Sugarbum Summer Sale*

Sugarbum Summer Sale!
Where: 464 Metcalfe Street, Ottawa (@ Argyle Ave. close to the Museum of Nature)
When: Saturday, July 30th, 2011! 4pm-9pm
What: dresses, gorgeous dresses, jewellery, all one of a kind and refreshing refreshments to soften your summer.
Here is a dress that is in the process of creation, you can see that it is in the sewing machine.  It reminds me of Katie Perry...

See you there, Beautiful Goddesses...
XOXOXOXO
Sugarbum.*  for more info email designs@sugarbum.ca

Spring*

I love the look of this studio.  This photo is totally perfect for right now as I have followed my bliss to a new home for myself in order to center and connect with myself.  One of the things that I really like about my new place is that it is painted a very light cream and it has that white-washed feel that makes everything seem very spacious and dreamy, which is fabulous for a simple bachelor(ette)!
I have found that my new space has offered me a new sense of clarity and direction. Oh, and I have also been following my Heart.  I have been making decisions that are difficult to make because I have been taking the stance that yes, I do believe in myself and my Vision for my Life and for Sugarbum.  I have been taking actual steps (read: ACTION!) to show myself and then the world that I am ready and willing to do what I believe and you know what?  The Universe is responding rapidly and with beautiful reassurance that I am doing the right things.  Let this be a message to you, if you will, if you are Wondering if you should make that move that you have been thinking about.  The answer is YES.  The Universe will support you if you are working towards your Higher good, your Higher Self. 
Now, speaking of people who are Amazing and listen to their inner instinct and feelings, is a Wonderful spritely gal by the name of Tavi Gevinson (I am sure most of you know her by now- and if you don't then I am honoured to virtually introduce her to you).  Here is a post of hers that speaks so beautifully and poignantly about fashion but you can apply her message to a greater life template and enjoy her funness along the way.  This 13 year old really inspires me...Tavi's post on sitting beside Anna Wintour
Also, here is the AWESOME Feist's Sea Lion Woman remix by Chromeo

I love this photo of Feist's fancy foot-fun amidst all the jumble of music cables and what not...
It reminds me a lot of the photo that Uta took one hot Sugarbum day in the park with fairies at play:

These are a pair of Sugarbum legwarmers and a pair of pumps we vintage-duck-taped into the hottest heels around!!
Cheers, Love, Happiness, and Heart.
XOXOXOXOXO
Sugarbum.*

Today*

Today I sent a text to some Wonderful friends, asking them what words came to mind when they thought of Sugarbum.  Here is a delicious list that I have grouped into 4 sections (4 being the number of Macarons delivered to me today in Canada from a friend as beautiful as an emerald which she had received from her friend who is visiting from Paris. Wonderful!)

1-The Whimsy words
Spirited Spirit Flowing Whimiscal Delightful Bright Enchanted Enchanting Sparkling Sparkly Fantasy Other-worldly Fun Colourful Free Inspired
2- The Love words
Heart Heartfelt blissful loving passionate made-with-love beautiful sweet
3- The Style words
Chic Sexy Confident Ecclectic Empowering Intellectual Responsive Unpredictable Unexpected Ever-changing Confidence-giving
4- The Earth words
Conscious Butterfly Earthen Green Organic Canadian

Infinite Love and Gratitude to all those who bless Sugarbum with their beauty and continue to inspire the world around them.

XOXOXOXOXO

Sugarbum*
 

A day in the Life*

Sugarbum Sale: A Beautiful Adventure
First of all, as I write this, I listen to Beethoven's 9th Symphony, which is a beautiful piece to write to. Perhaps you would enjoy tuning into this also while you read this post.  


Sugarbum had a sale yesterday morning at the York Street Spa (in Ottawa).  I decided to choose a tarot card the morning of my sale while sipping on Matcha tea (which is full of anti-oxidants and almost the colour of these letters!).  I pulled the Adventure card which featured a picture of a young girl walking through the darkness with a vibrant aura around her.  Her aura seemed to be lighting the way.  I had no real idea what the day would bring, who would come to the sale, or what might be sold.  I just had to trust and to flow and to allow things to unfold as they would.  Every day is essentially like this, but when you do something really different, something that you realize is completely new, you feel even more so that you are embarking upon the unknown.  I was enchanted to find that some very beautiful friends came to support me and I sold a few dresses, which is WONDERFUL in itself and for Sugarbum  and also because I am saving up for a journey to Paris and Berlin.  
Paris and Berlin:  I choose to go to Paris and Berlin because I have not yet been to Europe and a friend posted pics of her trip to Paris on facebook and I instantly felt that I had to go and be a part of the beauty.  Berlin is currently the hot spot of all things cool and I would simply LOVE to be a part of the energy where things such as fashion and passion for Life and Fun are really happening. Even as a teen, I thought it would be extra cool to party with people in Berlin because I think that they are really rad and know where it's at and I envision them as having this pulsing raw energy that I could totally resonate with and harness while I am there.  Also, Karim Rashid recently helped design this hotel in Berlin called NHOW and since it is new they are offering fantastic deals.  So yes, I am saving up to go to Paris and Berlin.  Unfortunately I will be missing their fashion weeks by about 2 or 3 weeks but that is okay.  Just being in these cities will be like experiencing a fashion show live and direct from whatever cafe/cobblestone road I happen to be absorbing all the magnificence from.  Yes, Paris and Berlin.


Furthermore, I want to thank the people who support Sugarbum.  I am SUPER STOKED that the energy is so Awesome and Amazing and that I continually inspired to create new things and offer new vibrations to the Universe.  
Sending you all LOVE and THANKS,
XOXOXO
Ashley.*


ps  Here are some photos from the Spring/Summer Sugarbum collection at Ottawa Fashion week, which took place on October 31st 2010.

Here is a photo of the beautiful Bianca rocking a simple sheath dress and shawl with gorgeous Canadian made Mukluks.

The beautiful model Goldenbird, rocking a vintage style dress made with Vintage fabric and adorned with a headpiece from Chapeaux des Madeleine, who is a very talented milliner in the Byward Market in Ottawa.  I was very fortunate to have her co-create the magic at the fashion show with the Sugarbum beauties!

I love this piece because it is so cosy and comfy and flashy.  I love this combination.  I also LOVE looking at the spectators in this photo.  They are staring! It is fun to watch them watch! 

The Power of Creating*

The thing about creating is that it can sometimes seem like a very daunting task.  In actuality, our thoughts create our reality.  So, instead of freaking, what would be more helpful would be to sit down and think about how I am totally in the flow and that design comes from my heart and flows through me easily.  What is most daunting about being a fashion designer for me is the actual process of producing the vision.  Other things are easier for me.  For instance, I LOVE sourcing fabric; coming up with ideas is my absolute forte.
When I design, I think in terms of brilliance and beauty, of innovation, of my heart's creativity.  I tend to not think in terms of "where am I/the client" going to wear this.  This notion does not interest me at all.  The clothes that I make are art work and should be seen and desired as such.  I desire to create a beauty which I imagine when I feel inspired and am not truly inspired to create the mediocre, status quo, regular kind of garment.  I am interested in creating what is different.  I am interested in wearing what is different and beautiful.  I am inspired to create in order to inform the world that there is so much fun to be had out there and the way we dress is part of how we can convey the specialness and magicalness that is life!  We can express the beauty of ourselves and the intricacies of our moods and our creativity through our clothing.
We can choose to enhance the well-being of our Spirits by applying Art to our Lives. 
That's all for now.  I think i just needed to vent.  Blog-vent.  So good.  Thank you.  I hope you got something out of this too... something useful...!

Inspired*

So, it has been quite a little while since my last post.  Things are flowing beautifully in Sugarbum world!  Sugarbum has a fashion show coming up this Saturday called Fashion Rocks @ Ritual in the Byward Market in Ottawa.  It is a charity event, designed to help to eradicate hunger in children called "Feed the Children."  I am so stoked to be a part of it.  Sugarbum will have it's very first male model.   I will tell you more about the outfit he will be rocking after the show.  I have to keep the creativity bubbling within the realm of my consciousness and universal creativity for the time being.  All I can say is that the outfit has ties to Mahatma Gandhi.


Today I am headed to the studio to finish up the dresses, which will also require a trip to the bead store to pick up some Swarovski crystals to attach to a new dress.  This will be the second Sugarbum dress that incorporates Swarovski crystals into the design.  


Anyways, here is a dress in progress that will be in the show...

Gotta jet!


Sending Love and Thanks,


Ashley & Sugarbum!

XOXOXOXO

Couldn't resist in Montreal*

I want to tell you something Amazing and Wonderful.  I want to tell you all about how electric and fun Montreal was this past weekend.  It was incredible.   I live in a government city in Canada (hmmm what could that be) where fashion is not quite dead, just muted to almost painful extremes (sorry to sound dramatic but that's the way it feels to me sometimes).  People have dimmed their lights so much, it is perfectly tangible after a fabulous trip to the raucous and rolling city of Montreal.  I felt like I was flipping through the pages of the Sartorialist when I was sitting on Prince-Arthur in all it's cobble-stoned glory after visiting the fun U&I boutique on Saint-Laurent, Saturday evening.  Oh it was just so much fun.  In lieu of consuming beer, as is often characteristic of my companions, I was consuming the eye-candy, tasting the flavours of our new-found summer (and just 2 weeks after Spring began!).  It was delicious.  I returned back to my government city (where some of my most favourite people live, I should add), with sparkle, flash and light... as well a a big heaping Betsey Johnson bag full of fun and inspiration.

I have started designing for my next show, which will be taking place at the end of May.  I have also begun scribbling a list of my inspirations for the next show which include:
capped epaulettes
jersey fabrics
the colour peach, in a watered down form
texture (playing with light)
And of course: fun fun fun

Part of the reason I am placing an extra emphasis on FUN is that:
Okay, is it just me or have you also noticed that much of the spreads in fashion magazines are kinda dismal and lacking a wonderful lustre and light within?  I went into a magazine store that is typically Amazing and I looked at so many magazines, but I was unable to find something yummy and fabulous (I apologize for saying this).  I LOVE magazines, pouring through them, being inspired by them and I, quite simply, have not found a true beauty within them as of late.  If you have any ideas of what magazines a Sugarbum like myself might adore, please let me know.  I have found Boho (an eco-chic magazine) and Lulu to be the most enlightening recently.

With LOVE,

XOXOXOXOXO

Ashley and Sugarbum.*