Bizarre Love Triangle is an arts and literary festival happening November 27th and 28th at 552 Clark in Vancouver. The festival is a collaborative effort between Sad Mag, Real Vancouver, and Obscurior, and is shaping up to be the year end party we’ve been dreaming of. The festival is 100% totally free, but capacity is limited, so reserve your tickets here in advance to ensure you get through the door and in on the fun.
On the 27th, the festival is kicking off with Obscurior x Sad’s Point of Inflection exhibition–thirteen writers created short pieces prompted by a Point of Inflection, and Obscurior created cinemagraphs and original music to accompany each piece. There’ll be live readings, and live performances, and a DJ set by City of Glass, so bring your eyeballs and your ears for 13 generally spooky takes on a tipping point. See the trailer here.
The 28th is an open gallery for you to peruse, plus artist talks throughout the day. Then, that evening, is THAT FINAL MOMENT–Sad’s and Real Vancouver’s Year End Party to end all Year End Parties! We’ve got Beer by Driftwood and Phillips, and live performances by Gay Sha and Vixen Von Flex (the beauty our Movement issue cover)!
Hosted by the lovely Sean Cranbury and Dina Del Bucchia, an evening of cheesy jokes, live readings, live performance, sweet music, and boozy drinks. Celebrate a year well destroyed, issues created, and art dispersed. This is our bizarre love triangle send-off. Party with us.
Make Gallery is presenting their first ever hip-hop poster show, D.R.E.A.M. (Design Rules Everything Around Me). It’s a celebration of two of their favourite things: design, and hip-hop. Great design gives a visual representation to its subject, and Make has invited 15 illustrators and designers to create original posters influenced by a hip-hop song.
From plays on typography to graphic interpretations of lyrics, these posters hit on every aspect of hip-hop and design. Supported by Dominion Blue Reprographics and Framehouse, Make will be producing a run of limited edition prints of the posters. These will be available for purchase, with all sales benefiting the Community Arts Council of Vancouver.
Boom. A take on Wu-Tang’s classic song C.R.E.A.M., D.R.E.A.M. aims to open up the visually rich culture of hip-hop into a platform that we can all take part in. The opening reception takes place on Thursday, October 1st from 7pm – 10pm, and it’s FREE.
Make sure to check out contributions by SAD Maggers Pam Rounis (our fabulous Lead Designer), Camille Segur (the incredible Cat Issue Illustrator + Designer), and Tierney Milne (a lovely Movement Issue Contributing Artist) .
Please RSVP to helen@makeisawesome.com or via the Facebook event (and check to see the list of songs that influenced each artist to give you a glimpse of what’s in store! #drake #wu-tang #laurynhill).
Cynara Geissler is a triple threat: a pioneer of the fat-fashion blogging scene, an accomplished author and speaker, and a kick-ass cat mom. She also has an impressive collection of feline-adorned apparel (and her darling feline, Autumn, sports an anthropomorphic bowtie). Having recently given a talk at the local launch for the essay collection Women in Clothes, Geissler was the perfect person to converse with about the wonders of felines and femininity and what it means to combine those two elements in apparel.
Cynara Geissler, photo by Sarah Race
Megan Jenkins: Hey! Let’s talk a bit about your history in fashion blogging.
Cynara Geissler: Well I started posting outfits of the day in a LiveJournal community called Fatshionista, and it was exclusively about fat people finding fashion. There’s also a Flickr group called Wardrobe Remix, where people post their street style—that inspired me. It was great, because it was people from all over the world, people of all different races, creeds, and financial backgrounds. I was always sort of interested in fashion as a community because you’re inspired by other people around you and your style evolves because you’re pushing yourself. I was never really an individual style blogger for that reason, I prefer to be a part of collective groups, because I see it as sort of an artistic endeavour.
MJ: Could you tell me a bit about your work with Women in Clothes, and other projects that you’re involved in right now?
CG: I’m not actually in the book—which is funny, people just assume I’m in the book—but they invited me to come and just give a talk. So I gave a talk on something that I call “Toddler-Grandma Style.” It’s basically just about how toddlers and grandmas in society are the least viewed through the male gaze; they’re not considered sexy. There’s an episode of Glee where Kurt says, “She manages to dress like a toddler and a grandma simultaneously,” and that’s like, the ultimate insult, right? Because she doesn’t know how to sex herself up for a man, or how to be desirable. So in my talk I said that I think more people should adopt this way of dressing, because we all have these weird internalized rules that I think are mostly about dressing for the male gaze. And I think that when you start dressing outside of that, you just start to have way more fun. People would always say to me, “You can pull that off,” and it would leave me thinking, “Well no, I don’t have a VIP pass or something that allows me to do it. I just do it.”
[I also] just sort of encouraged people to wear a million brooches, or wear more than one print at a time—you don’t always have to be wearing a beige suit. That’s apparently what adult women are supposed to be wearing to be taken seriously.
And the thing about patriarchy is that you’ll never be taken seriously. It’s kind of a loser’s game. There’s this idea that if you’re close to desirable, there’s more to lose, or something like that, but the fact is that there’s always going to be people that will ignore you because you’re a woman. So you might as well dress for yourself, and dress for joy and have fun.
I’m also guest editing the Culture issue of [local magazine] Poetry is Dead, so that’s coming up.
MJ: Would you say that there’s been a rise in popularity of cat apparel and related items that correlates with the influx of YouTube videos?
CG: Yeah definitely, I think the advent of Lolcats especially is tied into the popularity of cat-printed items. It’s great for me, because it used to be hard to source really zany cat prints. I think we’re definitely in a boom for cat clothes, like with laser cats, Keyboard Cat . . . We’ve got a lot of high- powered cats now. Nyan cat, and of course Grumpy Cat, Lil’ Bub. I think it used to be like, Garfield, instead of generic cat prints. I remember there being cats on stuff but it was mostly cartoons, it was not this idea of wearing a realistic cat, which I think was really connected to spinsters. I actually just read an article on how cat imagery was used for suffragettes in Britain, around first wave feminism. Men would compare women to cats to try to infantilize them. So it’s like the existence of cat memorabilia could be found in these little pockets, but now it’s reached critical mass.
I think it could be the tools we have at our disposal now—it’s much easier to take photos, and to circulate them, and at the end of the day, cats are funny, and warm, and they do dumb stuff and try to fit in really small boxes. When I was growing up, I’d never have known about Maru, in Japan, but now we get to enjoy the circulation of images and videos from all over the world.
MJ: Do you think that the cat lady image has been reclaimed?
CG: I do, actually. I think the whole cat image is that you’re supposed to be like a sex kitten, which of course is fine to adopt if you so choose, but then if you’re not a cute cat, you’re a weird cat spinster lady. Like from The Simpsons.
I think Taylor Swift and her kitten Olivia Benson kind of signals a young, cool cat lady and there’s no longer this automatic association with spinsterhood. Now I think we can all sort of joke about it, whereas a few years ago you might have been hesitant to be associated with that at all, at the risk of your dating prospects, you know?
But I don’t think it’s just women who enjoy cat-printed items either now, like Urban Outfitters has put out cat-printed ties and button-ups [for men], so that makes me think that the image is sort of crossing gender lines too. I do think that for a really long time cats were associated with domesticity, and were feminized, while men would go out hunting with their cool hunting dogs. It’s funny to consider how cats have shifted culturally. I think they’re semiotically slippery. Like you have Hemingway Cats, which are associated with masculinity, because Ernest Hemingway had a bunch.
MJ: Is there solidarity in being a cat lady?
CG: Yeah, I think so! Spinsterhood has more pride associated with it now—obviously it comes from a very antiquated, patriarchal idea that if a woman is not married by the age of 22, she’ll just be a burden to her family for the rest of her life. But we’re maybe shifting away from thinking of women as being most valuable when they’re connected to a man, so I think there’s a bit of subversion in the cat lady idea. We’re supposed to feel sorry for the cat lady, but I think that we’ve now accepted that it’s better to be happy, and single, and living as a lone woman than just settling for a crappy dude. Pet love feels very unconditional and uncomplicated in a way that trying to be with a significant other sometimes isn’t.
There’s a reason Swift is sticking with Olivia Benson, just making music and joking about being a man-eater. It’s pretty great. I’m happy if she’s the new poster girl for being a cat lady. I hope that it represents the sort of refusal to settle for a crappy guy just so that you can feel secure or feel bolstered by male approval. I think we all still sort of seek that validation—I think sometimes you’ll appreciate it more when a man compliments you rather than a woman, which shouldn’t be the case. In being a good cat lady then, I think you just have to care more when a cat compliments you. That’s worth way more.
For the full article (and many more fabulous, feline-focused reads), pick up a copy of The Cat Issue (Issue 18), in stores now at participating locations. Sad Mag subscriptions and back issues are also available through our website. This interview has been condensed and edited.
Ora Cogan is a BC-based musician first, jeweler second, with an environmentally conscious way and an affinity for creating. Ora is currently touring all over Europe, armed with tunes from her recent E.P., Crystallize, and a couple disposable cameras. On a down day she was so kind as to talk with us about her upcoming project, Fortresses–which she’ll be launching in Lisbon on June 4th–her creative process, and the common threads that tie her work together.
Ora Cogan, photo by Luz Gallardo
Sad Mag: You’re no stranger to Vancouver. Where did we see you last? What have you been up to?
Ora Cogan: Vancouver is awesome! It will always be a home to me and I come pretty often to visit and work on creative projects, etc…
Since I’ve been gone… Well, I made some dear friends from Bella Bella and worked on a short documentary called No Tankers Territory about Heiltsuk Women’s perspectives on the Northern Gateway Pipeline and contributed some music to the sound track of a film called Northern Grease also dealing with tar sands and pipelines and all that insanity.
I also started making recycled silver jewelry under the name Heavy Meadow that helps to pay for all this music silliness.
With music, I’ve been working on a few projects other than Fortresses:
I’ve started playing with E.S.L.’s Joy Mullen. We’ll probably have some sort of band in the near future.
I recorded a new EP called “Crystallize” with Trish Klein from Hidden City Records at Otic Sound in Vancouver. It was a really wonderful experience. We got to work with Zach from Summering on drums, Caton (C.Diab) on bass and Chris Gerstrin among others. I’m really happy with how it turned out.
SM: What has drawn you towards this ethereal post-Americana style?
OC: I spent quite a lot of time listening to old blues like Geeshie Wiley, and Skip James as well as Mediterranean music like Marika Papagika and Rembetika… As far as aesthetics go, I’ve always been a bit of a dreamer… I like making music that sounds landscape-ish and romantic. I am also pretty nature obsessed, so I’ve written a lot of songs that are kind of about human drama, but also [about] a place I’ve had some kind of connection with.
SM: Was it always natural for you to be a performer?
OC: Haha… Hell no. I get so nervous. Sometimes the songs are so personal and it can be hard to get into being that vulnerable or I worry if it’s really valuable to other people, but I’m starting to finally see how similar we are and it’s easier to just connect thinking that way. Music is such a great way to find autonomy too and l love playing live shows even when it’s a bit scary. Improvising keeps things pretty real. I’ve also been using visual projections and experimenting with different approaches.
Photo by Luz Gallardo
SM: From where do you derive your inspirations?
OC: Oh goodness…just the bizarre experiences you can have being alive on this strange little planet! I’m confused and fascinated all the time. People… especially people who are really true to themselves and each other.
I can dance in the kitchen to D’Angelo or Deerhoof or really whatever you throw at me. I’m in love with music and I have a few personal heroes for sure: Joni Mitchel, Irma Thomas, Billie Holiday, Karen Dalton, Bjork, Neil Young… If you’re talking about aspects of life… I write about love, about struggles, justice also about subtle feelings that are hard to communicate in any other way… The lyrics are usually a bit abstract and I wish I could be more articulate with the topics that I care about, but the lyrics come out vague, so I try to respect that.
Photo by Luz Gallardo
SM: Could you describe what one could expect from Fortresses?
OC: Texture, beauty, and darkness. I want to play and feel free to try things with this project that I wouldn’t usually do as a folk singer… so it’s going to be an adventure. I’m using lots of layers of guitar, violin, harp, voice, etc., and then adding midi and synth drones/lines… It’s going to be very full and maybe even danceable at some point? We’ll see…
SM: What were your goals for Fortresses when the project was first conceived?
OC: To try something new, to have a bit more fun and to do something a bit bolder…
SM: Do you have a “creative process”?
OC: I write all the time, about anything, but a song always starts with a melody and it’s really not a very conscious thing… the lyrics just come from somewhere and then I step back and build around whatever comes up. It could start with something small when I’m messing around at sound-check or practicing… Sometimes I’ll start humming something when I’m walking or at work and just record it quickly, then come back to that idea later. The biggest trick for me is privacy and having a soft focus, not being too critical.
Photo by Luz Gallardo
SM: Is there a common thread to the music that you make?
OC: I’m really up for trying anything but I come back to pretty, gentle and dark most of the time. Sometimes it’s angry or happy or whatever; I’d never want to be quarantined to a certain feeling or style forever, but there’s definitely a thread that keeps pulling me in that dark, gentle, introverted direction…
SM: What has been the most surprising thing about creating your art and then displaying it for the world to see?
OC: I’ve been really fortunate to get to connect with underground music communities all over Europe and North America. It’s been inspiring to see how much amazing art & music is out there and to meet so many kind and interesting people.
Take a first listen to Fortresses‘ “Winter” here, or check out the stunning music video (shot by Luz Gallardo) here:
Catwalk dream-team, Yuriko Iga and Keiko Boxall. Photo Credit: Zed Studio7
Yuriko Iga is the dreamer behind and founder of BLIM, everyone’s favourite hub of creativity in Chinatown. She curated our #Catwalk launch party, and regularly hosts the lovely BLIM markets around Vancouver. BLIM is undeniably a space that could’ve only originated in the loveliest of brains. This is Yuriko’s take on how BLIM came to exist as it does today, and her goals for moving forward.
1. You were crucial in organizing our fantastic Cat Issue launch party. Could you describe your role for me? What was your favourite part of planning the Catwalk?
I designed and created some of the items, the rest I curated – fashion curator or stylist. Favourite part is putting together the outfits, and choosing the music.
2. Tell me about BLIM. What is it? How would you describe it as an organization?
BLIM is an independent, family-run art and craft facility now located in the heart of Vancouver’s Historic Chinatown. Our aim is to help build community through the spirit of fun and creativity, making the arts and crafts accessible to a wide range of skill sets and aims.
Blim retail consists of unique cosmic apparel handmade and hand printed exclusively by Blim. All product is made in our Blim studio and print shop. We also have a very selective line of vintage and dead stock as well at blim.bigcartel.com
3. How long has BLIM been around? How did it come to be?
Since 2003.
[From Blim’s website] Imagined at age 4, Blim founder Yuriko Iga created her imaginary animal kingdom of humanized animals wearing funky clothes called Blim Blim. She kept her imaginary world a secret until her early adult years. She eventually realized that she wanted to share her vision with the rest of the world. She dropped the other Blim and made it one.
Yuriko is very inspired by early 80’s hip hop style, japanese pop aesthetic, avant garde fashion, new wave music, animals, 80’s graphics, candy, and bright colors.
4. What are your goals for BLIM?
1) Maintaining studio and fun workshops for the creatively hungry.
2) Maintaining the shop to serve all your cat, sloth, unicorn, dinosaur, weed, goth, pop, comic, holographic, rainbow, metallic, egyptian, aztec, harajuku, neon, animal needs.
Fashions from the Catwalk: curated by Yuriko Iga and Keiko Boxall. Photo Credit: Lily Ditchburn
5. What’s something that people don’t know about BLIM that they should?
35% Blim made, 15 % local artists brands , 25% Japan and Asian import, 10% designer deadstock, 15% vintage, = 100% random awesomeness!
6. Is there a certain culture that BLIM promotes?
Culture from another dimension. That was what someone who came into the shop said and it stuck with me! But in a nutshell, [Blim is] 80’s 90’s hip hop style, japanese street fashion, avant garde fashion, new wave music, cats, dogs, wild cats, unicorns, sloths, dinosaurs, fast food, animals, 80’s graphics, candy, and bright colors, rainbow, Lisa Frank, cult art, comics, cartoons, texture, Marble print, psychedelic art, raver culture.
7. How and when did you start putting together the monthly BLIM markets? We love them.
Since 2003. We used to do them in the penthouse of the old electrical building. The ceiling panels were painted in ornamental stencils, there was a 10x10x10 white cube to display objects or use as gallery. The pong room was black lacquered and house the ping pong table with the same palette. Out of the pong room we served grilled savoury mochi with nori and cheese, vegetarian quejos with avocado and umbeboshi salt, and special shortbread cookies…
You can catch BLIM’s next market at Heritage Hall this Sunday! SAD Mag will be there with our new Cat Issue and discounted subscriptions on sale for $20!
The annual Blim Holiday Market is back! Join us and 48 local vendors at the Fox Cabaret on Saturday December 20th from 12 – 5pm for shopping, snacks, and Santa Garfield.
The Blim holiday market is the place to be, even if you’ve managed to finish your holiday shopping in November like a champ – it’s a cozy, intimate gathering of some of Vancouver’s most thoughtful and talented creators and collectors. You can expect handmade accessories, jewelry, vintage clothes and knick knacks, cards, gifts, and sweets to be abound amidst the glorious glow of the Santa Garfield photobooth.
There’ll be hot food prepared in-house by Japanese cook Open Sesame, and two free raffle draws at 2pm and 4pm. We’ll also be there selling back issue magazines, subscriptions, and gift packs at a discount! Feel free to swing by for a hang out or a high five.
As per usual, our vendors are going to be on top of their game. Here’s three to peruse:
Sleepless Mindz
Sleepless Mindz will be selling short- and long-sleeve T-shirts, denim jackets, denim shorts, and bandanas. Some of them are reversible, some of them are patched, and all of them are awesome.
Rachel Rainbow will be attending, selling accessories and jewelry! Shrink-plastic geometric unicorn earrings, tassels, and necklaces. Rachel Rainbow is grounded in whimsy, nostalgia, and fanciful colours, and as described by Rachel, is created for pretending.
Aomori Workshop will be on site with natural body soaps, shampoo bars, chapsticks and more. From ginger to australian coral, these handmade goods are perfect to check off the rest of the friends on your gift list. Everything is reasonably priced and smells delicious. Aomori also takes orders for bridal showers, weddings, and other events.
To find out more about the Blim Holiday Market, follow @blimblimblim and hashtag #blimmarket on Twitter. Admission is by donation.
It’s here! The first of two Blim Markets before the end of the year. Blim Markets are famous for offering a cozy, handmade treasure-trove of the sweetest Christmas, birthday, and just-because gifts you can find at a craft market in Vancouver. Between 12 and 6pm, Heritage Hall will be packed with things like lovingly crafted stationery, jewelry, apparel and a few owls, foxes, and your other favourite hinterland creatures.
We’re really excited about our vendors! Here are a few that’ll be attending:
Ora Cogan will be hanging out, selling her hand-cut, polished, sterling silver jewelry. Heavy Meadow jewelry is inspired by the natural, the supernatural, and the interconnectedness of things. No two pieces are the same, making each of the minimalistic designs unique to the person that purchases it – perfect for the friend that deserves a gift but already has everything in your price range. On Ora’s table, you’ll find scalene triangle and tetrahedon necklaces, triangle studs, and flawlessly constructed stackable and knuckle rings.
Mortimer Gravely will be set up and selling infusion kits! Gravely and Sons kits are sold with a high quality 500mL swing top bottle, “pre-filled with the perfect mixture of dried botanicals” and detailed instructions to infuse your regular post-work libation into something beautiful. Elderberry, lavender, spike and pathogin infusion kits will pair perfectly with the vodka or rum (or any neutral spirit) of your choice. Gravely and Sons also tries to send a unique recipe card with every purchase. Pick some up for your next gathering!
English Lavender by Product of Science and Art
A Product of Science & Art combines high quality ingredients with affordable pricing to make their fresh formulas available to everyone. They pride themselves on reviving the classic practice of soap making in the face of a skincare market chock full of low quality attempts at grabbing a few dollars. Each product is handmade in Canada, and each small batch is subjected to rigorous quality control. PSA produces 100% natural products, and tries to use organic ingredients whenever possible, sold in recyclable and compostable packaging. When you wander over to PSA’s table, you can expect to find formulas like local oatmeal, lavender, and bay rum, to name a few!
Last but not least – yours truly will also be set up with a whole whack of mags, subscriptions, and gift packs! Pick up a copy of the Suburbia Issue for $10, back issues for $5, and gift certificates for Christmas subscriptions for $20, and past issue gift packs. We’ll also have live painting by Mettlelurgy (!!), and open edition prints from our upcoming Cat Issue by the lovely and talented Roselina Hung. For each one of these prints purchased before the end of the year, Roselina will be donating $5 to the BCSPCA.
Come hang out! Free high fives!
12 – 6pm at Main x 15th in the Heritage Hall on November 23rd. Be there!
