Zuka Blog

It’s that time again to peek into my collage book to show you what I’ve been working on.  The lines are all complete for the Fall Holiday Collection and I’m just fresh back from my “Prairie Swing”, where I show the line to my boutiques in Edmonton and Winnipeg.  Once again I’ve come to the conclusion that Fall is really my favorite time of year…this season it’s moody and dark and full of texture.  As I said before I channeled Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland for my inspiration!

The first section is called Absinthe with it’s cool tones of Teal and dark greens with dark metals.  This season I decided to switch it up a bit…as someone who is obsessed with color, I focused on the metals with a pop of color instead of color first. The outcome has been amazing…relying on texture as opposed to just color it’s been a real out of the box journey for me.

Bordeaux is a rich section of Plums, Wines and a bit of chocolate brown on dark metals.  Again borrowing from the visionary treat of Tim Burton’s Alice in Wonderland, this collection was inspired by the rich gardens of Alice’s journey through her dreams…lush forests and exotic flowers.

Byzantine is the last section that is opulent in Gold and Jet Black.  Strong pieces with the emphasis on mixed chain but rich with Swarovski crystals in Champagne and Jet Black.  It’s of an era lost but updated with a slight rock edginess.  The Dark Black Jet and Onyx paired with the Antique Gold and Gunmetal Chains just fit perfectly.   I researched this period and found a lot of wonderful sculptures with Gold and the mixed metals.

 This is definately Red Carpet worthy as Dawn Chubai from Breakfast Television wore the Vintage “Bib” necklace, matching earrings and cuff to this years Leo Awards.

Last night my wonderful Zuka Muse/Friend Una Tran and I attended the amazing show by designer Carlie Wong.  This was the first time she has shown in Vancouver, the Project Runway Canada designer showed her collection to Fashion industry peeps and fans at the eclectic Opus Lounge in Yaletown.   It was to capacity and clutching our lovely glass of pink champagne we jammed into the lounge and watched the models weave their way through the crowd.  The collection was definately Carlie…fierce and strong but oh so beautiful.  The stand outs for me of course were in the details as she accessorized with studs and wonderful shoulder pieces.  My faves were the dresses covered with the tiny teardrop silver sequins and the elegant Black draped dress.  

Carlie definately rocked the night!  We are all so proud of her…I knew she was amazing though back when she was a student and did her practicum with Zuka…my how time flies! xox

Top photo:  Una Tran

Bottom photo:  Derek Leung

With warm weather on the way…seriously, it should be just around the corner!!  I thought I should chat a bit about my three collections for Spring Summer 2010.   This season has been a diverse one for me…I had fun with color in all three of the collections. 

The first line I designed was the beautiful and soft “Orchid”, I wanted it to be pretty…a bit Alice in Wonderland…(the old version not the wonderfully dark Tim Burton version, stay tuned for Fall)  As always I got inspired by the lovely lavenders and violets I found in the semi-precious stones like Lavender Quartz and Purple Agate.  Beautiful washes of these colors fused with gold…lots of gold…gold beads, antique gold charms and antique chain.  

My fave pieces in this line would be the long cluster necklace with the hand-carved Blue Lace Agate orchid, multi strand stone and chain necklace and tiny chandelier earrings…delicate and oh so pretty!

The next collection is Zanzibar.  Inspired by the spice markets and the starfish…Vintage coral and warm brown woods.  The color of the coral is almost a peachy tone, the woods are dark chocolate.  I did this line in antique silver and a wonderful discovery of fabric chain to add texture.  Oh how I love my texture!! 

 The beauty of this collection is how perfect it works with all the neutrals in the stores for summer.  My fave piece is the kitschy chunky charm bracelet with Swarovski Starfish, pewter beachy charms and hand-painted tiny shells.  

I can just imagine beautiful sun, ocean breeze and sipping a gin & tonic with your toes in the sand…exhale.

The last collection was probably the most unique one I have ever done.  Last summer I had the pleasure of spending time in amazing Cape Cod.   Driving the island was so incredible,  Lobster rolls…scallops and such an ease to the lifestyle there.  They were all anticipating the first family visiting for their summer holidays…it was Obama everywhere, exciting and historic.  I was inspired by the little gingerbread houses on Martha’s Vinyard.   We went to the lovely Hyannis and it was there that I wanted to really pay homage to Jackie Kennedy.   Using White Jade, Red vintage Coral and beautiful Cobalt blue Lapis with silver antique metals, I put together a line that was elegant even if it bordered on patriotic!  I think it could be something for everyone, Viva La France or Stars and Stripes forever… 

The bottom line was that I challenged myself and had fun creating something out of my comfort zone!   My fave pieces have been the White Porcelian nugget Jackie O inspired necklace, the charm necklace with it’s kitchy charms…lobster, sailboat and anchor and the long chain fringe red shell earrings with little stone stars…impact!  Just imagine with dark jeans and a crisp white shirt or boyfriend blazer.  

Ahhhhh summer…

After many months of working on the new site…thanks to the magic of our designer Una…we have lift off!  I hope you like it as much as we do.  There are always glitches as we fix things and refine others, so bear with us as we try to get it perfect! 

The addition of a Blog to the Zuka site is a new endeavor.   I wrestled with the idea for many many months.   To be honest…if I write like I talk, everyone will be in for a long ride.  Nevertheless, I’m willing to try!  Hopefully through my musings you’ll be able to find out a little more about me, my jewels and why I do what I do…

Long await the blog!!  It is working however we still need to work out the kinks and the layout. So please be patient with us here as we are trying to figure it all out.

I am testing out how to place in a new image. So far it is looking good.