So we have all of these fantastic, unique boutiques, all over Canada carrying glamjulz right? Well there are some stores that really shine. They understand the importance of relationship building and how great partnerships can really make both store and supplier successful.
The last few weeks I have been booked solid with events. So many of these stores have included me in their, fashion shows, girl’s nights and spring Open Houses. I LOVE doing these events of course because I get to meet YOU! The women that are wearing my pieces. It’s so fun to connect and meet fans of glamjulz. You ladies give me great ideas for new designs, what you are really loving to wear, and what makes you feel your best. Once I know these things I can better contribute when I am meeting with my boutiques as they order for up-coming seasons. Helps us give you exactly what you want!
Woooo Hooooo!!!! What a great time we had at the One of A Kind Show this spring! I am truly grateful for all of YOU!!!!! Let’s face it, it’s been a loooooonnnggg winter and many of us have been feeling fed up and frustrated. We were all so excited about the OOAK show here at glamjulz! Excitement combined with nervousness was how I was feeling. Are people going to come? What if we get more snow? Will people be in the mood for spring?
Guess what??? YES! YES! YES! You were in the mood and THANK YOU!!!! So many of us artisans had a great show! I hope that you all truly realize the incredible impact that has on us. The feeling is sooooo good! Here we are working away all winter, creating beautiful products for a beautiful show and really not being able to predict what the energy at the show will be like. Year after year you show up. You bring new friends, you admire all of our hard work and you pick up a piece or 2 or 3 or 4……it’s amazing!!! Just like that glamjulz becomes a part of your spring/summer wardrobe and you wear your pieces with pride and tell all your friends! Then the phone starts ringing and your friends are calling because they want some glamjulz……and that my dear fans is the magic. You are the amazing people that make all of this possible. The more you talk the more action small business’ receive and we are all so truly thankful.
……………..and of course as you all know I am truly the luckiest because I KNOW that we have the BEST customers of all!!!! xoxoxo
Let’s go back about a month……..so it’s one week before the One of A Kind Show…there is lot’s to do and I find myself hovering….”Wayne is the website up to date?…..what are you doing about our booth lighting?” “Dawn do we have enough julz?….have you made enough earrings to match all our necklaces?”……geeeezzzz even I’m getting sick of my own voice.
I needed to be refreshed and re-charged… one week before the show and I wanted to see new things. My team is so amazing that they are more than capable of working together to ensure a successful show. I needed to vacate the studio and bring home some fresh energy!
Ottawa and Montreal was my destination! Besides meeting up with some beautiful stores in both Montreal and Ottawa my trip was a huge success on a personal level too. I drove through a horrible snowstorm but arrived safely to sunny skies in Ottawa just in time for my 2:00 appointment with Magpie jewellery. After a wonderful visit with them I checked in to my hotel. (Got a great deal on Hotwire) I then bundled up and strolled through downtown Ottawa, The Byward Market and then over to the Parliament buildings. Feeling PROUD to be Canadian I relished in beauty until dusk and then treated myself to some sushi on the way back to the hotel. To top off the evening the hotel offered a complementary Sauna Room that guests could book and enjoy for an hour. Ohhhhh it was heavenly! I felt so good from this wonderful treat. All of a sudden everything was in perspective again. That rush, rush, rush feeling I was feeling only earlier that day had vanished. I vowed to practice this feeling of peace and tranquility in my regular setting when I got back home. Why is that so difficult???? Especially when we all know that this is the road to success and happiness, enjoying the moments.
On to more moments……my next series of moments were in Montreal. My first evening there I checked in to yet another fantastic Hotwire Deal. The Candlewood Suites, full kitchen, big room, it was like I had my own little apartment. I checked in and raced out again to enjoy the afternoon and evening. While strolling through old Montreal I walked past the Notre Dame and noticed they were having a light show inside the church. I bought my ticket and 10 minutes later the show started. It was so incredible, pink, turquoise, yellow and purple lights lit up the inside of the church from different angles, it was truly magical. My next destination was FOOD! I hit a local grocery store and bought myself some nice Quebec vino and a big piece of Salmon, a sweet potato and some salad fixings, oh yes and a little triangle of brie! I was feeling very french!
When I arrived back at the hotel I asked the girl at the desk where I could pick up the BEST Montreal bagels in the morning. She told me of a place called St-Viateur, she thought it was a little over a half hour walk. I was on a mission! Set my alarm for 6:30am and was walking up hill by 7am for bagels…..wooooaaahhhh!!! Arrival time 8:15…..a little more than half an hour but totally worth it! I ate two bagels on the walk back I was so starving! This place was incredible. You MUST go next time you are in Montreal, family run biz and open 24hours! Good news, you can order these bagels on-line too! The magic to the flavour is the wood burning stove as you can see in the picture here. I found out later on that Michael Ignatieff was in with his peeps for bagels the very next day! I’ll bet he didn’t walk up hill for 50 minutes!
I hope you are all enjoying yourselves and taking little mini-vacations or just escaping when you can! This spring that’s coming should be here soon, I do have chives and parsley in my garden already….we just need some good old vitamin D on our skin! It’s coming, I’m sure!!!!!
Well let me introduce you to another famous brother! This is Dawn’s brother Jeff Bartels. Many of you know how talented Dawn is with all of the beautiful julz she creates here at glamjulz, well apparently that talent runs in the family.
We had the pleasure of seeing Jeff at Studio 561 in Toronto where he launched his latest collection. This series is incredible. As you will read on Jeff’s website, this series of paintings explores the human condition expressed through hands.
Dawn, Wayne and I went to see Jeff and as soon as we walked through the door we were blown away. Jeff’s attention to detail is breathtaking. When I look at his paintings I can just imagine him working, so focused and diligent, never straying from the message he is trying to convey through his art. Every wrinkle, every hair, every reflection, is so exact. I especially love the paintings that Jeff is standing in front of in this photograph. Being a music lover these pieces moved me the most. I could actually feel emotions and sounds and talent coming from those hands. The paintings had a vibration and they made me feel good.
It’s such an honour to know Jeff. Jeff is an inspiration and is a person that has become successful by staying true to what he does best. Jeff you are a true artist and thank you for sharing your beautiful pieces with the world!
I am so excited to be writing this blog that I don’t quite know where to start. I suppose I should start by saying that I am a VERY proud big sister!!!! Even though my brother is going to be 40 this year…..is it wrong for me to say that I am still a proud big sister?
Eric has just launched his first business. It’s called Gobsmact and let me tell you it’s so much more than just T-shirts! Let’s start with the T-shirt part though. In Eric’s first collection titled Mind Readers each T-shirt tells a story. You will read on his site what each of his images mean, you will be able to identify with them and definitely find an image that speaks to you. This one is my favourite. It’s called Thoughts in Orbit. In Eric’s words, ” Thoughts in orbit is all about communication. It’s about the effect inspiration can have on a person, making them more confident and attracting others who can build on that piece of inspiration.”
Remember how I was saying that Gobsmact is more that just T-shirts? Well here are a couple of other amazing things that Eric is doing with his business.
Gobsmact will be donating $1 from each of his sales to help our dear friend Tom Preston as he fights to beat cancer.
Gobsmact is also offering free music to all of it’s customers when you order a T! On deck first is power pop band The Nines who you will absolutely LOVE!!! They are amazing and Eric and I both went to high school with Steve Eggers, the band’s incredible front man!
Gobsmact shirts are made with 100% cotton, using sweatshop-free labour right here in Canada.
With that said I am very inspired by Eric and what he has created. His enthusiasm for this venture in contagious and I know he is going to be very successful! By the way as I am out visiting with glamjulz customers I am also going to be pounding the pavement with these T’s. Looking for some great stores to represent Gobsmact, so do expect to see them around town soon! In the meantime Eric has some fantastic contests on right now for those of you that are interested and of course if you just can’t wait you can always pre order one of these amazing T’s and Eric will pay the shipping!
Hey this just in…….if you enter the handy coupon code GSC102BL, you’ll save 25% off your order.
Thanks for reading glamjulz fans and thanks again for all your support! I am so blessed to have friends and fans that are passionate about supporting Canadian designers. So happy that this one just happens to be my kid brother!
In February I had the pleasure of participating in The Ever After Wedding Show in Milton Ontario. What a beautiful venue. The show was held at the Glencairn Golf Club. It was an intimate show with some fantastic exhibitors. If you brides are looking for some great people to connect with to help you with your wedding plans here are some of the exhibitors that I met. All local talented entrepreneurs.
The day was fantastic and we even teamed up with Elizabeth’s for the Fashion Show! glamjulz was seen on all the models in the beautiful gowns from Elizabeth’s.
We can’t wait to work with all of the wonderful brides we met that day and add a dash of sparkle!
Looking through my photo albums I think I have more pictures of food then anything else! I love to cook, I love to eat and I love to taste new things! Getting together with friends and family is always a culinary adventure. As I eat and eat I also try to be careful with the quality of what is going into my mouth. I have noticed that what my body does not want it stores as fat.
Last month a friend and I were reading up on our Chinese horoscopes to see what 2011 would bring, because I was born year of the Rooster apparently I LOVE to keep track of everything. It’s really true, I track money, exercise, and yes food intake! So for those of you that want to hop on board, enjoy all the good and keep healthy and happy check out www.fatsecret.com. This website is a little gem that has saved me! It shows fat grams, protein grams, and carb grams for everything you eat! Just by tracking and keeping my grams from each category in check I have lost 18lbs since last August.
The wonderful thing about the site is that it just helps to keep things under control, it’s like Weight Watchers for free! It’s also a free app, so I have it on my BlackBerry and I plug in my calories faithfully. Also, if you are interested in getting more clean in the way you eat there is a fantastic series of books on eating clean by Tosca Reno. It’s fascinating stuff. Like did you know that sugar breaks down collagen and gives you wrinkles??? That’s my vanity speaking but there are so many great substitutes for sugar that are healthier and your body can actually use.
Keeping track really has helped me to be more aware of what I am eating and has helped me to appreciate and savour my own cooking and other’s. Hope this helps!
In the last couple of months I have been speaking at a local high school to grade 10 students. These students are in a careers class and really gain a lot of value when guest speakers come in.
I know the boys are thrilled when they see me, nothing better than a 41 year old woman talking about her jewelry business….LOL! Nevertheless I have a ton of fun with all of the guys and gals in these classes. The last time I was invited I was asked to speak to two different classes. The night before I was thinking, how can I improve the messages that I am trying to give these kids? How do I teach them good work ethic in a “cool“ way? That night I picked up my Inc. Magazine and was intrigued by yet another one of their amazing articles. This one titled, “top 30 under 30“ ….. woooo hoooo this is where I discovered the amazing Josh Shipp!
This 29 year old guy is INCREDIBLE! He is a motivational speaker for teens! Where was he for me and my friends in highschool? He is all about empowerment and taking life to the next level. No excuses, who cares about your past, put your best foot forward! That’s his message!
I read the article and then rushed to get on his website and see what else this genius had to say! What a great site. He has a wonderful 3 minute speech you can watch that really shows you what he’s all about and he’s written a book called, “The Teen’s Guide to World Domination”
The next day I was even more pumped to talk to the students! Josh Shipp motivated me to be a better speaker and I also wanted to show him off to the class! The students loved his 3 minute speech on his website…..it really helped me get the students to a good place, opened them up to talk to me about their hopes, dreams and ambitions. I had a fantastic time with both classes and it was an honour for me to hear what they had to share.
I am now in the middle of reading “The Teen’s Guide to World Domination” the 16 year old Monica is oh so inspired and happy! Josh you are speaking to all of us! It’s never too late! Thank you!!!
Okay, I admit it, sometimes I REALLY want to procrastinate! Just sit back, relax and let the day drift by. Sometimes I look at all the things I need to accomplish in a day and I say…hmmmmm….which one is the most fun….that`s the one I`m going to do! I realize I am kind of putting myself out there but I would like to share with you my list of EXCUSES to procrastinate and you can let me know if they sound familiar, or if you have any that you would like to share:
I can`t call people on Monday`s, everyone hates Monday`s no one will want to talk to me
I feel a little grumpy today…hmmm, maybe it`s PMS early this month…. I better just chill
If I just hit the snooze button 10 more times I`ll still be able to get everything done that I need to do
What`s the point in organizing my desk at the end of the day, it will just get messy again tomorrow
I`ll call that person when I feel better, what if they can tell something is bothering me.
Okay…so this is just a short list of some of the things that go through my head….as soon as they surface I now hear a louder voice saying, SNAP OUT OF IT!!!!! (that`s actually Dawn`s voice in my head, she`s really great at telling me! LOL!)
So now that I am reading my list I am realizing how easy it is to sabotage success with the little voices in our head. For the most part I am able to push through this stuff and a lot of it is left over thought patterns from when I was working in the corporate world and sometimes dreaded getting out of bed in the mornings. That`s when I remind myself I am living in a beautiful world that I created so get out there and love it! Push those excuses aside!
When those negative voices get a little too loud I tune in to the following entrepreneurs for a friendly “Kick in the Pants“
Gordon Ramsay– Kitchen Nightmares (ouch! He has a hard kick!)
I can`t get enough of these guys, they all have the same thing in common, they are sooooo passionate about what they do AND they have tremendous attention to detail and get the job done!
As for me….my desk is clean and I only hit the snooze once this morning! Had my morning walk and I`m BACK TO WORK! Get out there and take on that world! Wooo Hooo!
On February 21st (Family Day), I had the pleasure of joining CH Morning Live to celebrate their 10 year anniversary of the show! My alarm went of at 4am that day! I indulged in one 5 minute snooze and then went downstairs to make myself a BIG cup of tea! Next….. get showered, dressed, hair, makeup and out the door for 5am! No problem and hellloooo SNOW! 5 minutes to brush the fluffy sparkly stuff off of my car and them a nice slow drive down to Spencer`s On the Water in Burlington.
When I arrived at Spencer`s I was greeted by the whole CH crew….big hugs and appreciation for getting up so early to be on the show……come on you guys, the pleasure is ALL mine! When I arrived at 5:30 everyone was already on set, looking glamorous and wide awake with big mugs of coffee, laughing, joking and reminiscing about their last 10 years together. What a dynamic team they are! The energy in the room was amazing and I was so HAPPY to be a part of it! Here is a picture of Annette and I just before we did the interview.
I am truly thankful to the CH Morning crew, as I`m sure many small businesses in this area are. They are all so dedicated to promoting local talents and businesses. They really thrive on keeping the community abreast of everything that`s happening in area which helps all of us.
Here`s to 10 more amazing years!!!!! Way to go you guys!!!!!
