together is so key to me to long-term happiness in relationships! I am definitely not the same as I was when I met my husband 10 years ago, and neither is he, but we have definitely grown together and changed each other in small ways for the better.
  3. Compatibility yet independence : My husband and I are a great team, but we are not inseparable… it is so important to have passions to pursue outside of each other! It gives us things to talk about together if nothing else… 🙂

ELENA:)

Flytographer shoot in NYC

Here is another Flytographer shoot I did in NYC for The Love List. This time the photographer was Johnny Wolf and I went for more of a rocker chic look. I went shopping at Zimmermann and found this great dress and coupled it with these Dior shoes, an All Saints leather jacket and pearls from Henri Bendels.

ELENA:)

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