Festival of Lights

I remember that the first year I spent Christmas in Canada, I was amazed at discovering how much people loved to decorate their houses and front yards with Christmas lights! Entire houses shining with hundreds of lights, front yards visited by inflatable Santas and flashing reindeers... Even if it's not always of the best taste, it is fun and quite magical!

In Vancouver, every year for Christmas, the beautiful Van Dusen botanical garden transforms into a world of sugar plum fairies and ginger bread men during the "Festival of Lights" :


Blue trees and pink flowers in the middle of winter...

One of the many magical sights at the "Festival of Lights"...

After some hot chocolate and a bag of sweet and salty popcorn (it's good, I tried!), my two "angels" were becoming quite silly...

One Thousand and One Nights...

Phew... I'm done! I am officially on holidays : I'm done with my marking, my craft fairs, my Christmas shopping... and I even hosted a home birthday party for my "baby" who turned 5 last weekend! Let me pat myself on the back : )

As a few of my friends have been suggesting it for a while, I have decided to create a *Olala* design Fan Page on Facebook! I am really proud of myself because I am usually a bit scared of anything too "technical" (you should see me with my cellphone... I still don't know how to text!?!)

Anyway, here it is :



My first announcement was to give the new address of Eclektica art gallery which is now located in Yaletown, a chic and hip neighborhood in Vancouver. The gallery carries a few of my pieces, for example, these sets I made with the holidays in mind :



"Mille et une nuits" necklace - Moroccan silk beads, Swarovski crystal baroque pendant, pewter beads.

The matching earrings...

Elegant and colorful, these necklaces will make any lady shine for "One Thousand and One nights"...

Eclektica art gallery
The Empress Galleria #112 - 1118 Homer Street, Vancouver

Christmas madness...

Holiday cards by Rubypress (Etsy)

I don't know about you but I am NOT in the mood for Christmas yet!

First of all, I can't believe we are in December when yesterday we were in September.... weren't we? And, quite frankly, I am way too busy at the moment to even think about Christmas! Actually, I have to force myself to think about it : I am trying to list new items in my Etsy shop almost every day because I know that by the end of the weekend, people are not going to buy Christmas presents anymore due to shipping...

So here is a bit of inspiration that I have listed in my shop recently :

"Fleurs du soir", a bracelet composed of red carved cinnabar, plum jasper and jet black Swarovski crystals

Here's "Fleurs du soir" with my new ring by Spark, a designer I met at the Fab Fair. Check out her cool jewelry at : www.spark-girl.com


And here is my latest Treasury, "So chic!", that made the Front Page yesterday : )

Now, if you excuse me, I have to get ready for the TWO Christmas Markets I have registered for this weekend (what was I thinking about?....)

Fun Fab Fair : )

Last weekend, it was the Winter Fab Fair... and it was fun! Lots of people came on Saturday, a bit less on Sunday but there were lots of fairs and cultural events happening in Vancouver that weekend.

I thought I would share with you a few pictures of my display and jewelry, for which I received lots of compliments : )


My bird cage with my "Dans les bois" necklaces and earrings are always a big hit!


This "Feuillage d'or" necklace was bought by a lovely daddy for his daughter : )


My collection of "Goutte d'automne" necklaces featuring Brazilian agates attracted lots of compliments...


People always love touching and trying these ebony wood bracelets on! They are sooooo smooth...


And here's myself and my dear friend Andrea who always comes to help me when I have a craft fair : )

Of course, I met some super nice vendors and I could not resist buying a few pieces from them... I am especially fond of my new ring by Spark design but I'll write a special post about it soon...

(Thank you Elvira for these nice pictures of my display : )

Oh la la!!!

I have been extremely busy for the last few weeks and I have neglected my blog... I have noticed though that some lovely ladies have left some nice comments about my previous posts and this is very flattering to see that some strangers actually take the time to read my blog! Thank you : )

So, what have I been up to??? Well... I've been doing lots and lots of marking for the French courses I teach, I've been taking care of my kids, of course (my little one even had a project to do... in kindergarten!?!) and last but not least, I've been preparing for the Winter Fab Fair (this coming weekend) and another Christmas Market (in December).

One thing I really wanted to have for the craft fairs was a nice poster with *Olala* design on it to display on my table so people could see my name and, hopefully, would stop to look at my jewelry... I wanted it to look professional so I asked a friend of mine, Elvira, who is a photographer and graphic designer. And look at what she came up with :



Isn't it beautiful???? I love the atmosphere she has created in this picture, it's romantic, feminine, magical, mysterious, colorful, original.... It looks like a Renaissance painting! I think it's absolutely "oh la la!!!". I am soooo pleased with it, this is exactly what I wanted even though I didn't really know what I wanted : )


Elvira also did this one for me and I really, really like it too! I think I will have this picture printed as postcards that shopkeepers can display with my jewelry when I put some of my items in their shops... I can also use them as "Thank You" cards for my Etsy customers. As a matter of fact, I didn't have any of these "Feuillage d'or" necklaces in stock, so I made three today to take with me to the Fab Fair... I'll tell you very soon if they sold...

Winter Fab Fair, here I come!!!

Check out Elvira's website at : www.elvirayebes.com

Coup de coeur : Anna Maria Horner

I have been following Anna Maria Horner's blog for a while : this very talented lady designs the most amazing fabrics that she uses for quilts, cushions, bags, clothes and interior decoration. I have absolutely NO skills in sewing but seeing all the bright colors and lovely patterns, I'm in awe!!!

I live in a place where everything is "tan", "chocolate" and "off-white" and it really makes me sad : (

I wish I could live in Anna Maria's colorful world! Look at her booth at a recent Quilt Market and tell me if it doesn't make you smile :




If you are lucky enough to be good at sewing, check out her new collection of fabrics called "Little Folks" : http://annamariahorner.blogspot.com/

Maybe I can start with cushions... cushions should be easy to make...?

It's blue!

The new Winter Fab Fair poster is out and it is blue!... It is very nice and quite frankly, I think it goes very well with some of the latest items I have listed in my shop :

"Fleur de coton" necklace - white carved cinnabar flower, blue sponge coral, bronzite, cloisonne beads and brass

This necklace is also part of my "Opera collection" as it is 26.5 inches long and it is versatile : it can be worn with a sweater and a pair of jeans or an elegant dress : )

Another version of my "Frou-frou de fleurs" earrings but this time, in green, blue, grey and cream with gunmetal chains....

Ok, now look at the dates : November 21st and 22nd.... in 4 weeks.... Gosh, I've got some work to do! See ya!

A perfect day!

One of the disadvantages of living on the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada is that it rains a lot!... One of the disadvantages of having 2 little boys who love soccer here, on the Pacific Northwest Coast of Canada, is that you often have to watch their soccer games under the rain... : (
But I have found a way to make these rainy soccer games much more comfortable and pleasurable for me : I bought myself this adorable pair of red rubber boots with polka dots! Aren't they looooovely???

And, believe me, today was a perfect day to take my rubber boots out : )

Inspired!

What a beautiful day, today! The trees have gorgeous red-orange-yellow colors, the sun is out, it's chilly but not cold... Vive l'automne!

Inspired by these colors I love, I made a new bunch of "Frou-frou de fleurs" earrings that I hope to sell at the Winter Fab Fair on the weekend of November 21st-22nd and a more autumnal version of my "Fleurs des bois" necklace with red and chartreuse green felt flowers and olivine Swarovski crystals.

"Fleurs des bois" necklace - red and green felt flowers, freshwater pearls, tiger ebony wood, olivine Swarovski crystals

"Frou-frou de fleurs" earrings - Czech glass flowers (red, purple, mocha, green) on oxydized silver chains

My colorful "Frou-frou de fleurs" earrings collection...

Happy Thanksgiving weekend to all my Canadian friends : )

Tea time

I was really pleased to see that my "Afternoon Tea" Treasury made it to the Front Page yesterday!

This list was inspired by the fact that I am organizing a "Tea and Jewelry Party" at my house this weekend to introduce my new pieces to some lovely ladies who live in Vancouver and are members of the unofficial Olala design fan club : )

Autumn is here!

Even though Autumn officially begun last week, we had such a warm and sunny weather in Vancouver that we kept on wearing our summer clothes and sunglasses...... until today!
Yes, today was rainy, grey and chilly - we even had to turn the heat on!

So I am working on some new Fall designs using wood, copper, leather and Japanese silk to give darker and warmer tones to my creations.


Here is the Fall version of "Le jardin du peintre" pendant necklace - now featuring a copper swallow and a trio of cream, topaz and brown Czech glass flowers framed by a tiger ebony wood rectangle.

The maching earrings called "Vol d'automne" - copper swallows, tiger ebony wood squares, copper earwires


"Goutte de soie" necklace - Brazilian agate faceted briolette, Swarovski crystal, Japanese silk ribbon knotted on the side.... I am mesmerized by the beauty of this gemstone and I love the smoothness and rough texture of this Japanese silk ribbon :)

Enjoy the new season!

A Midsummer Dream

It's been months now that I have been looking for a color to repaint my bedroom walls - the color we had was called "nude" so it was light, peachy, very dull... I had visions of dark purples or sexy plums but wasn't too sure it wouldn't be too dark... So I kept on searching...

...until a few weeks ago, when I went to see my friend Grace from Eikcam who was attending the Portobello West fashion and art Market (held in Vancouver on the last Sunday of every month) and spotted on her display table THE color I wanted in a beautiful little purple-glazed Korean Dasik salt and pepper dish with a tiny flower motif! It was love at first sight and I took my little dish to the paint store to find a color that would go well with it : )

After deliberating with my husband (he was the one who was going to paint...), we decided to go for "A Midsummer Dream".... and it looks WOW on our bedroom walls!!!!



You can visit Eikcam at : www.eikcam.etsy.com

Behind the scene

The problem when you have a shop on Etsy is that you have to be good at multitasking (is that a word???). First, there is your handmade product of course but then, you have to take beautiful pictures that can attract potential buyers and, considering that there are thousands of sellers who make jewelry on Etsy, it is not an easy thing to be noticed...

What I find difficult when I photograph my jewelry is that I want to show the details and textures of the materials I used, try to capture the actual colors and also give an idea of the product when it is worn... I usually ask my friend Anne to model for me (she has a beautiful long neck that is perfect for modelling necklaces!) but lately, it has been impossible for us to organize a photo session so I have been compelled to model my necklaces myself... which is not an easy task when you are also the photographer!!!

So, the other day, I asked my 8-year-old son to help me.... and I absolutely love this picture he took of me - even though this is not the one I eventually used in my listing. I love it because I like the colors of the picture but also, the angle is sooo cute : you can definitely see that he is smaller than me : )

Première (Opening night) necklace - carved white cinnabar flower, onyx, coral, Japanese tensha beads

This necklace is part of my "Opera collection" because it measures 26.5 inches and this length for a necklace is called "opera". I like the fact that this necklace can easily and elegantly transform from day to evening wear...

September rain...

Rain, rain, rain... and more rain...

This weekend is Labor Day weekend in Canada, we have Monday off and on Tuesday, the kids go back to school... but it's been raining all weekend long : (
So, while the boys are playing video games, I'm cleaning the house and taking pictures of my jewelry...

Here are two bracelets that have fresh autumnal colors :


"Rendez-vous à Hyde Park" bracelet - 35mm tiger ebony wood squares, peridot Swarovski crystals, Liberty of London ribbon bow.

This bracelet can be worn with the bow on top of the wrist or the tiger ebony wood squares...

"Carnaval citron" bracelet - Italian resin beads on elastic string, trio of ribbons.

These sparkles and citrus colors can brighten up any rainy day!

Indian summer

I went to buy school supplies and a couple of pairs of jeans for my older son this week... yes, the summer holidays are almost over and we are getting ready for school! I'll be going back to school soon too (teaching!) so I have been quite busy working on my Olala Fall 09 collection lately.

Here are a few pieces I will be listing in my Etsy shop next week :

"Noisettes" earrings - tiger ebony squares, Indian red Swarovski crystals, copper and bronzite hazelnuts

"Eté indien" necklace - amazonite nuggets, carnelian, Indian red Swarovski crystals, tiger ebony carved leaf, copper and bronzite hazelnut

Mini Olala is going solo!

A couple of weeks ago, I decided that I should open another shop on Etsy to separate my Mini Olala jewelry for little girls from my "grown-up" jewelry.

The thought behind this decision was that it might be a little confusing for the viewers and customers of Olala design to find some items for children listed in the same shop. Creating a shop only dedicated to children would also give me the opportunity to list more items like hair clips and small brooches for instance...

So, you are invited to visit my new shop : www.MiniOlala.etsy.com

This mini butterfly bracelet was the 1st sale of my new shop this week : )

Mini Olala's pink and sparkly packaging - of course!

1000 Hearts : )

So the 1000th Etsian who added my shop in her favorites was.... Evelda's Neverland! As a matter of fact, Evelda lives in Canada - in Fredericton, New Brunswick. She designs crocheted and handknit items like scarves, chockers, handbags, baby sweaters and hats...

I featured one of her chockers in my latest Treasury, "Autumnal Bouquet" :

http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=6813724