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Black, lace and sequins... oh my!

Happy December! Here we are, the last month of 2011. Time for Christmas shopping and holiday parties. Whether you have one already in your closet or you're shopping for a new one this season, the little black dress goes a long way. This go-to staple gets dressed up this time of year and in 2011 with lace and blinged-out sequins.

Add a little OFINA to the mix and you've got a perfect combination of classic (little black dress) meets a modern edge (mixed metal dangle earrings here and here). Go ahead take your sexy to the next level without overdoing it. Because we all know you make this look easy.

Happy Halloween!

I'm off to Atlanta. Wishing everyone a spooky Halloween!

OFINA Holiday Events

Who else can't believe it's November?!? I don't know about you but after Halloween, it seems like it's all down holiday hill from there. We've got some events lined up until 2012 (gasp!) to kick start your holiday shopping! Check some of the OFINA items below for gorgeous gift giving ideas:

Tuesday - Thursday, Nov 1-3: Atlanta Fall Immediate Delivery Show (trade show) - Atlanta, GA.

Thursday, Nov 3: Sassy City Chicks Los Angeles, CA

Sunday, Nov 6: Patchwork, Long Beach, CA

Saturday, Nov 19: Holiday Design Bazaar, Harvey

Milk Civil Rights Academy, San Francisco, CA

Sunday, Nov 20: Thread Show SF, San Francisco, CA

Sunday, Nov 27: Patchwork, Santa Ana, CA

Saturday/Sunday, Dec 3-4: Unique LA, Los Angeles, CA

Saturday/Sunday, Dec 3-4: Bazaar Bizarre, San Francisco, CA

Wednesday, Dec 7: Appel & Frank, San Francisco, CA

Saturday/Sunday, Dec 10-11: Renegade Craft Fair, Los Angeles, CA

Saturday/Sunday, Dec 17-18: Renegade Craft Fair, San Francisco, CA

Seattle Thread Show

story of my life. don't get me wrong, i love what i do. But i guess that's the dilemma, the double edged sword of loving what i do that i tend to not make time for my personal life. sigh.

However, there are a few times when my work allows me to combine both the biz and pleasure. My trip this past weekend to the Thread Show in Seattle was just that. Seattle is one of my fave cities because it's the perfect combination of my hometown, Los Angeles and my current home, San Francisco. I especially love Seattle this time of year when the foliage makes its fall transition. The leaves are just gorgeous.

I paid a visit to Ballard, a cute little town filled with cool shops like Venue Ballard and Jax Joon. I copped this beautiful necklace made with vintage kimono fabric by Sazanska, from Venue (see photo below). And really, really wanted to take home these succulent plants in vintage vases from Jax Joon but there was no way I could bring those on the plane home, darn security! At least I was able to take the sign above to keep me in check!

Now for the Thread Show! Here's a photo of me at the OFINA booth from Thread Show's Facebook page. As always, it was a great, successful show. Better yet, I was also able to pick up 2 new designers for Azil!

Introducing

Seaworthy

by Marisa Howard from Portland. I love her use of mixed metals and simple geometric pieces!

Daly Bird

by Tiffany Eley from Seattle. My fave piece are these earrings with silk screened houndstooth print on leather. LOVE.

I'm sure by now you see how it's so easy to get my work life blended into my personal life. But now I have a constant reminder to be more mindful about "making a life".

OFINA Summer Events Part Deux

Summer 2011 is flying by! We don't know about you, but we can't believe that summer is more than halfway over! With the opening of AZIL and the fabulous festivals we've been attending, summer 2011 has surely been busy but a ton of fun as well. If you missed OFINA at previous events, there's a couple more events this summer where we will be! Hope to see you!

July 23 & 24. Chicago. Wicker Park Fest

July 23. Little Tokyo, Los Angeles. Bloomfest LA

July 24. Los Feliz, California. Los Feliz Village Street Fair

July 30 & 31. Santa Monica, California. Unique LA

August 4 & 5. San Diego, California. Sassy City Chicks

Welcome to AZIL!

We've had quite a busy summer with festivals BUT especially with our new storefront in SF...

*drumroll please*

AZIL!

We know how much you love photos, so here's a glimpse inside AZIL! We hope you LOVE our charming space as much as we do!

AZIL houses talented vendors both locally and nationwide such as yours truly,
OFINA jewelry!

MEET OUR OTHER DESIGNERS!!

Hailing from Los Angeles, Lisa Ann Sparks designs eco-friendly glass necklaces that are both unique and charming.

Chic and delightful hair accessories and scarves by Fiori by Frenses, handcut and made.

Another Los Angeles designer,
De La Luna Collections
showcases exquisite vintage leather purses, wallets, flasks, business cards and suitcases.

From Washington DC,
Lil' Fishy
creates handmade, 100% cotton, simply eye catching onesies and scarves.

Last but certainly not least meet
local SF designer, Cookie and the Dude,
offers fun and chic hair accessories like bobby pins, ponytail holders, elastic bands
as well as tissue holders, pocket mirrors, magnets and pocket bottle openers.

Had enough blog eye candy for the day??
Be sure to stop by AZIL if you're in the neighborhood.
We are truly excited to show you around and welcome you to our store!

AZIL
451 Hayes Street
San Francisco, CA 94102
415.552.2335

Tuesday - Sunday: 11am - 6pm

How to: Clean your OFINA jewelry

We here at OFINA pride ourselves in providing jewelry made from high quality metals and stones. As in any investment, your jewelry requires care. We have a quick list of do's and don'ts on our website, listed below:

DO clean your jewelry occasionally using a cleaner. For stones, a soft polishing cloth is preferred as cleaners may be too harsh and cause some color damage.

For cleaners, we like Connoisseurs Jewelry Cleaner:

DO clean your goldfilled jewelry regularly using a little bit of warm water and a soft cloth to dry and shine after.

DO keep your jewelry in an airtight plastic baggie when not in use. Your OFINA jewelry comes with one.

DO keep sterling silver pieces out of damp, humid air.

DON'T leave jewelry in direct sunlight as gems will fade.

Lastly, OFINA provides the finishing touch to every outfit. DO make sure your OFINA jewelry is the last item you put on, on your way out. Hairspray, perfume, lotions and other hair and body products may aid in damaging your jewelry.

Other quick tips:

We like these wipes for a quick clean, also by Connoisseurs:

OFINA at UniqueLA

As we prepare for our next event this weekend at the Silverlake Jubilee, just wanted to share some shots from UniqueLA a couple weeks ago.

One of the coolest things about OFINA at events is the time we get to spend with other designer/friends! Like my friend of four years, Amy Kathryn shown here with her eco-friendly line of handbags!

There were also some great finds (shown clockwise from rt) from:

• Amy Tangerine - Whose patchwork tees I fell in love with, especially the "I heart SF" one!
• Kauzbots - My neighbor at UniqueLA creates these delightful robots who are committed to a cause! Each robot purchased Kauzbots donates a percentage of the sale to the cause. I bought a 'bot for my niece with monies going to pediatric cancer.

Speaking of 'bots, OFINA has something under wraps at the moment that we can't wait to show you, stay tuned!

• Ex Libris Anonymous - Painstakingly scours the world in search of good looking (mostly vintage) hardcover books. These are then lovingly deconstructed, pages from the text retained, and the whole book is rebounded, as thoughtful, inexpensive, one of a kind journals, sweet! Loved how their booth was covered with old library checkout cards!!

Lastly, Truck Stop Envy where I purchased their LA tank! Love this tank because it represents the Angeleno in me and my love of music! If you look real close, you can see the "LA" letters are made from concert tix, very cool!

Loving all the creativity that is out there these days! Particularly loving our customers who came through and copped these finds!

OFINA featured on 9to5Chic!

OFINA loves fashion! It's who we are and what we do when creating our pieces to accentuate every woman's personality, taste and mood. And what better way to keep up with the latest styles and trends but through style bloggers! So when we came across Anh's at 9to5chic, we were definitely excited to work with her! For one, her style emulates a sweet balance of simplicity, sophistication and modern style that we love! She also resides in our 'hood of San Francisco, which makes us gush over her daily outfit photos with SF as her background, woo hoo!

Anh was able to stop by our Hayes Valley store and pick up a couple things (shown here) that were featured on one of her recent posts!

Thanks Anh at 9to5chic for featuring us on your blog! Stay tuned on 9to5chic for an OFINA product giveaway!

If you are a style blogger yourself and are interested in featuring OFINA on your blog, do send us an e-mail at: cecile@ofina.net.