The Love List made a Valentine’s Gift Guide! Check it out here
ELENA:)
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:)
I travel a fair bit and when I meet someone new they always ask me, “What’s Vancouver like anyway?” I never struggle in saying it’s calm and clean. I mention the trees, the mountains, the ocean and the rain. All things environmental. Now, thanks to Old Joy Gift Boxes – I have an answer that captures both the atmosphere and the flavor of Vancouver.
Melissa Mills has taken the best of the best of Vancouver artisans (Woodlot, Vancouver Olive Oil Company, Lissu Linen and Minimocs to name just a few!) and thoughtfully curated her gift boxes with an accent of an old joy – a vintage item that ties whole box together. She painstakingly handpicks her products to align with the interest of the recipient (like a cool vintage camera for my friends at Flytographer).
Melissa has a keen eye for aesthetic and design and don’t even get me started on the ribbon she uses! I lust after this classic black and white grosgrain ribbon that I feel Coco Chanel would use in the early days making her hats (Note to Melissa: Find more of that ribbon!).
The boxes themselves are made out of reclaimed wood and lined with an OLFCO flower arrangement (dried flowers in shipped boxes) which make the boxes very west coast.
After ordering a number of boxes, I began to realize that the real secret behind the boxes – is actually Melissa herself. Mother of a beautiful girl, she is always with a smile and a sunny disposition. Melissa is the true definition of joy and the passion she has for her craft radiates like the sun in every box she delivers – much like a glorious day in city of Vancouver.
ELENA:)