Browsing “Home Grown Profiles”

V.I.A.’s Home Grown features only the most awesome companies in Vancouver. From tiny, single-person operations to the big players, we profile our favourite businesses and interview their owners and operators.

Domain7 Established 1997 domain7.com

Domain7 is a team of solution-finders, storytellers, designers and developers, who combine curiosity, imagination, tech-savvy and good old street smarts to make the web a better place for their clients and their clients’ clients. Their 50-person team works out of four offices in Vancouver, Abbotsford, Seattle and Washington DC. They put real human needs at the heart of everything they do — they call it “humanizing the web.”

We got Domain7 founder Shawn Neumann to answer a few questions about their business for us. …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

V.I.A.’s Home Grown features only the most awesome companies in Vancouver. From tiny, single-person operations to the big players, we profile our favourite businesses and interview their owners and operators.

Take Five Café Established 2003 takefivecafe.ca

Take Five Café is a Vancouver-based company started by two brothers and since 2003, they’ve grown to ten different locations in Metro Vancouver.

They’re proud of their Vancouver roots and whenever possible, they like to also support small local businesses; Their milk comes from a family farm in Abbotsford, not a big box, nameless and faceless chain. Their chocolate (that pairs perfectly with their coffee) comes from Schokolade Café, an East Vancouver family who have made chocolate for years. Their arugula used in some of our panini is grown in co-founder Steve Punzo’s fathers’ backyard.

There’s a passion here that you’d be hard-pressed to find anywhere else, and Take Five Café likes to give back to their community. For the fourth consecutive year, they’re supporting the Pink Shirt Day Anti-Bullying campaign. For the month of February, all proceeds from the sale of pink cupcakes were donated to the CKNW Orphans’ Fund.

They regularly support Big Brothers of Greater Vancouver – not only in their annual Bowling event, but also with custom-designed contests and events specifically for the big and little brothers.

And they don’t throw out any non-sellable food items. Instead they’ll donate them to The Kettle Friendship Society, an amazing organization that supports people living with mental illnesses, who’s main drop in centre (which is just up the street from their main kitchen) services hundreds of people a day.

We got co-founder Steve Punzo to answer a few questions about their business for us. …READ THE REST OF THIS ENTRY>>>

V.I.A.’s Home Grown features only the most awesome companies in Vancouver. From tiny, single-person operations to the big players, we profile our favourite businesses and interview their owners and operators.

Brodie Established 1986 brodiebikes.com

Brodie Bicycles is a Vancouver-based bike company who are all about making their customers smile and seeing them enjoy the bikes they’ve created. What makes them particularly awesome is something which many people don’t realize: they’re a small business which does everything with only 5 full-time staff and a few part-time sales reps. Much smaller than other local Canadian brands they work as a small team, all pitching in. Whether at the bottom of the totem pole or the top, they’re all equal and they are certainly pumping out some great product.

We asked Brodie’s president, Roger Yip, a few questions about his business in Vancouver.

If Brodie is known for one things amongst its customers, what would it be? Our dealers would know us for our relationships we’ve built with them over the years.  In a normal situation you would have an account rep, but as a small tight-knit group our dealers are comfortable dealing with anyone that picks up the phone or services them: We all usually know what’s going on with each others work. Having these close relationships, going beyond our call of duty isn’t usually out of the ordinary whether it’s for our dealers or end-consumers. Producing different styles of bicycles, we’re not really known for “one certain” thing with the people riding our bikes. That being said, we’re known for certain iconic items we’ve produced over the years including the sloping top-tube mountain bike, hand-built cross country frames, box tube mountain bikes and lifestyle bicycles… *sloping top tube: Paul Brodie was one of the first innovators of the classic “sloping top tube” allowing for more clearance on aggressive style riding. *hand-built frames: The original hand-built steel XC frames (Expresso/Sovereign) are still lusted over by many riders *box tube: We were one of the first ones to come out with an aggressive aluminum hard-tail with box tubing, the Holeshot *lifestyle bikes: Today, our best selling bicycles include commuters, cruisers and touring bikes as well as niche products which include things like the Shimano internal gear systems: Nexus and Alfine What’s your favourite place to ride your bike in the city? Vancouver offers such a variety of riding that it’s impossible to pick a favorite place or type of riding.  On an any given day depending on your mood, you can ride the North Shore Mountains, take a Stanely Park seawall cruise or stretch your legs out for a long ride around UBC: None better than the other.

Aside from Brodie, what’s your favourite Vancouver business and why?
We’ve always loved 1-800-GOT-JUNK not just because we have some friends over there, but because of their story. Starting out as a one-man operation, Brian Scudamore was able to build an empire out of nothing. Home grown out of Vancouver as well, they’re success and practices are something we truly admire.

What keeps you here? Like what’s the best thing about Vancouver?
Vancouver has a unique community and lifestyle feel to it and on a sunny, beautiful day you understand what’s to love about being here.  Where else can you be out on the ocean, hike, bike, and snowboard all in one day?

brodiebikes.com

V.I.A.’s Home Grown features only the most awesome companies in Vancouver. From tiny, single-person operations to the big players, we profile our favourite businesses and interview their owners and operators.

citizen brand Established 2011 www.citizenbrand.ca

A new type of branding agency has sprung out of Vancouver. citizen brand is an innovative consultancy created to connect small and start-up businesses to the benefits of great design and branding. “Small businesses make up a large portion of our economy,” says Principal Todd Falkowsky, “but it is typically only the biggest companies that engage with branding agencies…I believe design should be available to everyone and developed citizen brand as a way to make that happen. We have been described as the IKEA of branding, which I get but our plans do not require an Allen key and will last definitely last longer.”

The agency really is different. It is not a graphic design studio nor is it a marketing firm. Focused on elevating brands (and bottom lines), they offer a series of straightforward plans and products that guide clients through the process of creating a unique and well-defined brand. They target specific problems, encourage clients to think about their business in new ways, and use a solid design process to generate solutions. citizen brand also works with an exceptional network of freelance creatives and consultants across a wide range of disciplines. In this way the agency is not limited to prescribing in-house services and is able to give objective advice, improving the strategic and creative outputs for clients. The agency also runs a brand lab, a place for them to test drive products and concepts that gives them knowledge and services other agencies cannot match.

We asked Todd Falkowsky a few questions about business and branding in Vancouver.

Give me the Idiots Guide to branding.
The term is frequently used to describe everything from graphic design, advertising, and marketing, but it is actually about all these things. Branding expresses the kind of organization you are and what you stand for. Branding is an emotional connection between you and your customer, which is critical in how your business generates value. When the brand is well designed, customers have something to connect to and the company stands out from its competitors. Logos, marketing plans, and ads: branding is the backbone of all of these.

If citizen brand were known for one thing, what would it be?
It is my belief that our communities gain in social value with more access to great design. I want citizen brand to become a known positive force in the city, working with clients who want to make the world better.

Does Vancouver have a brand?
Brand Vancouver exists, but I would like to help shift the storytelling of the city from the tourist board to the creative class. This community needs to be the brand of Vancouver and help to broaden the way the city is seen from the outside. Vancouver is unique and it is up to us to discover the bits that make us different and generate an economy around them. For example, we should own all the mindshare with rain (wipers, S.A.D., umbrellas, water management, etc.). It is pretty straightforward to create value around the subjects we know best. There are loads of distinct features of our local environment that can easily be translated into intellectual property.

Who is your personal favourite designer of all time?
Karl Heisleman has had a big influence on my approach and understanding of branding. He reformatted and updated (global branding agency) Wolff Olins with his humble, collaborative and humanist process and helped launch my career. I also love the work of Constantine Boym, Gaetano Pesce, and Marian Bantjes…all designers who understand humanity and how to connect us to imagination and joy. I love work that puts goodness into the world.

Aside from citizen brand what’s your favourite Vancouver business and why?
I admire the work Ian Grais has done at Rethink… always out front, curious, fun and smart. If all advertising agencies ran like Rethink the community would be filled with surprise. As far as local brands/businesses, I like Obakki, MEC, and Native shoes. All of them have invested in design and are using their brands to reach out to customers and create fans.

citizenbrand.ca

V.I.A.’s Home Grown features only the most awesome companies in Vancouver. From tiny, single-person operations to the big players, we profile our favourite businesses and interview their owners and operators.

Moor Design Established 2007 www.moordesign.ca

Moor Design is a full service Interior Design studio located on Union St, in the heart of Chinatown. The firm specializes in residential, commercial and hospitality ventures and is passionate about creating successful and marketable projects. Their personable and professional design team understands the importance of good design and is dedicated to creating inviting spaces that tell a story or relay a mood. Each project is a journey and their approach is to work one-on-one, to communicate well with clients and encourage their participation. They pride themselves on producing original, functional, refined and practical design solutions, that are both economical and stand the test of time. Moor Design also embraces the amazing opportunity to connect and work with local business owners to make their design dreams into a reality as they go through their transformation process. Contributing to the local community and designing inspiring environments that are full of heart is what drives them.

Environmentally conscious design is a large focus for Moor Design. To assist in creating healthy living spaces, their team is responsible for specifying eco-friendly products/ materials and followings ‘Green’ building practices. They provide services that vary from concept development, project budgeting, project management, space planning, design drawings, sustainable design, furnishings, as well as collaborating with developers and architects. Moor Design is community focused and uses local artists works and unique crafts and trades people for many of their projects. They are also huge fans of and support non-profit organizations such as Habitat for Humanity and Architecture for Humanity.

We asked Sarah Hollett, Principle Designer at Moor Design, a few questions about business and life in Vancouver.

If Moor Design is known for one thing amongst it’s clients, what would it be?

We engage our clients in the design process and make it fun. We strive to make the experience collaborative and the focus is always on the unique needs of each project. Our goal is to have clients love every step of their project , not just the final outcome. 

Who is your personal favourite designer of all time?

I have a profound respect for and have been greatly influenced by Charles and Ray Eames. Their furniture design process was very unique and they did amazing work with colour, experimentation, and free-form sculpture. Their collaborations together using moulded plywood, fibreglass and wire mesh resulted in some really incredible furniture pieces. Their Walnut Stools are still a few of my favourite to this day.

I’d also like to give a shout out to William McDonough, who is an amazing Architect and Community and Product Designer. I would highly recommend reading the book “Cradle To Cradle” that he co-wrote. It’s mind-blowing and without a doubt will change your thinking on how things are made and their life cycles.

Aside from Moor Design, what’s your favourite Vancouver business and why?

I love Greenworks Building Supply in East Vancouver. Their staff are extremely knowledgeable about environmentally-friendly materials and are always amazing to work with. 

What keeps you here? Like what’s the best thing about Vancouver?

I have lived here my whole life and in that time I’ve watched beautiful Vancouver transform into a very progressive city that inspires me daily. There is such a great sense of community and culture here, as well as many unique Architectural and Design influences. I wouldn’t live anywhere else!

MoorDesign.ca

V.I.A.’s Home Grown features only the most awesome companies in Vancouver. From tiny, single-person operations to the big players, we profile our favourite businesses and interview their owners and operators.

Coup Salon Established 2009 www.coupsalon.ca

Coup is perhaps the best business to ever open it’s doors in Shanghai Alley in Chinatown (and presently the only business open on this historic street!). Their salon is cozied into a heritage building which was once a barber shop and the current buildout was constructed with recovered wood and recycled furniture, and cozy is a word that truly represents them. The tight-knit team of Rosie Zollinger, Missy Clarkson, Spencer Jensen and Michael Barry Anderson go out of their way to make you feel comfortable in their space while getting your hair done and they definitely offer a different experience than any other salon in town. Some might say they offer a more positive experience, and I am personally one of those “some”!

I caught up with Coup’s owner, Rosie Zollinger, for a few questions…

If Coup is known for one thing amongst it’s customers, what would it be?

We are definitely most known for our comfortable atmosphere. We do great hair without all the attitude!

What’s your personal favourite hairstyle of all time?

My all time favorite hairstyle is the bob. It was such a radical trend in the early 1920s that it revolutionized the way women’s hair was cut, and changed our industry forever. Because it is so flattering for all face shapes it has stayed popular ever since.

Aside from Coup, what’s your favourite Vancouver business and why?

I’m a big fan of The Regional Assembly of Text on Main Street. It’s such a unique shop and I love stopping in there to check out all the amazing zines and cards.

What keeps you here? Like what’s the best thing about Vancouver?

I think most of all it’s the people that keep me here. Vancouver has so many people who are initiating amazing things, and I think it’s just a matter of time before they catch on. If we continue to support and inspire each other Vancouver will become even more awesome!

CoupSalon.ca