What's on the beds?

So I've been promising this post for ages on Twitter and it's finally ready. Almost everything that I've ordered for the spring/summer seasons has arrived so it's time to get the photos up. Starting at the front of the store and working back here is what we're showing for the season.

Bella in Sea Glass. This bed combines a Peony duvet cover, Homespun coverlet & shams, Whisper bed scarf & cases, Linen gathered bed skirt and Celeste toss cushions in Sea Glass with Linen sheets and Whisper bed scarf in White all by Bella Notte.









My current favourite is Wax by Alexandre Turpault. The vibrant pattern makes me smile every time I look at it. Even better is the fact that it can fit into rooms of many different colours as there are two shades of green, two aquas, two purples and three reds on the white ground. I'm showing it on the sky blue Frankie bed combined with our Lara sheets in white. Did I mention that it comes in a second colour as well? It's a more subtle version with tones of green, aqua and yellow on a pale aqua background.








Also by Alexandre Turpault is Mae in Silver. I've paired it with St.Geneve's Capri sheets and euro shams in Dusky Violet. It's a very soft modern floral in dusty tones of silver, mauve and taupe with some white highlights. It does really well on the deep charcoal fabric of the Franco bed and would look just as good on dark woods or leather.










On the cream coloured Alyce bed is Ophelia by Revelle paired with our light blue Lara sheets. I really like the flexibility of this pattern. It's a floral, but one that isn't overly feminine and it certainly isn't fussy. Pairing this pattern with the pale blue sheets gives it softness and a bit of warmth but it can just as easily be done with a pure white sheet for a bit of extra punch. I also really like the idea of doing this pattern on a dark chocolate or even black framed bed and adding some super vibrant accents (acid green!) to give it a fun, modern feel.






Tokyo plum is an abstract plum and dusty violet print on a background that fades from a very pale pink to a soft lilac. I've paired it with a dove grey sheet to tone down the pink a little bit. For a higher drama factor it can be combined with dark purple or aubergine sheets.

Last but not least is Melisande by Manuel Canovas.
Canovas is a new company to us and I couldn't resist this print combination. In a couple of ways it's not the norm for Oleander, the floral is a pretty traditional one and the colour combination is a little louder than I usually go for, but like I said, I just couldn't resist this one. I think that it's the three tone tent stripe in combination with the floral that's a little unexpected. The colour combination is also pretty much unbeatable.

So that's it for what I'm showing on the beds. Additionally we have Anne de Solenne Duetto in Topaz & Cumulus, some Homespun in Sea Glass and Dawson in Sand by Bella Notte on the shelves along with lots of other bits and pieces. We've Also got some really great new accessories, bath products and pj's in but I think that's going to have to wait for another post. Have a great long weekend and we hope to see you if you're going to be in the Market.

This Twitter Thing

So I've started Tweeting. Is that the right word for it? Well, whatever it's called, I'm doing it. I know that I have difficulty finding the time to sit down and write an interesting and informative blog post with any degree of regularity. I also know that I am really quite neglectful about getting the official website updated with product changes. I'm hoping that I'll find it easy to tweet a sentence or two about what's going on in the store at any given time.

Today, for instance, I tweeted that the spring arrivals from LinenMe have arrived. As it turns out I have more than enough time to do a blog post due to unbelievably nasty weather conditions, but hey, the more info you get the better right?

One of the biggest complaints I hear in store is how difficult it can be to get into the Byward Market and how hard it is to find parking so I'm hoping that I can use Twitter to do the occasional parking update. I can see quite a bit of the York Street street parking lot from my back window as well as Clarence Street and a bit of Murray Street from the front so I thought it might be helpful to people coming in to see us if they know in advance what the parking situation is like. Sounds good?

Like with the LinenMe (@linen_luxury in case you were curious) tweet today, I'll try to do product arrivals as they come in as well as the parking thing, announcements about sales and events and, if I get really good at this stuff, tweets about shopping the trade shows, inspiration and general things I love.

Are you with me? You can find me on Twitter @OleanderforHome.

But just for you blog reader, a couple of photos of the new arrivals.

News and White Sale!

Things have been a little hectic around here lately. A few posts ago I wrote about the damage the store sustained due to flooding and that we would be undergoing a bit of renovation to repair the floor. Well, I've been in a bit of a holding pattern since then as the repairs and work all needed to be approved by my insurance company and then co-ordinated and scheduled by the contractor. That has taken a lot longer than I expected it to. I had been hoping that the work would be done late January or early February in order that I could still start my annual White Sale on the usual February 15th start date. Not so much. So without any idea of when the repairs would begin I put off the sale until the 22nd, started it without as much fanfare as it usually gets and hoped for the best. For better or worse, I'm not completely sure which, I got an e-mail just a few days ago letting me know that the repairs would begin after hours on the 8th of March. I'm optimistic and hopeful that Oleander will remain open and relatively normal during store hours and that the replacement of the damaged sections of my wood floor with shiny new tile will go quickly and without problems. Hey, I said hopeful and optimistic didn't I? I'm going to hold on to that!

In the meantime, the White Sale has been on for thirteen days and there are lots of great deals to be had until the 23rd of March or I run out of stuff! My beloved Organika towels have been discontinued by the manufacturer and I have all my remaining stock at 50% off. I've also decided to move away from the OhSo Soft bamboo rayon/cotton towels and robes to something new so the last of my stock in that line is also 50% off. I have some great bedding by Revelle at fantastic clearance prices, they have discontinued a number of collections and as always I'm passing on the huge discounts to you. I am letting go of floor model bedding by Bella Notte, Alexandre Turpault and a few Canadian manufacturer at discounts between 15% and 30%. I have a few Bedhead flannel robes, one pair of flannel pj's and a great little cotton gown all at half price. Half price Beadhead! There are also sales on Talesma Turkish waffle and waffle/terry towels and robes, White Moss and 1869 by Acca Kappa, throw blankets, accent cushions and Brome Lake duvets.

Trade Show Talk

Over the last month or so I was able to get to four shows, two of which were new to me. First up, I hit Dallas for Dallas Market, which is a medium sized show with lots of large permanent showrooms and a few temporary booths, but unfortunately without much interesting product for me. I was able to see one of Bella Notte's big showrooms, which was really quite nice. Usually I see new collections from Bella at a small booth New York or when my rep comes to visit with samples, so it was really great to see a big room with many beds dressed in the new fabrics and colours. I took a couple of ideas from there that you'll see on my floor later this spring and summer.

The next stop was at the California Gift Show in Los Angeles. This show was unfortunately another slight disappointment. It was a very small show with only one or two interesting stops for me. One of them was highlighting Italian made organic bedding by Muse. It is really quite pretty, beautifully made and at a reasonable price point, but it's a new-ish collection that I think needs a bit of time to fill out a little before I make a decision to bring it to the floor. One of the highlights of the LA trip was a quick visit to the Amenity workshop. I've been dealing with those talented women for years so it was a real pleasure to get to meet them and get a sneak peak of their new spring patterns. I'll have lots of the new duvet covers and cushions on the floor by the middle to end of March.

After a few days back at the store I was off to the CGTA in Toronto. This show is where I check in with almost all of my Canadian suppliers to see what's new and what's changed. This time out I picked up a pretty printed sateen collection from St Geneve, two new patterns from Revelle and a great new pattern by a French company called Essix. I can't wait for it to start arriving!

After just a day and a half in Toronto, I was off to the NYIGF in New York. This show has been the place to find the newest of the new, and some of the most exciting things I bring into to the store. The last few seasons, given the economic situation in the US, the New York show has been a little unpredictable and occasionally disappointing. Vendors have been scaling back their collections and sticking to safe colours, some manufacturers have been downsizing their booths and others not going to the show at all. In August last year I was only able to find one new company - Alexandre Turpault, and had a bit of a difficult time filling the days I had allotted to spend at the show, so I went into this seasons trip thinking that it would be more of the same. I was wrong. Very, very wrong. This show was one of the best I've ever been to. Due to the down scaling of the larger manufacturers there were many new companies presenting collections. There were tiny little vendors, some of them more artisans than manufacturers, introducing collections for the first time and small scale manufacturers showing three times as much as they had in the past. It was amazing. I bought more new product this season than I have in a long time and I am very excited about all of it. I have gorgeous organic robes and gowns on the way, hand loomed organic Turkish towels and linen bath towels arriving this spring! New collections from some of the old favourites were also very strong and I'm really looking forward to the fuchsia Onam bedding I bought from Alexandre Turpault.

It will be a hugely colourful spring and summer at Oleander for Home. I can't wait!

In the Store

Since we've been busy dressing up the place in preparation for our anniversary party this week, I figured I'd take a few photos and let you see how the store is looking. My Christmas colours this year are a combination of pale aqua blue and antique gold. It's a little softer and slightly more traditional looking than I usually do, but I'm really happy with how it looks!

In the front window I'm showing Colette, Adele, New Primrose and Olivia in Silvermist, Celeste in Ginger and Linen in Champagne, all by Bella Notte. The headboard is Aylce, designed in store and built for us by Design Emphasis.



On our pale blue Frankie bed, also by Design Emphasis, I am showing Sati by Alexandre Turpault mixed with a little bit of Capri Navy by St Geneve. I'm anxiously waiting for more of the Sati collection to arrive. There are beautiful accent cushions and shams that will really complete this bed. On the Reeves bed I've got a great new collection from Linen Way. It's a linen jacquard that is as comfortable as it is gorgeous.



At the back of the store I've gone with a slightly more traditional Christmas colour scheme, with a focus on red and white. The Morpheus bed (more Design Emphasis) is dressed in our best basic collection Lara (400 tc Egyptian cotton from Portugal) in white, accented with red ribbon and a few accessories from EnGry & Siff. I've also brought in the Pomegranate collection from Archipelago, it's a great body care line from California that smells heavenly.



One of the other themes this season is birds. I don't remember it being intentional as I was doing the buying, but it shows up through out the store anyway. On the Franco bed I'm showing Dusk by CuddleDown, the Roslyn headboard has Deux Hirondelles, and the Christmas tree is teeming with birds!



That's all I have time to show you today, but I've got a lot more photos to share so I'll try to get to back soon with more.