happy Canada day long weekend!

photo by Janis Nicolay, visit her beautiful blog: http://pineconecamp.blogspot.ca/

shop hours for this canada long weekend:

sunday   closed

monday   12 - 5pm

whatever you're up to this long weekend, enjoy!  xo

Welcome Lori Harrison cushions!

Braemar Cushion, 100% organic hemp and cotton.

Have you ever delighted in the simple natural beauty of a stroll on a country road, or been captured by the dynamism of urban scenery? Canadian artist and designer Lori Harrison has, and she has used these moments or glimpses through time to inspire her work. Luckily for us here at Walrus, we received a collection of her beautiful hand-made cushions!

She works mainly out of a studio in Toronto, Ontario, however her inspiration stems from her travels across Canada and abroad. She photographs elements of the environment that inspire her and take the viewer on a journey through time and place to capture the subtle beauty of decay in urban and natural spaces.

Fundy Shed.

Fundy Cushion, linen.

The Fundy Cushion is a perfect example of the poetics behind Lori Harrison's inspiration, and it is one of my personal favourites! It is printed on taupe linen and the pattern is actually derived from a photograph that she took while on a trip to the lovely East Coast of Canada. While in Fundy National Park she spotted a shingled shed that had weathered beautifully through time displaying flaking paint and slowly revealing the original wood hiding beneath.

Chaplin Cushion, linen.

All of the Lori Harrison cushions here in the shop are 18x18 inches, with down feather inserts. She works with a few different textiles for the cases, from linen to 100% organic hemp and cotton, and they are all available for $95.

Electric Ave. Cushion, linen.

Come see the lovely cushions in person and don't forget to say hi to the new face here at Walrus (it's me, Sarah!). I look forward to meeting you!

xo

Sarah.

new tea and coffee accessories by kinto

 'We value the production of life-long and frequently useable designs in everyday life.'  

"By pressing the plunger, you can enjoy rich aromatic coffee and tea in just a few minutes! CAFEPRESS mugs have the function to brew and strain inside them. Just put the ground coffee or tea leaves in, pour boiled water, and let it brew for a few minutes. Then, press the plunger down and enjoy drinking. As the cup has a double wall construction, it’s easy to hold and great to walk around."

"This portable tea strainer is designed to fold compactly and comes with a saucer in a case. Since the strainer part is made of flexible silicone, you can arrange the length to fit to different cups sizes. At your office, when traveling or camping, these tea strainers will let you enjoy fresh brewed tea anywhere you like"

"The Floating Tea Strainer is a strainer for one cup of tea. Simply put the strainer with tea leaves into hot water and it will naturally float. After the appropriate brewing time, just take the strainer out and keep it on the saucer. It’s simply fun to look at the floating strainer. Also it’s good as a casual gift for tea lovers."

"Compact teaware of two sizes cups and a strainer. It's convenient for two people, and also for one person, the small cup can be a strainer holder. All 3 parts are stackable like blocks, so it's good for storage."

 

"ReCUP is vivid colored and smart cup series. Instead of using disposable plates, cups, and cutlery, using this reusable items simply becomes eco-friendly actions for serving foods. Soup cups, noodle cups, drink cups, all can be used for microwave oven, and they come with silicon sleeves to hold easily."

"UNIT+TEA=“UNITEA”. UNITEA is made of heat-resistant glass  and is designed to make your teatime relaxing and enjoyable."

"MIO is the personal cup series, including a set of colorful strainers, lids, and cups. There are 2 types of cups: double walled and mug style. Using fine mesh filter enables draining and straining small tea leaves well. As the lid can be the rest of the strainer, you don't have to look for a place to put it." 

"The softly curved line and quiet colors in porcelain cups with wooden plates deliver a relaxed tea or lunch time. For example, soup and sandwich, tea and biscuits, the combination of menu for your lunch and tea time will seem like infinity with FIKA."

"FARO is a compact coffee maker to enjoy your casual coffee break. Each part is functionally considered to drip coffee easily. The stainless steel filter is successful to bring a pure taste and aroma of the coffee beans. Furthermore the filter is made of stainless steel so that it contributes to reduce paper filter wastes. Just like the name FARO, meaning lighthouse in Italian, it's impressive cylindrical form will remind you a white lighthouse standing on a cape."

from $14 - $69

happy father's day!

to all our fathers and father figures.  thank you for all you do for us.  enjoy your special day.

xox

Father's Day ideas

click the following to watch this morning's segment: walrus father's day 

thanks so much to Susie for bringing our goods to life... 

new from LUprints...

"LUprints main designer, Ulla Clark, was introduced to Scandinavian textiles at a young age through growing up with a Swedish mother. On frequent family visits to Sweden she was intrigued by her relatives’ homes which were adorned with collections of hand embroidered and screen printed textiles. She has always been drawn to the pleasing simplicity that nature provides, she spent a decade working outside in the forest, often finding time for collecting and cataloguing plants and flowers. Her love of printing combined with her knowledge and training in sewing and designing led her to start LUprints in 2006."

"At the LUprints workshop we are dedicated to lessening our impact on the earth through the use of non-toxic products as well as reducing our energy use in the production of our items. Examples of what we do:

-we use ECO friendly Water-Based inks.

-we use soy-based cleaners when needed.
-we have a low-energy textile dryer.
-our fabrics are made from natural plants & fibres.
-our textile production is all done locally."

trays starting at $32, tea towels $18

mason bee houses are back!

by the sweet 'world reclaimed', also known as aloe designs' caitlin and owen black. "This little Mason Bee House began its journey as Ipe (brazilian hard wood) deck end cuts. Each leftover piece had its struggles; either being warped or split or simply just not pretty enough for the job… but after some trimming, shaping, finishing and fastening with Grandpa’s nails they worked themselves into homes for our disappearing population of mason bees.

"Inside the house is a honeycomb of nesting tubes waiting to be inhabited by some tired mason bees as they take a break from a hard days pollinating. All you have to do to lend a hand is, hook this humble abode up on a sunny wall, preferably an eastern or southern exposure, to energize their wings and as long as there are some gardens in the hood, the bees will populate.  The house provides protection from any nasty weather that might blow their tiny bodies around and helps them get a good night’s sleep, too. Think sun, they do! To ensure some bees take up residence you can populate the house with cocoons. For anything mason bee related go to Beediverse.com to point you in the right direction.

The mason bee house itself is created from FSC Ipe that seemingly lasts forever. It is as hard as a rock but to keep the rich hues this house has been sealed with Penofin Verde so our petite friends stay healthy. Left untreated or without re-applying an oil, it will silver beautifully.

Take me home, inhabit me, and make some blossoms very happy this spring."

$68