Another favourite store.. DUDUZA.

Duduza is a relatively new Bed & Bath store in my closest shopping centre in Comox.
The main street of Comox frankly doesn't boast much in the way of shopping. There's been little or no restrictions on what can occupy a 'retail' space and sadly it means there's bugger all to look at. Unless of course you are interested in window shopping: banks, credit unions, investment brokers, Subway, chiropractors, the post office, insurance brokers, doctors offices and an optomertrist. Then this summer a very nice shoe shop closed.. only to be replaced by a day spa, who promptly white out all the windows. So there's another 'shop' gone.
There are a couple of bright spots though..
The Cottage Gardener.. a sort of shabby chic inspired decor and clothes store which has nothing whatever to do with gardens.
A very nice cookware shop called Otters.. and it's next door neighbour Duduza.

The owners are a mother and daughter team, Carol and Ali [Ali was born in Johannesburg, which is where the store name comes from.. Duduza is and African word meaning comfort].
They've been open for about 18 months and I've been a regular customer from the beginning.














I know for a fact that my husband is an even better customer because I've had a gift from here for every birthday, christmas, anniversary since they opened.
Of course they have a fabulous range of bedding and towels that goes without saying.

My favourites are the brands made entirely or partially from bamboo... which apart from being completely sustainable are incredibly soft.
They also wash well.

Everything in the store is presented so beautifully... I rarely fail to find something to take my fancy.

Some of my favourite bits and pieces at home came from Duduza.











When I did the before and after post on the downstairs loo I included a shot of this little shell handbag... which is one of theirs.
The other thing I like is that there are allsorts of products that you just don't get at the bigger chain stores in town.
They are fine in their way.. but there's nothing like stumbling across something and knowing that 2500 other people in town WON'T have it.

Coming from the UK that was always one of the problems with buying anything from, for example, M&S. Especially clothes.. since the chances were you would probably see someone in the pub wearing the exact same thing.

They have also introduced a nice range of genuine badger brush [don't worry it doesn't hurt the badgers :o) ] shaving kits from world famous English suppliers to the Queen.. 'Kent'.
Last year I had to use a supplier in Victoria so buy a replacement soap for my husband's 'Kent' shaving bowl. Won't have to do that anymore.

What's also nice is that they always have something new.. when I went in to take these photos I found a range of acessories from American designer Jonathan Adler which I'd never noticed before.. and a new range of eco friendly loofars and bath products too.                                           They also have pretty much the best range of shower curtains in town. Which considering I don't have a shower that needs a curtain shouldn't be of interest to me..

BUT I love to use shower curtains as fabric, or as curtains.. and I have bought several from Ali and Carol over the last couple of years, for exactly that.

They are often available in the most fantastic prints.. and yard for yard at MUCH less than a designer equivilent would cost from a fabric outlet, especially if you don't have access to a good one.. which I don't really. [Note to the Brits.. shower curtains here tend to be ordinary fabric, not the plastic ones we're used to. To stop them getting wet you buy a cheap plastic liner which hangs inside.]

Here are several that I could easily find a use for right now..

 

This linen one with the elephants on would                             Gorgeous colours in this one.

make a great cushion fabric.

  

I love the huge cabbage rose print.. above left. What a wonderful basis for a room scheme.  And the linen one on the right would be great for covering an upholstered chair seat, or making accent cushions.  



Great accessories too.




Fabulous range of gift tags and cards.



So there you go.. Duduza. Love it

Jo xx

For Halley's Mommy.. another of my favourite places.

I just had a very nice comment from a lady called Halley's Mommey about the green Chinese cabinet that I showed you here .
So I thought I'd tell you a bit more about where it came from.

It comes from a Market called Goat's on the Roof in a tiny place called Coombs just north of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island..
It's an amazing venue that started as a fruit stall on the side of the road in the '70's but which over the years has grown into a huge business selling everything from: 

specialist hard to find imported foodstuffs.. 

   

to Chinese antiques, and all points in between.






 
They have quite simply the most fantastic deli and fresh bakery/patisserie section you have ever seen.. selling smoked salmon, artisan cheeses, 30 different types of freshly made bread, great pies and cakes.. and a dessert called a 'Bee Sting' which is like a fat round chocolate eclaire but with honey flavoured fondant icing and caramel cream inside.
Seriously... my husband would drive the 50 mins to get there from our house JUST for one of those.

There's a whole building dedicated to fresh Island produced fruit and Veg.

A fabulous Garden centre which has plants, pots, fencing and furniture that's quite different from the normal same old, same old that you see everywhere.

We bought a great bluey/green glazed ball for the garden this summer, which they had in all sorts of different sizes and colours.


There's a surf/skate shop with equipment and clothing, a gift shop with hundreds of inexpensive ideas for presents, a dedicated ice cream parlour with about 50 different flavours, a clothing boutique... and next year they'll be launching an Italian restaurant with a huge terrace at the back that looks down into the ravine where the goats hang out in the winter.

On top of all this.. in the area surrounding GOTR other businesses have sprung up to take advantage of the HUGE numbers of customers who flock to the area daily. There are probably 50 or 60 other businesses there now.
There is Fresh fudge making, art galleries, book shops, antique shops, clothing stores, eateries, gift shops... even this summer we noticed.. Helicopter rides !!
There was NOTHING here before. Coombs isn't a town with a high street and shops, this was just the road from Nanaimo north with a petrol station and a post office/general store, and since they built the main Island Highway it's now a road to nowhere.

So if any of you ever holiday on Vancouver Island it is well worth a visit.. and just to let you know all the photos above are courtesy of their website.
 
OK... so to get back to the specific piece of Chinese furniture in question..
Here it is again..

I photographed it last year KNOWING that I loved it and would want it at some point.. but unfortunately when we went home and measured the space for it, it was just a bit too big.
It was the colour I really fell for and I'm not usually a lover of green, but this was just too gorgeous.
We've been back several times and considered different pieces for different spaces, just to try and buy something.. ANYTHING, that colour...

I have a spot on my landing, that I thought might accomodate something.
For for ages was home to the little cabinet that I now plan to paint the same green as 'lovely Chinese cabinet'.
But I had to put that into the mauve bedroom because we recently we've had some 'built ins' installed in our Living Room and I had to find a new home for THIS.

I did say Nikki found her way into lots of my photos.

It's an antique wicker and bamboo cupboard that I 'borrowed' from my sister many many years ago.. but shussh ! I'm sure she won't remember.
So the soon to be painted cupboard got moved into the mauve bedroom and I'm now rather liking THIS piece here and THAT piece there.. so still no place for a Chinese cabinet. :o( .

Then a couple of months ago when hubby and I were having a day out at Coombs we saw this little fellow.

It's smaller than the original piece but that was a good thing because we had this tricky spot in the Dining Room that was causing us trouble.

I know it's not the original much loved green, but it's also a gorgeous saturated colour, and I have just chosen the paint for the Dining Room and its a very pale grey/blue from Benjamin Moore called Harbour Haze... so this is perfect.

It works because its only 11 inches deep but still provides just a touch of extra storage, without encroaching onto the dining space. [The piece I had here before was too deep and made it awkward for the person sitting in the closest chair to sit down.]

Once the new green cupboard and the dining room are painted I'll show you the results.. but in the meantime maybe Halley's Mommy will be able to find something like it near to where she lives.

I hope so. :o)

Jo xx

A store I love...

Today hubby and I are off to Coombs [about 45 minutes south of us] to visit "Goats on the Roof", Old Country Market. It's a fantastic place but it deserves a post all to itself so I'll save that another day.
Today I just wanted to mention a relatively new store that's opened in Courtenay called Red Living.

It's a mixture of vintage finds and shabby chic design. They have everything from furniture to back issues of home decor magazines. Kitchen wares, to garden pottery. Mirrors, art, lighting...  and all recycled or reclaimed or if you're lucky ends of lines they've picked up cheap so you can bag a bargain..
Their items are by definition 'one offs' so it's always worth a visit since their stock is ever changing.. and its fast becoming one of my favourite places to find quirky gifts and stuff for the house.
It's well worth a visit... and they even have a good website.. http://www.redliving.ca/
Oh and just so you know.. I'm not getting anything for saying this.. I don't do adverts, it's just my opinion.