ABOUT

Welcome to my little KINGdom.

This blog started out as a creative, fun and informative adjunct to my former websites but has since morphed into a more personal outlet involving a wide range of interests, inspirations & curiosities…fashion, art, food, photography, design, dogs, destinations, beauty product reviews, film festival reviews, healthy tidbits, personal posts and noteworthy quotes. A LifeStyle all-inclusive. I hope you find it interesting, useful and at times enlightening.

A little bit about me and I’ll try to keep it short (but you know how that goes).

In the past I’ve been all over the map, literally.

I grew up in Montreal, moved to Vancouver, then Toronto then back to Vancouver. I also spend several months a year in Palm Springs. I’ve lived in Japan, Jamaica and Brazil with visits to many other places along with my late husband Don. We traveled to Europe, Africa, South America, the Middle East, and all over the United States and Canada.

Some of my varied work experience included being hired as the first woman disc-jockey for two Club Meds – Guadeloupe (French West Indies) + Playa Blanca, Mexico. I was employed by a company in New York City who sent me there to observe club life and learn how to mix music.

I traveled to Tokyo on a whim and ended up teaching English part time and doing some acting. I had done some acting and extra work (after studying at the Actors Studio & Peter Breck Academy). I once was a casting director on a movie shot on the outskirts of Vancouver and at another time, a personal assistant to an A-list actress while she was in Vancouver working on a movie.

In 2016 I created and co-hosted a TV pilot project showcasing the little hidden gems revolving around style, food, art, design, music and such in and around Vancouver. We interviewed local entrepreneurs and foreigners who’ve made Vancouver their home and offered up something unique, unusual and wonderful. Off the beaten track. This project was put on hold when my co-host became ill.

When the Vancouver Pan Pacific Hotel first opened, I was hired to take care of the front desk. During that period, Princess Diana and Prince Charles were guests for a week during Expo ’86, and I was able to greet them on a couple of occasions during their stay. Funnily enough, in 2016 when Prince William & the Duchess of Cambridge were visiting Vancouver and on their way to reopen a Coast Guard station near my residence, I was out walking my dog when their motorcade passed by us. It was hard to see who was in any of the vehicles, however one of the back windows rolled down and it was unmistakably Kate and William with big smiles waving to us. Could’ve been my dog that got their attention, but maybe they knew that I was the Girl who would be KING. The experience made me feel like a very uncommon commoner.

In Toronto, I was admin assistant to the director of TV + Radio for all of Ontario at CBC Broadcast Center for six years. Part of the job involved helping to organize special events. After moving back to Vancouver, I started my own company called “WiP Productions” (Works in Progress), marketing independent producers’ TV series/documentaries/music videos. I invested in a few music videos that did well on the country music channels. I was credited as Associate Producer on a TV series about the automotive industry – as a team of automotive journalists and experts gave frank reviews and market comparisons by test driving what was hot and what was not. I learned a lot.

My more exciting athletic endeavours include training and running three half marathons (two for Nike Women’s Marathon and half Marathon in San Francisco & the SeaWheeze sponsored by Lululemon in Vancouver), horseback riding and a professional scuba diving certificate (PADI).

Whew! And that was the short version.

INTRIGUE Imports was established in 2001 offering unique home & personal accessories from exotic locations around the globe. We sold in fine boutiques and also online. Then in 2009, on another visit to Buenos Aires we discovered an artisanal yet luxurious & affordable brand of lingerie – “jesus fernandez”, a missing link to what was out there. Intrigue immediately incorporated lingerie to the product line to provide women with haute couture quality for a fraction of the price.

We sold gorgeous limited edition sets online and in a few specialty boutiques. I also rented space in a couple of boutiques located on 4th Ave. in Vancouver to set up exclusive lingerie sections – a boutique inside a boutique. jf for short has a masculine connotation but is inspired by the French corsetry made popular from the beginning of the last century. They put passion into their designs using french embroidery and Italian silks & satin, with Italian & Swiss jacquard details. Exquisite!

Get Spoiled Now was another previous online venture selling small batch naturally wonderful skincare products + makeup. I made some myself under the label “Skin so Divine” including a jet-set travel package – “ready for take-off” for the makeup remover, “get rid of baggage” for the eye cream, etc.