Hermes Enamel

I noticed these Hermes enamel bracelets on my boss recently and fell in love. She wears them stacked, three or so at a time, and they look incredibly chic. I love that they are inconspicuous (with no branding) and can be mixed and matched for any outfit. Check out all of their enamel bracelets, sorted by colour, HERE.

EmersonMade

How fab are these hand-made blooms by EmersonMade? They are all one of a kind and hand-dyed, resulting in each flower being a little bit different (isn’t that the best?). She does all of her own styling, designing, photography, collages and artwork. These flowers are the perfect accompaniment to J.Crew fall’s line, a blazer, or a dress on an evening out! Be sure to check out her blog and make any orders here.

All photography credit to EmersonMade.

Pure and Simple Wins the Race

Van Leeuwen Artisan Ice Cream launched in the spring of 2008 by Ben Van Leeuwen, wife Laura O’Neill and brother Pete Van Leeuwen. They have a simple method that makes their ice cream undeniably delicious: using only local, hormone and antibiotic-free milk and cream and other preservative-free ingredients from around the globe.

Their method seems to be working. The eighteen percent butterfat ice cream sweetened with cane sugar instead of corn syrup? Check. The pistachio nuts harvested from a slow-food farm in Sicily and the hazelnuts from Piedmont? Done and done. Even all of their toppings are homemade and organic. The result is a dense and creamy treat (you must try the vanilla). It’s no wonder they can be found in specialty food stores, including Whole Foods, all over New York only a year after their start-up date.

The Van Leeuwen’s are as insistent on fresh, pure and simple ingredients as they are on their low-impact on the environment. All of their cups, napkins and spoons are made from sugar cane or corn husks and are biodegradable. One percent of all profits go to Wildlife Direct, a grassroots org that aims to protect endangered species in the Congo.

The charming Van Leeuwen trucks can be found at the following locations:

Greene and Prince Streets, 12-7 P.M.

University and East 12th, 8-11 P.M.

Read more about them here and in true New York City street-food fashion, you can also follow them on twitter to make sure you get the scoop.

Little Luxuries

Diptyque candles are one of those little things I love to have in my apartment. Diptyque originally began their business producing printed fabrics. In 1963, they introduced a line of scented candles that eventually became the main focus of their business. The flagship store in Paris was designed by Olivier Lempereur (who is also one of the store designers at Printemps) and the simplistic black and white space is inspired by the brand’s signature colours.

The candles are so strong that even when they're not burning the room is still filled with the aroma. Although Pois de senteur was discontinued, I can’t get enough of Tubereuse!