Born to be Wild: The Making of the Red Issue

By Lynn Armstrong

There is always a song in my mind with each issue that plays over and over again. A song that calls out to me, and eventually I start to sing along. From there, SKY begins to take shape. Stories are written. Photographs are taken. Pages are designed, and the story of living well begins to be told. That is my process. The Fall SKY is inspired by the song ‘Born to be Wild’, the feeling of the open road, the smell of leather and the freedom of fringes and good old-fashioned defiance. Thank you to Fallon Huffman who brings the spirit of the traveller and the feeling of the open road to life on the cover. The Fall SKY is inspired by all things wild and free, and to those who are ready to fly.  

Searching for a location for the photo shoot.  

I couldn’t resist taking a picture of the sky that night. 

Testing the open road concept - that’s my husband behind the camera. That’s me walking. 

Had to stop and let the wind blow.  Gotta love the prairie at sunset. 

Twirl.  You would too.  

Now you know what a bird on a wire is. 

The Traveller’s Journey includes a really awesome car. Originally I was thinking motor cycles, but then I thought,
why not go with the most beautiful car in the world. This is our 1967 Mustang. It has a 390 under the hood and it’s original with matching numbers.  She is ready for her moment in the sun. 

She is a beauty.  

Choosing the angle for the cover photo. That’s where the SKY wordmark goes - in the upper left hand corner. 

Shooting the cover, with Fallon Huffman and Carey Shaw. 

The Traveller’s Journey.  #girlboss 

That’s Merv.  He came to make sure nothing happens to the car. #nervousfather 

Fallon Huffman - the Traveller 

Sun was beginning to set. The bugs were getting intense. But the process continues.  

And it’s a wrap.  

We Are Going Places

THE SKY IS ALWAYS CHANGING  . . .

Lynn Armstrong, Publisher
Photo credit: Greg Huszar
SKY Magazine: Living Well in Saskatchewan
Fall 2014 Red Issue 

never the same.  It moves with the wind and guides us. We look up to the sky, every day, and we marvel at its beauty. SKY Magazine is a living
brand that is enduring, intelligent and beautiful.

We exist to celebrate all the good things under the sun, and the people who make them happen. SKY Magazine does not stand still. It endures by continually reinventing itself, always striving to delight, inform and inspire our readers. This is the story of SKY Magazine: Living Well. We are fashion. We are lifestyle. We are business. We are health and wellness. We are a visual muse and a reliable source of own-able style. We turn the unexpected into the coveted.

SKY Magazine is a quarterly magazine about the people of and from Saskatchewan who are living in their vision wherever the road may take them. We tell the stories of Saskatchewan people and promote their businesses wherever they are. We produce SKY to be seen and read. Each quarter, 32.000 magazines are printed and distributed to homes and businesses in Regina, Saskatoon, Moose Jaw, Lumsden, and now Weyburn and Estevan.

We have our sights set on larger markets because we know there are Saskatchewan people out there with stories to be told and businesses to be promoted. 

For those on the go, SKY Magazine can be downloaded and read on line at https://issuu.com/myskymag.  Our online magazine, www.Myskymag.com features stories

and promotions in SKY Magazine as well as new stories and promotions.

To find out what’s happening under the SKY, follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter

for daily updates. We have begun taking subscriptions as well.

Thank you to Greg Huszar, Amber Moon for your creative genius.  We are pleased to welcome Bob

Hunko to the team as our Advertising Sales guru. We are going places. See you in SKY.

A Traveller’s Journey - The Red Issue - Fall 2014

Fallon Huffman, Entrepreneur
Photo credit: Carey Shaw
SKY Magazine: Living Well Fall 2014
The Red Issue 

Fallon Huffman, #QueenV #Phenom

“If you could do anything, and not fail, what would it be?” he asked. The traveller replied, “I would open a boutique, choose my own products and direct my own photo shoots. I would follow my values and be in control of my own vision and my own brand. I would be free.”

 THAT WAS THE FIRST TIME SHE HAD HEARD HERSELF SAY IT OUT LOUD, and from that moment forward she began her journey. One year later, her vision became a reality. In September 2012, Fallon Huffman (Mazurkewich) launched Queen V Fashion House on Broad Street in Regina’s Warehouse District. 

“I went in search of discovering what it would take to bring my vision to life after I heard myself say it out loud. I read books, did the research and followed my vision to Queen V.” 

“The Queen V muse is brave. She is unique and the creative. She embraces fashion as an expression of ‘who I am’. Queen V is for the woman who appreciates ripped jeans and sequins, statement making jewelry and accessories and graphic t-shirts. The Queen V collection is for the woman of any age who loves and lives style and standing her own ground.” 

“I chose the letter V because it is the Roman numeral for five, which is also represented as a five-point star symbolic of a woman. I also love the oppositional quality of words that begin with the letter v: virtue, vice, victory, villainous, virtuous, visible, vulnerable . . . these words are not for the faint of heart, and neither is Queen V.”

Fallon launched Queen V in the national and international market place in February 2012 first by creating the website, www.queenv.co and reaching out to the brands that she wanted to bring to Regina. First came Club Manhattan, then House of Harlow 1960, One Teaspoon, Religion, Spiritual Gangster, and Bardot Australia. Queen V Fashion House, the store, opened in September, eight months later in October 2012. November 2012 she launched the online store in Canada and in June 2013, she opened the online store to the United States. 

The Queen V vision led to the creation of the High Priestess brand – which started as an in-store brand exclusive to Queen V, with signature jewelry pieces. What began as a differentiation tool soon became a business and soon after she began selling select pieces of the High Priestess brand to a shop in Saskatoon.

From there, the young entrepreneur created Villa Fashion Agency + Distributors (villafashionagency.com), a jewelry distribution sister company to house and distribute across Canada the Club Manhattan and High Priestess brands.

In her first year of business, Queen V’s interactive social media strategy captured the hearts of 20-somethings, sparking a #QueenV cult following on Instagram. She quickly learned she had a knack and photographer’s eye for fashion, styling and buying. In just two years, Queen V Fashion House online has grown into a one-stop shop and online retail haven with a progressive following of fashion risk-takers.

“People Instagram beautiful pictures of themselves wearing the clothes they love from Queen V, and I am so honoured that they love them that much to share them with the world.” 

Today, Fallon’s bold style is synonymous with motorcycle jackets, rock tees, shredded denim and an occasional red lip— all elements of the fashion retailer’s intrinsic personal taste.

With a relentless obsession over all things web and social media, Fallon has propelled her brand’s unforgettable aesthetic on every channel including more than 5,608 followers on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram combined and growing. These carefully curated pages have translated ‘likes’ into sales. Fallon has revolutionized marketing with a business built almost entirely on unpaid social media from day one, drawing thousands of visitors back to the Queen V site every month. In addition, Queen V Fashion House has piqued the imaginations of fashion bloggers who help bring the Queen V story to life. 

In 2014, Fallon was a finalist for the Chamber of Commerce Paragon Award in the Young Entrepreneur of the Year category. She was also nominated for the 2014 YWCA Women of Distinction Award in the category of Entrepreneurship & Innovation. But there is more ahead for this traveller. Fallon Huffman is looking to the future with her eyes wide open, her vision fixed on the sustainable growth of the Queen V brand. 

“Learning what it takes to be a sustainable business is about understanding and managing risk, managing relationships and walking fearlessly and unapologetically. Our community has a way to go towards understanding how to build an entrepreneurial economy.”

“Local businesses help create a vibrant and unique municipal culture. In order for our city to thrive – we need to support local restaurants, boutiques and shops. ‘Every time you are spending your money, you are casting a vote for the world you want to live in,’ she says, quoting Anna Lappé - a widely respected author and educator. 

“Queen V is part of a greater vision. To have the freedom to live in that vision is part hustle and grind, part strategy and part courage. We are a force in the Saskatchewan retail world, and we hope to inspire people to expect and seek out creative and innovative style that local businesses bring to the market.”

Queen V Fashion House

#101 - 1118 Broad Street

Regina, Saskatchewan

306.206.1331 

A Raven, A Road and a Vision for Freedom - SKY Magazine Red Issue Fall 2014

By LYNN LARSON ARMSTRONG

Fallon Huffman, Entrepeneur | Photo credit: Carey Shaw

To walk through the doors of Queen V Fashion House in Regina’s Warehouse District is to find oneself in the heart of its creator, Fallon Huffman (Mazurkewich), who possesses the intellect of raven and the heart of a freedom-loving entrepreneur. Clear white walls and a well-appointed silver logo sparkling in the sunlight tell the story of a meticulously polished runway-like retail shopping experience. 

But the details reveal the soul of this entrepreneur’s quest for freedom. Inspired by Jack Kerouac, author of “On the Road”, Queen V is for “the ones who never yearn or say a commonplace thing . . .”. A curious collection of ravens, antlers, metals, denim, sequins, sweaters and dresses is carefully curated for the fearless and the vigilantly independent. 

The lone entrepreneur has held her ground in the local competitive market place formidably and created an online and real time destination shop for those seeking refuge from the noisy mundanity of every day fashion.  This is the journey of a traveller.

Happy Birthday Dionne

“Today I am truly blessed and HAPPY to say I made it another year! Woo Hoo!  I beat the odds thanks to the love and support of my incredible Wingman G and all the Earth Angels out there who have kept us in their prayers and continued to support us on our journey.  I am officially 49 and feeling Oh So Fine!” - Dionne Warner, on her Facebook page.   

 Today is the 49th birthday of the most amazing person I have ever met in my life time. Dionne Warner is an eight time cancer survivor, but she is so much more.

I first learned about Dionne’s journey at the YWCA  Women of Distinction Awards night in 2010. I was first stuck by her fabulous earrings and her unmistakable beauty. She was wearing a strappy evening dress. When she got up to speak, I saw the scar that runs up the back of her head.  Somehow it made her more beautiful, more proud.  As she spoke about her journey through cancer, all I could see was her strength and an irrepressible spirit.  We all cried that night.

In 2012, I was to meet her at an event where I was promoting SKY Magazine. Dionne came by and introduced herself, but of course I already knew her name. She was smiling and looking more fabulous than fabulous. I asked her, ‘how do you do it?’ She replied, “I surround myself with only the most positive people.” And then she said jokingly, “You should  do a story about me.”  I replied, “I will someday.”

In May 2014, I sponsored “Just Walk it Off”, a fashion show fundraiser. I was also a model in the show, along with three amazing women who were also cancer survivors, Jodean, Nicki and Leah.  They had never met each other before that day, but when they started to share their stories about their cancers, they could finish each other’s sentences.  I listened in awe, speechless, and humbled by these great women.

That night, Dionne was speaking, telling her story to a room of about 200. As we waited in line for the fashion show to begin, I thought - here’s Dionne, an eight time cancer survivor, and these amazing women, Nicki, Leah and Jodean who give of themselves so that others can hope. I have access to 32,000 homes, I thought.  I wanted to help them share their message.  And so I made a decision that night to dedicate the Summer SKY to their stories.  I asked Dionne to be on the cover, and she gratefully accepted. I called it the Karma Issue, because it truly is and was a labour of love to write their stories.

When the Summer SKY was published and distributed in July, the emails and social media response was incredible. Their stories touched literally thousands of people, all of whom could relate to their stories. Telling their stories gave way to more stories that continue today.  To measure the power of their stories is the measure the depth of hope.  It was as if their words had found their way to the people who needed to hear them, so that they could find the words to share the message of hope to other survivors.

Dionne is more than a woman. More than a cancer survivor. Dionne is a true hero, a warrior and a messenger of hope.

Sometimes people ask me what Dionne does for a living. I tell them, she gives hope, she fights cancer and she lives every moment of every day to the fullest.  Dionne is the epitome of strength, humility and grace.

Dionne changed my life just by allowing me to enter hers and tell her story. To walk alongside Dionne is to help carry her message of hope.  And I happily and gratefully accept it.

Happy birthday Dionne.