Happy Holidays

 We shot our Holiday Gift Guide last week.  I always find it so crazy shooting Christmas Trees in May, but that's what they call fashion!  It was a great effort by all.  A 7:00am call time, Rachel behind the lens and Peter, Lexie and I on set design.  My favourite prop, and probably a little over used in the shoot, was the $2.99 penguin that Lexie brought home from Value Village.  Loved the guy so much, that he has become a permanent fixture in the store.  No need to hide him away till Christmas!

NYC

Just had a world wind of 2 days in New York , the city that never sleeps, tell me about it.  My two days we jammed packed with meetings, lunches, dinners, and lots of coffee.  My new find is  spina cafe in Brooklyn.  They sell the most amazing Americano's and flowers..yes that's right, shop for beautiful bouquets of flowers, while sipping incredible coffee. Lexie would lose her mind in here. Spina is right across the street from Alter our all time favourite store in New York.  It was so great catching up with the Alter boys, and I am completely green with envy over their new office space! oh man Peter would lose is mind in there!! One day Peter, one day.  All in all and incredible 48 hours!  So quick, my 5 year old told me he didn't even miss me...'but where's my Lego present, mama'?

Custom pillows at preloved!

Custom pillows are now available at preloved and we're having a contest to celebrate! 

How our custom pillows work:

You send us 1 of your most beloved t shirts, and leave the rest to us! We cut up your t-shirt and incorporate it into a beautiful one-of-a-kind  pillow! All other materials will be chosen by us to compliment your t-shirt and will be assorted vintage materials!

How:

You can order online by going to our website. Click on the custom pillow option or click here to take you directly to the website.

OR

You can also order in person at our Queen Street store. Just pop by with one of your fav vintage tee's and we'll sign you up for a custom pillow order!

Here's how to enter the contest to win your very own preloved custom pillow!

All you have to do is comment on this blog post below! Its that simple! Let us know why you love preloved or why you want an awesome preloved custom pillow, or just say hi! Contest runs all week long and we'll annouce the winner early next week!

Mothers Day

I had an incredible mothers day.  After an insane week at work ( hence why no blog post this week) it was so amazing to spend some down time with my family.  I was showered with breakfast, nature hikes and home made gifts. Gotta love the poem my nine year old wrote me, (as I was opening the gifts from the other two, nothing like waiting for the last minute).  I'm just thrilled he still thinks I am fun to be around! Happy Mothers Day to all!

Rent a dog

I think this has to be one of the best deals going.  Jimmy the dog!  My parents dog.  Whenever my kids start bugging me about getting a dog we just go and 'borrow' Jimmy.  Then the minute the novelty of having a dog wears off, Jimmy heads back home to grandma and papa's place.  While my parents are on a cruise ( oh to be retired!) we have had Jimmy with us for over 2 weeks. Watching my eldest bond with this dog, has got me thinking that maybe I need to take this K9 thing up a notch, and look at something a little more permanent.  I mean we are over 16 days in , and my 9 year old still has a smile on his face while picking up dog poo....if that doesn't say we need a dog, then I don't know what does!

BHLDN!

Ok, this is by far the most amazing place on earth! That is if you about 27 years old ,engaged and are a huge Anthropoloige fan, which happens to be half of my staff these days! Well maybe not half, but definitely Lexie!  Ashley and I had the honour of shopping for wedding dresses with Lexie at BHLDN when we were in Chicago. I may not be 27, (shh don't tell anyone) and I am not engaged, but after spending a couple hours in this incredible bridal shop, created by Anthropologie,  I have to agree that it could possibly be one of the nicest places in the world! Thanks for including us Lex!

Shop Small

I had my photo taken this weeek for  American Express Shop Small program.  Preloved is in the top 5 finalist of Toronto's Neighborough Gem.  Out 4000 local business, preloved has made the top 5! YAHOO.  Thanks to all who voted and please continue to vote!! right here The winner will be annouced on Friday May 3rd!  #SHOPSMALL

Cannot be ingnored

 I  was so moved by this post by Victoire that I wanted to share it.  Not only is Victoire one of our favourite and longest wholesale clients, but both Katie and Regine have become very inspirational to the team here at preloved.  We love them because they are risk takers, fun, smart, and fashion forward women, who are not afraid to say what so many people are thinking! Thanks Katie for putting your thoughts out there, and inspiring us here at preloved!

THURSDAY, APRIL 25, 2013

Cannot be ignored

In light of the news of yet another collapse in a Bangladesh factory, Katie was compelled to write this blog post. We don't often broach these topics on the blog - we don't want to sound preachy, alarmist, or appear to be talking about it because our business may benefit. We love carrying Canadian designers because they are well-made, support artisans in our communities and they are just plain super talented. So that's usually the approach we take, bolstering the positives of supporting Canadian designers, but the human toll that fast fashion is taking is just too great to ignore.

I love fashion. I mainly buy pieces made here in Canada, and try very hard to avoid buying new clothing made overseas. But sometimes I do cave on a cute and trendy throw-away piece at a killer deal. I just block out the real cost of this clothing on the lives of other people on the other side of the world. Then this happens and I reflect on the clothes I have bought at Joe Fresh and feel like a shit of a person. My love for clothing is nowhere near as important as elevating the quality of life and the chance at life for others. Our economic power does make a difference in how companies choose to produce goods. And on what kind of designers boutiques choose to carry.

I commit to buy less but better pieces. I commit to only buying clothing that is made overseas at factories committed to paying living wages, under safe working conditions and that are environmentally friendly. And I hope you are also moved to making similar commitments!

Fashion is nowhere near as important as people's lives and I will not ignore this next time I am tempted by throwaway fashion.

Dress Sale

Oh I love these dresses!!  Now starting tomorrow, all the dresses at preloved  will be on sale!  50% off.  It finally feels like spring around here, so we thought we'd help you get your spring in your step, and grab a new dress for the season.  Sorry ladies, but this is an in store only promotion, so if you happen to be in Toronto this weekend, please pop by!  Tell them Julia sent you!....oh, and for the record, the above dresses are not from our spring 2013 collection, but if Lexie has her way, they will be apart of the 2014 one!

EAT.SHOP.PLAY

EAT: I'm currently obsessed with Sanko. A japanese grocery store with so many amazing and yummy things! The store is right by preloved and so I've been making my way there almost everyday. Its so hard when its so close and oh so good! My favorite at the moment is their home made onigiri. I love them!

SHOP: My favorite store is and always will be Mama Loves You Vintage. My very close friend opened up this vintage store just a few months ago and it's already the talk of the town! She has an amazing selection of vintage and second hand clothing. It really is one of the best in the city and I'm not only saying that cause she's my gal!

PLAY: Okay so I've been playing a lot of Wii lately! When my boyfriend downloaded the original Super Mario Bros for Wii I was like "it's on!". I played this game a ton when I was a kid and I have a feeling I'm never going to quite kick the addiction.

Ball Hockey?

I had so much fun watching my 5 year old play ball hockey, I wanted to share it.  I am anything but the typical "hockey mom".  I can barely get to the rink to see him play, and when I do, I am the mom in the corner with her eyes closed every time he wipes out.  Now, give the guy a helmet, a stick and RUNNING SHOES, it's a whole different game, and probably one of the best ways to start a weekend.  Add a tall, non fat, extra hot, half sweet, peppermint latte, and you have a small piece of heaven!

* Scotty is wearing the Niko Pants, from our fall 2010 me*me by preloved collection.  

pick and pack

What a great feeling it is, when the boxes are out the door.  This week we shipped out our Spring 2 2013 collection  It was a long day, to say the least.  Packing all the orders, takes time, focus, and team work.  But on days like this, it makes me so happy that I work with such an incredible team. Our pick and pack day went off with out a hitch....well maybe a few hitches, but that's what keeps things fun, right Ashley!!

Accidental Environmentalist

We are so excited to be apart of the Green Living Show  this year.  I always say the environmental aspect of my business was the most positive off shoot anyone could have asked for! I can tell ya 17 years ago when I opened preloved ( I was 11 at the time), the impact we were making on the environment was not at the forefront.  It was all about fashion.  Now 17 years later, it's still all about fashion, but we realise the difference we can make to this planet, and are thrilled to do it, one sweater at a time!.  Make sure you pop by the green living show this weekend, and say hi to us at the preloved booth, and catch a few tips, from yours truly on how to re-vamp your classics!

10 Ways to Re-vamp Your Classics With Julia Grieve, designer and founder of Preloved. Learn how to maximize your wardrobe by reworking, reusing and accessorizing your classics.

EAT.SHOP.PLAY

EAT: My favourite place to eat is RPM Italian in Chicago. This is the best Italian restaurant I've been to! Their Mama DePandi's Bucatini Pomodoro or as everyone calls it Mama D's pasta, is my favourite!

SHOP: I love shopping at West Elm these days. I could spend hours in there! My most recent purchase was some beautiful vases and plants to make my own terrariums!

PLAY: Okay guys...I'm currently really into some of my favourite reality TV shows! I have definitely watched every episode of The Bachelor and I think there's something like 18 seasons. I'm addicted!!

On the Road Again

Its at this time in the season that I start to think about Willy Loman in Death of Salesman, and then I think that Willy probably never went to Chicago on one of his trips.  It has got to be one of the best city's in the world.  The team at preloved is on their way to the windy city, for another stop on the sales trip for our fall 2013 collection.  So looking forward to catching up with clients, having a cocktail on the top of the John Hancock building,  doing a little shop in at the American Girl store ( just saying,  I do have a 7 year old daughter!) and popping into the most inspiring store of all time BHLDN, and this time we actually have a bride with us! Thanks Lexie.  I think Willy should have considered a sales postition in fashion, it might have worked out better for the guy

Spring Cleaning

Well, we are cleaned out! What an incredible weekend we had.  There is nothing like the rush of spring cleaning, and watching customers find fantastic deals. Everything in the store was $10, $20, $30, $40 or $50.  This was not a weekend for me to calculate my margins, but watch people fall in love with preloved. I had the pleasure of meeting and interacting with so many preloved fans, it was totally inspiring.  I had wonderful time meeting Jarelle Gabison from Style Jargon, she is great fashion blogger and did a wonderful post on preloved.  All in all the weekend was a total success, and now I am not sure what we are going to do with all the space in the design studio...hmmm did I hear the word reno?