Kauai's 1st ROSS Dress For Less & a Gift Card GIVEAWAY!!

Kauai. The Garden Island. Topics of conversations tend to center around hurricanes, GMO's, gas prices, and now, Ross! That's right. It's not every day this island gets a new place to shop. It's such a big deal, that the grand opening crowds made the front page.

I had to wait a few days after the Grand Opening on October 10, 

before venturing into the Ross abyss, and waiting had it's pro's and con's. 

Pro: Checking out was a breeze on day 3. I had friends who couldn't get in the door on day 1 and others who couldn't make it through the check out line on day 2.

Con: Kauaians had bought out the store!
I knew people were excited about Ross's arrival,
but I didn't know they were going to clear out all the inventory! Slim pickin's by day 3.  

 I still found some great stuff. 

Here are some of the products I'm most excited about:

Love me some cute organization boxes, hip new shoes and trendy seating. 

I begged my husband to let me take one of those grey and white chevron ottoman's home, 

but he resisted. 

Here's what we actually came home with:

2 bright organization bins, bicycle craft paper and placemats
My husband got soccer socks and a soccer bag

Ross Dress for Less was kind enough to sponsor this post (and my purchase) by providing me with a gift card to shop the new Kauai store. Isn't that awesome?! Even though they sponsored this post, the opinions are all mine. And I will say, I love Ross, whether it be on Kauai, Maui, Oahu or California. (That about covers all the places I've shopped at Ross.) Enough about me, let's talk about you! Ross wants to give one special Ivy & Co. reader a $25 gift card! Are you interested? Of course you are. Follow the Rafflecopter directions below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Ross Dress for Less
Kukui Grove Center
3-2600 Kaumualii Hwy Suite J
Lihue, HI 96766

Store hours:
Sunday—Thursday 8:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m.
Friday—Saturday 9:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m.

Aloha, Rebecca

Read more ...

LOCAL SPOT: a. ell design & atelier - now carrying Ivy & Co.!

I am so excited to announce that Ivy & Co. head bands, boho wraps and clothes pins are now sold in a. ell designs & atelier! The shop is located on Kauai in Old Town Kapaa (with a new store opening soon in Portland!) I've known the owner for about 7 years through our businesses (her store, my dance classes), so I was so excited when everything lined up for me to put my products in her shop.

This is the display Kit & I created. My vision, his drilling, then he painted it, (without my permission, and I about had a cow), but it turned out great. You know me, I was going to paint it black! Regardless, it turned out awesome. It's a wooden picture frame and a wooden box I found at the Habitat Restore.

Some close ups of the head bands and bohos that went to a. ell designs & atelier.

For starters, they carry a.ell designs (aloha shirt on the left, and the polka dot shirts in the middle). 

They have fun hats. The one on the right is part of the a.ell designs collection. (Buy it here!)

They carry some great bags from local designers: Clutch and Denise Tjarks.
I love my Clutch coin purse!

Bikinis by Kauai designer Kaikini and Barcelona-based Desigual.

I love the raw edge on these Kopa Kauai soaps. Sandalwood, Lavender, Lychee, Papaya - they smell wonderful! 

Since I'm obsessed with tea towels right now, I think these Cultivate Hawaii tea towels are perfection. Made with 100% organic cotton!

Their extensive jewelry display contains designs by:

Caitlin Ross Odom

Malacologie

Fine Jewelry by Angelina

Art work by Heather Brown is all over the shop.

Click here to view a. ell's collection of hand-crafted wedding gowns and bridesmaids dresses.

I love this quote from the a. ell website:

"Enjoy Island wear with a classic flair, fabrics that are environmentally sensitive, and clothing designs that not only look “hot” but are cool, comfortable and fun to wear.  High quality, naturally eco-friendly, exquisite fabrics and guaranteed workmanship are hallmarks of an a. ell design. Specializing in casual island wear for men, women and children, beach style wedding dresses and home decor."

The next time you pass through Kapaa or Portland, hit up a. ell design & atelier. 
If you're not on island, browse their website.

a. ell designs & atelier Kauai

4-1320 Kuhio Hwy

Kapaa, HI 96746

Monday -Saturday 10-6

Sunday 11-5

a. ell designs & atelier Portland

3535 SE Hawthorne Blvd

Portland, OR 97214… coming Nov. 2014

Aloha, Rebecca

Read more ...

LOCAL SPOTS: Pagoda in Kapaa, Kauai

On our way to pick up Thai food from Mema's last night (it's in Kapaa, dine in or take out, best Thai food ever, and the only Thai food I eat!), I noticed a new store next door, called Pagoda.  

There have been other random shops in this spot, but this zipper pouch display, which I could see from my parking stall, caught my eye. I love these bags from Blue Q! I have a fox one, remember? (see it here). Little did I know I was going to find a treasure trove of other items in Pagoda!

There were so many things to ooh and aah over!

Vintage Hawaii License Plates

This refurbished vintage pie safe. (I have one of these, too, awaiting it's makeover!)

I love the screens on the side, which are part of the original design on this one. It brings in so much light!

This might be my favorite discovery - a vintage flower frog! I've never heard of them before, but I took a poll on Facebook and Instagram, and I was surprised how many people knew what it was. How did I miss that lesson in my American Folklore class in college?! Anyways, for the uninformed, a flower frog is something you put in the bottom of a vase, and you stick your flower stems in each hole to create an evenly-dispersed arrangement. According to Liane, Pagoda's lovely owner, people are now buying them to use as paperweights, or to put their pens in them on their desks.   

Here's another version. I kind of like this one better. 

Vintage Flower Frog

Here's another cool item that apparently was popular in the 1980s: Fairy Balls. 

They have a subtle little jingle, and are shaped like globes! I'm all about these. 

Vintage Fairy Balls - circa 1980

This little mermaid case is so cool. 

The lighting was all wrong, but I had to take a picture of this card catalog! You know me and card catalogs. Have you seen my latest metal one? Click here. 

In the shabby chic corner were these little round cushions, sweet coin purses and vintage door handles.  (I'm gonna remember those door handles…)

There was also a whole lot of vintage "pacifica" goodness in Pagoda. 

Kapa Cloth Wall Hanging

Glass fishing floats and pressed butterfly art. 

Lanterns galore.

A ceiling full of parasols. Gorgeous!

Don't be shy, go check out Pagoda! 

Pagoda

Antiques - Gifts - Accessories

4-369 A Kuhio Hwy

Kapaa, HI 96746

(808) 821-2172

www.pagodakauai.com

Like them on Facebook! Click here.

Hours:

Tue, Thu, Fri - 11am-6pm

Wed - 11am-5pm

Sat - 11am-4pm

Closed Sun-Mon

So excited I found this gem of a shop. 

Aloha, Rebecca

Read more ...

Acai Bowl Craving - I made my own!

This summer I discovered my new favorite eatery on Maui: Farmacy Health Bar Wailuku. It was right across from my work, the freshest food you could imagine, and it was delicious. Problem: I moved to Kauai about 2 weeks after discovering it. Boo.

Farmacy Health Bar Wailuku

LOOK at this Acai Bowl. Yes, that's bee pollen sprinkled on top. 

While teaching dance camps, I ate one almost every day for 2 weeks. 

They were $8 a pop, but well worth it! 

It was health in a bowl!

Papaya, strawberries, blueberries, granola and honey… oh my.

Well, I've had enough sitting around dreaming of this delicious acai bowl, 

so today I decided to make my own, and here's how it turned out:

Not bad!

 Even Ivy liked it, and she's a picky one. 

So here's how I made it:

1. Blend apple juice, granola (Anahola Granola!), honey, acai blend (Sambazon from Costco!), frozen strawberries, and a few dashes of ground ginger until it's almost smoothie consistency. A little chunky is okay. Pour it in a large bowl.

2. Cut open a papaya, remove seeds, and spoon out small pieces on top of the smoothie.

3. Add some more granola and some chocolate chips on top. 

4. Eat it before it melts! 

Blessed to have fresh papaya growing in our yard!

I had to take these pictures fast. Both the Farmacy bowl and my bowl tended to melt quickly. 

But it sure did hit the spot! I'll be eating more of these in the future. Maybe I'll find some bee pollen :)

Aloha, Rebecca

Read more ...

Custom Orders & Projects

I've been busy. But good busy, not bad busy. I've really been pushing to make my Etsy shop thrive and taking steps to make "Ivy & Co" grow in general. I've had a ton of requests for custom orders, and then there's always those special presents I make for friends. 

A friend from the East Coast contacted me about making an apron for her 4 year old daughter. She had one request: purple. Ironically, that's one color I barely ever buy. But I knew she'd give me the liberty to get creative, so out came this apron and matching head band. The vintage fabric had the slightest bit of lavender in it!

I love the color of the felt heart, the yellow pom pom fringe, and I must say, this looked awesome in the packaging. I love when random things like packaging make me happy!

My good friend Katie was heading inter-island to visit her niece and new nephew and gave me some zebra print and pink fabrics. She said she wanted a baby soft block, a head band and a blankie. I've never done any sort of blankie/lovey thing, but here's what transpired. 

Ivy's little friend was turning 4 last month and I whipped up this apron. Ivy insisted that I make a rag for the pocket (that polka dotted fabric in the pocket). But she told me, "it needs to be a rag for dancing, not a rag for cleaning." Let me explain... 

 I first made this style of apron for my dance company, (Ampersand Dance Company), to wear about a year and a half ago. It was for a piece where we were a sort of "desperatehousewives/maids/meangirls" character. I custom made cleaning rags for the dance and we danced with them, threw them at each other, dabbed our make-up, etc. Ivy's seen the dance a million times, so now she thinks cleaning rags are for dancing, especially when you're wearing the heart pocket/pom pom apron. 

Pardon the messy backstage area. All in all, I really need to just call this the Ampersand Apron already. Oh, and you can read my Peter Pan Collar tutorial here.

Next up were two custom baby bundles for twins! A boy and a girl. This was such a fun project. I had the blue/grey scallop print, and I knew Sew Special carried it in pink, and I thought it would be perfect for a twin bro and sis! Ironically my 2 new fox fabrics matched perfectly. 

I just started carrying baby bundles in my Etsy Shop! They come with mini-bunting, a baby soft block, a burp cloth and three matching clothes pins.

I love when my friend Jamie calls on me for projects. She owns Sophie Grace Designs, an adorable jewelry boutique. She uses semi-precious stones, recycled coral, freshwater pearls, and a variety of metals. Her jewelry has landed in the Sports Illustrated 2013 & 2014 swimsuit edition the past two years! Whenever I wear her designs, I get so many compliments. 

So my first project for her was 3 grey polyester table cloths and white suede squares for a poolside location. I ended up making 10 more of them for all the other vendors in the area…!

As we were finishing putting all the table cloths on, she brought me back to her section and inquired about me making 3 earring displays. She wanted them light colored as to make the earrings stand out, and heavy enough to hold up against wind, but not bulky.

Those are the Tusk Earrings. One of my students actually gave them to me as a gift. Aren't they awesome?! Seriously, go check out her website: www.sophiegracemaui.com. If you're local, her main shop is in Paia right on Baldwin Avenue. Browse around. Tell her I sent you. Here's the direct link to these earrings: http://www.sophiegracemaui.com/jillian-earrings.html

With a few art canvases, some fabric, hinges, and a little help from my dad, (I just need to learn how to use a table saw already), I got them done and they're ready for pick up! 

On top of all this I finally finished my Line Sheet for people interested in purchasing my products wholesale. That was a big accomplishment, because now I can venture out to having Ivy & Co products in shops across the world. Ok, maybe not the whole world, yet, but you know what I mean. (Send me an email if you are interested in carrying Ivy & Co.)

So that's what I've been up to. Busy, but fun busy. 

Oh, and have you seen my new head band "model shots" in the Etsy Shop? Let's just say my professional photo shoot got rained out, so my impatience got the best of me, and I made Kit do a photo shoot with me in our dining room. Hahahahaha.

Aloha, Rebecca

Read more ...