These are not your childhood puppets: no Lamb Chop, not even of the same species as any of the raunchier Muppets (apologies to Miss Piggy). No, Ronnie Burkett’smarionettes are really something else. Donned in beautifully crafted costumes and painted with expressions ranging from the adorably innocent to fantastically grotesque, his collection of over thirty marionettes includes a twerking librarian, multiple talking animals, including a gay rabbit who is also an aspiring Olympian, the aged and flighty French chanteuse Jolie Jolie, and a haggard diva named Esme who refuses to relinquish her spotlight.

For two hours straight Burkett worked the crowd to perfection. The largely improvised play not only had the audience cackling but also revealed just how well Burkett knows what he is doing. The entire night was an onslaught of jokes at the expense of Canadian politicians, Rob Ford and John Baird being givens, but also local culture, taking light hearted jabs at other Vancouver institutions, even his hosts at The Cultch. Burkett has mastered the art of walking a fine line and he never falters.

Burkett’s show works because it embraces the best things about theatre. The Daisy Theatre demonstrates that a good performance is not only about keeping your audience entertained but also keeping them engaged. Burkett must have been studying up on Marshall McLuhan (or more likely has just tapped into his years of experience), as he clearly knows that a show that involves the audience is a successful one. Not only did the way the audience reacted determine much of the play, Burkett even managed to get a few unsuspecting audience members up on stage.

Audience participation can often feel awkward and while this was no exception, it was awkward in the best way possible; the balcony gleefully looked on at the front rows as Burkett plucked out his next unwitting victim who would either suffer the fate of poorly attempting to work a marionette or, better yet, be seduced by one. Not only is Burkett unafraid to take the show to weird places; he revels in it. The whole performance, audience participation especially, was testament to the fact that it is often those cringe worthy moments that make us laugh the most.

While most of the show fell somewhere between silly and fantastically bizarre, it had its more heartfelt moments too. The adorable Schnitzel, a peculiar child-mutant who wants to be a fairy, certainly elicited a few “awwws”, but it was Edna, a widowed farm wife confronting dementia, who unexpectedly stole the show.

At The Daisy Theatre an audience who shows up with an open mind ready to be entertained will certainly be rewarded. And while everyone’s favourite diva Esme taught the audience how to greet a star, they were already in the know about triumphant send offs, giving Burkett a well-deserved standing ovation.

The Daisy Theatre is on at The Cultch until December 15^th. Don’t miss the chance to be enchanted by Burkett’s quirky characters—grab tickets online.

 

Theatre Replacement’s and The Cultch’s fantastic production of Jack and the Beanstalk: An East Van Panto is the first show at the re-opened York Theatre; a building which is an East Vancouver parable of its own.

It was a live theatre venue from 1913 until the late 70s, and was more recently known as the Raja, a Bollywood movie house. I remember it best as the music venue the New York Theatre, where at the tender age of 14, I saw local punk legends d.b.s. and somehow lost one of my shoes in the mosh pit. After a frantic hunt for the sneaker, my stomach sank as I saw the shoe get chucked at the band. It was a long and barefoot five-block walk home. The new renovation looks fantastic—the wood is glossy and the sightlines clear. But the punk rock spirit of the New York theatre imbues this telling of Jack and the Beanstalk, which uses the pantomime form of slapstick humour, parody songs, and drag performance to create barbed satire of Vancouver’s dreams and anxieties. And kids will love it, too! The show places Jack, played by an effervescent Maiko Yamamoto, and his poor single mother, play by a Steven Tyler-ish Allan Zinyk, in a Vancouver special, with so little food that they eat dust-bunny sashimi. Jack sells their only possession, a morose cow, at a farmer’s market for some special Vancouver magic beans that grow into a beanstalk under a hydroponic lamp. The stalk takes Jack up to the Giant’s giant condo in the sky, from which he attempts to steal a backyard chicken that lays golden eggs. Comedian and author Charles Demers’ script pokes fun at everything from Vancouver’s insecurity about real estate—the sleazy condo tycoon that sells Jack the magic beans claims they are special Vancouver beans that, magically, will never decrease in value—to residents’ self-imposed dietary restrictions—at one tense point Jack takes advantage of the Giant’s aversion to gluten to escape.

Veda Hille composed some original songs and wrote Vancouver-themed parodies of some classics, my favourite being the dreamy condo-envy ballad “Somewhere Just West of Cambie,” to the tune of Somewhere over the Rainbow, of course. And the Giant’s harp, played by a transcendentally silly Dawn Petten, just about runs off with the show with manic Celtic warbles of cheesy songs (the only music the Giant likes). Pantos are traditionally meant to entertain children as well as adults, and the smattering of kids in the audience looked like they were having a great time. The narrator Raugi Yu, a gifted clown, begins by inviting children to interact with the show, explaining that they need to loudly contradict the performers if they lie. Every exchange between the children and the performers was a hit, and I wish the show had provided more opportunities for the children to participate. Any fears that the modern youth of East Vancouver were too sophisticated or skeptical to enjoy panto entertainment were assuaged by the sight of children trying as hard as they could to help Jack blow the beanstalk down. Less charming was the grown-up in the audience who kept somberly intoning “It’s a bad deal,” when Jack traded the cow for beans. Perhaps not everyone in the audience needs a voice? Throughout the constant hilarity, the Panto never lets the audience forget our city’s sobering inequalities. Many classic fairy tales were underpinned by the economic realities of their time period—the high infant mortality rate of 16th century Bavaria may explain the gruesome end of so many children in Grimm stories.

Surviving in Vancouver can often feel like a fairy tale, in both its occasional magic and its impossibility. Go see the East Van Panto, and you will have enough local jokes to tell your friends for the entire holiday season. And you might just leave with a new perspective of the neighbourhood surrounding the York Theatre too.

Do you ever have one of those moments where a name or brand keeps popping up in your everyday life, be it on television or a fashion event? And instead of Googling it right there and then, you keep putting it off? I had that happen to me for the last year with the brand fiveleft. Finally, I researched it and realized I should have checked out Lincoln Heller’s designs a long time ago! Luckily for me, fiveleft was showcasing designs, producing belts live, and was part of the runway show at the Circle Craft Christmas Market.

Lincoln Heller turns rugged leathers into modern styles for men and women. With some pieces simplistic in design, and others extravagant, Heller’s creations are produced in his studio at 1000 Parker Street. All of the leather is from a small family run tannery in the UK and uses a more eco-friendly vegetable tanning method. This means that the cowhides are soaked with tannins found in different vegetable matter like tree bark instead of the typical chemical tanning process. The tools used to create these beautiful items are over sixty years old, and are all made by hand. Detailing for these pieces are created with recycled objects like bicycle spokes and bolts. Everything is dyed and textured individually so no two pieces are the same (the thrifter inside me loves the uniqueness!) Piece-by-piece they’re sewn together, and as Lincoln Heller says “This leather, it absorbs your personality. It becomes a part of you. It takes on your lifestyle.”

Finding inspiration on the streets of Vancouver, Lincoln Heller’s accessory line fiveleft is definitely a local favourite. Seeing his designs on Shaw TV, Eco-fashion Week season 6, Circle Craft Christmas Market, and the Eastside Culture Crawl, I was very excited and honoured to interview him for Sad Mag.

Sad Mag: Tell us a bit about yourself.

Lincoln Heller: My name is Lincoln Heller. I’ve been living in Canada for almost 20 years now. I came from southern Washington State. I came here for school at Emily Carr. I didn’t know what I was gonna do, so I worked in the film industry for a little bit, then worked in graphic design. And then this business started for me in craft and fashion shows. I started at the Portobello West Market in 2006, I showed up to the show with a few handmade wallets. I didn’t sell anything for the first few shows, but there was something about communicating and networking, the social aspect of public sales that was really fun for me. That’s where it really started.

SM: Why did you call your company fiveleft?

LH: I’m left handed, five fingers on my left hand. When I was a kid, it was pretty obvious I was gonna have to make a living doing tactile, hands-on making things. I think fiveleft, the word itself, came from my liking to combine words. My whole product line always has two words smashed together. That comes from computers, the early days of file naming; everything had no spaces and it had to be lowercase. It came time at Emily Carr, where I had to come up a name. I was sitting at the computer thinking, and it just happened.

SM: What inspired you to make leather accessories?

LH: I’m fascinated with containers and things that hold our lives. Wallets, bags these are things that hold bits of our life. And how we travel throughout our day with the bits of our things. Things like, belts. These are small little things that are good for business. But what really fascinate me are men and women bags. They hold our life, and we carry them around.

SM: What des the future look for fiveleft?

LH: We started out in craft markets. Fashion has always been drawing, its somehow not a seasonal product. It’s timeless. It’s a mushy fusion of craft, art and fashion. Part of that is unclassifiable, its what people like. Real fashion people love timeless [things], but they also know how to pick the right trends. One thing that is happening is we’re starting to talk about a wholesale ready and accessible brand. There are two personalities that have been growing: fiveleft by Lincoln Heller (wholesale ready brand) and Lincoln Heller (unique products). Flexible products versus sophisticated designs.

SM: What would usually be playing at your studio?

LH: I’m an electronic music junkie. Things that make noise; I like noise in the shop.

Follow fiveleft on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or check out his online store.

Sad Mag adores holiday handmades. In this second instalment of crafty coverage (see Kate’s first interview with Fox & Fancy here!), Kate Fowlie catches up with the talented sisters behind Pip & Pin.

***

Pip & Pin is the brainchild of Katie and Meghan, two sisters from Abbotsford who are enviously dextrous, crafty and enterprising. The grandmother-taught crafters specialize in one-of-a-kind, handmade knitwear, from chunky infinity scarves to cozy shawls to headbands. The pieces are in the works all summer—& now’s the time things start heating up for Pip and Pin.

If you need some seriously well made, love-injected gifts for your pals this winter, you’ll have plenty of chances to check out Pip and Pin’s cozy creations before the holidays—the duo has 5 craft shows before the big ‘uns for local crafters—Make it! and Got Craft? It’s clear that Katie and Megan couldn’t be more excited for the holiday handmade craziness.

Sad Mag caught up with the sisters to find out what it’s like to be fiercely committed chicks with sticks in a world of cookie-cutter clothing.

***

What’s it like to work with your sister?
Megan: It’s wonderful! We’re so different, but we really know how to talk to each other and communicate effectively. A lot of the time, the things I don’t like to do she’ll do, and vice versa, so it works out well.

Katie: Because of our divided skill sets, it works well. It’s fun for us to hang out together, too. We always have a good time doing it.

Megan: We both grew up in Abbotsford, and I live there now. Katie lives in Vancouver.

Were you crafty as kids?
Katie: Really crafty. There’s a big age difference between us though, so we were little at different times – we didn’t really craft together back then.

Megan: I worked with a lot of fabric. I remember at grandma’s house, I would hang out in her craft room and make doll clothes. She had all this crazy yarn and fabric in there.

Katie: I illustrated a lot, I was into painting. Our whole family is artistic though. Our grandma actually taught us how to knit. We learned at the same time, Megan was young I was a teenager.

Was it love at first stitch?
Katie:  I was terrible at it for a long time but I just found that it’s so methodical and relaxing. I started knitting a lot when I was in school and had a crazy schedule. It would chill me out in the evenings. Then all of a sudden, we had all this knit stuff on our hands. Then Meghan found out about Etsy and she was like, we have to sell this stuff!

Megan: When I was living in Manning Park for a year working at the lodge at the top of the ski hill, I wasn’t working for a month or so during the off season, I’d knit hats for people in exchange for homemade dinner. I got a lot of good leftovers.

What inspires you?
Katie: At the beginning, we started with the collection of our grandma’s wool, and we had so much of it but none of it matched. The yarns inspired us. We kind of create things from that. Megan and I will pull form the same stuff, but our tastes are so different it makes what we have so diverse. People drop off bags of yarn for us because we love putting together random pieces of yarn.

Megan: The first time it happened it was our first market in Abbotsford, this woman came by and loved our stuff – later that day she came back with a huge bag of yarn she’d bought for her daughter and she never used it. She was like “here, you guys are awesome, take this!”

Katie: Yeah, a random customer, that was so lovely! Friends grandmas and moms will give us yarn too.

Megan: And people cleaning out their closets.

What do you do when you’re not knitting?  
Megan: I work at a coffee shop, but I like camping and in the summer lots of outdoor adventuring.

Katie: I’m a graphic designer for mid century modern furniture. I also do freelance work for a hotel, and a bunch of other things. Aside from working, there’s no time for anything else. Christmas at Mycroft is our first show, then Make It, then a couple small ones, and then Got craft is our last one. We have to be knitting all year to have enough stock.

Megan: Which is hard in the summer, we can get lazy.

How is your stock different in the summer?
Megan: We don’t tailor much to the summer right now because winter takes up so much of our concentration. Even in summer, we’re making all these big chunky pieces.

Katie: We did make other stuff this year so we could participate in some spring shows this year. We made these hand-dyed jersey knit infinity scarves. We haven’t taken pictures of any of it yet. It was fun it was unexpected results. What I had envisioned the dying process would create was different. I guess that’s all it is, an experiment. It was a new medium for us.

Megan: We had no idea what we were doing.

Katie: Hopefully next year we’ll get involved in one spring show well see how it does.

What are you most excited about for the holidays?
Katie: I was just saying to Megan how much we used to love Hallowe’en, I’d always go out and make a costume it was always a fun holiday we put so much effort into. Ever since we started this company, its like Halloween doesn’t exist. It’s just straight into holidays and knitting and preparing for shows now.

Megan: We turned into those people.

Katie: Holidays are so different for us now. I find that actually Christmas to be relaxing. We’re done then. Because, from mid-November to mid-December, we don’t have day off, were crazy at the markets, we’re on, were having fun and talking to other crafters and customers, and then it’s over and we have all this time.

Megan: We get to see friends and family, clean the house, that usually comes first.

How long have you been doing craft shows?
Katie: Fieldstone Vintage Market in Abbotsford. That was probably our first one. The year after that was when we decided to be serious and apply for the rest of the markets. You can’t just decide to go to the market and go, it’s a whole process.

Megan: We were shocked we got into the first year we applied to all lot of the big markets.

Katie: I branded us in school, when we started the company. I went to school originally for interior design and then I went for graphic design. I was in school for graphic design when we started our business.  My teachers let me pull the company into my projects. I created our logo and all our brand name and we had a website so we looked for real.

Meghan: We looked for real – whether we were or not.

What’s next for pip and pin?
Katie: Megan designs most of our patterns, she’s, technically speaking, better at knitting than I am. We decided this year at Knit City to launch our patterns, so we’ve been selling our patterns and they’ve been doing well.

Meghan: Hopefully we’ll have a booklet we can put together for next year.

Katie: We do have some crazy plans but I don’t know if we can do them while we’re working jobs. I really want to do a knit furniture design launch, but that’s a really big project. We might need help with that one.

Megan: I’ve always wanted to transition well into spring and summer so that we can potentially one day have this as our full time business as opposed to something we just do in the winter.

Katie: We have a bunch of knitting machines we haven’t learned to use. We need a Grandma to take us on and workshop us on it. They’re really complicated machines. We got them at thrift stores.

Megan: We have like 3 and we haven’t touched them yet. One of them I got from my friend grandma’s friend who’s in a clothing guild. She also spins wool. All she wanted was a donation to her church for it. I was like “I can do that!”

You don’t feel like you’re giving away all your secrets?
Megan: It can be a little hard to let go sometimes.

Katie: People that knit will know they can knit and go knit it, but sometimes you just want to appreciate the product without having to do it yourself.

Megan: You look at something and think, I could do this, but am I actually doing to do it?

What do you love most about being part of Pip and Pin?
Katie: One thing that’s been great about taking this on is being involved in the craft community has been an amazing experience. Everyone shares equipment, gives each other tips and we’ve made so many friends.

Megan: Even if you’re “competition,” everyone is still so supportive and welcoming. It’s a great environment.

Ever get sick of heading to the mall for holiday shopping? I sure do; the controlled chaos is too much for me to handle! I should be used to it after working retail for years, but no…I still hate it.

When Sad Mag was invited to the Circle Craft Christmas Market, I jumped at the opportunity—one-of-a-kind pieces, hot chocolate, Christmas music and a fashion show? That’s a Farah Tozy kind of event.

While researching Circle Craft, I recalled Adhesif Clothing right away; it was showcased at Eco-fashion week Season 6. The designer, Melissa Ferreira is a self-taught, vintage seamstress who mixes patterns and funky appliques with multiple patchworks. She focuses on reusing old pieces, and making them into fresh garments, as well as ensuring all of her materials are locally produced and 100% eco-friendly. Many of her pieces are perfect for Vancouver’s cold weather because they’re made of cozy wools, tweeds, and cashmeres.

This year actually marks the 10^th year for Adhesif. Ferreira plans to have an  “11^th year party because it would be funnier. The more bizarre something is, the funnier it is. Nobody likes normal.”

I had the pleasure of sitting with the talented Vancouver designer for a few minutes during the Circle Craft Christmas Market to discuss her unique Adhesif Clothing Company. She was charming and funny, to say the least.

SAD MAG: Tell us a bit about yourself and Adhesif Clothing.
MELISSA FERREIRA: I started out as a vintage clothing buyer. That was when I was 18, straight out of high school. Vintage has always been my first love and it still is to this day.  It’s a constant source of inspiration. The clothing line was the brainchild of that. I just decide to take old fabrics, and turn them into modern styles…but with a vintage twist.

SM: Three words to describe your line?
MF: The look is eclectic, whimsical and classic. Because it’s so eclectic, it remains forever a classic.

SM: Out of curiosity, what does Adhesif stand for?
MF: It doesn’t really stand for anything. I just thought it’d be really funny. I cut myself when I’m sewing all the time. So, I’m always opening up Band-Aids. Clothing’s kind of like that in that in many ways, you put it on depending on your mood, or feelings. It’s not a permanent part of you. It’s an “adhesive” to your personality. I just thought it would be funny.

SM: What inspired you to become eco-friendly?
MF: It wasn’t my intention to be an eco-friendly designer. I just really love vintage fabrics and styles. I love the character of things that are handmade; that have a story aspect. Where has it been? Who’s it been on? What would it say if it could talk? I just have a huge love of nostalgia. Because all the pieces are one of a kind, I have people saying “yeah it feels like a hug. It has a heartbeat!”

SM: What does the future hold for Adhesif?
MF: That’s an intricate question. We have a boutique (2202 Main Street), which is a big accomplishment for the line. I always want to think big. Maybe branch out into Europe. I’m always gonna do this, and its a journey in itself. The artist’s life is not white or black, its different shades of gray.

SM: A soundtrack to your clothing?
MF: I’m listening to a lot of blues at the moment. But I love it all! I listen to music 24 hours a day. I feel like I was a musician in my past life.

Her 1930s styles are featured at Adhesif Clothing Company on 2202 Main Street, as well as many craft shows (the next one being Make It in Edmonton.) Check out the website, Twitter , Instagram  and Facebook for more details about Adhesif.

Jacqueline Banz, Director of RAW:Vancouver (and self-proclaimed “crazy Swiss miss”), gets it. Helping spread all types of art across Vancouver, she is passionate about connecting artists of different disciplines both on and offline in creative ways.

RAW:natural born artists, as a concept, launched in California in 2009 and started its Vancouver operation in August of 2013. Now, Jacqueline is gearing up for the next RAW event happening this Friday night—so grab your tickets and dig into Vancouver’s underground arts. RAWk your night away, RAWsomely.

Sad Mag: Who are you?

Jacqueline Banz: A very philosophical question.

Always myself. I would say I’m very authentic and genuine, as it is a philosophy of life that I have. I do what I like to do. I’m a crazy Swiss miss who has come to Vancouver for the mountains. (I know! Leaving one mountainous region for another!)

Originally I’m from a small town in Switzerland, growing up hearing cowbells day and night—no wonder I developed a curiosity for other nationalities and have been fortunate to explore over 40 countries across 6 continents so far. Vancouver was always a city that felt homey to me, so 2 years ago, I made it my home officially. Travel, music, art, and athletic pursuits have always been a passion for me. I’ve been a drug pusher (prescription and chocolate), event planner, marketer and volunteer. I used to play the trumpet extremely well, just don’t ask me to pick one up ever again. I own a piano… but I don’t play. So who am I? A little of this and a pinch of that with much more to come…and absolutely comfortable being me.

SM: Why are you passionate about art?

JB: Passion is a word I like in this context, as passion should be the driving force behind art. I believe that passion equals success. What I like about art is that art is a true expression of passion, individualism, creativity and personality. The more authentic art is the more touching it usually is.

I always see beauty everywhere; I always have. I’m a very visual person and notice little things that are extraordinary and beautiful, in nature for example.

SM: What can you tell me about RAW?

JB: RAW:natural born artists is an indie arts organization, founded in 2009 in California. We showcase local, independent artists in film, fashion, music, art, performing art, hair, makeup, photography, accessories and more. Our mission is to provide independent artists, within the first 10 years of their career, with the tools, resources and exposure needed to inspire and cultivate creativity.

We currently operate in over 70 cities internationally. We had our Canadian launch events in Vancouver on August 23 and in Montréal on August 29, 2013. We are proud to announce that RAW will soon also be offering bi-monthly showcase opportunities in Calgary, Edmonton, Halifax, Ottawa, Toronto and Winnipeg! Stay tuned for more info!

SM: What makes this RAW event special?

JB: What is really unique about our RAWartists events is that we bring together all genres of art in one night and give local talents a showcase platform on a regular basis in front of 800+ guests. In every showcase, you get to see a short film, live music, runway shows, including the work of young designers, hair & makeup artists and accessory designers. You also get to see the work of local artists, photographers, sculptors, jewelry designers and so on, followed by an after-party. A RAWsome night out for about the price of a burger!

We are not a white-wall gallery, we are not an arts festival, we are not your standard fashion show, nor are we trying to be any of these things. We are all about the everyday extraordinary artists that live and work in our communities. Talented people that create amazing works that compose the fabric of our creative generation. We are aiming to take a snapshot of the creative culture locally as well as internationally.

RAW provides a platform for the local community to see, hear and love the artists that are living and working in their own back yard! We create a fun environment for artists to showcase their work, and the community to attend.

Each hand-selected artist receives an on-camera interview that is edited for their portfolio. Photos and video material capture them as artists as well as their work or performance and allows them additional tools to promote themselves in the industry. RAW doesn’t take a commission of any sales. Once a RAW artist joins the community they can also take advantage of our international network. Artists can showcase in any of our RAW cities. We host a giant indie arts awards show, RAWards, in the beginning of the year also. Artists get big career building prizes, consultations, gallery placement, store placement, products and services to help them build their careers. Our online hub is also a benefit—our RAW artists have an online profile to display their work, music and videos.

I’m super happy with the quality of the 40 booked artists for the November 22^nd showcase. We certainly showcase some of the cities most talented artists and some of them, despite their young age, have already been recognized both nationally and internationally. You can check them out here.

SM: Are you an artist? What medium do you practice in?

JB: I’m mostly a supporter of artists. I was a very talented trumpet player, but left it behind when I entered university, much to everybody’s disappointment. My mother was a professional “fashion designer”, to use a modern word. I used to help her with carnival costume designs and really enjoyed it. I like to paint on canvases, and while traveling I try to capture the local life and nature in my photographs. I love to be creative and to create. I created a lamp out of a barrel once, and have designed rings. I love to work with wood and on my bucket list is to design wooden furniture one day.

SM:  What is inspiring you right now?

JB: It’s very inspiring and satisfying to be acting as kind of a “talent scout” for artists and to be able to help artists gain more exposure and notoriety.

I find inspiration in nature, cooking, interior design and the honesty and creativity that children have in them.

SM: Favourite Vancouver arts venue?

JB: Gossip Nightclub during a RAW:Vancouver showcase, of course!

SM: Three words to describe the upcoming RAW show.

JB: Unique, varied, must-see!

Seriously, RAW:Vancouver is not to be missed. Happening Friday, November 22, check out the event details here. Find out more about the concept online, on Facebook, and on Twitter.

Helen Reed, creator and director of the new video, “Diamond,”  for Vancouver-based duo Lightning Dust, had a chance to chat with Sad Mag’s Monika Koch about process and product. It all comes down to the beauty of a community pool, the expressiveness of bodies in motion, and, of course, the music. Read on! 

Sad Mag: Where did the concept for the “Diamond” video come from?
Helen Reed: Just from listening to the song. The turnover for the video was quick, within 3.5 weeks or something like that, so I wanted to do something quite simple within that time frame. I got stuck on the first line of the song – “claim to me that this city’s so tired…” I’m totally guilty of taking this city for granted, so I took it as in invitation to focus on some of the everyday diamonds of Vancouver.

A friend of mine, Jenny Craig, is a part of an amateur synchronized swimming team, they practice at a community pool two evenings a week, and they are great – super talented and dedicated. I thought that they would be the perfect characters for the video. I think when I did a call for extras I said dress for magical frumpy realism… the kind of magic that happens at community centers when no one is watching.

SM: Tell me about what went into your choice of location for filming.
HR: I have a great love of community fitness centers. I have had some of the most ecstatic moments of my life at aerobics classes at the YMCA, I love that feeling of all bodies in motion – all ages all shapes, just enjoying movement. The video was filmed at the Eileen Dailly Pool in Burnaby. It was lucky, I was doing a site visit for another project in Burnaby and happened on the pool. It’s so beautiful there, the architecture, the tiles, the neon signs. I thought that it was the perfect venue for the 80’s pop nostalgia feel of the Lightning Dust song.

SM: I heard that you recently returned from filming a doc project about teen wolves. Amazing. Could you tell me a little bit about that?
HR: Yes, I got back few weeks ago from filming some teenage self-identified shapeshifters in Michigan. I’m reluctant to say too much about the project since it’s still really fresh. But I will say that they are radical dudes…

SM: Do you have a favourite swimming pool? Where is it?
HR: Well I don’t really swim… I never learned how to swim. I can float though…in the summer I like to float around in the ocean. I do have a favorite spa – JJ’s Family Spa in Coquitlam.

Designers Lisa Rose and Rachel Dian (AKA Fox & Fancy) are two cunning and creative business partners. Their vintage-feel necklaces and earrings, sourced from found objects, repurposed leather, papers, and fabrics, are handmade from prototype to packaging. Through Fox and Fancy, the duo explores their unique inspirations (think: geometry and wildernesss gardens), a true love for the local craft community, and friendship.

These ladies only stop crafting when freelance design work (Rachel) and teaching (Lisa) requires it. Sad Mag’s Craft Season correspondent Kait Fowlie nabbed the pair for a chat on a Sunday afternoon on the cusp of the holiday craft show frenzy.

 

Sad Mag: How did Fox & Fancy start?
Rachel: It seems like a lifetime ago. We have a mutual friend in Toronto who wanted to introduce us a few years back. He thought we’d be friends because we both always wore dresses.  Oddly enough, he wasn’t wrong.

Lisa: He likes to brag about that.

Rachel: Anyway, after I moved here we started working on creative projects together, and eventually realized that we’d make a great team.  We had some ideas about some jewelry we wanted to make – mostly it was stuff we wanted for ourselves.

Lisa: Rachel knew I’d always wanted to sell at craft shows, but was afraid to do it alone.  We decided to go for it when we saw the call for vendors at last year’s Got Craft? show.  We found out about 7 days before the deadline, so we spent an entire week putting together prototypes, a website, photographs and social media for our application.  It all got done with moments to spare.

Rachel: We really didn’t think we’d get in at all. It’s so competitive.

SM: Is there one particular area you each specialize in?
Rachel: In terms of our workflow, we do most of the conceptualizing together. Pretty much everything we do is a mutual decision.  We both do the crafting, but we definitely each have strengths and weaknesses.

Lisa: Rachel does all our web design, branding, and the organizational admin stuff.  She’s in the process of building a new site for us, with e-store – hopefully everything will be up and running in December.

Rachel: Lisa is really good at the meticulous small detail stuff, so when I do inventory and all the web mastering, she gets tasked with all the finicky little jobs.

 

Lisa: The little tiny stuff. Like cutting really tiny things out of other things. If I had a superpower, that would probably be it…cutting tiny things out of other things.

Rachel: She’s got great eyesight – I have to wear these magnified prescription glasses I stole from my Dad! I’m pretty useless without them.

SM: Where do you love to shop?
Lisa: We like to do our holiday shopping at craft shows.

Rachel: Yeah, it’s hard not to spend all of the money we earn right away. The Shop Handmade movement is definitely a favourite.

Lisa: In Vancouver, we love the stretch on Main St. with all the consignment and vintage stores. One of the best things about the community is that businesses all around Commercial and Main feature the work of a lot of local crafters. I always think, oh good for them.  If you can buy it from someone local instead, like if I need something for my kitchen, I’d rather go to Welks than a big store.

Rachel: Like Williams and Sonoma.

Lisa: Not that we can afford to go there. But that’s a separate issue.

SM: What are you most excited for this Christmas season?
Rachel: Shows are always a really fun time. Getting the floor plan and looking up who our neighbours are is exciting. Many other craft businesses are predominantly run by women who are doing this as a full-time or part-time endeavor.  It’s a really great community to be a part of.

Lisa: This year we’re going to be at Make It! (Nov 28th – Dec 1st) and Got Craft? (Dec 14th-15th).  Last year at Got Craft? I couldn’t believe how many people they got through the door in the first few hours of the day.  They have really great community support.  Andrea and Robert are really good at promotion and getting people to come out. They moved to an even bigger location this year, the Maritime Labour Centre.

Rachel: This will be our first time at Make It!, which has over 200 vendors and is at the PNE Forum, which is a huge location. Make It! also does silent auctions to support good causes. They give back in a tangible, interesting way.

Lisa: All together, we will be selling at shows for six days this year. This is the most we’ve done so far. Some crafters do shows almost every weekend, and we are very impressed with that.

SM: Sounds like lots of work!
Rachel: Totally! Figuring out what you need to sell and getting the right amount of product for a show is definitely a juggling act. You have to believe in your product. We might make 60 of one item, and we don’t know if it’s going to sell or not.

Lisa: There are some things we made in our first year that took so much effort and just weren’t as successful as we thought might be, and other things we didn’t expect to be popular that sold out in the first couple hours of a show. But it’s all just part of the creative process, finding out that not everything speaks to people in the same way it speaks to you.

Rachel: There’s a time and a place for everything. It’s fun coming up with the prototypes and sourcing materials – I love that. Not everything’s a winner, but it’s a fun process.

Lisa: That’s Rachel’s superpower – sourcing.

SM: What advice do you have for other crafters who are starting out?
Lisa: Just try out a lot of things. When it comes to shows, it’s a lot of work, so you really have to think things through and put the work in. You get out of it what you put in.

Rachel: And don’t underestimate the power of branding.

Lisa: And friendship.  I can’t imagine having tried this alone. We’ve had a lot of friends offer to help us. We just put out a lookbook and our friends modeled for us, because they’re the most beautiful people we know. Our friend and occasional Fox & Fancy model Anna Tidland is an amazing photographer, and she loaned us her really good camera and helped out with our latest shoot.

Rachel: And our other friend Gina Loes, the singer of the Ruffled Feathers, played us song and we got to put out a cute video of her – that was a really fun afternoon.

SM: Can I touch some of your jewelry?
Rachel: Oh yeah.  People always want to touch it, it’s a tactile experience.  We use lots of different materials and repurposed leathers, which makes our jewelry a little bit special because you wouldn’t know what it’s made of just by looking at it.  We also have a Found line that features raw brass and miscellaneous one-of-a-kind items.  We’re always on the lookout for things that can be incorporated into our necklaces.

Lisa: We also use nickel and lead-free chain – and test them on allergy sensitive people.

Rachel: A.K.A. me.  We also have leather cord necklaces that are really soft and comfortable (and great for men, too). We wanted to make our jewellery accessible for everyone.  We’re hoping to extend to men’s stuff next year.

Lisa: Sometimes our male friends complain that we don’t have anything for them.

SM: What are some things you want to do next with Fox & Fancy?
Lisa: We both love screen-printing, and would love for that to be a bigger part of what we do.  We’d love to expand our stationary line as well.  That’s coming up, hopefully.

Rachel: One of the most rewarding things I noticed when I was a crafter in Toronto was seeing a stranger wearing your stuff walking down the street. I really hope we see more of that.

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Not too long ago, I stopped by the Homesteader’s Emporium at 649 East Hastings to take part in Kombucha 101, a class offered by the Emporium and taught by Vancouver chef and nutritionist Andrea Potter. After a hectic career in the fine dining industry, Andrea started Rooted Nutrition, a cooking and consulting business, in an effort to empower individuals to bring healthy cooking into their homes. In addition to offering workshops such as this one, Andrea teaches cooking classes, sells a line of probiotic foods, and consults with individuals on holistic nutrition.

Packed into the back room of Homesteader’s Emporium were 30 excited people united by one desire: to make tasty DIY Kombucha. Why? Kombucha is one incredibly delicious drink. Despite its current fashion and easy availability in health food stores, something of an air of mystery still surrounds Kombucha, and few purchasers take the leap to making it for themselves. As Andrea demonstrated to us, it’s ridiculously easy and cheap to make.

Prospective Kombucha-makers need four basic ingredients: brewed tea (green or black tea make good starts for first-timers), sugar, a glass jar and, most importantly, a SCOBY or “mother.” The mother is what transforms tea, sugar and time into Kombucha. To get one, you can either buy a rehydrated SCOBY from Homesteader’s Emporium, or make friends with someone who brews Kombucha already and ask them to give you a SCOBY. While asking someone for a SCOBY sounds gross, it’ll be worth it when you taste that Kombucha tea.

Like beer or wine, Kombucha is a fermented beverage. Fermentation occurs in the same manner as many such drinks with the addition of a yeast or bacterial culture. In this case, it’s a symbiotic colony of yeast and bacteria (if you just figured out that SCOBY is an acronym for “symbiotic colony of yeast and bacteria,” you win). The SCOBY sits atop any tea concoction you make and, by taking up sugar and other nutrients, ferments it into a slightly fizzy, slightly alcoholic (0.5%-3.0% max) beverage. Aside from its lovely cider-like taste, many are also taken with its health benefits. Andrea focused on the basic ones: B vitamins and probiotics, which are added to the drink by the fermentation process, and help in digestion and energy renewal. In addition to fermenting the tea, the mother also creates offspring (sometimes called “babies”) that can be used to make more Kombucha or composted.

In the end, you can bottle your drink, add fruit juices, or store it to create even more aged Kombucha for weirder flavours. Every batch is slightly different depending on the SCOBY and variables of time, temperature and nutrients, which is why Kombucha has resisted large-scale commercialization (apparently Coca-Cola tried and failed). Check out instructions online or look out for another Homesteader’s workshop to get the whole story on how to make it.

Now, I’ve got my covered jar with a little SCOBY floating in it on top of my kitchen cabinets. Resisting the urge to check on it every day is nearly impossible. It’s like having a weird, pancake-shaped pet that silently makes me tasty beverages.  I’m waiting for the day my little SCOBY grows up and makes me some Kombucha tea!

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Want to learn more? Check out Sad Mag’s interview with Homesteader’s owner, Rick Havlak,  and make sure to check out upcoming workshops at Homesteader’s Emporium!