Oh Yoko

Yoko Green 7 Pocket Wallet With Change Purse

Yoko Pink 7 Pocket Wallet with Change Purse

Yoko Pink 7 Pocket Wallet with Change Purse

The Oh So Retro bifold wallet has 6 deep, staggered pockets for easy organization and massive amounts of storage! Keep all your business cards, bank cards, rewards cards, coupons and cash organized in one place.

Features:
- 6 inside pockets, 3 on each side.
- 3.5" zipper pocket on the back to hold a ton of change.
- Secure tab with metal snap closure keeps everything in it's right place.
- Measures 4.5" wide x 8" long (4" folded.)
- Interfaced for strength and stability.

Available in a pink or green version. Made with authentic Japanese fabric featuring large dots and patterns on green cotton. Lined in a matching print textured cotton with solid accent fabric.

Visit my shop for more wallets - or custom order one with your own choice of fabric and options!

Flashback Friday #4 Hello, Goodbye

The day he was born was a rough one for me. I actually hung up on my mom when she called to tell me that I had a baby brother. It never occurred to me that you might be a boy, I was sure I was going to have a little sister named Sarah. Instead I had a stinky brother named Michael. This was my first taste of disappointment.



It didn't take me long to warm up to you. We shared the second bedroom in our small house and I can remember standing beside the crib, looking in through the bars and holding his little feet. Who knew finger nails could ever be that small. I loved to hug and squish him.



When Michael was 3 years old he was diagnosed with a spinal cord tumor and given one month to live without immediate surgery. My parents flew to Toronto with him and I lived with my grandparents. The doctors prepared us for possible paralysis and we excepted him to come home in a wheelchair. (He ran off the airplane to meet us at the airport.) At the time I didn't understand the seriousness of this event. I still can't fully understand it.



(Further proof that I am the smart one.) Christmas was the best. Having someone to share that excitement with.. the moment before our parents would give us the go ahead when we both sat shaking with excitement before the tree, counting presents and seeing who got the biggest one. Michael would rip his presents open one after the other and then sit and watch as I meticulously unwrapped my gifts.


There's a big gap without pictures of us because there's a big gap where we hated each other. Hated. Now I realize what a waste of time that was. I carry that regret with me even though my brother has forgiven me for how I treated him. (We're not just talking sibling rivalry here.)

It's taken years but I consider my brother one of my best friends. He's moving to Montreal tomorrow to start his new career at Aerospace as an Engineer and I am SO proud of him! I am going to miss him something fierce and will probably be making the same face that I am in the first photo but I'm excited to see what he's going to accomplish in his life.

The sky is yours Michael, one step at a time.

Thrift Shop Finds

I love books. I love books more than I love fabric. Well maybe not quite that much, but they're a close second.

Actually let me restate that: I love second hand books. I love hunting through a heavy shelf in a thrift shop for well loved books, finding a forgotten bookmark treasure or vintage library card. One of these had tickets for a draw to be held in December 1989. I guess they didn't win.

This week I found these books at my local Goodwill - a great find. My high school had the entire collection of New Canadian (NC) paperbacks, these same editions from the 1970s with abstract paintings on the front.

Margaret Lawrence is an amazing Canadian author, if you haven't read her yet I strongly recommend "A Bird in the House" and "The Stone Angel". I haven't read "A Jest of God" yet but it's next on my list.

The Margaret Atwood "You Are Happy" book of poetry was my absolute favourite in high school. Some of the poems I had read so much that I was able to recite them from memory as I was reading them. I was so excited to find a first edition, and one in great shape too.

Anais Nin is of course classic and the Stephen Leacock book - well I just liked the design. Sometimes you just have to buy a book if it's going to look good on your shelf.

As cool as I think the e-readers are, I will never own one because they don't come with the dusty library smell, you can't sit and look at the titles and they won't make for very fun thrifting in the future.

Reintroducing...

It's been a long time coming but I am finally ready to restart Oh So Retro Accessories up full time. I'm really excited to be designing & creating again after a two year hiatus in which OSR was put into bare bones mode. I'm feeling refreshed, rejuvenated, inspired and ready to get back to work!

I'm hoping to put up at least one brand new item a day in my Etsy shop until it's nice and full for the upcoming season. I will also be taking wholesale and custom orders. You can email me at ohsoretro@gmail.com if you have any inquiries.

As always you can follow me on twitter or add OSR on facebook. You can add my personal facebook too if you want more me, less spam.

Thanks to everyone for your support over the last two years -- it means a lot to me to know so many people are still excited to see what I'm up to in the sewing room.

Vivian Vintage Inspired Purse in Jacobean Linen $52


Maybelle Vintage Inspired Purse in Polka Dot Canvas $42

A few thoughts before we get on with it.

I've recently discovered that the problem with depression isn't the painful sadness or the intense apathy, the lack of hygiene and nutrition and sunshine and friends...

It's the fact that being depressed takes up a lot of time. Weeks, months, years go by in a haze and before you know it one morning you're waking up (exhausted) and looking at a calendar unable to recognize the date. 2010? How the hell did that happen?

Coming out of a depression is really like coming out of a coma.

The really sad thing is that I didn't even know I was depressed until I started to come out of it. I've been living life at a dull hum, not really doing anything except the bare minimum needed to get by. I have no excuses for this. I'm tired of making excuses.

I don't want to waste another minute of life! I've been making some small changes over the past month, getting out more, being with people more, taking photos and sewing and drawing. Getting dressed, showering, eating. The simple things. The things I used to enjoy doing. The things that make me "me".

So that's it. No more excuses, no more bullshit. It's time for me to get on my way.