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february 13, 2017 new year, new travel plans! a city that should be on your travel list for sure is vancouver, and our blogger kirsten - who, tadaa, is from vancouver - will tell you why in her vancouver city guide. 

it's really hard for me to pick my favourite spots in vancouver. for me, vancouver is really about how guiltlessly close to nature you are. it's about going to the gulf islands and driving along the sea-to-sky highway. it's little cafe's that are courageous in fighting the city's strict by-laws and an attitude of being curious, protective, occasionally sentimental and always willing to go a little farther for the best view (i think my sentimentality is showing). basically i love my home town, and i grew to love it a little bit more in my last visit. so, i wanted to share a few pieces of it with the kiyoko crowd.

cafes

• birds & the beets: a lovely cafe in an area called gastown. it's a huge spot, lots of brick and amazing coffee and food. the gastown area is a pretty necessary visit, so i suggest a stop here before a wander around. 54 powell st
• marche st. george: one of my all time favourite spots in vancouver. this cafe is very near main street, but hidden just to the side in a residential area. the food is amazing, the space is truly beautiful and it has a great little selection of local goods. 4393 st george st

drinks

• the diamond: this is by far the best bar in vancouver. it's in gastown and has an amazing view over the area through big beautiful windows. these drinks speak for themselves really, they use creative ingredients and every cocktail comes in it's own glass to make them even more special. 6 powell st

shop

• misch boutique: located on the very stuffy street of south granville, this boutique has been a beacon of the best selection of designer garb in the city since 2004. 2960 s granville st
• one of a few: my favourite boutique in vancouver. the selection is so strong and remains artsy, but not in a contrived way. also with a great selection of jewellery. 354 water st
• sunnyside: this is the best shop for ceramics and it's in the beautiful area outside of the city called deep cove. in deep cove you have the soft baden powell hike that leads to true vancouver views and there's a group of great shops and cafes in this area. 4390 gallant ave, north vancouver

again, this is a very pared down list of spots in vancouver, and it's never nice to pick favourites. but i promise that if you ask anyone there for a few good recommendations they'll probably have their own list handy as well.

december 20, 2016 this week's favorite #kiyokothebrand photo is definitely this shot by @formlifestylestore. 

december 14, 2016  grace coddington, fashion editor of vogue, was told by a mentor to never sleep on the train or the car, but to always keep her eyes open. a lovely sentiment to consider. a creative mind is always looking to find inspiration in pattern, texture and color combinations, even if just on the street.

this idea of looking with intention is a practice used by belgian photographer, bert danckaert. danckaert has travelled around the world trying to capture the beauty in unnoticed compositions. in his new book horizons, there are some beautiful images from the streets of china. check out more of his work at his website.

december 12, 2016 this week's favorite #kiyokothebrand photo is by @blondeandbone. thanks for the lovely shot!

december 7, 2016 the things we choose to carry with us speaks a lot to how we go about our days and what we need to do so comfortably. in our bags we store our necessities, our morsels of home as we travel and navigate our full days. here's what the ladies of kiyoko keep with them.

evelien

• notebook (moleskine)
  
• wallet (mulberry)
  
• phone (iphone 6)
  
• sunglasses (linda farrow or ace & tate)
  
• lipbalm (kiyoko)
  
• hand balm (&other stories)
  
• mints
  
• earphones (bose)
  

merel

• disposable camera 
  
• sunglasses (rayban)
  
• hair brush
  
• gum
  
• phone & charger (iphone 7)
  
• wallet
  
• perfume (beach walk replica margiela)
  
• lipbalm (kiyoko)
  

november 30, 2016 another week, another favorite: by @bundleandtwine. 

november 21, 2016 this week's #kiyokothebrand favorite is by @designerchases.

november 20, 2016 it seems an important time to remember that women have an incredible, powerful resilience when we're down, and when we're up, well we're fucking amazing. kirsten likes to take a moment to highlight some of the ladies that are killing it right now. and, since it's always nice to see women working together, she's looking at pairs of ladies, like our very own.

• if you haven't heard the podcast call your girlfriend, i'd have to say, it's time you tried. ann friedman and aminatou sow keep up a weekly conversation that covers politics, women's rights and popular culture, all while being stingingly intelligent and funny.
• hoodzpah design is made up of a pair of twins, jen and amy hood. these sisters have created an amazing business of their illustrations and brand design. working out of their office in orange county they've managed to develop a bold personal style that a whole lot of people want to see as part of their own businesses.
• wouters & hendrix has been around since the 80's and their jewellery design has always combined craftsmanship, a strong narrative and a playfulness. their collections are always started with a fresh perspective, by looking outwards and getting excited about something they find in a garden or a museum.

november 11, 2016 we truly appreciate the details of experience that can trigger memory. on our labels we consider the intricacies of a warm night witnessing a stellar sunset, or being blissed out planning a trip with friends and in that particular dream-like state of being on a beach on vacation.

scent is the kind of thing that can trigger memory not quite like anything else. it's impossible to explain but once you experience it, it's impossible to forget. the science behind it says that when we inhale, odour molecules travel directly to major parts of the brain reserved for learning and memory. beyond the science, there's no denying when you catch a scent, it can send you to a different place, or time, and completely change your mood.

it's so hard to find a scent that truly suits you, because the factors that make up a smell are made of hundreds of components. it doesn't help that most mass produced perfumes have that chemical whiff about them to make them last longer. but when you find a good perfume, it can be like supplementing your impression and finding a highlight to who you are.

here are some of kirsten's favorite scents, and we hope you enjoy the experiential descriptions of the scents as much as we do. 

• histoiresdeparfums
• diptyque 
• byredo 
• d.s. & durga 

november 10, 2016 this week's #kiyokothebrand favorite is by @ea_wang.

november 7, 2016 you know those ten extra minutes you spend in bed, that turn into thirty minutes? our blogger kirsten knows everything about it. she has some little tricks that have helped her come up against procastination:

if you happen to be one of the people that have never battled the monster of procrastination, i imagine you probably have a consistent workout schedule and always stop at the second piece of pizza. well, that's really great for you, but i'm going to need you to stop reading this, to protect myself from my own shame.

• get an hourglass! it's amazing the effect that creating a little competition for yourself will encourage. it also shows how quickly time can go by, and how much you're capable of accomplishing within an hour of focus.
• come up with a habit that shows you you're getting into business time. like lighting some candles, settling in with a cup of tea, and some sort of punishment system for whenever you open a new tab for tumblr or netflix.
• the most important is remembering that you're totally capable, make a list of what it is you're trying to do. make a question of it, and try to find the solution.
  

don't lose your confidence in yourself. we all have a boss in us, she just sometimes wants to sleep in.

november 4, 2016 another week another #kiyokothebrand favorite! shot by @beeldsteil. 

november 1, 2016 people often ask what inspires us. one of our greatest sources of ispiration is for sure tumblr. we love to spent time sourcing for inspiring photos and in that way creating a mood board that reflects what inspires us: kiyokothebrand.tumblr.com. we'll soon share some of our favorite accounts to follow.

october 28, 2016 about time for another #kiyokothebrand favorite. there are so many nice shots, it's hard to pick just one favorite every week. we love all the effort people put in their photos, keep it up. so our pick for this week, is this great shot by @anna.cor.

october 26, 2016 solange knowles' new album a seat at the table interrupted everyone's listening schedule and suddenly seemed like it had always been there. her hypnotic approach to this new album creates a rich blended sound space - a beautiful, feminine and entirely powerful space. 

it is an important and intelligent listen and the music videos that have come out alongside some of her titles like don't touch my hair are just as stunning. here are some of our favorite visuals from the collaboration between solange and spanish photographer and art director, carlotta guerrero and the director of the music videos, alan ferguson. 

october 19, 2016 this week's favorite #kiyokothebrand. thanks for the feature @up.to.style (photo by @priszci). 

october 17, 2016. so, winter is coming. the sun is getting lazy, sleeping in and going to bed early, the rain is hitting it hard and the temperature is dropping it low.  fortunately there ways to keep you feeling good in your body and help you feel a bit brighter, using all natural products. welcome to kirsten's little guide to not feel like shit when the weather's the shits.

• ginger one of the true super foods, it is so supported by science that it doesn't need to dragged through the flashy marketing of the other super foods. ginger lowers pro-inflammatory cells in the lining and cartilage of joints, as well as immune cells.
  
• coffee grounds did you know that using coffee grounds is a great natural and reusable source for exfoliating? but just as a suggestion, make sure you've got a fine strainer in your shower or bath to keep your pipes happy.
• root veggies introducing lots of lovely root vegetables into your diet during the colder months helps your body to retain heat as well as provide long lasting energy.
  
• honey winter brings forced heat, which makes for some very dry and unhappy locks. One of the best ways to lock all the moisture back in is to mask your hair in ¼ cup honey and 3 tablespoons of warmed coconut oil. Let it soak for at least 10 minutes!
  
  

october 14, 2016. this week's shout out to one of our favorite #kiyokothebrand shots. this week by @oakandfort.

october 6, 2016. with our sweatshirt being sold out on our online store, we thought we would let you know about the other great places you can find it. at these boutiques and online shops you can still snatch one up: norse projects (copenhagen), cilla's (helsinki), es (copenhagen), less vegas (hellerup) and ease (taipei).

and with the hum of fashion week, incessant and alluring as it is, kirsten decided to think of what else to wear. here's a small selection of some of our favourite pieces!

denim jumpsuit from a piece apart (photo: wwd.com) | coats by marni (photo: wwd.com) | mini skirt suit by phillip lim (photo: vogue.com)

october 3, 2016. getting to see kiyoko beautifully placed into the lives of our followers is such a joy. we would like to take the chance to give a shout out to some of our favorite #kiyokothebrand shots. every monday we'll post one of our favorite new or old shots. to start us off heres a shot from @ashtonharper.

september 16, 2016. it's almost weekend and we love to celebrate in style. so our blogger kirsten did some research to see which cocktails match well with kiyoko lip balm ingredients such as honey and cacao butter. she found four cocktail recipes that will get your weekend started for sure. 

• burnt sage and blackberry gin | mildly burn the sage leaves to release some of those good scents, muddle with blackberries and lemon juice. add one shot of gin, 1 tsp. simple syrup and top with soda water.
  
  
• cardamom spritz | first make cardamom and basil simple syrup: 5-6 cardamom pods, 8 basil leaves, one part sugar, one part water, boil until it has a syrupy consistency. 1tbsp cardamom + basil simple syrup, splash of orange juice and top with Prosecco
  
  
• citrus + vodka | one shot of vodka, 2 tbsp grapefruit juice, top with tonic and garnish with grapefruit slices, mint and cucumber.
  
  
• lillet rose | 1⁄2 cup lillet blanc, 2 tbsp. orange juice, 1 shot gin, top with tonic and garnish with currants, mini roses and orange peel.
  

august 25 2016. just so everybody knows... we're nominated for the elle beauty queen award at the elle style awards on september 1st!

since launching kiyoko in 2014, we've been able to see our products creatively curated into the lives of fans around the world. as a business that started from a lot of risk and even more guts, it's meant so much to see kiyoko, as a product and a lifestyle, celebrated throughout our customer base.

with this nomination, we would like to thank the businesses that carry us and the many people who don and support our goods.