Archive for October, 2011

It’s a new dog once a week! Click here to find out how to get your dog posted if you haven’t sent in your photos yet!

Today’s dog featured in Dogtown Vancouver is Ozzy, Christian C’s pup. Here’s what he had to say about him…

NAME: Ozzy. BREED: Pug/Chihuahua/Jerkstore. HOOD: North Burnaby. FAVOURITE SNACK: Froot Loops, Cheese, Anything in a child’s hand. OTHER INFO: Ozzy was a stray that came into the family about a decade ago. Since that time he has devolved slowly and steadily from an ugly-cute pooch to an absolute tyrant whose shrill bark can be heard from Mount Seymour to the shores of White Rock night and day. He lives the good life to be sure, growing fat on treats accrued from barking while company is over and being picked up and gently placed on surfaces to high for his rotund frame to manage under it’s own girth. The Oz-Man splits his time evenly between barking, eating, pooping, barking, eating grass and smelling less than great. That all being said Ozzy is our little gentleman and we love him dearly. If you’re interested in adopting a pet, check out our Happy Tails feature. If you adopted your pet from the SPCA and would like to share your awesome story on Happy Tails, send an email to Rory.Blanchard@novusnow.ca.

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Vancouver is arguably the most beautiful and expensive city in the world to live in. For most, the goal is simply to live IN it. We all have to work, and work hard to keep up with Our Lady of VanCity, but there are a select few who know the score. Why not live in the world’s most liveable city and hold down one of the raddest jobs she has to offer? We all know somebody who goes to work smiling. What are these jobs and how do people get them? More importantly, are they as awesome as they sound… VOL.3 HIGHLIGHTS: Guerrilla knitting, Regretsy and the perfect gift

photo: Kelsey Klassen

The bright blue sign of the RIZE Pop-up space stands out starkly against the grey Vancouver sky – POPPING UP THIS MONTH: KOVE West Coast Knitwear. Having seen pop-up’s in cities around the world, I’m excited to see what my old friend from high school has chosen to do with hers. Nearing close, Kyla Leslie is chatting with a customer when I walk in, about whether kove knitwear could be unisex. Eyeing the piece the woman is holding (a thickly ribbed cowl made out of a light grey wool and acrylic yarn) I decide a man would look dead sexy wearing one of those.

Leslie has been busy since I last saw her. A self professed “corporate school drop-out, having a mid-life renaissance,” she has taken an age-old tradition passed down by the women in her family and blended it with a keen eye for west coast style to create the stunningly beautiful, and successful accessory line, kove. Since being listed as a featured seller on etsy, Christmas Giftlisted by the Vancouver Sun and featured by our own DIYVR to name a few, she has seen demand for her patterns soar.

photos: Kelsey Klassen

What’s the difference between crochet and knitting?

The tools. Materials you can use whatever, it’s just a different technique. With knitting, you always have your stitches on two hooks, crochet there’s one hook and you’re dealing with one stitch at a time. Crochet is easier than knitting to keep your tension. And it’s a bit more forgiving too. If you make a mistake you can go back to that spot.

All my stuff is crochet. I’m faster with it and like it better.

…READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Vancouver is Awesome…so of course it’s hard to be away from home!
VIA asked Cover Me Canada star, and Vancouver singer, Ali Milner FIVE things she misses most about home sweet home…

1. My dog, Remington.
I usually spend about 98% of my time with my pup, Rem, so it’s weird not having him here to be a part of my routine. I miss his snuggles!

2. The Pho Royal restaurant on Burrard and 2nd
I’ve tried out some pho places out here in Toronto, and perhaps I’m just not trying the right ones, but there’s nothing like Pho Royal. The people that work there are so lovely and the broth is delicioussss.

[Ali and Erik having Pho, Toronto-style.]

3. Zulu Records/My Record Collection
I miss working at Zulu and being able to listen to brand new bands and old classics all day long. My computer speakers in my hotel room just aren’t cutting it! Although my record collection is modest at best, I miss being able to throw on some Springsteen on a pair of real speakers.

[Zulu Records on Record Store day. Can you spot Ali?]

4. The rain
I miss how fresh the air smells and how green everything is after it’s rained

5. My friends and being able to run into people I know on a regular basis!
I’ve been missing the pleasant surprise of seeing familiar faces so often

[WE MISS YOU TOO ALI!]

SUPPORT Ali by VOTING FOR HER HERE and WATCHING THIS WEEK’s VIDEO!

I really couldn’t have hoped for better news this week when I opened my email and learned that two of Vancouver’s pioneering independent culture outlets, Zulu Records and Videomatica, were joining forces to create a “combined movie and music emporium” under one roof! You read that right, Zulu and Videomatica are moving in together to create a 4th Avenue indie powerhouse of audio video greatness.

Over the past few weeks we’ve been bringing you the hilarious-yet-sad-tuba-sounding web series “Support Your Local Video Store” put together by the employees of the formerly-ill-fated Videomatica who announced they were going out of business. The workers were all still trying to figure out what the heck they were going to do when the doors of the struggling video rental and sales store shut forever, and the good news is that a few of those employees are still going to be employed come November when they move across the street, dump the dead weight of rentals and focus exclusively on sales with a new Videomatica store-within-a-store at Zulu.

“Our loyal sales customers have convinced us they need a source to continue to buy movies and what better place for that than the best independent music store. Zulu is a natural fit for us,” said Videomatica co-owner Graham Peat.

Zulu founder Grant McDonagh says “I’m convinced both Zulu and Videomatica customers will benefit from being able to buy the music and movies they love at one location.”

So we figured we’d get these two together for a High Fiving Celebrities, the infamous Graham and Grant in front of the soon-to-be most even more infamous location where magic happened. Neighbours for 28 years, come November 2011 they’ll be living under the same roof at 1976 West 4th Avenue. Like I said, more awesome news for local independent culture I cannot imagine. HIGH FIVE!!!

Graham Peat and Grant McDonagh high five! Photo: Rick Tetz

A Vancouver time travelogue brought to you by Past Tense.

I’ve been telling you the story of the Vancouver 125 books in bite-sized pieces over the past few months. First ANNOUNCING all 10 titles back in January when the city announced it was launching this initiative to revive some out-of-print titles with cultural relevance to our city in it’s 125th year, then bringing you on my adventure as I tried to TRACK DOWN the original versions of all of the books so that I could put them on the shelf next to the new copies as they came out. I SHARED the fairly recent re-release of Opening Doors and was floored when I opened the mail this week to find three new old titles waiting for me.

Pictured below are the brand new copies of The Inverted Pyramid by Bertrand W. Sinclair, Along the No. 20 Line by Rolf Knight and Class Warfare by D.M. Fraser and below them are the original copies that I managed to dig up/hoard. If there’s one thing better than the smell of an old book it’s the smell of a new book, so instead of reviewing the content of these new releases (they’re classics, what can I say about them?) I’m going to give you a whiff of my thoughts on the cover designs.

So let’s start with The Inverted Pyramid, pictured left. You’ll notice that the original copy I got my hands on is quite fancy. In fact it’s the first edition hardcover of the book and it was printed in 1924. Like all of my Vancouver 125 originals, I found this one at Macleod’s Books on Hastings, and I considered it a steal at $65. To compare it to it’s re-released paperback pictured above almost isn’t fair, so let’s just say that the new cover is …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

Every day we share a single photo from our Flickr Pool shot by one of our faithful and talented readers (that’s you!)

Right off the bat: the spaceship has not arrived to take you away – yet. It’s kind of amazing that motion picture productions will go to great lengths and spend thousands of dollars to recreate the atmosphere and mood that colink. found for free. Just by going out with a camera and looking up. Or looking down. Nope, scratch that, looking up. I think.

Here is Vancouver downtown in the fog. And if you feel so inclined, click through one of the above links to see more photographs that colink. has created during foggy conditions. There is some really nice stuff there if I do say so myself.

Gary

DiYVR is a weekly spotlight on all things handmade, done-by-oneself, crafted and hacked around Vancouver, featuring profiles of makers, event announcements, exhibits and general DIY fun. Know someone or something we should cover?Email me!

Oh man, I so did not accomplish the ambitious goals I had for my own participation in this challenge. I was going to hem some jeans I’ve had for a few months. I was going to sew on a bunch of fallen-off buttons. I was going to silk screen a dozen outgrown baby onesies. Instead, I worked like a dog toward a work deadline and did absolutely nada.

(Later this week, though, I will totally be sewing crocheted spots onto a thrifted onesie to be part of my kid’s Hallowe’en costume. So I’m calling myself a winner, whether you think I’m cheating or not. Whatever.)

I’m pleased to report, though, that other Vancouverites were far more industrious than I was. If you missed my tweeted requests for descriptions and photos, tell all in the comments! (And follow me for next month’s challenge, eh?) Behold:

@unicorn_meat told me: I altered all of mine and husbands jeans! We both wore flair but now wear skinnies! Go me!!

@dianasof completely blew my mind: I turned a pair of pinstriped dress pants into a pencil skirt for my Doctor Who costume. I also made a 3D TARDIS felt purse. I couldn’t embed the photos rotated properly, but here they are: costume, purse.

Honourable mention goes to @emmalawson for her from-scratch TARDIS costume (it is a sure way to my heart to show me your Doctor Who crafts, FYI) and to @ChristaGiles for spending an hour stretching out an accidentally fulled lace scarf instead of throwing it out.