style – Page 5 – tide & bloom

ladycrush: alice

Name: Alice
Day Job: Department Manager at Anthropologie
Dream Job: Textile Designer

How would you describe your style? My style really depends on my mood. That sounds cliche, I know, but it’s true. I usually like to mix vintage with new trends. In the winter I’m always in a scarf, in the summer I’m always in a high-waisted skirt. Being so petite, you hardly ever catch me wearing flats so I’ve invested a lot of time into my shoe collection! If I was stranded on a deserted island, I would chose to be alone with a trunk of all my shoes. Is that weird? Probably.

Where are your favorite places to shop for clothes? If it’s not from Anthro or an URBN shop, it’s from a local thrift store. I also have my own Etsy shop where I sell vintage clothing that I’ve found over the years. Check it out! Hanger Threads

a look back

So it’s that time of year again, where everyone makes lists, countdowns, and figures out their resolutions for the coming year. Despite the high probability of seeming trite, I will participate in this action and take a look back at all my favorite blog posts of 2014. Below the picture gallery, you’ll find the corresponding links that will take you to the post. If you have just recently begun reading my words then you might like to see what I’ve been up to this whole time. I’ve seen a lot of lovely creations, spoken with a handful of amazingly talented people, and eaten a lot of tasty food. Isn’t that what life’s all about? It is for me anyways…

row 1 : chattanooga / java jive / may flowers / surfacing
row 2 : elizabeth / apple butter bakery / le petit marche / stacktone slims
row 3 : take heart shop / tiny buffalo / suzanne / henry & june
row 4 : farmer’s market / treat yourself / amelie’s / announcing
row 5 : oakland cemetery / buttermilk kitchen / the tote / krog street market
row 6 : olio / maelu designs / blueridge mountains / arabia mountain

wrapped in plaid

I swear to you that I’m not normally this vain. If you ask any of my close friends, they’ll tell you that I’m pretty picky when it comes to liking pictures of myself. But something magical happened this past weekend and my boyfriend snapped a ton of great portraits. I’ve never liked this many from a style shoot! Perhaps it’s the photographer, perhaps it’s the outfit. Perhaps it’s the fact that I have a lovely new Maelu head wrap on!

wrapped-in-plaid-16a I’m super excited to finally have one of these! Maelu is an awesome clothing company that makes sustainable textiles made with natural fibers and veggie dyes. They make a lovely assortment of scarves, kimonos, and headbands – all block printed by Indian artisans.

I won’t lie to you, it took me a couple tries to get this head wrap looking anything but awkward. As I was adjusting it, I felt like I looked like something in-between a ninja and a gypsy fortune teller. But once I finally got the hang of it, I was feelin’ pretty darn cute…

gift guide: for the southern belle

There are many different types of southern belles, but you can bet that all of them love things cozy, handmade, or sentimental. She’s grounded by her roots and traditions, but is never afraid of a little adventure (or a little gold). A true romantic at heart, she would also appreciate the even-more-difficult-task of the homemade gift. If you decide to go this route, stick to something sweet and simple like pie in a jar.

a sunny winter

It’s kind of crazy how warm it is in Atlanta. Last winter’s memory of whiteout slushy highways lingers, but the sun is telling us there are still beautiful days to ahead. With the warmth of all this sunshine, I’ve been able to stretch my summer-fall transitional wardrobe even further. This jumpsuit is one of my newest obsessions, but it’s been challenging for me to figure out how to outfit it.

I ended up pulling this cream slouchy blazer from the back of my closet into the light and it works perfectly! It adds just a touch of elegance, while still highlighting the fun casualness of the splatter pattern.

jumpsuit / anthropologie
blazer / banana republic (similar here)
tote / anthropologie
sunglasses / anthropologie (similar here)
sandals / steve madden

the clutch

Clutch it with your hands, hold on to it with your heart. The medium bag of our collaborative collection is the perfect size for a subtle and chic statement. Each piece has a reinforced leather bottom and a long leather tasseled zipper. Large enough to hold your everyday necessities and small enough to carry conveniently, the clutch is easily adaptable for a modern lady on the go.

The design pictured here is now for sale at Crafted Westside’s Holiday Pop-Up Shop at Westside Provisions! Open daily from 10am-6pm, Crafted has great hand-made gifts of all kinds from Southern artisans, including my art prints as well. If you can’t make it to the store, feel free to contact me at christina@tideandbloom.com to see more designs available for sale and custom ordering details. Hooray for Small Business Saturday!

neva opet x christina kwan

I feel so cheesy when I use the word “synergy”, but that is what comes to mind when I think about this collaboration. Rachael‘s handbags are beautifully crafted, with great attention and care to every detail. Her authenticity comes from the core of her being; she’s one of those girls who just instantly lights up the mood of any room. I’m absolutely humbled by her willingness to share a byline with me, especially when it comes to something as close to her heart as her bags. Together, we present to you a collection of canvas bags that are simple and modern, with a touch of whimsy. We’ve chosen Crafted Westside‘s holiday pop-up shop – and the internet – as the venue for the premiere of this line. Bag shapes include the tote (pictured here), the clutch, and the dopp kit. Our color palette is grounded in earth tones with flourishes of gold, and the designs are meant to be as functional as they are fun. We hope you’ll be as excited as we are! If you don’t live in Atlanta or would like to have a custom hand-painted bag for yourself, get in touch with us and email me at christina@tideandbloom.com. We’re crossing our fingers that this will be a partnership to last – evolving alongside our own individual craft practices. More product pictures to come very soon…

neva opet collaboration

In case you haven’t read between the lines, I’ve been working on a seriously exciting collaboration with my lovely and inspiring friend, Rachael of Neva Opet! Her bags are some of the best in town and it’s no secret that I’ve been a big admirer of hers for a while now. She was one of the first artisans I interviewed for this blog and her positive outlook and support has made a wonderful impact in my life’s work. It felt super natural for us to fuse our crafts; our mutual respect and adoration for each other’s sense of design made this a no-brainer. What is this going to look like, you ask? Well, here’s a sneak peek from my instagram…

I’ve never done product design like this before and it was definitely a good challenge. With the amount of bags I had to do and the lack of free time I had, it forced me to create more efficiently. This mostly meant leaving things be and accepting the beauty of simplicity. I have the tendency to over-create because I always want to add more and more subtle layers. But for this project, it was important to step back and force myself to provide breathing room. I had to remind myself that they were all going to be transforming into something else, something useful, and that a simple statement is much more impactful than a busy chaotic mess.

I have no idea what the end product is going to look like! I just passed off all the materials to Rachael for her to do her magic and by this time next week, we will finally have a finished line.

What I do know is that there will be a variety of colors, patterns, and bag shapes for you to choose from and it’s just in time for the holiday season! Some of these will be living in Crafted Westside‘s Holiday Pop-Up Shop and others will be available for custom order. We’ll be premiering our products in the next two weeks with more information to come. Hope you’re half as excited as we are!!

atlanta street fashion

It’s less than a week away from our little debut show at Octane, but it just occurred to me that I need to share with you the awesome work of my co-headliner! Cameron Adams has been blogging over at Atlanta Street Fashion for about four years now and I’m embarrassed to say that I had never met him in person until we started talking about this exhibition opportunity.

Cameron’s photographs will live beside my floral pattern works and hopefully strike a harmonious chord that you’ll want to take home with you. He has a way of finding (and unabashedly approaching) the coolest Atlanta characters wherever he goes, kind of like hunting for treasure.. except his treasure is notable style. Can you blame him?

Atlanta Street Fashion is like a time capsule filled with unique personalities and Cameron’s steady and straight-forward blogging style is admirable to say the least. I cannot lie, I’ve been crossing my fingers that he’d come up to me some day and snap my photo at a random event… but now he has no choice.

So if you’re planning on joining us for the reception, see it as an opportunity to get decked out in your favorite pieces and start your night off with a bang! Maybe you’ll end up seeing your face on our blogs soon. 🙂

[ all photos via Atlanta Street Fashion ]

ladycrush: hannah

Neighborhood: Northlake
Day Job: Senior Customer Associate at Anthropologie
Dream Job: Working in a retail corporate office

Describe your personal style.

My style is very feminine. I love lace, bows, floral prints and color. Dresses are my go-to because they are such an easy outfit, and I definitely own one too many fit and flare dresses! I make sure what I wear is comfortable and reasonable for what I’m doing so I wear flats way more than heels.