Plain Jane

Posted on May 20, 2015May 20, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

I’ve never really been into jewellery – costume or real. When new friends see my collection for the first time they are bewildered by the modesty of it. My grandfather made a large wooden jewellery box for me when I was very young. I don’t know if it was meant to house the collection of an adult woman but I haven’t outgrown it in the quarter-century that I’ve owned it. It sits proudly on a shelf in the walk-in closet I share with my husband, a small, up-side-down wooden ‘W’ carefully nailed to the front, not yet half-filled. Most of the pieces it contains are roughly the same age as the box itself.

I was a tom-boy growing up and inherited a nickle (and stainless steel) allergy that has snaked its way through the female line of my family for as long as anyone can remember so I’ve only purchased two or three pieces for myself over the course of my life, the rest were gifts. I can wear gold jewellery, but only have a few pieces – family heirlooms and gifts from my husband mostly – to my name. It seems overpriced anyway, at least in the on-brand, mall chain-stores, and I’ve always worried about the ethics of how it is produced. Etsy has some truly beautiful fine jewellery, but at this point, I kind of like my uncommonly accessory-light style.

$Plain Jane \\ Sophster-Toaster$ $Plain Jane \\ Sophster-Toaster$ $Plain Jane \\ Sophster-Toaster$

It sure makes travelling easier. I’ve never lost an earring in a hotel bathroom or scratched a ring while stacking wood. I don’t have a travel jewellery case, I don’t worry about wear to hide my valuables when I take them off and I’ve never used a hotel safe – is there a fee for using one? I don’t even know.

$Plain Jane \\ Sophster-Toaster$ $Plain Jane \\ Sophster-Toaster$

My simple white gold wedding band is the only jewellery I wear most days.

Top ModCloth (old)
Skirt Sophster-Toaster
Shoes Payless
Bag Bently (similar)
Binoculars family heirloom

$Plain Jane \\ Sophster-Toaster$

I look at a woman perfectly pulling off a statement necklace with envy and intrigue, but every time I try to wear an adult amount of accessories, I just think it looks weird and wrong on me. My mom says my tastes are simple and boring but I love the look of bare skin.

Playing Tourist in Niagara Falls

Posted on May 12, 2015May 12, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

I didn’t grow up where I live now and all of my family is still back home. To them, where I live now is lively and glamorous; it’s a place they used to save up for and go on vacation to when I was a kid. To me, however, the tourist stuff is hectic, overpriced and should be avoided. To them, it’s a destination but to me, it’s just the jumping off point.

It’s always weird to see your life through the eyes of an excited tourist, but that’s what you do when relatives are in town.

My mom booked two rooms at a hilariously out-of-date hotel for me, my husband, my brother, his girlfriend and herself. We found our balconies offered little privacy…

“As a connoisseur of air conditioning units, I find the view quite exhilarating.” – my brother

… and not much more in the way of a view.

They arrived late, so after learning that most of the drawers in the room were fake – I pulled out the top drawer to see why the bottom ones didn’t open and I called my brother in through the adjoining door to see my discovery, he rushed in holding the same drawer from his room – we went out to dinner. My mom said she wanted to “go where the locals go” but turned down every suggestion because they didn’t have kitschy themes, celebrity endorsements or mechanical bulls….

The next morning, we walked down to see the whole reason people travel to this place. I showed her how to be a strange woman who takes pictures of her outfit at the inconvenience of everyone around her (i.e. my job), then helped her do the same.

$Playing Tourist \\ Sophster-Toaster$ $Playing Tourist \\ Sophster-Toaster$

Dress Modcloth
Shoes Keds
Bag Modcloth
Earrings Craft Arts Market/ nicolegagnon

Photo credit Matt Harrison

$Mom's Turn \\ Sophster-Toaster$

The details, according to my mom:
Dress “Shopping with [a young family friend]”
Shoes “The Internet”

Then we made our way back to the local world and to Rise Above for an amazing vegan brunch (and free past-their-prime flowers!) while the other tourists had their brand-name pancake breakfast with fanning and dust tea at the hotel.

Sophster-Toaster Shop Anniversary Giveaway

Posted on May 10, 2015May 8, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

Today marks three full years since I opened the Sophster-Toaster shop. I’ve learned so much about myself, my craft and running a business since my first day that I sometimes feel like I’ve become an adult.

The past year has been very good to me. I’ve started selling my handmade clothing and accessories at Craft Arts Market in downtown St. Catharines; I’ve been able to turn my little dressmaking endeavour into a full time job; and I’ve meet some really neat customers, crafters and bloggers along the way. I think it’s time to celebrate.

I think a giveaway – a sweet prize pack including my most loved clothing and accessories of the year – will do nicely.

Want to win a Vixen Skirt, Coffee Tee, Mint Milkshake Bow, Coral Bow & Stitch in Time Bow prize pack valued at $96? Enter below!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Skirt is available in sizes XS – XL and is also available in petite and tall sizes. T-shirt is available in women’s S – XL and men’s/unisex S – XL. Bows can be worn as hair clip or clip-on bow tie. All items are handmade by me and can be found in my shop at www.sophstertoaster.etsy.com.

The giveaway runs from Sunday, May 10, 2015 to Sunday, May 17, 2015 at midnight. The prize pack will ship for free to anywhere in the world! The lucky winner will be announced here, on the Sophster-Toaster Facebook page, on Twitter and contacted by email on Monday, May 18. Good Luck!

The Learning Curve

Posted on May 2, 2015May 2, 2015 by Melissa Harrison

I recently realized that if one person – or two, or three – are asking for a custom item, there are probably scores of others who would also like this thing to exist. I don’t know why it takes me so long to learn these things, they seem so simple once I’ve figured them out.

A few of my friends started a smartphone app making business with the goal of growing it into a video game making business. They gave themselves a success deadline: if they didn’t have the funds to work on a game full time after about a year of trying, they would have to make it a hobby and pursue full time employment as a boring ol’ non-indie programmer with a cubicle and a health benefits package and all that gross, stable adult stuff. They didn’t succeed in the terms they laid out.

This has left me trying to rationalize and reconcile the knot between success and failure. I’ve always thought that anyone, reputed to be successful, who doesn’t admit that luck had at least a little to do with the way things worked out will be swiftly and severely punished for their hubris. Anyone who thinks it was all them, is a fool. And no one gets lucky on their first try. It seems the difference between successful people and everyone else is how afraid to fail they are and how many failures they have behind them. Successful people fail. They fail harder and more often than the average person, and that’s how they find success.

It took me a lot of tries to come up with designs that people responded to and a lot of time to learn that people will tell you exactly what they want – and even give you money – if you know how to listen. That’s how I winded up with some of my best selling designs.

$The Vixen Skirt \\ Sophster-Toaster$

The Vixen Skirt in Long exists because someone loved the original but needed a longer length, and as it turned out, she wasn’t alone.

$The Stitch in Time Skirt \\ Sophster-Toaster$

The Stitch in Time Skirt exists because someone needed a size that could not be accommodated in the dress version, because someone loved the fabric and silhouette but needed a lower cost alternative, because someone just plain prefered skirts, and because I learned to listen.

Every time I feel successful, I have to redefine success and set harder goals because I’m one of those people who isn’t inspired or motivated by success. I need to keep falling to get higher.

Tee: Sophster-Toaster // Skirt: Sophster-Toaster // Petticoat: ModCloth // Shoes: ModCloth (old) // Record Player: Amazon