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SwanDoe| The softest of leathers
SwanDoe|Â Oh swoon… the softest of leathers, and an excellent Christmas present for your loved ones.
I said it before, and I’ll say it again:Â it’s so important to shop local. Not are you only benefiting the local economy, but SwanDoe is giving back to the community as well which I think is equally notable. Plus, you’re making people like Swan do a happy-dance when you buy one of her products. It’s cute, I’ve seen it!
SwanDoe is a local brand based in San Francisco with a small team of artisans who were all trained by an Hermes master artisan. That’s mind blowing. Do you know how cool that is? Hermes is the tip top of luxury brands.
I was gifted a generous amount of SwanDoe’s Essentials Collection (which fun fact, launched on Halloween Day — Swan was coding away while her hubby was handing out candy!). The Essentials Collection is one to be grown with, meaning that Swan and her team are creating versatile, timeless designs that evoke quality. If you’re a college student, carry the Van Reversible Tote, it fits a laptop perfectly and doesn’t poke out. Transitioning into a working woman, the leather is only going to grow with you and get even more smooth and buttery. Working woman turned mother? Easy, she’ll be launching inserts with pockets to fit into the Reversible Tote very very soon… so stay tuned.
The Essentials Collection is branded as affordable luxury pieces. But here’s the deal, if you like a colour way, you better snag it up when you can because once that colour is sold out, it’s gone for good! Pieces are created in small production batches to ensure highest quality standards are met. This also means SwanDoe items are limited and one of a kind. I like that. No one else (unless there’s a batch of 50 of you and your friends who want to bring back that colour) has the Pumpkin + Almond colour tote any more now that they’re all gone. I was the last person with it! I carry it with me all the time — including adding it to my try-on’s in dressing rooms :)
As a Graphic Designer I can appreciate the beautiful packaging. It’s so luxe with the orange bags and white pretty bows.
Here are some product shots of the items that were gifted to me:
Van Reversible Tote in Pumpkin Spice. I have my switched over to the almond side! :)
Melody Wallet Crossbody in Pumpkin Spice +Â ‘Drop-In’ Leather Pouch Wallet in Acorn.
Travel Wallet in Ruby Sky
Greg the Giraffe charm +Â Henry the Horse charm
Swan’s goal for the company is to become a product for good lifestyle brand that focuses on creating opportunities and providing support families in need. SwanDoe continues to donate and support a variety of organizations and charities, locally and internationally including donating to a silent auction event for a charity that raises funds for a House of Hope in southern Viet Nam, where they provide housing and financial support to women and children who have been infected/affected by HIV and have been abandoned by their families and/or husbands. Swan is a product of poverty and she remembers the hardships her and her family faced in Viet Nam and when they arrived in San Jose when she was 10 years old. Unfortunately I had to miss her latest charity event where donations from SwanDoe purchases went to the St. Jude’s Children Hospital through their collaboration with West Elm in Palo Alto.
After meeting with Swan for coffee last week, IÂ can tell she has a great heart and she has fully dove into her work with a passion. I cannot wait to support her even more in the near future.
I want to thank my blog friend Alyson from The Beauty Vanity for giving Swan my contact info for reaching out to me.Â
Wardrobe Wishlist: Top 10 items
For the most part I’m wearing jeans and a simple tee on an everyday basis. I don’t mind it. That’s my signature style. Slide into a pair of slip-on shoes and a casual bag and you’ve got yourself a spiffykerms smilin’ right back atcha.
Today I’m bringing back something a little different to the ol’ blog here. A wardrobe wishlist. Ages ago I used to make wishlists to post on the blog, when I window-shopped online. Anyone remember that? Is this something you’d like me to continue?
(click to enlarge image)
1. Anthropologie · Eira Sweater Dress| $128. Speaking of Anthropologie, and dresses, if I were still working in a corporate office, I’d buy this right up. Imagine it with either black…oooh, or red stockings and some booties. Instantly chic.
2. Tahari ASL · Fit-and-Flare Crepe Dress| $138. I need some fancy-pants dresses for Christmas parties! Besides wearing neutrals I think my favourite bright, is a nice true red colour. I think I own a max of three dresses in my closet and one of those includes my wedding dress. The other two? One is a blue summery dress from Anthropologie 2 years ago for our wedding reception, and the other is an olive green cotton maxi that I don’t feel comfortable in anymore. Oops.
3. Blank NYC · Morning Suede Moto Jacket| $188. Suede! I love it! I have a much more inexpensive version of this made from faux-suede and it’s a flimsier (and pink) blazer that I get complimented all the time on. I want this so bad, it’s gorgeous. Imagine it paired with a huge chunky scarf (that I’ll never have to wear because I’m in California, ha!).
4.  Tahari ASL · Fringed-And-Beaded Bouclé Jacket| $149. Baby pinks and light greys, okay and neutrals in general are my favourite colours to wear. I have a blazer similar to this that I picked up a few years ago that I really love and wear often to fancier blog events.
5. Tahari ASL ·Peak-Lapel Velvet Blazer| $129. I’m all about textures and layering come the colder months. And nothing else shouts warm, yet sleek like a structured velvet blazer. I used to have one and wore it all the time when I worked my day-job, but I gave it away once I moved to the USA— yes I regret it.
6. ZARA · Mid-Rise Skinny Jeans| $69. Many people question where I buy my jeans, and lately I’ve been buying them from Zara. I love the style of them, they make my toosh look good, and they fit perfectly. Plus, I love how they distress them. So, that my friends is where I pick them up. Normally I’d go for something like the one’s shown in the photo above, but with a darker denim since I find they fade quickly.
7. Saint Laurent · Classic Saint Laurent zip case with front card slots| $295. Everyone has been on this minimalist journey for what seems like all of 2016, but I can’t help but lust after this simplistic card holder. What more do you really need when you head out the door? Slip your phone into your back jeans pocket, grab your shades and car keys and head on out. For sure you could definitely find something more affordable, and I’ll never buy this for myself but that’s the point of online window-shopping. I’m not going to buy it. I’ll simply lust after it, ha!
8. Anthropologie · Sequin Cowl Poncho| $98. Raise your hand if you’re a fan of wearing white on white on the winter. I know I’m not afraid to, and with my dark hair and a red shellac nail polish going on? Ugh, yes. I can just picture it!
9. Urban Outfitters · BDG Polly Flannel| $39. This is finally on sale! I blogged about it a few months ago, saying it was too expensive for my price range, especially for a flannel. But I love the colours in this one, and it looks excellent paired with white denim.
10. CASLON® · Long Shark Bite Hem Sweater| $69. No surprise I’m a fan of sweaters and tons of texture in the colder months. I like to stick to the basics, but dress it up a little bit. Love that the model is wearing the sweater with a beanie and simple denim.
Disclaimer: This post was sponsored by Tahari ASL.
Addicted to Stationary (here’s a haul for ya)
A post from me, a little out of the ordinary. But for those who’ve known me ages, know it’s not out of the ordinary that I spend a good hour or more in a stationary store. And ya know San Francisco Bay Area has a ton of them. I’ve even made trips to San Francisco JUST to visit these said stores.
I’ve always been a pen/pencil/marker/stationary/notebook collector my entire life. I have tons of little notebooks back home in Newfoundland filled with the same type of cartoon characters, over and over and over again.
My stationary and writing utensil game hasn’t changed at all. I’d like to think it all came from my Father being an Architect and he wore that off onto me a little bit, with the fascination of different pen tips, and whatnot. So, I’m here to share a little bit of goodies I found while shopping around the past few years here in California. I’m especially loving the Japanese stationary stores, all sorts of wonderful gems in there for a fraction of the cost of what I’d find elsewhere.
First up are some items I was sent from Cool Pencil Case (sent for review).
Since I’m an 80’s baby I knew immediately I wanted to get the Tape Cassette pencil case. It’s AWESOME. I wonder if kids these days know what this is? I should ask my nephews, hah.
It has a zippered pouch and you can hold tons of layered pens on top of one another due to how the zipper is sewn on, so you’re not limited to how many fits across. Make sense? Kinda wish the inside had a pattern or something, the beige is kind of boring in my opinion.
