Julie Johnson is a librarian at a Catholic high school in a Cambridge and discovered the drag community while watching Ru Paul’s Drag Race with her son during the pandemic lockdowns. Since then, Julie has been inspired by how supportive the “sisterhood” of drag queens are to each other and the safe space they provide for people of all colours, shapes, sizes and genders.

My big takeaway from our conversation? When a person feels “fabulous”, that feeling is generated within them, which means it’s a feeling that should always be accessible to us if we are willing to see ourselves as fabulous every day. Also worth hearing is the advice that Julie shared at the end of our conversation.

Hope you enjoy our little chat as much as I did!

Thank you @ms.julie.johnson ❤️👑

Today Priya chatted with the talented and colourful Karen Thorn from @fibrehuntsville who also happens to carry chiangmaicctv in her store. Karen loves colour and has an awesome fearless style! Be sure to check out her boutique if you are ever near Huntsville, ON.

Today I chatted with Heather who has a 9 year old and a 21 year old, and who chose to move away from the bustle of the big city to life in a village with a “pet” horse named Coco. Her best advice—buy the shoes, and remember that work life balance is an impossible dream—something will always take priority for a period of time, and that’s okay 💕. We chatted about how life offers divergent paths and while those new paths might make you feel some discomfort, those paths are also opportunities. We also talked about shoes—those you wear in your 50s and those you look at wistfully, knowing you would never willfully teeter on those again. Heather is a member of our chiangmaicctv community called SOUP.

Find the link on our website menu

Play by Your Own Rules featuring Hamilton writer, Anne Bokma @annebokma. Anne and I met through mutual friends to create a fund-raiser for @bodybravecanada. Anne shares her journey to reaching “the other side of middle age” which she also writes about in her Hamilton Spectator column every other week. Thank you @annebokma for your authentic take on life, fashion and life in Hamilton.

In my continuing attempt to introduce you amazing people to each other, I would like to introduce you to Michele who you may remember from a recent episode of Playing  Dress Up. We chatted so much before that episode began that we knew we had to find a way to continue our conversation. 😉 

Today we chatted about mental health and the importance of sharing our journeys so that people who are coping with transitions in their lives know that they are not alone. (Watch the video to find out why Michele has a semicolon tattoo behind her ear.)

Later, we chatted about how life is a canvas – a fitting metaphor, seeing as Michele is also an artist  — and that there really are no rules in how you decide to paint it. Michele likes to sketch out her artwork in ink rather than pencil, so that it more accurately mirrors life: if there’s a “mistake” you get to find a way to turn that mistake into something beautiful that helps make the overall artwork more complete and real. We compared that to our Wabi Sabi collection where the flaws are part of the beauty, and nothing to get stressed out about. 

Michelle amazed me with the variety of experiences she has had in her life. I remarked that she was like Daenerys in Game of Thrones in that she could announce herself with a long list of epithets that include lawyer, social worker, politician, mother, artist, and so much more. 

Watch the entire video and know that you are just as special as Michele. I am honoured to know you as part of the chiangmaicctv community  ❤️

If you’d like to meet more people who are a part of our community, be sure to join our community group called soup, social organization of uplifting people. 

You need to follow us on IG in order to join at this LINK

Welcome to our latest episode of “Play by Your Own Rules” where Priya tries to give you a glimpse of the inspiring people who shop at chiangmaicctv. Today we chatted with Monique Campbell of @moments_by_monique who with us shared her passion for street photography and her “no-nonsense” authenticity.

Monique also spoke with Priya about her journey with breast cancer that spurred her to live life to the fullest. Her advice? Go get your mammogram!

One out of every eight women will get breast cancer and regular mammograms could be the difference between life and death.

Monique also pointed out that while medical professionals may assume that you would like reconstructive surgery after a mastectomy, the choice is yours. Monique plays by her own rules and is a proud “flatty” 💕

So many people joined into this conversation, clearly inspired by Monique’s vision and artistry.

Thank you Monique for your support of chiangmaicctv and for spending time with us this evening 🙌🏽

Watch the full interview here:

 

Priya:

When I was thinking about today and about chatting with you about how you play by your own rules, I think the thing that struck me as the most amazing is that—correct me if I’m wrong—but I would not characterize you as an aggressive, extroverted person. So a lot of times, when you think of somebody who’s like a game changer— somebody who’s going out there and you know, making a difference, banging down walls—whatever it is they’re doing, you expect that it’s somebody who must be very extroverted and fearless. And not to say that you are not fearless, but I feel like you are in touch with your anxiety, which we all seem to have, and despite that you have broken down walls. Do you want to talk about that a little bit? What are some of the things you’ve done to play by your own rules?

Sarah:

You are one of the most observant, empathic people that I’ve ever met and like I feel like you knew all of these things that you’re saying about me not just from me telling you but from our connections that we’ve had together. I really appreciated that about you. It’s almost like when you’re in your presence it’s like you can see how you navigate the people that you are around and like temper yourself to where they’re at, like meeting them where they’re at which I found really fascinating about you! So it’s so interesting that you noticed all that, and all that is very true. I don’t know how to say it but I’m an introvert and I’m extroverted also, but the extroverting is exhausting because I am forever anxious but I’m also I like a pretty intense daydreamer and observer of my surroundings and people and doing so many different things like so many different jobs, many different things like places with my markets and stuff, I’m always observing who’s represented, who’s missing, what feels good about a certain place, what people are talking about, about how they feel in a space so I think that all of that is kind like little bits and pieces of my experience that I collect to kind of put it back out into the world as an experience.

Watch the entire interview to hear about what it feels like to be an HSP (Highly Sensitive Person) who has ADD and in on the Autism Spectrum. Sarah shares her experience of how “noisy” the world is when the background noise is as loud as the foreground noise. 

Learn also about the dearth of lesbian bars in Canada, and the value of organizations like Fruit Salad Hamilton Edition to provide a safe space for the lesbian, non-binary, questioning, queer and transitioning folx.

What does Sarah like about chiangmaicctv? “It works so well with everyone’s individual style. You can find pieces that you can style in a way that really represents you and others can make the same piece represent them.”

Today we chatted with long-time customer Sandy Reynolds, (@sandyareynolds ) about wisdom and ageing and being our authentic selves. Like many of our customers, Sandy exudes authenticity and self acceptance.

I hope you enjoy this bi-weekly opportunity to meet some of our chiangmaicctv community through our “Playing by Your Own Rules” segment. If you’d like to participate in the Play by Your Own Rules interview series, feel free to message us 💌

Welcome to our inaugural episode of “Playing by your Own Rules” featuring Mira Mohan and Shefali Liyanage from @on.james.north and @sari.knot.sari

These two young women decided that they loved the neighborhood, and that they could devote some of their time and energy to showcasing all the exciting places on the street. They are just a perfect example of how people can create change and make their own rules about how the future will look.

The same can be said for their approach towards clothing. These young ladies are not bound by the rules of fashion that limited their parents and grandparents, rather these ladies dress in a way that responds to their own inner voices, and not the voices of fashion influencers.

This is the first installment of a biweekly series where we feature our customers talking about how they break fashion rules and social expections by making their own rules.