Sci Feye Candy is Back!

Sarah Cresswell of Sci Feye Candy is officially back for her second Mardi-Bras as an artist and generous sponsor!

Along with this year's fabulous creation Sarah is donating one of her super-handy leg-holster bags as seen in her accessories gallery. (I love mine, makes you feel like Lara Croft.)

Based in Scarborough, Sarah works on a custom order basis and from the looks of her website, she can make just about anything you can imagine! Sarah started Sci Feye Candy after graduating from the Fashion Techniques and Design program at George Brown College. In addition to getting Sci Feye Candy up and running, Sarah currently works part-time at Plastik Wrap in Toronto.







Thank you so much Sarah of Sci Feye Candy!

Fifth Avenue Jewelry

Mardi-Bras is pleased to announce the addition of another generous sponsor to our silent auction!

Heather Faulkner, independent jeweler with the Fifth Avenue Collection has donated some lovely pieces for your bidding pleasure!

Heather chose a business opportunity with Fifth Avenue after deciding to stay home with her children. She needed a flexible business plan that allowed her to get out and socialize while stabilizing her income. Fifth Avenue fit the bill!

You can find the full catalog at Heather's website. While you're there you can book a show and if you choose to become a VIP customer, shipping is free on orders of $50 or more!

Thank you so much Heather of Fifth Avenue Jewelry!

We'll have a (basket) ball!

Mardi-Bras is proud to announce its two latest submissions to our silent auction: a fine-looking basketball and jersey, both signed by the Harlem Globetrotters! These two exciting items were kindly donated to our silent auction by Dave Staffen of Send Out Cards.









Send Out Cards features more than 16,000 cards, which you send from your computer through the post to a friend or family member. Your recipient gets a physical card from you that they will treasure. Send Out Cards has more than 500 Christmas cards and over 200 Hallowe'en cards! You can also design your own one-of-a-kind card when you want to let that one-of-a-kind person know that you are thinking of them. Dave invites you to visit the website to send a free card.

A future post to our Mardi-Bras blog will be about Dave's other generous donation to our silent auction and more information about his company, Send Out Cards.

Thank you so much Dave Staffen of Send Out Cards!

The Bata Shoe Museum helps us take a step towards curing breast cancer

The Bata Shoe Museum, one of Toronto's great museums, has kindly donated a Family Pass to Mardi-Bras' silent auction!

The Bata Shoe Museum features a one-of-a-kind collection; shoes from all walks of life! The Museum has tens of thousands of boots, mules, slippers, clogs, pumps, sandals, etc. Each one has a fascinating story, such as shoes worn by Elton John, ballerina Karen Kain, or "lotus" shoes for bound feet once considered the high of beauty for women in China. The collection of the Museum spans the globe and 4,500 years of history!

The Museum also features a charming section about how shoes have played a role in children's literature over the centuries. (Where would Cinderella be without her shoes?)

Thank you so much to the Bata Shoe Museum!

Lola By Design

This very exciting gift has just been donated to the silent auction by Lola, one of our glamorous models, a Mammy Gram's girl, half of team Cola and brilliant mind behind Lola By Design!

A private four-hour workshop (value: $150) - Introduction To Flameworking

This individual one-on-one workshop will serve as an introduction to the art of glass bead making.

The weekend class is four hours long with a one-hour lunch break. All tools, glass, safety glasses, and equipment are included. Students are asked to tie back long hair and wear natural cotton fabric clothing with long, tight-fitting sleeves. Old jeans are suggested as the workshop can sometimes get a little messy.

The workshop will start out with a overview of the equipment and tools, as well as basic safety information.

Bead making topics will include pulling stringer and twisted cane, how to make spacer and round beads, adding dots, stringer and twisted cane decoration to your bead, floral beads, and tabular beads. You may expect to finish 5 - 10 beads during the four-hour workshop.

All beads that are made in this workshop will be kiln-annealed and available for pick-up the following day.

Lola is an award-winning animation director who enjoys the meditative practice of working within the medium of glass. Fascinated by the process of rearranging a substance at the molecular level by the application of the primal element of fire, she suspends these moments in time allowing her to create unique developments in the colour, form and texture that is ultimately present in the finished pieces.

Thank you so much Lola By Design!

The Princess Margaret Changes The Face Of Breast Cancer Diagnosis In Canada!

These are the kind of headlines that keep us stoked about continuing support of the amazing team at Princess Margaret Hospital!

This is so thrilling! As you probably know by now, Mardi-Bras is a fund raiser in support of Princess Margaret Hospital. In the past 6 years that they have been doing the Weekend To End Breast Cancer, millions of dollars have been raised to support research, treatment, and survivorship services to one of the top 5 cancer hospitals in the world! One of the programs the WEBC has been seeding is the rapid diagnosis program. (One of the biggest weapons in fighting any kind of cancer is early diagnosis and treatment.) Thanks to an incredibly generous $12.5-million donation provided by Emmanuelle Gattuso and Allan Slaight, the Princess Margaret has announced same-day diagnosis, effectively eradicating a 37-day wait and all the anxiety that goes with it!

How phenomenal is that?! We're so excited about it, I'm pasting the full WEBC newsletter and corresponding links below, it's really worth checking out. As terrific as this news is, the fight isn't over yet. Although we'd all love to have $12.5 million to donate, every little bit helps. So come on out and have a great time for a great cause at Mardi-Bras, and if you can't make it, you can still pledge the hospital directly through the WEBC for a tax receipt, or just to feel great about being part of the team who is going to beat cancer!!

Congratulations to PMH!

Dear Friend,

You are making a difference! Don’t stop fundraising. Every dollar counts. Today, The Princess Margaret Hospital announced the creation of The Gattuso Rapid Diagnostic Centre named after the generous gift of $12.5 million from Emmanuelle Gattuso and Allan Slaight. This centre was seed-funded by the dollars you raised during The Weekend to End Breast Cancer^® benefiting The Campbell Family Institute at The Princess Margaret.

As there are often long wait times for breast cancer screening and diagnosis, patients of The Princess Margaret will be able to avoid the anxiety of waiting and receive same-day diagnosis.

The program and its capacity will grow over time. In the next few months the program will be able to accommodate 15 patients per week (or 750 per year) and will increase exponentially with a vision of diagnosing 3,000 patients per year by the time the program is running at full capacity in 2013. We hope The Rapid Diagnostic Centre will help transform patient care not just at The Princess Margaret but elsewhere.

Using a new pathology processor funded by The Weekend to End Breast Cancer participants and donors, the vision for the program is for women and men suspected of having breast cancer to receive all their tests, diagnosis, and treatment plan in one day at Princess Margaret Hospital.

The Globe and Mail has reported on this exciting news. To read more, view the article here.

Know that you are helping those like Karen Louie, who took part in a pilot project at the hospital, to fight a daunting disease. Ms. Louie was given her breast cancer diagnosis and a treatment plan within three hours of her biopsy in May 2008.

"When we left, we were shell-shocked, but felt reassured that at least we now knew what we were dealing with," Karen Louie, vice-president, general counsel and secretary at Harlequin Enterprises Ltd., said of the three-hour wait with her husband for a diagnosis. "We had a plan of action we could focus on."

Paul Alofs, President and Chief Executive Officer of The Princess Margaret Hospital Foundation, said he hopes other centres can replicate the service and that it can be expanded to other kinds of cancer.

Sincerely,

The Weekend to End Breast Cancer
Benefiting The Campbell Family Institute at The Princess Margaret

The Bigger, Bolder Weekend. Fighting all women’s cancers, step by step.

The Mannequin Pimp!

Mardi-Bras would like to thank our wonderful sponsor Conn Burke of Recycled Displays, who has generously donated the use of display mannequins to honour the Courage and Strength of all woman who are affected by Breast Cancer, especially Lorraine Waldman.

Odd Bird Designs

Just got word from Tara of Odd Bird Designs that Mardi-Bras will receive another 10 of her one-of-a-kind domino pendants! These were a big hit in the silent auction last year.

Odd Bird transforms ordinary little objects into pieces of unique jewelry. Inspired by game pieces and bric-a-brac, Odd Bird sets out to create mixed media pieces that are decidedly quirky yet fun to wear. Odd Bird is for those who want to stand out from the flock!

Tara Campbell has always enjoyed alternative crafting. She is a member of the Fresh Collective (designers' co-op) in Toronto and also works in the animation industry. Check her out online at her site or on her Etsy shop!


Thanks so much Tara of Odd Bird!

Get Spun

Everyone knows that keeping yourself in good health, reducing fats, not smoking and getting lots of exercise is a great way to reduce your risk of developing cancer.

To that end, I'm particularly excited to have Get Spun on board as the latest Mardi-Bras benefactor! They have generously donated a gift pass for a full month of unlimited spinning classes! Get spun is one of the friendliest work out facilities I've been to. They offer cycling, pilates, and gravity classes for all fitness levels. You can even pay per class if you're not sure and want to try it out first!

Thanks so much Christie Ness and the super staff of Get Spun Toronto!

Imaginism Studios

This week I picked up a very beautiful and generous donation from the incredible artists at Imaginism Studios!

Six, specially selected prints from their collection for our silent auction! I'm not going to give away which ones were donated, you'll have to come see them at Mardi-Bras! In the meantime, have a browse through their online gallery, I'm sure you'll enjoy their work as much as I do.

...well, ok. Here's a sneak peak:


Thank you so much Kei & Bobby of Imaginism Studios!

Banjo Puppets

Banjo Puppets, a favourite from last year's silent auction, has generously offered to sponsor us again for Mardi-Bras 2009!

Joel, will also be at the One Of A Kind show and sale from April 1 to 5! Check out the artisan profile.

The little friends he created for us last year were so popular and so well made, we can't wait to see what he's got prepared for this year!


Thank you so much Banjo Puppets!

Gladstone Hotel

Mardi-Bras wouldn't be as large as it's become this year without the very generous support of one of Toronto's finest establishments, the Gladstone Hotel!

Business and leisure travellers flock to experience the Gladstone Hotel’s artist-designed accommodations, local cultural events, diverse, friendly staff and great food and drink presented in a truly Torontonian neighbourhood environment. Restored and revitalized in 2005, Toronto’s historic landmark Gladstone Hotel has established an international reputation as a unique urban hotel providing an authentic experience of local creative culture. The hotel has become a social and cultural incubator facilitating new ways of experiencing art, culture and community.

One of the top 10 art hotels in the world!

~ LUX Magazine Summer 2008

One of the top 10 hotels in Toronto and “best artistic experience”

~ Guardian UK 28.12.07

Personally, I'm very excited about the atmosphere the Gladstone gives this event! They have great photos on their website, so I'll only post a few here, but check out the gorgeous old wood bars and rich drapery! It's elegant, colourful, the staff have been so wonderful and accommodating, I would recommend them for any occasion.

Thank you so much to all the folks at the Gladstone Hotel!

Getting Sorted Out

Ok, anyone who's not new to our lists will already know, we hit a wee snag with the initial planning, but we're back on track for the party! So make sure to correct all of your calendars:

Mardi Bras is officially on,

Saturday June the 7th, 2008

7pm-1am

Bra show starts at 8:30

250 Wellington St W

Toronto

Tickets are $20 - Buy in advance or at the door!

Dress is Formal

All are welcome! This is a benefit so please, spread the word! We have a ton of fun things planned. There will be music, raffles, snacks, a cash bar, silent auction, door prizes and for the main event, (da da-daaa!!!) At 8:30 our glamorous models will take to the runway in a dazzling fashion show of the most unique and original bras created by elite artisans from all over Canada! These fabulous creations will added to the silent auction so you'll have an opportunity to take home an original, hand crafted piece of artwork to add to your collections!

All proceeds from Mardi Bras go to the Toronto Weekend To End Breast Cancer, benefiting Princess Margaret Hospital and The Campbell Family Institute.

If you'd like to become one of our artisans or models, please drop me a line, jrfaulkner10@gmail.com or comment to this blog and we'll get back to you with the specs. All of your work is welcome and appreciated.

If you have a product you like to donate to our silent auction or door prizes, please contact Carolyn, carolyn.elston@gmail.com or comment to this blog and we'll get back to you. We can't provide tax receipts for gifts, but we can provide proper participant letters for you to use at tax time and we'd be delighted to add you to our links and credited list of sponsors (see blog sidebar for current generous sponsors!) All gifts are welcome and appreciated!

If you'd just like to come to the party for a good time, you will not be disappointed!

If you're not up for a party, please consider making a donation to the walk. With your generous support the WEBC raised a record 17.3 million dollars last year, providing research, support services and a path to an eventual cure. Pledges can be made at the secure online sights:

Julie - Here

Carolyn - Here

Sandy - Here

(The links are also on the sidebar)

If you're not comfortable pledging online, but would like to help, please comment to the blog or email us and we'll make arrangements for post or pick up.

Thanks to everyone who is already donating your time, artwork, gifts and pledges! I sincerely believe we can see a cure for cancer in our lifetime, and by taking part in this very worthwhile event, we're all becoming a part of a much needed solution!