For those looking to escape the throngs of tourists, a more luxurious vacation experience can be had in the Tri-Valley wine region. There, you can visit historic wineries, meet the owners of family vineyards, sip boutique wines, savor stellar dining choices and indulge in designer fashion shopping.

My article appears in The Bahamas Weekly, read more . . .

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Located in the southwest corner of Washington state, Long Beach Peninsula is comprised of a 28-mile long stretch of land with a string of small communities and cities, parks, refuges and multiple attractions. In addition, it is a source of a culinary experience that delights not only northern Californians but also visitors and locals of the Pacific Northwest.

For over a century, the delectable oysters that delight San Fran diners have been harvested in Willapa Bay to the east of the Long Beach Peninsula. Delicious razor clams are picked along its Pacific Ocean beaches to the west.

The demand for Long Beach Peninsula oysters in San Francisco began with the California Gold Rush in 1848 which created one of the largest human migrations in history at that time. Approximately 300,000 men from across the United States and around the world quit their jobs, left their wives and families behind and headed west hoping to strike it rich.

San Francisco immediately became the center of the gold rush, resulting in the city population growing from 1,000 to 25,000 in a single year between 1848 to 1849.

Prospectors arrived in town with three objectives. First, they purchased gold mining supplies; second, they sought women; third, they ate oysters. I can’t say for sure but I think maybe there was a connection between the women and the oysters.

Back in the 1840s, Long Beach Peninsula oysters about the size of your thumb cost a silver dollar. Shipped down the west coast from Willapa Bay aboard large mast schooners, oysters were paid for in gold, naturally, which made residents in the peninsula’s town of Oysterville the highest per capita holders of gold anywhere outside of San Francisco at that time.

When visiting the Long Beach Peninsula today, travel Hwy 103 north from Seaview to Oysterville – a 30-minute drive. On your right are the calm cold waters of the Willapa Bay tidal fields where oysters are raised. Watch for oyster shells amassed 12 feet or higher outside the grounds of the processing plants which confirm that this community is indeed home to the largest oyster producer in America.

As you arrive in Oysterville, you will view a street lined with original homes as well as the school and the white color church both built in the last century. Now a nationally recognized historic district, modern Oysterville offers a glimpse of what life would have been like in this residential community 150 years ago.

Fascinating history is just one of the many reasons to make a trip to the region. Along with fresh Long Beach Peninsula oysters and razor clams, the region offers farm to table fresh dining experiences and terrific family recreation such as beachcombing, bike riding and hiking on the Discovery Trail, an 8.5 mile paved trail, covering just a small portion of the 28 miles of sandy beaches.

From the heritage charm of Oysterville to the great eats in Seaview and beyond, from fresh oysters to family friendly outings, the Long Beach Peninsula has is all.

Savor:

The Depot Restaurant

The Depot Restaurant, one of the top dining choices in Seaview, is located in a restored railroad train depot. The award-winning restaurant is the brainchild of chef/owner Michael Lalewicz and his wife and co-owner Nancy Gorshe. 

An absolute must-have, the Clamshell Railroad Clam Chowder is made from fresh local Willapa Bay steamers and diced razor clams in a creamy broth of garlic, potato and leeks.

Complete your meal with Oysters ‘Scargot, six fresh Willapa petite oysters broiled in garlic lime butter and served with a French baguette. Or why not try the fresh pan or deep fried oysters with roasted garlic aioli dipping sauce?

The Depot Restaurant offers a farm to table menu that includes fresh salads, soups, meats and the local catch of the day. You won’t be disappointed.

42^nd Street Café & Bistro

Locals call the 42^nd Street Café & Bistro, which serves the biggest razor clams I have ever seen, the original Long Beach Peninsula “roadside café”. Flash fried with a flour, buttermilk and saltine cracker crust, the clams are served with fried red potatoes and house made parsley caper mayonnaise.

Open for breakfast, lunch and dinner, the café offers a wide-ranging menu of soups, salads, meats, seafood and pastas and is yet another superb dining experience for visitors to Seaview.

Stay:

Boreas Bed and Breakfast Inn

Renowned for their unpretentious luxury and hospitality, the Boreas Bed and Breakfast Inn offers comfortable accommodations along with daily three and four course breakfasts that guarantee to get you out of bed each morning.

During my visit, breakfast began with local fruit and freshly baked pastries, followed by the Inn’s famous Washington stuffed pears with dried cranberries and pecans marinated with spiced rum. A terrific way to start a visit to Long Beach Peninsula!

Guests have access to a jetted hot tub in a private gazebo on the garden grounds with views to the Pacific Ocean and the sand dunes.

Attractions:

World Kite Museum

Home to the Washington State International Kite Festival held in late August, the World Kite Museum on Long Beach Peninsula offers exhibitions and educational events, showcasing the kite as a multicultural object of art, design, and pulling power.

In one of many exhibition rooms, you will learn about ALOX, one of the earliest American kit manufacturers. Dime store kites from the 1920s -1960s are displayed and fascinating bits of history abound.

Did you know, for example, that kites were used as antennae lifters during World War II before the invention of cordless phones, radar and the Internet? The museum is a treat for visitors of all ages. After all, you’re never too old to fly a kite!

For more information

More destination information is available at the Long Beach Peninsula Visitors Bureau. Call (360) 642-2400 or go to visit Long Beach Peninsula.

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In front of the main entrance, brightly blazing white lights spelled out the signature “VFW”. To hordes of fashionistas, influencers and others ‘in the know’, this signified that local and international designers had descended on the city to showcase their talent over seven fabulous days.

Bright Lights & White Tents

The large white tents, which created the perfect backdrop for the fashion collections, provided a unique energy and excitement to the local community and we hope that this will be VFW’s new home.

Vancouver Fashion Week Spring Summer 2019 Collections

Monday evening was Vancouver Fashion Week’s Opening Gala which featured single ensembles by over 20 designers as well as two designer collections. Phuong My’s stylish collection of women’s evening wear kicked off VFW’s first year at its new location.

Phuong My

Vietnamese-born My, a graduate of the Academy of Art University in San Francisco, launched her label in 2013, catering to stylish Asian women, including many celebrities.

Her collection at VFW featured luxury materials and shaped gowns of the sort that would be found on the red carpet in Asia and the Middle East.

Having exhibited her designs in New York, San Francisco, Tokyo, Singapore, Perth and Dubai, she now has 30 retail locations in 20 countries stretching from France and Italy to Dubai and Southeast Asia. With her international credentials and global reach, this up-and-coming style superstar was just the right designer to launch Vancouver Fashion Week’s new downtown location.

Above Photos: Phuong My | Simon Lau

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One of my most cherished childhood memories was when my mother gave me a platinum necklace with a small translucent reddish-brown jade carving of a sword that she had purchased from a small jewelry shop in Hong Kong. For over 9,000 years Jade has been a symbol of the Chinese Imperial families, representing both the heavenly and earthly realms. It is believed that the stone can mystically protect wearers from illness and evil spirits. Like most Asian Mothers, mine believed that if I were in an accident, the jade, not my precious little body, would break. I was under the strictest instructions never, ever to take the necklace off.

As an important jade centre, the small northern Fraser Valley town of Lillooet has a significant cultural connection with the 1.35 billion plus inhabitants of modern China who continue to value jade highly for its beauty and its symbolic meaning. Jade, British Columbia’s official gemstone, is deeply embedded in the history of Lillooet.

Lillooet Jade Walk

Located 250 kilometers north of Vancouver, Lillooet is a community with a rich mining history, dating back to the Fraser Canyon Gold Rush of 1858 when it was the largest town west of Chicago and north of San Francisco. Home of British Columbia’s first jade mine, the discovery of this priceless gemstone in the region is now commemorated with a fascinating and unique Jade Walk.

Cool to the Touch

Beginning at the Lillooet Museum and Visitors Centre on Main Street, the first stop on the Jade Walk is Jadehenge, an outdoor display of four jade boulders one of which measures nearly 3 meters tall and weighs over 7 tonnes. These four boulders, which range in size from that of a compact hotel room fridge to an enormous one meter wide, give you a sense of the stone’s density and hardness. Jade is harder than steel and requires many hours and a special saw to cut. It is also, uniquely, cool to the touch.

These four jade monuments also reveal the variations that can be found in the stone. A gem quality stone requires a rich deep green color, translucency and lack of fractures. On display at Jadehenge is a portion of a 20-ton boulder in which you can actually see a natural progression from serpentine – green material – to gem quality stone in the cross section.

The history of jade in the region is long. For centuries, local First Nations residents have been using tools for hunting and skinning salmon all carved from BC jade. From the late 1960’s and into the 70’s, Lillooet mined and exported more nephrite jade than any other place in the world. Green nephrite jade is also found in New Zealand and Russia while China is home to a white nephrite jade, which ranges in colour from reddish-brown to clear. Today, however, British Columbia is believed to have the largest deposits of nephrite on the planet.

The Jade Walk is the realization of the vision of prospector and hunting guide George Vanderwolf who has lived in Lillooet for over 63 years and who actually discovered the first jade mine in the region back in October 1964 while guiding American hunters in search of mountain sheep.

When the first jade rock was placed on display at the Visitor’s Centre in 2004, it looked pretty lonesome. So Vanderwolf and a band of community volunteers began adding more pieces and by 2010 there were 31 jade monuments situated throughout the town and at the cemetery all acquired from the various mines in BC. These can all be seen and enjoyed on the Jade Walk.

My mother’s beliefs notwithstanding, jade is beautiful stone and its significance both to Chinese culture and BC’s history cannot be understated. During your next visit to the Fraser Valley, take in the Jade Walk and learn all about BC’s official stone.

Tour maps are available at the Lillooet Museum and Visitor’s Centre and at KC Health & Gifts.

If you go: Lillooet Museum & Visitor Centre790 Main St., Lillooet BC

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The inaugural Eco Fashion Week Australia did away with that bohemian image last week by showcasing chic, wearable collections with a focus on quality and sustainability.

Under the direction of Zuhal Kuvan-Mills, designer for Green Embassy and founder of EFWA, over 40 eco-friendly local and international fashion designers were brought together to demonstrate how style, culture and a love for the environment intersect to create the future of fashion for conscious consumers.

During the weeklong event, which took place in the port town of Fremantle near Perth, eco-friendly designers proved that they are part of the solution to landfill waste and ocean plastic, offering slow alternatives to the unsustainable practices of the fast fashion industry.

Along with workshops on recycling and upcycling materials and the use of natural fibers, the festival showcased high quality, stylish and versatile clothes for every occasion, proving once and for all that eco fashion is not just for flower children and free spirits.

From Green Embassy’s glamorous dresses to the outback wildflower jewelry of Curtin Springs’ Amee Porter to the sporty and smart casual looks by Merino Country, eco-friendly fashion has something for everyone and is increasingly a part of the Australian style landscape.

Here are the top looks from Eco Fashion Week Australia.

Green Embassy is the New Black

Eco Fashion Week Australia’s opening show was Green Embassy, a luxurious eco-friendly fashion brand by Australian designer and event founder, Zuhal Kuvan-Mills.

The collection shown at EFWA, entitled Empty Ocean Series, was inspired by the diversity of marine life and the changing textures of the ocean waters. Done up in natural silks colored with vegetable dyes, the fluid forms of Green Embassy’s designs represent the pinnacle of green fashion and prove that glamour can be good for our planet.

Sista of JAC

Sisters Selda and Yeshim Ismail make up the design team behind Sista of Jac which presented a runway show full of colorful prints, bold colors and abstract lines inspired by architecture and science.

Based in Melbourne, they design their own fabrics which include organic cottons as well as rescued textiles such as wool and silk.

With a goal of sustainability and zero waste production, they offer high quality luxury garments for the discerning eco fashionista.

Sylvia Calvo

Scouring the waterfront docks of Barcelona, Sylvia Calvo collects and recycles coffee bags to create her eco-friendly collections.

She also collaborates with other artists to create hand-painted organic cottons and woven fabrics made from leftover textile scraps that combine art and couture.

Calvo believes that sustainable fashion goes in hand in hand with elegance, creativity and design and, with one of the most impressive collections on the runway at Eco Fashion Week Australia, her designs bear out her beliefs.

Amee Porter, Curtin Springs

A self-taught jewelry designer, Amee Porter creates her collections from the natural grasses and plants of Curtin Springs, a Central Australian cattle station located 40 kilometers from Ayers Rock.

From the landscape of the Australian desert, native grasses are harvested, pulped and pressed into unique sheets of paper which are then formed into jewelry. Surrounded by a 360-degree horizon, Porter draws inspiration from the ever-changing vistas of the million acre cattle station which includes a workshop and gallery out of which she creates and displays her wearable art.

Jude Taylor

The love of wild colorful Australian flowers and the exceptional landscape they flourish in is what inspires Jude Taylor’s fabric designs. Working with natural fibers such as linens, cottons and silks, she experiments with unbleached fabrics to create beautiful floral patterns.

Offering classic trans-seasonal styles that can be enjoyed for many years to come Taylor is one to watch for eco-conscious consumers.

Kirsten Ley

Kirsten Ley’s inspiration for the collection she showed at Eco Fashion Week Australia was drawn from the concept of Snell’s Law and the exploration of translucent light refraction.

Not only is Kirsten is a fashion designer, she is also an artist, a singer and a songwriter who wrote the music for her runway show at Eco Fashion Week Australia.

Using only natural materials, the multi-talented Ley empowers women with confident clothing that moves naturally with the female form.

Arcaro Couture

Angelia Arcaro started creating clothes when she was 11 years old and has a deep love of beauty and art. As each Arcaro Couture gown is unique and made from only the finest natural materials such as wool, cotton, linen and silk, her collection is an expression of individuality and quality.

Angelia Arcaro offers up true elegance with a Australian twist. Each Arcaro Couture gown is hand-crafted and embellished with antique jewelry, reworked lace, pearls, gemstones, beads, feathers and other ornaments discovered at local markets.

Lima Jordan

Using raw and recycled fabrics, Lima Jordon of Melbourne creates avant-garde fashion that is also simple and practical, exploring and reinterpreting the origins of clothing.

As a designer, Jordan chooses to go against fast fashion, fight for workers’ rights and support the slow-fashion movement. Her current collection was inspired by nomadic/tribal lifestyles, traditional artisan fabrics and unknown cultures and effortlessly combines her sustainable values with innovative designs.

Merdi Sihombing

Since childhood, Merdi Sihombing has been enveloped by the arts in all its forms – singing, dancing, painting, poetry and more. He started designing clothing as a teenager and is inspired by the cultures of the diverse tribes of Indonesia.

One of the difficulties he faces as a designer is taking the rich culture and traditions of Indonesian fashion to global markets while still using sustainable fabrics and supporting ethical workplace practices. Given all he’s achieved in the eco fashion world, he’s sure to rise to the challenge.

Merino Country

Merino Country’s wool garments are all about comfort and performance for people with an active lifestyle. The intrinsic properties of the company’s merino wool are that it is breathable, easy to care for, ideal for sensitive skin and renewable and biodegradable.

Fashion designer Kerrie Richards was raised on a sheep station in Western Queensland and has created a wide range of garments, including underwear, activewear and smart casual clothes such as polo shirts, dresses and shorts.

Polyester yoga pants are destroying our oceans by releasing small polyester beads during the wash cycle which are then consumed by fish and ultimately end up in our bodies. For all the eco-conscious yogis out there, Merino Country’s wool yogawear is one solution the plastic that pollutes our oceans.

Elle Evans

Originating in Melbourne, this youthful swimwear line created by Elle Evans, showed a series of of playful swimsuits inspired by the colour of a ruby red grapefruit at Eco Fashion Week Australia.

With a strong belief in doing business in an ethical and sustainable, Evans strives for the smallest footprint by using 100% recycled PET Nylon Lycra materials made from ghost nets and other plastics from the oceans. Fabrics made from recycled plastics or scrapped fabrics take up to 40% less energy to produce than virgin fabric and, as Evans’ designs show, produce garments just as stylish as anything you’d find in a fast-fashion outlet.

Connally McDougall

Since childhood, traditional clothing and textiles along with nature and architecture have fascinated Connally McDougall and influenced her aesthetic. Based in Vancouver, Canada, McDougall aspires to create chic fashion for women with materials that are both ecologically and ethically sustainable.

Her collection, including a line of handbags, is made in her own studio from organic cotton, wool, silk and faux leather.

Upcycling Challenge

Eco Fashion Week Australia Upcycling Challenge by Marilyn R. Wilson featured the works of 21 designers from 12 countries. The challenge was to create one runway look from used men’s dress shirts that showcased their design style and the designers did not disappoint.

The look above is by Jessie Liu of San Francisco, a master of creating flattering silhouettes in bold graphic prints that appear almost three-dimensional.

Verdant the Label

Designer Kyra Brown has always wanted her line of women’s clothing, Verdant the Label, to represent the positive side of fashion. This meant spending months researching the fashion industry in order to ensure that, from farmer to consumer, from the treatment of garments workers to the use of natural materials, her clothes are as ethical and eco-friendly as possible.

Drawing her inspiration from social media and people watching as well as art, vintage style and the international fashion scene, Brown is fascinated by how light, color and texture play on the body and the imagination.

Chaynika Sethi of CVS Fashions

With a focus on structure, detailing and tailoring, Chaynika Sethi is all about power dressing. Designing collections for both men and women, she offers a unique perspective on corporate wear.

Sethi works with organic, unprocessed natural fabrics like linen, cotton, wool and silk as well as textiles derived from coffee beans to create fun and innovative styles that are sure to add confidence and attitude to any workplace wardrobe.

If you go:

Fremantle serves as the port for Perth, Western Australia’s capital, and is located on the mouth of the Swan River which flows into the Indian Ocean. As a visitor, you will experience a seaside village filled with waterfront restaurants, museums and boutiques. The British convicts who built the foundations of the city first landed in the early 1800’s and several of the original Victorian buildings still stand today, providing some historic charm to go with Fremantle’s relaxed, small town feel.

Savour:

With the convicts came the archetypal British fish and chips and Fremantle’s waterfront district is filled with pubs and restaurants that offer this traditional fare. The local favorite is Kailis which combines casual dining with quality food from the classic fish and chips meal to full entrees of bbq fish, octopus, scallops, oysters and more. There is ample seating inside or on the dock but watch out for the hungry seagulls.

Just next door to Kailis’ is Bathers Beach House which offers diners views of cruise ships departing eastward into the Indian Ocean. Menu offerings range from seafood platters to beef burgers to mahogany creek chicken breast salad, all highly recommended.

Sights:

The seafaring history of Fremantle is on display at the Western Australian Maritime Museum located right on the waterfront. The current exhibition, Escape from Pompeii: The Untold Roman Rescue, is a must see. In 79 AD Mount Vesuvius erupted, burying the city of Pompeii under huge clouds of volcanic ash and debris. The exhibition tells story of the Roman Navy’s attempts to evacuate people and the importance of controlling the Mediterranean to their empire. On view are artifacts such as personal objects and the remains of those who died in one of history’s most famous disasters. This exhibition runs until February 4, 2018.

Shopping:

For those who wish to take home a memory of Fremantle, Glen Cowan’s Studio at the Roundhouse located at the foot of High St. Cowan offers a wide range of colour prints and images on jewelry. Cowan is an underwater photographer who has captured the beauty of marine life in the region and his pictures make ideal keepsakes to remember your visit to Fremantle.

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Currently on display at the Legion of Honor – Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco are more than 40 Impressionist paintings and pastels, including major artworks by Degas, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Edouard Manet, Mary Cassatt, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec. Alongside these exquisite examples of Impressionist art are a collection of 40 remarkable period hats. The exhibition, with its combination of artistic representations and the objects they represent, provides a unique glimpse into the millinery trade which so captivated Degas and his colleagues.

The exhibit focuses on both the historical and social context of the Parisian millinery trade and the avant-garde art of Degas and the Impressionists. Degas, best known for his portraits of ballet dancers at the Paris Opera, captured the art of millinery in no less than 27 works, illustrating hats, their creators and the men and women who wore them.

The pinnacle of the millinery trade in Paris, which was then considered the fashion capital of the world, occurred between 1875 to 1914 during which time around 1,000 milliners, many women, created stunning millinery confections for everyone from the high-born to the humble of origin.

As his studio was near both the grand department stores and a network of competing independent millinery shops in the fashion district of rue de la Paix, Degas had access to the ins and outs of the millinery trade. His visits to nearby shops inspired him to create works like the pastel At the Milliner’s from the Musee d’Orsay.

In Degas’ largest painting on the subject, The Millinery Shop, a seated woman surrounded by six hats reflects on the latest fashions for spring and summer. The hats dominate the composition and show the viewer the range of materials – ribbons, flowers, feathers – and colors – cream, aqua, orange, green – used in fashionable hats.

On display in the same hall is a lavishly embellished contemporaneous woman’s bonnet which could have been taken directly from Degas’ painting.

Life in the French capital was filled with aristocratic men and women wearing colorful hats adorned with flowers and ribbons. This drove an artificial flower trade which employed an estimated 24,000 flower-makers who worked in Paris to create botanically accurate flowers such as silk roses, leaves and ferns.

Plumed and feathered hats were also popular and are included in the exhibition. An ostrich feather-adorned design by Jeanne Lanvin, who’s couture house began as a millinery workshop, and another, decorated with an African Starling with outstretched wings, highlight the flourishing international trade in luxury materials such as feathers that the Parisian millinery industry helped to support.

The world of millinery shops is delightfully portrayed by artist James Tissot who takes the viewer into a boutique with The Shop Girl, part of a series of large canvases featuring la femme a Paris. The painting offers the viewer a perspective of a 19^th century customer about to exit a bustling millinery shop with her purchases through a door held by a shop girl which opens onto a busy street full of men and women in hats.

For the emerging middle class of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, your hat was a measure of your wealth. In Paris, hats were not only worn on Sundays – if you went outdoors you wore a hat – and your chapeau acted as an indicator of your social status. For women, as both creators and consumers of these lovely accessories, the social changes occurring during the time period can be traced in their hats.

During his career, Degas demonstrated an acute awareness of the particular role a hat played for men in social standing. Included in the exhibition are many fine examples of men’s hats. Though generally more subdued in their materials and designs than women’s hats, they were an essential part of the masculine wardrobe.

Bowlers carried working-class associations but also indicated bohemian status for artists and intellectuals as illustrated in Degas’s Portrait of Zacharian. Top hats in the 1870’s were generally worn by the middle and upper classes but were considered formalwear by the 1890s.

Degas and his fellow Impressionists saw milliners as artists in their own right and their works explore the daily minutiae of the millinery industry and reveal glimpses of the complex social world of fashionable turn-of-the-century Paris. By tracing the journey of these extraordinary high-fashion hats from creation to use, viewers of the fascinating exhibition gain insight into the lives of the milliners and of their clients.

Degas, Impressionism and the Millinery Trade

June 21 – September 24, 2017

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, Legion of Honor

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