Happy Canada Day everyone! Have a safe fun long weekend.
Hound and Handbag Gift Company is celebrating the return of mail service after the nation-wide mail strike, but also our country’s 144th birthday. And of course for our American neighbours, there is the fourth of July too.

So, in celebration of these two wonderful happenings, we are offering 20 % off items from July 1 until July 4th.

Come celebrate with us!

To all our customers that have shopped and are continuing to shop at Hound and Handbag Gift Company you may have heard the news already.

As of Tuesday June 8th, the postal workers at my distribution branch were locked out and are on strike. Negotiations are to go forth on Monday June 20.

In the meantime, I can only say that I will try to get my parcels out to you the best I can in whatever manner I can.

For Canadian Coustomers: I  will be using Fedex or UPS.

For American Customers: It will be a little more of a wait; if I can take it across the border and mail it on the other side than I will. Otherwise, I will also have to use Fedex and UPS.

For International Customers: I am afraid I don’t have a solution yet. In order for me to go international with UPS or Fedex, it would be so expensive, it would probably be worth more than your item. I will keep you updated, about the strike’s progression and I do hope we won’t inconvenience anyone for too long.

Thank you everyone for sticking with us during this rather uncertain time.

It’s the stuff a girl can only dream about. Imagine having at your fingertips 4000 handbags and purses, all so different, all so beautifully crafted,it makes you hands just want to open and close the clasps and peer inside to the mysteries within.

This is not a myth. Just ask the lady who’s living the dream. Meet Hendrikje Ivo, the founder and organizer extrordinaire of the Museum of Bags and Purses in Amsterdam.

Ms. Ivo is an antique dealer and over the course of her career gathered the aformentioned 4000 bags. But no mere designer label hording for her, no sir. These bags are gems of exquisite craftsmanship, whimsy and history.

The museum hosts bags from the 16th century, and all the way to the present with a Judith Lieber “Cupcake” bag from the Sex in the City Movie. For an accessory that has been around for nearly half a millenium, that’s pretty impressive.

Originally, Hendrikje and her husband Heinz opened the museum in their home. Four years ago, they moved into a historic house and have room enough for all the bags, a cafe and gift shop.

Visit their website http://www.tassenmuseum.nl/en.  And at the same time, raise a glass to the Ms. Ivo who has made sure that we remember the purse was a part of history, and not just plain old arm candy.

Cupcake Evening Bag

Happy Star Wars Day!

All right, I had no idea that a movie that shaped my childhood had its own day. Well, I was never that much of a fan, I guess ,moreso a collector.

But it seems that Force afficiandos know that today is the day that you can wish fellow Star Wars lovers a happy day no matter if you’re a Rebel or from the Empire.

And I guess it’s a good day for people who are on both sides of the franchise can agree on something.

I grew up in the 1970′s, so to me movies 1,2 and 3 mean the first three movies.Even though Mr.Lucas had numbered them differently,it’s just a numbers thing to me I suppose.

I also  love Wedge Antilles. The reason for it is that he’s one of the unsung heroes of the Star Wars universe. A guy who does his job and does it really well. And it’s because of him and guys like him  were won. Even though many stories might say otherwise.

Don’t get him wrong;Wedge wouldn’t correct you on that.He isn’t a whiner. He’s a solid guy who wants the people around him to survive. And you can’t blame him. He’s seen a lot. And he deserves more than just to be a footnote in the encyclopedia.

I also found it really funny that George Lucas returned to the same actor to play a character that maybe most people would forget. But Wedge sailed through all three movies and never got killed. Actor Denis Lawson to this day remains stunned that people remember him for that role. But then he never figured in a million years on the growing power of cult status.

In business there are a lot of people that are unsung heroes, that do their jobs and do them well. For me, it’s the people at the postal distribution outlet near where I live. Without these friendly faces, I would be lost in the muck and mire when things take a turn for the worst. They do more than they need to, and always with smiles on their faces. These guys are my Rogue Squadron.

And without them, I’d be at the mercy of the Evil Empire.

There has been much need for the people of Japan who have been hit with the triple threat of a 8.9 Earthquake, the devastating tsunami and the growing threat of an unstable nuclear reactor.
When something like this happens, whether it’s in Christchurch,Japan or anywhere in the world, sometimes when you’re so far away, you wonder what you can do to help.
The first thing is to donate to your local Red Cross.Properly. Go to their websites or visit them personally to make sure that you’re getting through to the right channels.
You can also support campaigns like “Socks for Japan” , that are sending socks to people who are needing such a simple thing to keep their feet warm.
For the next three months,until June 30, Hound and Handbag Gift Company is donating all profits from the Bento Boxes,Cute Sponges and the Cherry Blossom,Dragonfly,Bird and Butterfly Purse Hooks to the Red Cross. Upon purchasing any of these items,you will be notified by email that the donation has been made to the Canadian Red Cross.

All items can be seen here:

Little by little, more can be done.

This to me was an oddity to behold. I mean it’s funny to see a mathematical constant receiving its own day.

Today being 3/14, I guess should have been the big tip off there. However, I abandoned all formulae of this sort unless I really had to utilize it. Which in recent times has been very rare.

So, if this is a first for you, then my suggestion is this. Banish all bad memories of math, and go help yourself to a slice of pi(e)…preferably a la mode.

This is a cute video done two years ago for a film competition(creator John Anctil on Vimeo). It’s a cross between Big Bang Theory and Revenge of the Nerds. It also has some cool retro Batman music.

Vancouver is one determined city. In light of BC Place,(a venue for many special events) getting its roof replaced, some determined sellers still went ahead to form a smaller gift show for the locals. Dubbed the Vancouver Gift Expo, it was held on the grounds of the Pacific National Exhibition, and housed around 100 or so exhibitors.
While the atmosphere was quite different and some of the “big guns” were noticeably absent, I still found some new faces to purchase from, as well as some old favourites.
The show itself happened when Vancouver got a rather large dump of snow, so perhaps attendance was not what they hoped. But for those of us who were stubborn enough, there was shopping to be done!
So what can one expect after this trip?

-vintage inspired,handmade reversible jewelry
-laptop bags in a different style, and still hardsisded

-dachshund handbags
- dachshund pewter pins/earrings
These will be arriving to me this month, and be posted mid March.

On Sunday February 27 the 2011 Academy Awards are going to be on.

I haven’t seen many of the movies that are being nominated, except toy Story 3 and Inception. Having heard so much about The King’s Speech, I thought I might see it (have to go alone,dear hubby already saw it).The Fighter also sounded interesting. But I doubt I’ll be able to get to any of those before Sunday.

Part of the fun about the Oscars is the Red Carpet of course, seeing who wore what well, and not so well. But one of the things I always found interesting was the numbers and interludes between the awards. The best one I think to date that I’ve seen is when Cirque Du Soleil did their tribute to Special Effects at the Movies.

Before I get to sit down to watch any of this, I’ll be at the Vancouver Gift Expo shopping for new stuff for the store. I have been receiving some awesome emails from my supplier of the dachshund wallets. Expect some fun new stuff from them including reversible jewelry, wristlets and laptop bags.

And now some fun: (You may have to click on the link)

Gung Hay Fat Choy (phonetically speaking).

In celebration of The Year of the Rabbit, Hound and Handbag Gift Company is holding a sale on many of the items in stock. But! There is a catch!

It is a tradition at New Year’s to give out Lucky Red Envelopes. These are usually given from parents or relatives to children. But here, at HHGC I’ll be giving them to you! You will not know what you will receive until you open up the envelope in your purchase. These are given out with the purchase of any of the items.

However,buy any  items that are on sale and you will receive two Lucky Envelopes.

The Chinese New Year Sale will start on January 31 and go through until February 6.

Well to be specific, a Playboy Bunny. But I digress

A stainless steel,Austrian crystal Playboy Bunny pendant

But lately, you may have been seeing some different pieces cropping up on Hound and Handbag Gift Company lately.

Namely some gemstone rings,some pendant necklaces and bracelets. This has actually been a consignment project for a client of mine. These pieces have been going up slowly, all on an auction format.

These pieces will be listed on an auction format until March.

Among some of the gemstones that are featured in these pieces are: mystic (rainbow enhanced)topaz,amethyst,tanzanite,opal, onyx. There are some diamond accent pieces as well (small carat diamonds that make up a pattern).  The jewelry is constructed of white or yellow gold. The wedding bands or men’s rings are titanium. Some of the jewelry is costume,such as the Playboy Rabbit pendant which is stainless steel.

Keep an eye out for watches,some by Disney, coming in the next week.