Posts from ‘KL team’
Best Friends
It is so good to have close friends who always have your back and want the best for you. It is so good to be living surrounded by the real truth that we are never alone, that we are strong in connection with others.
It is good to just know deep down to our toes that what we have that really has value is our friends, our family, the world around us that we love. Go ahead take away the car, the house, the long list of material possessions. Go ahead! What I want is to feel safe and loved and be able to share that with my daughter and the world.
Friends make us strong. They offer us the best embrace to fall into when life gets tough. There for you when things go wrong. They empower us to take more risks and listen to our selves more.
Thanks to all my good friends that I have had over the years that made me feel stronger about myself. It wasn’t always easy but I am who I am today in part because of you and you will always be with me in everything I do. And even if you’re far away you are still my heart.
There you are. You know me. I know you. I am me and you are you. You are part of me. When I grow more into myself you are happy for me. When you grow more into yourself I am happy for you. I love how you change and how you stay the same. I am lucky to know you. Thank you for sharing everything you do.
Thanks for all the fun we have together!
See you at the boutique.
Erin.
What we are doing is real. It really impacts the community and sometimes that community is my husband (owner and chef of Restaurant Aux Vivres) and sometimes it’s my little brother Nick (artist, photographer and co-owner of Big Dog Screen printing). As an entrepreneur I feel more politically empowered than I ever did as a feminist, activist, or animal rights worker (yes, I have done all of those things). I have the decision making power of every cent I spend. I choose to buy locally made fabric. I choose to buy organic locally made fabric. I choose locally made thread, zippers and buttons too. Yes, it is more expensive than imported equivalents, but I can guarantee it is better quality and it comes with soul. When I switched to local thread, all of my machines started running better and needed to be re-threaded less often. The amount of people that those decisions affect are a ripple of local workers, salespeople and small businesses.
Oh, and I also only do business with people I like!
Let the good vibes flow.
Here is a little peek into the screen printing studio of my little brother Nick. Studio Big Dog printed the patches for my scout costumes at Circus Smirkus. His partner Carlos illustrated them.
This is not a unique Montreal story. Many of the artists and designers we have in the boutique are living from their art with the help of local shop-owners. We are a city of creative people.
My little brother is celebrating his birthday today. I love you Nick.
Studio Big Dog
5333 Casgrain, #416
Montreal, QC
Canada H2T 1X3,
Tel: 514 358 7007
contact@studiobigdog.com
Sylvie Trembley, owner and guider of the yoga center on Saint Denis worked with me (Erin) on a beautiful Styling project to decorate her yoga studio with photographs.
The challenge was to express the way yoga becomes part of the self, part of your life, and to express that in a way that honored the beauty of the people at the center through photography. I think we succeeded. Thank you Noan for expressing love through your camera, thank you Sylvie for bringing us together and challenging us all to be ourselves, Thank you to the whole yoga Sangha team, thank you to all the designers that created the clothes.
Thankyou for your beautiful,generous spirit Sylvie. I am honored to know you.
Visit the lager than life versions of these photos at the studio at 3437 rue St Denis, Montreal.
Hand knit shawl (shown above in white) available in a rainbow of colours at Boutique Katrin Leblond for $44 each. Long Cloud skirt by Melissa Bolduc sold out but still available through special order at boutique Katrin Leblond. Cream cami with open back created with love especially for this photo shoot by Jamie Brock available by special order at boutique Katrin Leblond.
Photography by Noan Major from Elevation agency.com 514 284 2234 or 514 284 7330
It’s the launch of the KL swimwear line today in the store.
We will officially be hosting a ladies only swimwear party at the store today from 4:00 to 8:00 today.
Come drink cocktails and try on the summer swim wear and dream of the sand and water and sun.
Come check out the new styles.
Katrin’s designs are hands down the most original fashion statements in pret a porter swimwear I have seen yet. I am soooo excited to try these all on.
Howl the call of the cottage in confidence.
Get ready for a high summer of pool side enjoyment and trips to the beach in style.
Yes to feeling good in a bathing suit! Yes to your body just the way it is! Yes to hot days!
YEAR 3 as Smirkus costume designer!
This years’ theme was Nature, the seasons, the elements. It was almost to broad a theme to start with. We tried different angles to approach Nature with a narrower filter. We settled on a Nature Rock-opera with a touch of Burning-man and a lot of KL style.
The Winters were purple, like when you see shadows on the snow. We added fun fur and icicle shapes. We put the emphasis on the feet because they are tight-rope walkers.
Here we have one of the Fire girls. This year’s goal was to make as many headpieces as possible. I find a head piece really frames and completes a costume. The fire girls are the contortionists.
Spring and summer expressed in flowers. One day I would love to do a whole show based on the birds and the bees…flowers, insects and foliage.
Autumn-Man, the superhero of leaves. This set of Fall foliage costumes required some hunting for sewable orange leaves. Green fake leaves are easy to come by, but yellows and oranges and reds required some searching. I finally found a supplier specialized in Retail decor. They also sold oversized fake ice cream cones.
Great work Katharina on the embellishments!
Our very Canadian looking lumberjacks. We just couldn’t help ourselves.
And here we have our rock-star unicyclists sporting some very extreme gear. I can’t wait to see these helmets light up under a spotlight. They were made with gem stone studs and a dis-assembled disco ball. Hanna made the power-ranger inspired gear.
These are the costumes for the Water girls. The wavy textures make these my favorite costumes. The girls also had headpieces made with blue hair extensions and purple hand-dyed yarn.
We did it again! This year my costume team consisted of:
Katharina Pitczuk and Hanna Broer (the two blue costumes above)
and Siobhan Martel (who is currently on tour with Smirkus).
Thank you Smirkus!
I think I speak for all woman (and man) kind when I point out the extraordinary woman that Frida Khalo embodied. Her passion for art, love of animals, eye for beauty and color, as well as rebellious personality make her one of the most remembered and cherished artists of all time.
Why exactly? Because with every whim she followed her instincts and her heart. With every experience she grew stronger no matter how negative they may have been. Jotting entries down in her journal, creating oil paintings infused with wildlife and heartbreaking imagery – if there was one main theme behind her artwork it was authenticity and acceptance.
What I love the most about her (and draw the most inspiration from) is how she was never anyone other than herself. Through good and bad habits she had a “take all of me or nothing at all” approach to life. She was passionate. She never settled.
Katharina, one of the lovely creators of KL goodness (a specialist when it comes to sewing machine embroidery) reminds me so much of Frida. While she is very much her own person, there is a wild beauty within her that is so refreshing and strong, you can’t help but think of Frida’s spirit.
Frida’s portraits were another highlight of her perception of the world. She did not try to beautify herself on canvas (in fact I find her much more attractive in photographs), but instead looked reality right in the face (sans alteration) and made it astounding. As a woman, this takes some serious guts!!!
Frida is a big part of what the KL team accomplish every day. The boutique is full of trinkets and prints alike that mimic or fully resemble this icon.
Kat even has this stuffed doll on her bookshelf…
My personal fave?
The Classic Hardware Frida bracelet, available for $55 at the boutique (There are also Frida necklaces and earrings). When I wear mine not only do I get heaps of comments, but it reminds me to stay strong and stay true.
xox
I did this embroidery on a vintage $2 bill in my early twenties.
The Queen is very important in hat-wearing society. I learned how to make bibi hats from Pauline Duguay, and the studio has recently released a new batch of bibi creations. I personally love the turquoise butterfly terrarium and the leaf.
Kat
This is about Betsy. She said to me on the phone that she wanted a rainbow wedding dress. I was delighted. Just my kind of project. We talked and I got a sense of her personality and then I took the time to make my first three sketches.
Elements of all three dresses became her dress. We chose her favorite silhouette, neckline and mixed up the embellishments to create the boquet-butterfly-fiesta party dress. The butterflies that I used as sequins on her dress have also been used by Martha Stuart to make this fab rainbow butterfly cake.
It has not even been three months since the KL teams involvement in the Bougez pour Haiti benefit, hosted by Montreal Gazette journalist Sue Montgomery, and already the proceeds have been applied to the Decamuss Business School in Port au Prince! Both the Katrin Leblond Boutique as well as Erin the store’s manager contributed via raffle prizes (a worth of over $500) to make this event a huge success!
New computers have been set up, teachers as well as rent have been paid, and the school’s damages from the horrible earthquake are all in the process of being repaired. The school is officially up-and-running teaching English, computer, and accounting classes. Although the aftershock of the earthquake still remains, students are increasingly enrolling in the schools programs with the dream of finding a suitable job when all is said and done.
Many students are studying there on either half or full scholarships, while few have the means to put themselves through the program themselves. Sues project for the future is student sponsorship – contributing individually to a students future (while they at the same time pay a portion to stay invested in what they are doing). Both Sue as well as Nickel Nicolas (the school’s director) have estimated the price of approximately $250 per person (every course and subject determines different tuition prices), so if you are interested in sponsoring a Haitian student’s studies don’t hesitate!
Contact Sue asap at montgomery.sue@gmail.com
In any case, another Bougez pour Haiti will be taking place this November to raise more funds for this cause. Sue has mentioned that the prizes as well as the event will both be larger scale and just as much dancing fun as the last!
Education is the most important thing we can give Haiti’s future, donate generously!
xox
Wow! The Sylvie’s have been hitting up Italy in style!
From yoga to sightseeing in some of the most beautiful locations, it seems our lovely KL ladies are soaking in what Europe is all about – a beautiful lifestyle! With gorgeous weather, perfect surroundings and hopefully some exciting travel stories to match, the Sylvie’s will be returning to Montreal well rested and with the memory of the perfect getaway!
Enjoy some more of the personal pictures they sent the KL team (it’s like a mini tour via blog).
Enjoy!
(Above Ostuni)
The gorgeously serene beach 
Alberrobello et ses trulli
Polignano A Mare
Rome Piazza di Navona
The yoga room were they attend classes twice a day…
A rooftop view of Ostuni…
A beautiful building in the town of Matrina Franca!
Polignano A Mare, the city surrounded by the lush blue waters of the Adriatic sea!
“The trip is fantastic!!! Beautiful weather, beautiful landscapes, great food and even better company. Our yoga group is so sweet and gets along famously! We have two yoga sessions a day that are about 2.5-3 hours long. The first one is very (too) early at 6:30am and the next is at 4:30pm. Between classes we visit the towns around or we take it easy by the pool. In the evenings we have dinner outside as we are serenaded by our host who is a former Italian rock star and loves to sing and play his guitar for us!
Here are some pictures!
Bisous,”
Sylvie G
Have a beautiful Tuesday!
xox
Visit the Official Site!
