The Olympics sucked for a lot of local businesses.

Yup. Big time. I've chatted with a lot of retailers outside the downtown core and they said that business was down as much as 40% over February last year. And LAST February sucked. The big party was happening downtown, so if you had a shop near one of the big fun zones then you were all set. But if you owned a shop in one of the neighbourhoods outside of downtown, bidness was waaaaay down.

I guess that's what happens when you throw an organized world party - they funneled people into certain areas. And everyone wanted to be in those areas. Not to say it wasn't fun. The Olympics transformed Vancouver like nothing ever has. Going downtown was like visiting a different city.

So, yes, it was fun! See - here we are having fun!


OK - we were recreating the moment Canada won the gold in men's hockey, as we were too busy actually cheering to take any photos *when* it really happened. But I digress...

The only businesses in my neighbourhood that were busier were places like the above local watering hole (The Five Point) showing the events on big screen TV's. So here's my shout out to y'all to remember the small businesses in your neighbourhood. They need your support, or they will have to close and you'll have another Starbucks or Subway in your 'hood.

I'm talking about 'hoods like Cambie Village, Commercial Drive, and Main St. Here is a great source for local businesses: Modern Urban Guides. Support the local!

February 2010 was a blast!

Yes, February was indeed a blast! So much so, I only had time for one blog post! I had all sorts of plans to blog about all the Olympic shenanigans, but in between working part time, getting my spring 2010 orders out, and all the events going on, there simply wasn't enough time.

Here's two of many cool things that happened in February;

On the night of the opening ceremonies, we grabbed out bikes and sprinted down to the "cauldron" just in time to see Wayne Gretsky pull up in the back of a truck with the olympic torch. As you can see from my face above, I believe that's when I officially caught "olympic fever'.

The other great thing was some press in the Vancouver Sun newspaper that showcased one of my "Canadiana" creations, alongside several other very talented local designers. The article was suggesting alternatives to the mass produced souvenirs available. They printed a photo, which is not on the on-line version - so here's the image.
Pretty cool! Other pieces in the Canadiana collection include jewelry made from vintage Canadian military buttons.

umm, the olympics and stuff . . .

Ok - I am kind of excited for the Olympics. I'm having a hard time imagining how little ol' Vancouver will explode with people though. I was just dropping off a load of jewels at Fine Finds and the owner was saying that they will be open from 10am to midnight every day! Plus, they and a bunch of other Yaletown businesses will have tents set up right outside the Canada Line station that will be open until midnight as well.

I thought it would be kind of fun to go work there for a couple of days a week during the Olympics - so I'm gonna! I'm mostly interested in meeting people from Europe, then becoming best friends and then they will invite me to come stay with them at their homes. Yes. This will happen.

Jane (owner) told me that they expect 550,000 people to be walking through Yaletown during the duration of the games. And they are staying open until midnight because the nearby live music venues and BC place events all get out at 11:00pm, so about 150,000 drunk people will spill out of these venues around 11pm. Yikes!

I've made a few special "souvenier of Canada" pieces that fit right into the BuenoStyle line. They're made with vintage and antique Canadian coins and I think they are pretty darn cute. Oh - and some rings and necklaces made from vintage military buttons. CUTE!

These pieces will only be available at Fine Finds and and Dream. Oh - I'm also going to go work for Dream a couple of days too. Come say HI!

www.buenostyle.com

Official Olympic Clothing Line Launch at The Bay

I was working at my studio the other day, trying to catch up on a bunch of my retail orders when I heard on the radio that Dan Mangan and Sam Roberts were giving a free concert at the Bay downtown. Gah! At first, I wasn't going to go. Being your own boss is great, but if you do play hooky, you just don't get paid. I finally caved at the last minute and hurtled down there just in time to see the last 3 songs by Mangan. He ended with the robot song and a nice sing along with the crowd.

There was a ridiculously long sound check before Roberts came on. During which I felt my heart rip out of my chest upon hearing that I had missed the COWBOY JUNKIES play at 12:15!!! WTF?! How was anyone supposed to know about this? Was it a surprise? And how can I get on the mailing list for these events! I would have played hooky all day to see the Cowboy Junkies. Sheesh.

Anyway, the concert was in support of the launch of the official Olympic clothing line by The Bay. I have been a lover/coveter of vintage Canadiana for years and I was hopelessly drawn to the vintage Hudson's Bay Co. imagery. They also kind of lucked out because the look is very hot right now (lumberjack plaids, antlers/deer, toques).



Yes, The Bay (Hudson's Bay Company) is drawing heavily on their heritage logos, and it's a smart move. I was of two thoughts seeing the "Cowichan" sweater in the official Olympic merch line up. My first, emotional thought was, eff yeah! My immediate second thought was; wait - where are those sweaters made? My guess is China.

As it turned out, I checked a bunch of the labels on the official Olympic merch and a lot of it was indeed made overseas. But I was also pleasantly surprised to see several pieces that were indeed made in Canada. Like these hockey pucks, thank goodness! In fact, I asked one of the sales assistants if she could point out a few pieces that were made in Canada. She had no idea what I meant and I explained to her I wanted to buy pieces that were actually manufactured in Canada. She had to ask her supervisor. Her super listened to my question then graciously ran to check with his supervisor. He came back and pointed out one particular sweater that boasted a 'made in canada' hand tag directly on the garment.But, while I was waiting, I also found several chatchkas that were made in Canada (key rings, lanyards) sitting right next to he till.

The official word is the the collection is 25% made in Canada, and rest made offshore.

Politics aside, I have to thank The Bay for giving me a chance to get (this) close to wee little Sam Roberts in such a intimate crowd.

I knew he was not a tall man, but I'm sure most people's first thoughts when he graced the stage were; "wow - he's tiny". Yes, yes he is. And packed with so much charismatic talent - he's amazing to watch.