Victoria January - February 2010

A new year holds so much promise and the excitement of possibilities. For the first Victoria issue of 2010, we have compiled a special section that focuses on women entrepreneurs who dared to take a chance on a business venture because they believed in the possibilities of their ideas. If you are at the brink of a life-changing decision to pursue your dreams, read about these successful women who followed their hearts to new careers. (And let us know when you become an entrepreneur!) It gives me pleasure to announce that Catherine Calvert is our 2010 Victoria Writer-in-Residence. Catherine’s voice was a familiar one in the earlier history of this magazine. I, like you, will eagerly await her essays from England, as I’m sure they will speak to all of us. I…

1. THE LETTERED OLIVE Event designer Tara Guerard launched The Lettered Olive as a way to provide her clients with stationery for their events. Working with graphic designer Julia Schuman, The Lettered Olive features couture wedding invitation suites, which can be seen at theletteredolive.com. 2. CHAUHIE Monika Natius, an experienced graphic designer, art director, and illustrator, developed a passion for letterpress after she created her own wedding invitations. With hand-drawn designs, Monika’s invitations, birth announcements, and holiday cards show a superior level of craftsmanship. 3. PEARL & MARMALADE Pearl & Marmalade is the enterprise of designers Dani Nelson and Char Lee Dickerson. The duo finds inspiration in “vintage fabrics, quirky graphics, clean lines, vintage teacups, and freshcut peonies.” The designs offer an innovative look for invitations, yet the finished products remain classically beautiful. 4. BEAUX BY…

Our summers are so hot and long here in Sacramento, the capital city of California, that we welcome the relief cold weather brings. I’m originally from Wales, in the United Kingdom, and I love the cold because it reminds me of “back home.” I yearn for that first really cold day here, and I want to be out in it. I bundle up and take a walk along the canal near my home with my little dachshund, Trixie. I’ll put on one of my favorite cotton turtlenecks and a pair of jeans. Two things I wear almost every day in winter are my Isotoner gloves and one of my own hand-knit scarves, wrapped tightly around my neck. Although most of the wild animals in our area keep warm underground or…

The Oregon Truffle Festival Eugene, Oregon | January 29–31 Connoisseurs of this rare delicacy won’t want to miss the fifth-annual gathering of worldrenowned chefs, foragers, and fans of Oregon’s wild truffles. Proudly taking its place next to more widely known European cultivation regions, Oregon is recognized as the premier center of research and expertise in North America and boasts the perfect climate and soil for growing the gourmet treasure. The festival features a truffle cultivation seminar and hunt, a truffle dog-training seminar on canine scent detection, and a sumptuous five-course Grand Truffle Dinner showcasing a selection of magnificent Oregon wines. For more information, visit oregontrufflefestival.com. Quebec Winter Carnival Quebec City, Canada | January 29–February 14 Billed as the largest winter festival in the world, this vibrant celebration attracts thousands of revelers from a multitude of…

At the height of winter, when the snow- and ice-capped landscape seems to twinkle in the cool, almost-white sunlight, everything seems just a bit more magical. Here, we celebrate the frosty sparkle of the season with a collection of inspiring items for you and your home. The early mist had vanished and the fifields lay like a silver shield…. It was one of the days when the glitter of winter shines… .” —EDITH WHARTON Just as they can in the home, metallic accents instantly add panache to your wardrobe. A gold clutch from Graphic Image and sparkling jewelry by Judith Ripka, above left, make even a simple black dress party-worthy attire. Børn ballet flats in a luxe shade of silver, above center, are playful yet polished and look great dressed up or…

The quiet in the house echoes the quiet outside, where ice-sheathed bare branches are gilded in the sunshine, and snow has stifled movement, except that marked by the little birds’ interwoven tracks. My own fledglings have flown away, back to college and a job, marking their passage with exotic lotions and potions left by the sink and sheets dropped into the washing machine. Life seems stopped, still, after the holiday hurly-burly. Even the tree is gone, although a stray silver ball still rolls out now and then. I mark the months’ passage before Christmas with a blizzard of cooking for the freezer and plans for a holiday that includes all the verities—stockings by the fireplace (even if the foot is size ten), recipes on cards in my grandmother’s handwriting, buying a…