Fascination All Around Us

I have lately become enamored with this tumblr site called things neatly organized....

And if you have photos of things you've neatly organized you can submit photos for this site too........

It is a fascinating visual meditation upon humankind's constant attempts to make sense of the world around us.....and to create order out of chaos.....

Home Again

I am holing up and nesting after a frenzied (and fabulous) holiday season. Closed the shop at 3, gave away the last of the unsold holiday wreaths, came home, hung garland, put up lights, wrapped presents, got ready to have dinner for 15 the next day. Which is a pretty good way for me to wind down from the holidays....because I wouldn't know what to do with all that retail energy....Seriously it's almost like I'm on automatic and can't stop until just about yesterday when....I stopped and did not move for a very, very long time. This is one of my favorite times.....I feel grateful and well fed, patting myself (and my happy retail drones) on the back for a job well done, and now I get to enjoy the season.......recovery is so sweet.....

Photo courtesy of tiny little house blog.

Sammy's Birthday Package

I always try to make it fun on the outside because 1) I'm keeping the wrapping pretty minimal on the inside to keep the package small 2) she has a December birthday, so I want to make up for that a little bit 3) it makes the postman smile 4) I really like doing it.

Getting in the Holiday Spirit

Are you feeling it yet?

We're still chock full of goodies at Passionflower for last minute gift giving....

Spreading holiday cheer, one beautifully wrapped package at a time.
That's us, your happy holiday retail drones.
I'm a little tired but we're having a wonderful season and feel so thankful to all our great customers - you know who you are!

A Living Tillandsia Wreath from Passionflower

We couldn't have been happier when our local paper asked us to do a holiday wreath featuring non traditional materials. We could swing with that. And well since I have been mostly obsessed with tillandsia this year and since our supplier had just shown up with some of the most beautiful ones we'd ever seen - it seemed obvious what we were meant to do.

Our thanks to the Register Guard for the photos of this living wreath.....and thanks to them also for giving us an opportunity to further our mission at Passionflower of making the world a more beautiful place.

Bringing Home the Bacon

We have a little rule at the store that you can't cherry pick the best stuff. You have to give the customers a chance. I was patient, very patient when it came to this great piece of sandblasted grapevine.

After living high up in Passionflower's front window for many weeks, it finally came home with me.

I stood it upright in my favorite vase with a tillandsia at the base.

All I have to say is, "what took me so long?".

Playing around with some ideas for a holiday card (in all my spare time)....

and I also have some holiday goodies for you - photos culled from the land of blogging. But I like to think of myself as a mannered blogger which means contacting the creator of said photos and asking their permission to post their photo on my blog (all with credits and links etc of course)

which is ridiculously tiresome, especially when you are feeling jammed for time. So I am right now having an inner struggle about wether to shamelesly

just go ahead and show the photos and pretend it's no big deal (I mean what's the harm and everybody does it anyway?) or wait and ask. And so right now the "get permission" side is winning the day and hopefully I'll get this little matter resolved before Christmas has come and gone and you'll actually get to see what I'm talking about.

Holiday Bling Jewelry

We fell in love pretty fast and pretty hard with this jewelry line called Gypsy, as we are always on the look out for that high holiday bling jewelry piece. (Remember the time before bling was a word? I do.)

Then we saw this big pomegranate pendant (below) and found out the line was made in Turkey.....and all of a sudden we were re-enacting the underworld of winter and eating pomegranate seeds with Persephone.....well that was pretty much it and next thing we knew we were putting in a big old order.

And some of their jewelry can be seen in the movie The Other Boleyn Girl....and we think that's pretty cool too.

But if that's all a little too much bling for you....never fear... because we've got some beautiful understated pieces too......

Like this great vermeil necklace from Brooklyn jewelry design house Swallow......they call it their mother/daughter piece. Lots more to see in the jewelry cases. Find a perfect piece for yourself to wear this holiday season or a gift for a loved one.
We pretty much can't think of anything we'd like to do more at Passionflower than try on jewelry with you. Yes it's the adult version of playing dress up.
To see more of our great jewelery click here.

Echo Design Wool & Cashmere Gloves

Bbbrrrr....it's getting cold outside....and since I do venture out upon occassion, it's nice to have these great gloves from Echo Design....

They're soft not scratchy and I love the ruffle. Plus so many fun colors....

So come and get em while they're here. Oh (silly me)...I forgot to mention they have some fancy new textile technology that allows you to text while you're wearing them....
and several skeptical customers have proven that they really do work.

It's That Time of Year Again

No, not the time of year when everyone brings you cookies and chocolates and you go to too many parties and drink un petit peu too much of champagne.....No, that time of year is approaching soon (like tonight at our holiday party) but this is the time of year....

when the days are getting shorter and the nights longer. When you want to go home and burn candles and fill your home with the scent of greenery....

And plant a paperwhite or a cyclamen or an amaryllis or two.....


And remember, that somewhere in the darkness you get to incubate all your dreams and desires....
and a single bloom can flood you with memories...

and even if I am having take out because I'm so busy at work, my table is still glowing and beautiful.....

This is the time of year when we are filling our homes with light and love to bring us through the darkest times of the year.....

Come to our store this holiday season and let us help you fill your home with all the joy of the season.

Butter London Nail Polish

We are stocked full of fun holiday colors.....great for going out.....and

they make the perfect stocking stuffer too!

Dowtown Eugene Holiday Party

It's that time of year again. Our annual HOliday PaRty......blowout bash.........

you know like when the tribes would gather together in the dark of winter and drink and tell stories and make merry......Well dear reader, you are our tribe and this is your time!

Downtown comes alive with music

And drink.......

We always have a few surprise visitors.....

Everyone is decked out in their holiday finery....

and we hope a good time to be had by all....

Please Join us this Friday Dec 3rd from 5 to 8.......and remember all our downtown neighbors are celebrating too plus 5th Street has a big holiday gala and 2nd & Blair Artist's studio sale is happening as well. Bring on the merry and bright!

More Fall Palettes

Here I am waxing all poetic about the fiery colors of autumn and this is what I come up with at home....

And while it may look a little drab and forlorn in the photo, there is something kind of peaceful and quiet about all these honey, and beeswax , and wood , and nut colors -

which mirror the landscape outside....

and make me feel all warm and happy inside.
Happy Thanksgiving. And blessings on your meal.

Another Special Place

A Happy Birthday to my pal Ted Watson, proprietor of my all time favorite store ever Watson Kennedy. Well actually Ted has two stores and if you're up in Seattle it's worth a visit to both of these shops which are downtown within walking distance of each other.

You will not be disappointed.

My Special Place

Oh yeah, it's rainin' and it's gettin' cold. :)

Time to crank up the
sauna!!
Which I had built into the back of my garage.

What can I say? Some people have a nice car. I have a nice sauna.
Thanks to the wonderful woodworker Sean Kelly for building this.

A few words in support of Thanksgiving......

which lately seems to get the short shrift when it comes to being out and about in the world of retail. People, have we completely forgotten what time of year it is? Has Thanksgiving become the Cinderella stepchild to Christmas? Now I'm not saying that you couldn't come into Passionflower right now and find lots of great holiday goodies......I'm just saying that......

This time of year is way too beautiful to not revel in it......candles, and the waning fiery colors of summer and the appearing of the bare branches, and gathering around a table with people you love.......

We do not give up on Thanksgiving so easily here at Passionflower.

Loving the Front Window

Dudes & dudettes, shall we have a little review of some front window displays at Passionflower?

Well yes I think we shall, else what shall I do with these collage photos I just put together?

Except stare at them endlessly.

Photo below is classic Passionflower

......this was our minimal/ botanical phase. We used variations on this window for a long run for the first six months of 2009.....Tara & Becky did the beautiful hanging of the Indian gates.

This year we've been lucky enough to have some talented artisans curating our window. Katie Swenson took the April/Easter/Spring Window seen above.......


Jill Cardinal rocked our world with her heart themed window above.....

And Barb Campell had riots of quiet color in the window for her November show last year.
We are lucky to have so many singular and talented artists in our midsts....
Come shop the store for the holidays and see more of Barb & Katie's work.

Our Front Window Display at the Holidays

Happy with how these photos of last years holiday window turned out. Got lucky!

Hmmm , what shall we do with this year's window?

This is What Happens

When you're still figuring out how to work the collage part of picasa and you accidentally select a whole folder....it's like that painting game at the boardwalk when I was a child and it spins around really fast while you squirt paint out of ketchup bottles and you don't know what it's going to look like until it stops spinning. That's what the collage part of Picasa is like...kinda like that.

Like one big Passionflower whirled up into this two dimensional picture...
Kinda scary............

Here's another collage - three images of this great bee necklace from Cara Mia at Hotcakes Designs....edgy and classic at the same time...And when I take that trip to San Francisco her store Favor on Polk Street in San Francisco is on my go to list.......

Come check out the rest of the Hotcakes Goodies at the store - loads of fun rings under $50 and bracelets too! This is jewelry for when you want to have fun.

My New Obsession

For your viewing pleasure..........I've been spending way too much time putting collage photos together but also working hard on photos for the new shopping site....shoppassionflower dot com.....coming soon......so here ya go....a little preview of our jewelry cases.....

My favorite photo collage above .....

From top to bottom: Cast bronze Hermes Medallion, Gopher Jawbone Necklace, and Carved Mammoth Bone Cherub.

\ A little holiday bling.

And we haven't even made it to earrings and bracelets......