I recently attended a casual gathering at Violet Boutique located on South Granville to view new exclusive Spring 2011 collection, Suno New York.

Suno is one of the most colorful collections I’ve seen made with textiles founded and collected from Kenya. In trying to keeping it to it’s roots, the sampling is done in NYC and then shipped off to be produced in small workshops in Kenya. I got completely lost in the toss of textures, patterns, tribal prints and bright colors.

Suno also collaborated with jewelry line, Lizzie Fortunato Jewels incorporating some of the textiles with over-sized gems and stones to make stunning statement pieces. I bought a beautiful coral and ivory stone choker right off of Genevieve’s neck (the owner of Violet Boutique). No really, I literally made her take … more …

I have no problem going to church for a fashion show. Vancouver based clothing brand, Obakki debuted their F/W 2011 collection at Saint Andrew-Wesley’s church. They had over 600 people in attendance including writers and bloggers from Elle Magazine, Fashion Magazine, Le Fashion, Refinery29 and Who What Wear. Best of all, the profits from the show were donated to the Obakki Foundation. If you’d like to learn more about the Obakki Foundation and about all their efforts make sure you watch this inspirational video by Candace Meyer:

Obakki Foundation in Cameroon from Obakki on Vimeo.

The church was draped with hundreds of lit candles while guests were greeted with beautiful haunted tunes by Marta of Fan Death and E.S.L. on the grand piano. Before the show a mysterious and moody short film set the mood for … more …

It’s going to be grand affair tonight, I’m going to church. (Just kidding).

Vancouver brand, Obakki will be showcasing their Fall/Winter 2011 collection at the St.Andrew’s-Wesley church. This will be the first time ever that the Obakki runway show be open to public. All ticket proceeds are going towards the charitable Obakki Foundation.

When: April 28th, 2011 Thursday

Time: 7:30 doors and show at 8:00 pm

Get Tickets: www.obakki.com

Afterparty: Boneta

Sunny Shum, Footwear Buyer for Sterling Shoes Inc, Blogger & Your Industry Insider | Follow me @partly_sunny

I had the chance to spend some time at the 4th Avenue JNBY store to preview their current Spring 2011 collection. What I admire most about JNBY is how innovative they are with their designs. Each piece is so unique yet so wearable for everyday.

They have broken the collection down into three  concepts: Clown, Elegant Rock and Future. The “Clown” inspiration represents easy, relaxed and over-sized shapes. “Elegant Rock” features layered looks with strategically placed slits and cuts in fabrics paired with several varieties of sexy leggings. JNBY sees the “Future” not as uncomfortable structural pieces but as simple and functional living pieces with structured details.

I picked out two pieces, one from the “Elegant Rock” collection and one from the “Future”. I love the black stretch knit tunic because … more …

I recently had the opportunity to try out a new massage studio that opened in the Kitsilano neighbourhood by partnering owners, Jenny Shin and Nancy Hannoun. Footworks Relaxology, located at 2992 West Broadway, offers traditional foot reflexology services in a contemporary setting.

When I was little girl, my mother always told me to take good care of my feet. She use to work long laborious hours in a factory and as soon as she got home, she would apply pressure on her feet with her fingers and thumbs. She said there are certain points on the feet (as well as your hands) that are connected to the rest of your body. This is what we call reflexology - By applying pressure to certain zones of the feet, it can help … more …