Real Talk: In Conversation with Amarina Norris of Ursa Major +

Of Amarina Norris of Ursa Major +, I have previously said:

There’s something so heavenly and bewitching about Amarina.  She’s a plus-size fashion & jewelry designer here in Toronto. About ten years ago, Amarina took up an apprenticeship with a jewelry designer and came out with a line of plus-sized embellishments. Today there’s Usra Major +, wicked cool fashions for fat babes. Maybe it’s that our style is so matched and she’s forever en pointe, but she can do no wrong my eyes. Though I came across Ursa Major and Amarina very recently sometimes (trying very hard not to be hyperbolic) it’s like having found a shooting star.

As you can imagine, it was a exciting moment when I got the chance to film Amarina in conversation with our own Leigh van Maaren right here at FGFS HQ.

Lookin’ Good Girl: Our Fave Crafty, DIY & Fashionable IGers

When I started Lookin’ Good Girl back in May it was with a simple (and totally awkward) braid crown video tutorial. I started LGG with the intension of bringing easy, fun and affordably as well as crafty, DIY how-tos to our readers. Under the LGG umbrella we’ve been able to publish a lot of sweet, funny, personal and powerful posts from our writers. It’s become increasingly apparent that those posts need to have a home on the site. They’ve become a huge part of our voice and also given people a voice on subjects close to their heart. LGG has been the home to where a lot of ideas about body positivity have been shared and that’s an essential part of who we are. But equally important I think is that Lookin’ Good Girl returns back to it’s DIY roots, so that’s why we’ve made the decision to break up Wednesdays on the site a bit.

From now on every second Wednesday will continue to be Lookin’ Good Girl, but on the alternating Wednesday will be Real Talk. In Real Talk we plan to post videos like our recent In Conversation With… post, and things related to the more personal and political. We know a lot of our readers have come to love reading the posts on Wednesdays, and we hope the change up makes as much sense to them as it did to us when me made the choice to do it like this.

With that here’s this week’s Lookin’ Good Girl. I polled some of contributors and found out who their favourite DIY, crafty, home-cookin’ and just plain fashionable Instagrammers are. I present them to you  in no particular order!

@elaineho – I’m a huge fan of all the jewelry makers I’m seeing around online making things that are vaguely occult like out of raw and natural materials.

@mingdoyle – mega talented freelance illustrator and comic maker, a favourite of many FGFS writers.

@topshelfpreserves – small batch badass in Ottawa (branding done by another IG fave @RossProulx)

@woolgatheringottawa – wicked crafty wool and thread lady in Ottawa

@truefat – this girl has got it going on. fat, fashionable, foodie. plus cats.

@dltvo – this lady makes vegan and microbiotic look damn easy and beautiful.

@lagusta – Jodie nominated this one because “@lagusta has great vegan chocolates, is the biggest sweetheart, AND the best colorful vintage get ups. BOOM.”

@crystal_cave – basically the most fierce fat babe on the West Coast or any coast. She runs with the illest crowd and I live vicariously through dat life.

@megmakins – Like most IG accounts I don’t remember how I found this one, but I can’t stop loving her. DIY lifer to be sure.

@doorsixteen – this lady did the ultimate in DIY, she gutted her kitchen and titled it herself. Dreamy white subway tiles with black grout of course.

@franallin – a girl with wicked rad style of her own but also the provider of the best Toronto #streetstyle captures your bound to find on IG

Lookin’ Good Girl: In Conversation with Photographer Erin Leydon

It’s been a privilege to get to know Toronto-based photographer Erin Leydon. Since making acquaintance on Instagram earlier this year I’ve had the pleasure of dining with Erin and talking about one of my greatest loves, Food Photography. A while back I asked Erin to come into FGFS HQ to chat about her art and the biz and how it all came together for her. I hope everyone finds my interview with her to be as interesting as I do.

FGFS presents: A Legit Coffee Cupping with Simon

Our resident coffee dude, Simon, recently dropped into FGFS HQ and did a mad legit coffee cupping with me.  Here’s the super adorable and informative results.

Simon is mostly convinced that in a previous life he was a fat girl, but that she refused to drink from the river Lethe, but still got reincarnated. She is now stuck in the body of a lanky dude who is really into the food/beverage scene. Read his full bio here.. 

Lookin’ Good Girl: Cawfee Talk with Ama & Yuli

In advance of our celebration of being a ‘thing’ for six months and HBIC Ama’s 30th birthday we made a video talking about, well, lots of things. We touch on living with Social Anxiety Disorder and other health issues while being in the PR/Media world, and also how nuts it is how quickly this has grown, how much we love you and we’re excited about the future.

The first in the Cawfee Talk series are part of our on-going work with the Lookin’ Good Girl space.

We’re holding a the IRL party at Scout’s Honour on the September 27th (you’re coming, right? — RSVP here).

Mother’s Day Photoshoot

The first official FGFS photo shoot went down yesterday. Thanks to Glynis, Mary Lou, granny and the daschunds for having tea in the sun with us.

Filmed and edited by Yuli