2008 March « Pangea-Collection.com Blog

Archive for March, 2008

New Ecuadorian Jewelry Collection

March 25, 2008

Pangea Collection has just received 20 new jewellery pieces handmade by artisans from Ecuador. The pieces are from a Fair Trade organisation which supports Ecuador’s artisanal sector and small producer economy through credit, instructional courses and technical assistance. Their goal is to improve the artisans’ living conditions and ultimately secure their economic stability.

The beautiful jewelry pieces include necklaces, bracelets and earrings made of Tagua seeds.

The artisans use traditional techniques and natural materials, mainly tagua, the so called “cruelty –free ivory” sourced from the coastal areas of the country. The production is organic, and in this way helps to conserve the land and the fragile ecosystems.

Discover the beauty of the region’s artisans in their handcrafted jewelry pieces including colourful necklaces, bracelets and earrings. These pieces are perfect for achieving this Spring 2008 looks such as the Tribal and Safari looks.

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Toronto Fashion Week

March 19, 2008

Hello Everyone,

Now I don’t want to sound negative but am I alone in finding Toronto fashion week a bit of a yawn? I went to several shows yesterday and the overall feel was so low key, I couldn’t believe I was at a fashion week.

If you attended any of the events and have an opinion, please add your comments, I’d love to hear them.

Cheers,
Patricia

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Happy St. Paddy’s Day

March 17, 2008

Happy St. Paddy’s Day everyone!

Ireland is such a beautiful place with such warm and friendly people. Take the opportunity to visit if you can.

Keep in mind that St. Patrick’s Day in Ireland is not celebrated with green beer and such, it’s more of a religious holiday but, in whatever way you celebrate, think about the beauty of the land and the people today.

Here are some pics from my trip through the beautiful northern part. In particular Giant’s Causeway is stunning!

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A travel lesson

March 15, 2008

I can’t say I have actually learned this lesson but I’m working on it. Many times while traveling the original plan didn’t work out. When I have a plan, generally I like to stick to it. What I have discovered while traveling is that sometimes a detour can be a really good thing.

A couple examples are:

Recently when driving down the coast from San Francisco to Big Sur, we were on a tight timeline as we had started our day late. Rather than finding a parking spot and parking the car, my husband kept driving in the opposite direction as I wanted to go. I was starting to get annoyed and wondered why he couldn’t just pick a spot and park the *#$! car.

Eventually he ended up at the top of the hill in Santa Cruz where there were a number of surfers. It turned out to be a really enjoyable detour. I have to laugh at the reality of the stereotype of the surfers.

Another time this happened to us was many years back in Italy. We got off the train at the wrong stop in a town which seems quite uninhabited. We had no idea how long it would be for another train so we left our back packs under a tree and went to find the town. It was an absolutely stunning little town. We had lunch and really enjoyed the break.

Lesson (still) to be learned is enjoy the unplanned exploration, you might end up discovering a gem.

Happy Exploring,
P

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California Coast from San Fran to Big Sur

March 12, 2008

A week ago I took a drive with my husband down the coast of California from San Francisco to the south end of Big Sur. The oceanside was absolutely stunning.

In particular I loved watching the sea otters in Monterey and the town of Carmel was really cute with lots of little boutiques for shopping. Some of the homes along the way were absolutely stunning.

Monterey Coast – this is where the sea otters play!

Around Carmel – There are these squirels that are very aggessive – I think they are used to people feeding them. Once a car pulls up they surround it like a pack of wolves!

We started the day out a little late and I really wanted to see Big Sur so even though we were getting close to 4:00 pm I asked my husband to keep going. The scenery was awesome! However it started to get foggy and as you can imagine the windy narrow roads are not fun to drive on when it’s foggy!

My mistake was that I assumed that anywhere along the way we could cut off and get back onto the highway. Big assumption! In the end it took us 3 hours to get to the bottom and then about 2 hours on the highway to drive all the way back to San Fran. So it was a long day. My suggestion to anyone taking the trip, take your time and if you decide to see Big Sur, which is well worth it, just do that as you thing that day and start early, you won’t see anything interesting in the dark!

Happy Exploring just don’t get caught in the fog!

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Wood Bangles and Necklaces From India

March 10, 2008

Everywhere I look in the fashion magazines I’m seeing wood bead necklaces and bangles in browns and bright colours for Spring Summer 2008. In particular it seems that that these accessories are perfect for pairing with the Tribal and Safari looks.

Pangea Collection, has just received a new collection from India of handmade and laquered bangles and necklaces. These pieces are perfect for achieving those Tribal and Safari looks. And what’s even better is that they are from a Fair Trade Organisation in Chennai, India.

Take a look at the collection below:

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Travelling is like a relationship

March 9, 2008

I have a new theory that getting to know a city is a lot like getting to know a person. There are a few that you hit it off with immediately, there’s an instant connection while others, just don’t click. My real insight (if you can call it that) is that some take time to fall in love with.

I have had this experience myself on a few occasions with cities. Milan comes to mind. The first few times I went to Milan I really didn’t like it. Each time I went though I started to discover the beauty below the surface and now I love Milan. Milan is one of those cities that doesn’t but it’s self on full display (well okay there are some pretty big churches…one of the largest I have ever seen) but I mean to see the real beauty of the city you have to look inside. The city is full of absolutely wonderful courtyard that are not so obvious from the street. You have to explore a little further. This to me is like a lot of people. It takes time to uncover the real person beyond the obvious exterior.

Take time to explore people, cultures and of course cities of the world.

Happy Exploring,
Patricia

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International Women’s Day – March 8th

March 8, 2008

Today is International Women’s Day which is being celebrated in many different ways around the world.

International Women’s Day is an opportunity for all of us to celebrate and to encourage all women to achieve their full potential.

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Aren’t Latin Restaurants Supposed To Be Relaxed!

March 5, 2008

Recently while in the Bay Area (near San Fran) while visiting my husband while he’s on contract there, we met a couple of his colleagues for mojitos and tapas.

Joe and I arrived earlier than his colleagues and Joe wanted to wait before ordering his drink (he had pitcher of mojitos in mind). I on the other hand, wasn’t going to wait for my glass of wine. I ordered and we waited for our friends to arrive.

The young waiter was wound just a little too tight. While it’s great to have attentive service (so rare these days), I don’t need checking on every five minutes. He checked on us while we were waiting and then once our friends arrived every five minutes thereafter. Do you need more tapas? Do you need more drinks? Relax! That’s the whole point of tapas and cocktails! You have one or two of them at a time. I could spend 3-4 hours nibbling and sipping. Okay I don’t sip, but I do nibble!

All in all was a great night, wonderful food and yes attentive service, I just think our charming young waiter needed a couple of mojitos himself!

Cheers,
P

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Flying has become so uncivilised!

March 4, 2008

Is it just me or has flying in North America become so uncivilised! I can deal with a little bit of a tight space even though I’m pretty tall. I have to say that I really don’t want to have people eating their McDonalds and all kinds of other things on planes and in the waiting area, just seems so uncivilised. Plus this idea of paying $6 for a really cheap mini bottle of wine, what’s with that?

What happened to the days where people used to get dressed up to fly? Today you see people wearing things that should never leave the house (or ever even be in a house)! And all these people who wear track or yoga pants and running shoes look like they never stepped into a yoga class or on a track.

I say bring back a little of the civilisation, a glass of wine please, a little nipple and please dress like you might see someone you would want to impress.

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