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Hello darling!!!

So glad to be here with you sippin my scrumptious matcha latte :)

(this one is at a great TO cafe, rooms- cozy and great music!)

How are you? Hope you are having a lovely Winter— yay it’s almost Spring!  

It has been a wild and crazy time here at KAD—  mostly wrought by this wild and crazy world we are in right now! War is bad for everyone and the planet too, Tariffs have been bananas and the chaos of constant unpredictable change is very disruptive! Most of the news is just horrific so I won’t dwell on it but suffice it to say we are really hoping for a midterm miracle for our beloved USA neighbours!! I’m talking full ousting!!! Wouldn’t that be so lovely? A girl can dream. There has been some great news…Mamdani!! So happy for our dear NYC peeps— Woot! so inspiring.

Speaking of inspiring- I have seen some fabulous art since I last wrote!

The Niki de St Phalle retrospective at the Musee des Beaux Arts in Quebec City was just incredible. I loved this adorable crocodile sculpture with light-up back! There were so many fabulous pieces- among them were these beautiful inflatable versions of her signature “nana”s - her colourful, joyful women in fabulous swimsuits… and I’m thrilled to say since then we have amassed a happy collection of these pieces in our living room! They are so wonderful. Here’s one that hangs next to the gorgeous portraits of our dogs Gracie and Wanda painted by my brother-in-law Mike’s lovely mum Margie! You can also see my mural in the mirror- it’s still not finished! I got a scaffold platform recently so I can paint the very high bits!

Jeff Wall photos at MOCA in Toronto is another great show- I was excited to go because I so clearly remember a show I saw 30+ years ago- such thoughtful and beautiful works! That’s on till the end of the month, so there’s still time to catch it if you happen to be in Toronto! I loved this print - check out those matching floral tights!

We caught a fabulous show of Hassan Hajjaj photos at the Aga Khan Museum here in Toronto- installed outdoors on the museum’s grounds. I just absolutely adore his colourful, print-happy portraits of very cool sporty women in home-made knockoff designer gear. These gals are all members of a women’s gym in Marakkech- his photos are tributes to strong and self-determined women, so inspiring and gorgeous! The show is on until the end of May- and it’s free!

Another artist inspiring me these days is Amos Kennedy Jr. — artist, printmaker and brilliant activist. We saw him speak in the fall and he’s such a charismatic and thoughtful speaker- there’s a great documentary about him and his work you can watch on youtube here, Proceed and Be Bold.  There’s a wonderful book as well, which I got for xmas!  

A dear friend gifted us one of his prints… it hangs by our front door (next to my little wanda painting :))

ART! In a world of AI slop art brings me joy and feeds my hungry soul!

Loving art is KAD’s north star this year (and every year!)

I started the year painting more than 1000 mini paintings for this lovely community- a slowing down, sparkly and colourful moment to connect through tangible art! It was VERY fun. As much as I am grateful for the digital world- so much magic in it- I feel like more than ever we need to focus on REAL actual life experience. I really don’t love being manipulated let alone controlled by three dumb white guys (mark, Elon, sam…) and I’m ready to fight back as best I can in my own little way! 

First stop: snail mail!!! 

Next stop: the National Home Show in Toronto featuring giant flower-headed people stuffed with Ontario wool in KAD fabric, an IRL dream tableau of striped cabana vibes and joyful, colourful, pillow-full home life! If you’re in town you can visit and shake hands with one of these lovelies! I have tickets for you if you want to go- just email and I will share! 

We are also looking forward to seeing KAD in print this spring- in Luxe Living Magazine! They did a really creative and wonderfully high fashion photoshoot with our kitchen textiles- and the Peggy Scarf styled as a very adorable summery top! Here’s a quick pic we did in the studio in preparation for the shoot. The print magazine comes out in May! 

In other KAD news— the new collection!!! Holy moly it’s been a minute- giving new meaning to Slow Fashion! Anyhoodle we are so excited to be working once again with lovely dyers and backstrap weavers in Antigua and environs, Guatemala- this time on a new super chic dress… should be here early April… stay tuned! And alongside our beautiful block printed textiles we’re trying something a bit new with our production partners in Rajastan— large scale print screen printing! We have new styles (big shirt dress- cant wait!), new prints coming for spring- here’s a lil painting and some spring mood board inspo….

Anyways I hope all’s well with you- hope the sun is shining and you’ve got some lovely flowers nearby!!! Sending lots of love!!