Our newest line of hand knit and hand crocheted cozies

Shopping for fall? Or gearing up for winter?

Which ever the season, our newest line of hand knit and hand crocheted "cozies", Beyond Infiknitty by OhKuol, will keep you warm and effortlessly stylish during the chilly days to come.

Each piece is hand knit and hand crocheted in our own home studio. We source out quality local materials; locally hand dyed cotton threads and hand painted luxury merino wool (extremely soft and lush for a comfortable fit!)

Have you also noticed a beautiful selection of colours? This season, we are focusing on choosing vibrant colors and jewel tones. A pop of color may compliment your style and wardrobe. But choosing the wrong shade of orange, for instance, could cross the very fine line of looking hot versus tasteless. Our choice of color for each individual piece is strategically and carefully chosen for wearability.

Shop more:
http://www.beyondinfiknitty.etsy.com

Did a piece catch your fancy? Check out using coupon code "SOCOZY" and receive a special discount off your order!

xo,
Priscilla

OhKuol Jewelry Available at Mermaid Moon Boutique!

I am writing to announce some very exciting news today, OhKuol Jewelry is now available at Mermaid Moon boutique in Victoria, B.C.!

The Mermaid Moon boutique is located on 1312 Government Street, in the heart of downtown Victoria. This unique boutique features a fantastic variety of locally made clothing and accessories. The owner, Jessica Reddit, is also the fashion designer of Middle of Nowhere Apparel, a culturally inspired fashion / yoga line that focuses on using eco-friendly and sustainable materials.

A peek at what's available in store:

A wonderful selection of our hand hammered rings, gemstone stacking bangles, and romantic necklaces are available in store. If you are a local from Vancouver and taking a day trip to Victoria, we hope you will have a chance to visit :)

By the way, did you catch our feature on the Emmaline Bride blog this month? Read more about it here! Blog feature: http://emmalinebride.com/bridesmaid/rings-gems/.

More updates coming soon, we will be launching a new fall / winter line! Stay tuned.

xo,
Priscilla

Thank You, Merci Beaucoup

Today is the first day of August and also the first day after officially closing our little boutique, our sweet little boutique that we had for 3 special years! This past week has been chaotic and hectic to say the least. I would have to say that disassembling and hauling our glass cases was the biggest challenge. Many thanks to the Student Works Disposal team for lending us their muscles!

for your delicious cupcakes made with love!

In addition to everyone who has helped us with the move, I'd also like to take this opportunity to say thank you to all our local designers, it has certainly been a pleasure to work with so many talented artists in Vancouver. Thank you all for the opportunity, I wish everyone the best of luck with all your future endeavors, and I hope we will have the chance to work together again!


Of course, I have to thank our customers, especially our regular customers, for their continuous support! It has been very fun being a jewelry stylist. I will miss the neighborhood! Speaking of our neighborhood, many thanks to the South Granville Business Association and all our friends on South Granville as well, you have all been spectacular. 

We are looking forward to taking a short break. But, we will surely keep everyone posted on our future projects, so stay tuned!

Keep up with us:

SHOP online: http://www.ohkuol.etsy.com
As a store customer at OhKuol, you will receive 15% OFF all your future orders from our online shop when you check out using the coupon code 'LOCAL'.
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ohkuolvancouver
Twitter: @OhKuol

Xoxo,
Priscilla

Labradorite from The Northern Lights

That's the Aurora Borealis, or known as The Northern Lights. Our customers up in Whitehorse and Alaska talk about it, but I am sure it is a different experience when you are actually watching these glowing lights glimmer and dance in the night sky. I live in the hustling and bustling city of Vancouver, one of the best cities in the world. Yet, sometimes I wonder how it would be like to live in a small village or in the country side, where street lights are minimal and the skies are pitch black at night. One day, I would love to make a trip up to Whitehorse and see how brilliant this natural phenomenon is!

Lately, we have been working with a gemstone called 'Labradorite', which has natural flashes of blues and greens. Legends and old stories have said that labradorite is a stone that has fallen from the Aurora Borealis because the colors between the two are very similar... It is truly a fascinating stone!

Here are a pair of labradorite cluster earrings we handmade recently. To compliment the colors of labradorite, we chose to use blue quartz, peacock freshwater pearls, and grey freshwater pearls... very exotic colors!

Do we have any readers who have seen The Northern Lights? We love stories :)

Sincerely,

Priscilla

Store Fixtures, Hangers, Racks, Mannequins... FOR SALE

Retail store owners and jewellery designers, we are officially selling our store fixtures - including our hangers, clothing racks, jewelry necklace / earrings / bracelet / ring displays, mirrors, card spinner, and MORE at super prices! See below:

Clothing Rack - $80

Wooden hangers - $0.50 EACH

Velvet hangers - $0.50 EACH

Jewelry necklace / earrings / bracelets / rings displays - $2 each 

Mannequin w/ stand - $50, 1 available

Mirror - $5

Antiqued Gold Mirror - $30

Dark wood wall mirror - $20

Small Ottoman / Storage Unit - $15

Provincial Style Black Table SET - $100

For any questions / inquiries - please call us at 604 732 6600 or e-mail us at ohkuol@hotmail.com. Sorry we don't do holds for furniture but will do holds for jewelry displays - - please contact us for more details!

OFFERS ONLY UNTIL JULY 31ST!!! Act fast!

sincerely,
Priscilla

2 Weeks Left & August Peridot

Today is July 15th and we're already half way through the month! Really?!

Lately we have been busy with our liquidation sale at the retail store. The rushes and madness remind me of Christmas time, heck some of our customers are already shopping for Christmas! I'm more of a last minute person. I know the advantages of shopping early, but it just doesn't happen that way... for me. But if it does for you, then pop into our store during our last 2 weeks! Whether you're looking for bridal jewelry, birthday gifts, Christmas gifts, thank you gifts, or fresh staples to stock up your wardrobe, you're likely to score a super deal!

Speaking of gifts, if you know of August babies, here are a couple of new green peridot earrings and necklaces that might suit their fancy:

Green peridot is the August birthstone and it has such a vibrant, earthy green that we love. It is absolutely refreshing to work with this glimmering gem!

See more in our shop: http://www.ohkuol.etsy.com, or e-mail us at ohkuol@hotmail.com if you have any questions :)

toodles,

Priscilla

Happy Canada Day & Happy July 4th!

Here is a belated Happy Canada Day to all our locals here! I hope everyone had a splendid weekend filled with sunshine, good company, and lots of rest from work. Although Canada Day was still a working day for us, we're happy we got some warm, sunny weather this weekend. It finally feels like summer has arrived and we hope it's here to stay for good. Did anyone catch the fireworks? Instead of watching the fireworks, I went to watch Britney Spears perform live in concert... a great show, I'm a little surprised to say ;)

Also, we would also like to say Happy July 4th to our southern neighbors! Because majority of our online shoppers are Americans, we're having a July 4th holiday promotion in our Etsy shop. If you happen to stumble upon our shop and see a glimmer gem that caught your fancy, please remember to use coupon code 'JULY4TH' to redeem a discount off your order, offer ends at midnight!




Eclectic Skeleton Key Necklace w/ London blue topaz 


Sincerely,
Priscilla

OhKuol Bags

Hi all! In the midst of working on our website and other projects, we have also been keeping busy with Etsy. This week, we opened our SECOND Etsy shop featuring OhKuol Bags, which are all handmade by our dear ma, Judy, in our home studio!

We decided to open this little shop to showcase her work. It also gives her a reason to continue sewing. Sewing used to be a part time job for her while raising us kids. Although she has retired, she still enjoys sewing and creating very much. Vi and I help her pick out fabrics. We're big fans of Amy Butler 100% cotton fabrics. They are quality fabrics with vibrant and colorful prints and patterns. Like some say, you can never have too many bags, just like how you can never have too many shoes... ;)

If you haven't stopped by the store yet, try to swing by and check out our closing/moving sale! Selected local artisan jewelry are discounted from 20% and up, including Silver Trumpet, Irit Sorokin Designs, Fani Song Recycled Glass Jewelry, The Raven Iron, and OhKuol Luscious Gemstone Jewelry - which is also available for purchase online in our jewelry Etsy shop. Local Vancouverites, please use coupon code 'VANCITY' to redeem your discount!

That's all the news for now, have a lovely weekend everyone! Toodaloos...

Sincerely,
Priscilla

Online Website

Hello readers,

We're working hard on finishing our new website! Our website is expected to be completed by mid-end of July as there were some technical challenges that came up while integrating our new shopping cart... but I assure you it's worth the wait :)

Stay tuned!

Sincerely,
Priscilla

A symphony of jewels

photo by Priscilla taken at the Blim Market, rings by Silver Trumpet

"a symphony of jewels for all tastes"

The Silver Trumpet vintage inspired jewelry collection by local designer Andrea Halvorsen has been a great hit at OhKuol's for the past few years. Her most popular pieces include colorful cameos in ornate settings and many whimsical rings, bracelets, and earrings. If you're also a lover of Silver Trumpet jewelry, stop by OhKuol at 2439 Granville street for 20% off the collection during our closing/moving sale. 

sincerely, 

Priscilla 

Whimsical Charm Necklaces!

For the past week, we have been daydreaming about summer and making little charm necklaces with semi-precious gemstones. They are refreshing and whimsical, we think they're a ton of fun!

Labradorite Starfish Necklace

Blue Topaz Leaf Necklace

This one is an all time favorite for us, we enjoy making this one because sky blue topaz goes quite nicely with bright sterling silver. Summer is almost here, do you wear more gold or silver this time of year?

Seahorse and Company Necklace

Many of us might say silver because silver has a cooler tone. But that doesn't mean we should limit ourselves to silver during summer! Here's a summer themed charm necklace with a little seahorse, a clam, and a white freshwater pearl (June birthstone). 

Shop at our Etsy shop for more options! Enjoy the sun and we wish all our readers a lovely weekend. 

p.s. Remember to stop by our store to check out our closing/moving sale. See earlier post for more details.

Sincerely,

Priscilla/Vi 

A letter to our customers: Closing our door

Dear OhKuol customers,

We thought we should let you all know that it is confirmed that we will be closing our doors on July 31st. It is a little saddening, but we're excited to move on to bigger and better ventures! And at the same time, we will also be on the lookout for a new location!

We would like to say thank you to all our loyal customers, designers, family and friends, for supporting us through these past years.

In the months of June and July, we will be having a closing/moving sale in store! Please come by, update your wardrobe, and refresh your jewelry collection.

With items on sale from 20-60% OFF,

we're pretty sure you could score some sweet deals! Note that our store hours will be extended during this period. We'll be open from: Sunday - Tuesday: 12pm - 7pm and Wednesday - Saturday: 11am - 7pm.

In the meantime, check out our Facebook page for more of what's in store, follow us on Twitter for live updates, and subscribe to our blog for any future news!

To shop our in-house designed OhKuol Jewelry collection exclusively, visit our new Etsy shop.

Our new website is scheduled to launch by this summer in July. There will be giveaways for the grand opening of our online shop ;) so stay tuned!

List of Canadian designers in store:
Arjemco Jewelry

Black Drop Designs

Brynn Creative Designs

Fani Song Recycled Glass Jewelry
Heather Matwe Jewelry 
Irit Sorokin Designs 

Jen Ellis Designs

KV Bijou 

MuzuArtware Jewelry 

Odette Alfaro Jewelry
Silver Trumpet Jewelry
Sleepy Moon Designs
Street Cat Designs
The Tiny Fig
The Raven Iron
Threadly Intents Accessories
Type B Jewelry

Whisper Photography Jewelry

..& we carry VERO MODA clothing only. 

Hope to see you all sometime soon :)

Sincerely,
Priscilla & Vi 

Artisans, are you tech saavy?

by designomite on Etsy

Summer is just around the corner and business has been busy after a slow period that follows after Christmas. We'd love to take a vacation but our schedule is not permitting, yet. Besides managing the front end of things at the shop, we have also been doing some researching on effective online marketing for small businesses.

If you're already promoting your business online, check out this SEO guide. I think we've officially marked this as one of our SEO bible. In addition, we recently discovered Wanelo and Pinterest. I'll save the details so you will go find out for yourselves! They are great websites for artisans to promote their work. And they're free. Check them out if you haven't, you'll have fun, and you might get inspired :)


That's all we will share for now, don't want to cram too much in one post! So, we're curious, what's working for you and what's not? Comment below!

sincerely,
Priscilla

'Tis the bridal season

The Spanish Gown - designed and made by joanshum 

Found this too-gorgeous-for-words wedding gown on Etsy and it inspired us to write another post. At this time of year, brides-to-be are crossing off the final items on their to-do list before the big day.Congratulations if you will be a bride this summer :) Love and the wonderful things it brings is certainly worthy of celebrating.

Knowing that it's close to wedding season, we have stocked up on a couple of adornments that could potentially be exquisite bridal jewelry + bridesmaids jewelry + thank you gifts.

by Street Cat Designs

Hand crocheted crystal and freshwater pearl earrings, romantic and

also very glam. We'd recommend these ones for the bride.

by Arjemco

Rose gold mini heart necklace, perfect if you're looking for a simple piece that your bridesmaids would be able to wear again after the wedding.

Amethyst Teardrops by OhKuol

We actually designed these for bridesmaids, notice how elegant these are without being too flashy (wouldn't want a bridesmaid to steal the thunder.) If you chose a royal purple for your wedding color, these would be lovely.

There is more selection in store, you could check out our Facebook page to do a little more window shopping. Our local designers accept custom orders, stop by 2439 Granville Street and see if there is anything that catches your fancy!

So growing up in a big family, we are used to being invited to big and grand weddings, the biggest with over 600+ guests! At that particular wedding, we knew maybe 10% of the attendees. And that's overestimating. We learned that sometimes a big wedding may not be as cozy as small wedding. Remember, quality over quantity, and don't sweat the small things!

And we'll leave you with that. Happy wedding planning :)

cheers,

Priscilla & Vi

Chronicles of an Etsy rookie: $7 Etsy showcase

In case you missed our previous posts, we recently revived our Etsy shop. Being eager and feeling all gung ho, we decided to purchase a spot in the Etsy jewelry showcase, in hopes of making 1 or 2 sales. If you're wondering how the Etsy showcase works, basically it costs $7.00 to book a spot in the showcase for 24 hours. 

We had 2 sales last night and we thought it was from the showcase. We thought, "Sweet, this showcase thing works!" But we were actually discovered through Twitter, what a great invention it is. 

To sum it up, the $7.00 got us a handful of views and no sales. Although I've heard positive feedback about showcases, we weren't too impressed with our first experience. Next time, we would rather invest the $7.00 for renewing listings. 

Advice from one rookie to another:

• If you're going to do the showcase, try your best to fill your shop. They say the magic number is around 100 items.
• Renew the items lined up for the showcase half an hour before it's time for your first item to be listed.
• Put out your specials and marked down items so they're fast pick-me-ups.
• Or save your money instead!

On a brighter note, we are shipping out orders to Switzerland this week, very exciting!

Are you an Etsy seller and had success with the showcase? How do you make the best of out it? Share with us!

sincerely,

Priscilla & Vi

what i wore: we spring cocktail mixer

Despite my social networking phobias, last night, I went to the spring cocktail mixer hosted by the West Ender at Bin 492. I've heard the local buzz about Bin 492 and now I know why, what delicious appies I tasted! 

First off, congratulations to the West Ender for the launch of their Kitsilano magazine and West Side newspaper, I'm sure they will be very well received when they come out. And thank you to West Ender's Tracy for inviting us, it was a pleasure to celebrate with the WE team!

As mentioned in my last post, although it is a cocktail mixer, I chose not to wear a cocktail dress. Curious to see what I wore instead?

Dress + Jacket VERO MODA

Turquoise Filigree Necklace OHKUOL

When this dress arrived in store, I thought, "Man, I'm not going to be able to pull this off, it's way too long for me." For those who have never met me in person, I am only 5'2, if even. Ladies, if you're just about my height and feel like you could never pull off something like this, I hope I could inspire you to get out of your comfort zones and try something new. Just remember to wear a dress like this with heels, wedges would be lovely!

Also, the Kitsilano edition will be published at the end of this month. Be sure to pick one up, especially if you live in the area!

sincerely,

Priscilla

We walked the Epic Expo this year...

"Bee the Change"

The EPIC Expo is an annual show presented by The Vancouver Sun. The show features businesses with green and eco-friendly concepts... as vendors who were there in the show's 3rd year, we enjoy going back to see what's new.

This year, it looked like the food zone expanded exponentially! There were many, many, great food vendors in attendance. We saw soapstone kitchen appliances, many organic products; mattresses, coffee, jams, chocolate, baby products, and the list goes on. But there was one booth in particular that especially caught our attention...

Bees nest hanging from the top

Bee the Change is an initiative of Whole Foods Market. They strive to bring awareness to the decreasing number of native bees in Canada. Did you know about this? Can you imagine how bitter the world would be without honey?

Of course we had to swing by the fashion zone. We were a wee bit sad because it felt like the fashion zone got a little smaller this year.  However, we did spot the SWFDS - Sheila Wong Fashion Design Studio booth. They were equipped with sewing machines and it was very kuol to see a live sewing workshop take place right then and there at the booth. Next to SWFDS, we found darling little clutches by Davie and Chiyo:

by Davie and Chiyo

Adorable yes? A bride-to-be would LOVE this.

So were you a vendor at the Epic Expo this year? Or did you attend the show? Share your EPIC experience with us!

p.s. Attending the WE Vancouver spring cocktail mixer tonight at Bin 492. Although, I don't quite feel like wearing a cocktail dress...maybe it's because of this cold rainy Vancouver weather. I just might be a rebel and break the dress code tonight...

sincerely,
Priscilla & Vi

Candy for your eyes...

I had such fun photographing this necklace. Here's an eye candy.

This is a purple iolite necklace, set in 14kt gold fill with a lobster clasp. Our favorite element of this necklace? Its textures.

sincerely,
Priscilla

Our Etsy pick: This is a hat.

Follow my blog with bloglovin

What a beautiful hat we stumbled upon on Etsy. Visit ArturosRio for couture hats, made with excellent craftsmanship. 

Stay tuned, we got a little interview with Arturos coming!

Etsy and all...

So it's been about 2 weeks since we decided to revive our Etsy shop.

First sale: First Love in Paris Eiffel Tower Necklace

The story is this: we opened our Etsy store in year 2009 (back when I was 17), listed a couple of items, and waited for sales. Let me tell you, waiting does not do the job, I wish someone told me!  Second time around, we made our first sale during the first week... I think it was a fluke, but it was a fluke that made us quite giddy. Ironically, our first customer was a local, which was perfect because we got to meet our first buyer in person and found out exactly how she found us. Yippee!

Managing Etsy store can be a full time job on its own (given you are doing everything yourself).  With the SEO, tags, shop design, keyword updates, taking the photos, editing, posting, measuring your items, etc., hell it can be a lot of work and this is just the beginning. Vi has been keeping her hands busy making jewelry and I am trying to be on top of things on Etsy. Also many thanks to the Etsy community for offering your helpful advice to beginners like us!

Anywhere, here is a link to our Etsy shop, http://www.ohkuol.etsy.com.

We're working on installing the shopping cart on our website, which is scheduled to launch in July. So stay tuned for that!

Heading to the Epic Sustainable Living Expo tonight, looking forward to see what's new and green this year. Toodle-loos!

Photo courtesy of Google Images

p.s. Getting feathers INSTALLED in my hair next week, I am so stoked. Miss Melanie from The Farmer's Daughter will be fixing that up for me. Except I don't know how it will turn out since I have a bob at the moment...show you guys next time.


sincerely,
Priscilla

Color, shape, design...

Lately I have been obsessed with turquoise...

It has such a beautiful, striking color.

Moving on Vi's obsession...

Blue chalcedony. 

We love how this precious gem takes on such a muted, soothing color. 

These are perfect for spring and especially summer. We were totally drawn to these at the Stones and Findings show at the Lanmark Hotel this year. Excited to show you all what we will be making with these lovelies.

Find our in-house designed jewelry collection in our Etsy shop. Use coupon code "SOKUOL" and receive FREE shipping, you're welcome.

sincerely,

Priscilla & Vi 

Just a hint of Burlesque...

So if you still haven't gotten your Mother's Day gift yet, you can either resort to cold hard cash or maybe you come visit us this weekend...

Arjemco's very own designer, Marissa, designs pieces that are exquisite and timeless. Spend $50.00+ before taxes this weekend and receive a complimentary burlesque-style rose clip..... maybe you'd want to keep it for yourself? 

These rose clips are handmade locally by Pilar Rodriguez Designs with lots of attention paid to detail. Wear it as a brooch with your favorite blazer, wear them to play up your hair-do, or attach it to a long necklace. 

sincerely,

Priscilla