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Moving up and on.

Hello readers! I have been absent for quite some time as I was in the final stages of completing my Under Grad in Interior Design. I can now say I have successfully finished my bachelors, and am now onto the next chapter and final goal: my Masters! As I have been accepted, I have decided to take a year off to really take care of myself and spend some time reflecting, growing and preparing for my Masters, as well as spending time with the people I love most.

Along with having the next year off to work and save money, I will be back blogging regularly, and really attending to my hobbies and wants. First stop, visiting New York in less than a month with my beloved boyfriend and family! As Chris has never visited the big apple before, I am so delighted to share his first experience with him in visiting the absolute greatest, most vibrant city in the whole world. Chris and I have decided to bring his fancy Nikon camera so we can take lots of photos for my blog, and be able to share and document our first memories of New York with all of you (like having lunch on a blanket in Central Park; my one and only request).

I am so delighted to move onto the next chapter of my life with the people I love most. Bring on the next year!

xx.

Ante Memoria

As of late, I have been extremely busy with my final thesis year, researching Masters programs, working, and trying to spend time with my boyfriend and friends as much as possible. Blogging is one of my favourite hobbies, but unfortunately, I do not always have time to indulge in the things that I love. I'm sorry I've been so absent - but know I am extremely busy, and miss it very much! 

On a lighter note, I recently entered a contest with a brand called Ante Memoria - a London based designer founded by the ever-talented Jessica Wakeman in 2014, who is currently studying MA Womenswear at London College of Fashion. Ante Memoria's aesthetic very much coincides with my own - minimalistic basics with a monochromatic palette. Ante Memoria primarily produces bags and clutches as of right now, but is fortunately debuting a ready-to-wear clothing line later on in the year. All the products are hand-made with extreme care and caution and do not use any real leather. Excitingly, I won the contest! I was lucky enough to be able to win the "Shearling Small" clutch, and will be hand-made and sent to me shortly. The label's customer service was beyond personable and I am looking forward to styling my new all-white staple piece against all-black silhouettes.

I love discovering brands who take extreme care in the production of their goods and put forth complete honesty in the manufacturing process. Ante Memoria is a prime example of a designer label who takes great pride in producing preeminent quality pieces, while debuting complete uniqueness and originality. Check out the brand's website here and follow the label on Instagram and Twitter. Support up-and-coming labels and authentic designers!

Instagram || Twitter

All images used are from www.antememoria.com

Space of the Week - Aitor Throup's Creative Studio

As I am continuing to delve into the design industry and what it has to offer, I am recognizing that I am continually, as of late, greatly inspired by minimal design and modern aesthetics. While I was recently relaxing in my all-white (way too comfortable) cloud of a bed, I was perusing the internet attempting to continue to broaden my horizons in terms of the design world, whether that may be fashion related or design/architecture. I think it is so important to dedicate a part of each and everyday to a passion of yours and take that time to really discover yourself and what makes you happy - it also feeds your desire to move forward with your passions and within your field of choice. As I was clicking from one page to another, I stumbled upon a new, unfamiliar brand, which immediately caught my eye called Aitor Throup. Aitor Throup's creative studio is located in the bustling city of London. Interestingly, the studio is divided into two separate areas with the first focusing on B&O PLAY's most coveted speakers, while the other space focuses on men's fashion (both two of Throup's passions). Both spaces take on the responsibility of infusing classic design elements with minimalistic aesthetics, while sticking to the brand's heritage and focusing on overall quality construction. Aitor's creative studio almost takes on the feeling of a house-like environment, which two young designers by the names of Ashley and Mary-Kate Olsen recently did with their brand The Row - they refurbished a modern home and turned it into a retail space, which created a unique aesthetic and promoted an overall personable nature. 

As a future young designer, my focus would like to be on retail/commercial spaces as it fuses together two of my passions - interior design/interior architecture and clothing. The reason I was gravitating toward Throup's creative studio is that he not only embraces the exact aesthetic I admire, but combines two of his favourite passions into one overly dynamic space, which interestingly works. I admire his courage and overall bravery to take two things he genuinely cares for and fuses them together to create a beautiful, extremely meaningful setting. Focusing on the design elements, the way the space embraces space, meaning Throup was not afraid to leave empty areas and let the environment speak for itself, much like a blank space on a canvas. Rustic, reclaimed wood flooring combined with stark white walls and minimal furnishings and accessories - you can imagine how much I was lusting over this environment. I also love how Aitor Throup approached the environment with a rather innovative manner - he designed the store to be more museum or 'gallery-esque' as opposed to a typical retail space. The clothing is individually hung and displayed creating an illusion that each piece is one-of-a-kind, which further promotes the luxurious appeal of the brand and environment. 

So, for my readers interested in design (or even possibly a few male readers interested in fashion) take a look and see for yourself! 

Images provided by Highsnobiety.com

It's June Already?

Hello everyone! Just thought I would update my readers as to what I have been up to the past little while and what has been inspiring me. 

Well, I have been extremely busy with my internship, which I am thoroughly enjoying. Being exposed to the 'real world' in terms of what happens within an Interior Design firm and witnessing first-hand client meetings and the business aspect of things is all extremely exciting and new. I still have three more months to complete my Internship, and will definitely be experiencing an intense adjustment when I get back into the swing of things of school and completing my final, thesis year (ugh). 

While I have been busy juggling two jobs and the church renovations on the side (see my last post for details on this!), I have been making frequent trips to Toronto to experience the beautiful summer weather with my boyfriend, while fitting in a little shopping and exploring. My boyfriend and I are going into our fifth summer together, and I can tell you, it has gone by in a flash. I am so beyond head-over-heels in love with him, which makes every moment with him exciting and lively.  I will keep everyone updated on our summer adventures! 

I have also been buying (sorry bank account) a lot of new summer pieces that I want to share with all of you! I am excited to announce a small collaboration with a brand I have been admiring for a couple of months now. The brand, House of Sunny, is out of  a studio in East London and is now going into its third season. HOFS focuses on innovative and functional design, while keeping to an overall modern and contemporary aesthetic with clean lines and bold statements. The brand's pieces are said to be architecturally inspired, which is an element I tend to gravitate towards with my design/architectural background. Each piece creates a minimalist tone while adhering to neutral fabric palettes and embraces the whole of functionality and timelessness. HOFS's overall brand/consumer relationship has exceeded all of my expectations. While HOFS demonstrates an endearing personable nature, they also showcase a promising future while meeting all of the points on my personal 'brand check list' (#1: super modern/minimalist brand with a hint of cool bad-assery style). I will hopefully be posting an outfit-post in the up-and-coming weeks featuring the piece I have ordered. 

          

I am sure everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather and is relieved to be digging out those shorts and skirts that we have all been dying to wear! I have been loving wearing sandals - my little toes are finally free! Hope everyone is well, and is getting outside and keeping busy! Xo

To keep up with what I am doing, visit or follow my personal Instagram account here or my personal tumblr account here, which I update frequently.

Update

Hello readers! Well, I have been ever-so-busy with new and exciting things, which I am dying to tell you about! I have been balancing a new internship, a part-time employment, and a freelance design opportunity. Needless to say, I have been juggling quite a few things, but have been keeping positive and enjoying new opportunities given to me taking nothing for granted.

To begin, I began an internship at a local design firm in the past couple weeks, which has been busy and full of exciting opportunities. The firm specializes in high-end residential spaces, which is not what I necessarily see myself working toward, as I would like to concentrate solely on commercial environments, but I am definitely learning and taking on every new task with eagerness and excitement. Although the four month long internship is a very exciting and a challenging learning opportunity, I am diving into a very new and extremely exciting project involving an abandoned church. I was approached by a very kind young couple wanting design input on a space they are working on - they are flipping a church and turning it into a new loft space for the two of them. The church showcases raw wood ceiling trusses along with full height glazing and opportunities galore. I was able to see the space last week, and I was completely breathless. The space is beyond raw and beautiful, and they willingly listened to my design input on full renovations and ideas. So excited for what's to come, and I will keep everyone updated!

Space of the Week - Alexander Wang Flagship Store

Hello lovely's - I thought I would introduce a new sector to the blog and try to bring a re-occurring theme to Runway Train for you all to enjoy and relish in. Since I study Interior Design and many aspects of Architecture in my schooling, I thought I would share a little piece of me with all of you, and allow you to see my on-going research of the industry. I usually find many images or articles based on various interior spaces or buildings, which inspire me and aid in future projects and generally file them to my computer, and I thought to myself, "Why don't I share these spaces with my readers?" I will be doing an annual "Space of the Week" every few weeks or so to showcase my design aesthetic and dedicate a small amount of time to show you what typically inspires me. 

To begin, I will start off with a *bang* and show you all one of my favourite retail spaces as of late - the flagship store for Alexander Wang, which is located in central SoHo, New York City (excuse me while I cry on the inside because of the beauty of this store) . The SoHo flagship store was designer by Kramer Design Group and wanted to create a luxurious environment with raw offset materials. The retail space features a steel cage installation at the entry, various materials such as antique brass, blackened steel, raw/polished concrete, luxurious royal Danby marble, and creates a unique aesthetic which conquers edginess and embodies a feeling of being 'unfinished'. Featured around the store are display tables with blackened steel, which emerge from a slab of pristine, luxurious marble and are offset with edgy, structural steel all balancing on organic, natural concrete.  

The cage installation located at the entry of the store is a constant evolving sculpture, which is used to highlight all of the brand's unique products - the installation is meant to create an image of an 'artist's gallery' as opposed to 'just another retail space' as it displays the brand's current trends and products.

The designers for this store wanted this fashion and accessories retail space to act as a "platform for creative minds to come together in an inspiring environment." 

Below are some photos taken of the interior space - I hope you are all feeling inspired! 

Photos provided by retaildesignblog.net