On Scoring Inexpensive Clothes And Solving Difficult Problems

The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit.

The Scout List is our carefully considered first rate list of super sweet things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours… Read more

Dan Mangan On Petting Kittens And Destroying At Foosball…

We are totally digging Dan Mangan. The local musician has just released his second album, Nice, Nice, Very Nice (a follow up the 2005 release of Postcards and Daydreaming). It’s been on heavy rotation here in the office since we picked it up last month – a very welcome, mellow foil to the annual autumnal surge of old punk (a little too much Minor Threat already this September). From his official bio: “Mangan weaves unique lyrical phrases that you feel you must always have known, He delivers them with his signature graveled vocals and understated humour. He doesn’t lean on ironic instruments or gimmicks. Somehow, it all just works. Dan stands up and people get quiet. They listen. More and more people all the time.” Yup. Once you’ve breezed through the following interview with Dan, be sure to visit his website to hear some of his newest tunes. Read more

Scout List: Chambar Turns Five And “Easy Star All Stars” Play

The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit.

The Scout List is our carefully considered first rate list of super sweet things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours… Read more

Scout List: A “Band Of Horses” & The Importance Of Penmanship

The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit.

The Scout List is our carefully considered first rate list of super sweet things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours… Read more

Breeze Shooting With Heather Huntingford of “Kiss & Makeup”

Heather Huntingford is a make-up maven. In 2004, the native Vancouverite co-founded the thoughtfully stocked and divinely decadent apothecary Kiss & Makeup (apothecary, I could say that word 100 times). There, Heather sources and tests products looking for conscientiously made, original, organic and natural brands to line the shelves. If you aren’t familiar with the store, think of it as a cooler, hella more sophisticated Sephora, only with a local twist. Scout recently asked Heather about everything from her favourite lipstick (if anyone has the goods on this, it’s her) to where she goes to eat on cheap… Read more

The Scout List: Lightning Dust, Wild Salmon And Bowling Punks

The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit.

The Scout List is our carefully considered first rate list of super sweet things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours… Read more

Profile: Tania Gleave Of Local Jewellery House “Lemon Park”

The Lemon Park sisters, Tania and Penny Gleave, have always shared an interest in fashion and design, and often discussed starting a business together. So when Penny expressed an interest in changing careers three years ago, at around the same time people were asking about the jewellery Tania was creating and wearing at her openings, they decided to start Lemon Park. Penny takes care of much of the business side of things, while Tania is the self appointed “sweatshop girl” doing all of the designing, making, and sourcing of materials. This week we interviewed Tania alone, because if we had interviewed them both simultaneously, we would have probably broken the internet… Read more

The Scout List: On Queer Films, Mezcal, And Kitsilano Hippies…

The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit.

The Scout List is our carefully considered first rate list of super sweet things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours…

Queer Film Fest

From the QFF website: The Vancouver Queer Film Festival “…is the second largest film festival in the city and the largest queer arts event in Western Canada. The festival has gained a reputation for offering the best of independent queer cinema and the opportunity to meet filmmakers and artists, participate in workshops and panel discussions, attend galas and afterparties and see unexpected performances. This year the festival is celebrating its 21st Festival!” Too many flicks to list – have a visit to their website to check out the full deal.
Aug 13 -23 | Details | $10 single show – festival pass will run you $120

Olio Festival

The Olio Festival is a Vancouver based “cultural expose” that aims to showcase “taste-making music, comedy, design, art, and film to Vancouver, from across Canada, and around the world” as it moves through the neighborhoods of Vancouver. The idea is to simultaneously expose you to great music art and culture while bolstering the pocket books of local businesses. The festival begins on Thursday August 13th in Gastown with events at numerous venues (Lamplighter, Bourbon, Cobalt, Modern, Red Room, Funky Winkerbeans, The Met). Scout pick? The Lamplighter has an improv show (Nardwuar) from 8 – 10pm and then breaks out the indie music line-up with The Racoons, Steve Nelson, 16mm, and Sex With Strangers. But there is nothing sayin’ you have to stick to one venue. At 11:30pm, Piper Davis plays at the Bourbon. Have one listen to Academics and you’ll be hooked. Anywhere Piper Davis is playing is going to be good. Friday August 14th the Main Street neighbourhood gets Olio’d with (among other things) a screening of short films at the Grace Gallery and few sets at the Biltmore… (Flosstradamus, Gang Violence, World Club and Machu Picchu). On Saturday, August 15th, the festival migrates Downtown. Scout pick would be the Railway Club (8pm) for the Indie Music Video Festival – a screening of 19 independent music videos. There is also a cool sounding photo exhibit at the Rickshaw Shop on East Hasting – showcasing photographs by a number of talented Vancouverites – Justin Tyler Close, our buddy Kris Krug, Lindsay Elliott, Rony Alwin (and Larry).
August 13-16 | various locations and times | $25 for a four day pass | oliofestival.com

Summer of Sound

The Summer of Sound Film Festival is still on over at Vancity Theatres this week and it features a line-up of cool music oriented documentaries worth your time. Gimme Shelter ( the documentary that follows the Stones’ ‘Let It Bleed’ tour of 1969) shows on Thursday night, Woodstock plays Friday (40 years later and still mind blowing) and My Generation plays Saturday (a film maker follows the 1994 and 1999 Woodstock concerts to gauge how much has changed the the first concert in 1969).
Aug 14,15, 16 | Vancity Theatre | 10 beans

Open Air Aquarium

Finding Nemo graces the summer fields of Victoria Park tonight – grab the fam and some homemade popcorn and head over just after dusk to indulge in one of this summer’s last free open air movie screenings.
Aug 17 | Victoria Park (Victoria and Grant)| FREE

Mezcal Tasting

A different sort of fund raising event is going down at the Roundhouse this weekend – a Mezcal tasting fundraiser. From the Roundhouse: Experience an unique opportunity sampling the range of flavours of Mexico’s ‘other’ drink while nibbling on culinary delights by local Mexican chefs. Join us as we bring a spectrum of premium Mezcal not available in Canada. Learn the history of Mezcal producing regions of Mexcio, chill to live Mexican music and mingle – a summer-time party not to be missed.
Aug 15 | Roundhouse Community Arts and Recreation Centre |7:00 PM – 10:00 PM | ($35 per person or $55 if you buy two – and its better to travel in pairs when Mezcal is involved)

Magazine Writers’ Craft Fair

The scoop: “The essential professional development event for established, emerging or aspiring writers who are interested in crafting their careers in magazine writing. Industry professionals share their knowledge in an intimate and interactive forum. Sessions: The Art of the Interview, Write Online and Tricks of the Trades. Networking lunch included.”
Aug 15 | 10am-3:15pm (people really go by the quarter hour?) | SFU Vancouver | 515 West Hastings

The Canadian Islamic Cultural Expo

“The Canadian Islamic Cultural Expo (CICE) marks its fifth annual exposition showcasing Islamic culture, history, innovation and civilization, while building bridges within various local communities… Attractions include 20 country-based exhibitions by local Muslim communities. The Expo also features theme pavilions taking visitors on a discovery of Islam and the contribution of Muslims in the areas of science and technology, art and calligraphy and Canadian society, as well as examining the role of women in Islam.”
Aug 14 & 15 | 11am – 7pm |Front lawn of Vancouver Art Gallery | FREE

PD’s Yard Sale

Buyers and sellers welcome, but “no surly birds”. The legendary sale returns. Bikes, skateboards, skimboards, clothing, accessories, household items, furniture – new and used – everything priced to sell!
Aug 15 | 10am – 4pm | PD’s Hot Shop (2868 W. 4th Ave @ Macdonald)

Community Garden Tours

Take advantage of the summer – check out the Community Garden Walking & Cycling Tours. Scout plans to…. “This set of walking/cycling tours introduces eight different “pods” of community gardens. Take a guided or self-guided walking tour with 44 gardens to see. On the second Sunday of every month from now until September, take a guided walking tour of the city’s community gardens at select sites, between 11 am and 1 pm. Each tour is less than three km one-way, and lets you visit three to six gardens, all with their own unique characters.” Community Garden Tour brochures available. http://vancouver.ca/
Aug 16 – Sept 13 | 11am – 1pm | Second Sunday of every month |

Latin Summer Festival

Latin Fest begins with a parade along Commercial Drive and continues all day in Trout Lake Park with an artisan craft market, authentic Latin food, live music and dancing demonstrations Flamenco to Cuban Rueda. You won’t be the only one there – so consider taking public transit.
Aug 16 | 11 – 7 pm | Trout Lake Park | FREE

Hippie Daze

Trust the community of Kitsilano to find a way to work Woodstock in to their plans – this Saturday in Kits you will be transported back in time to the a Summer of Love as the community celebrates the 40th Anniversary of Woodstock with 60′s tunes, hippie inspired fashions and, more likely than not, the sweet scent of pot in the air. Where else would you want to be? The sun is forcast to make an appearance, bring a blanket to spread out in front of one of four stages and take in a gig, eat groovy food, drink carrot juice, learn to macrame, do some yoga or just trip out. And remember – your mind is like a parachute, it doesn’t work unless it’s open. P.S. – don’t bother taking your car.
Aug 15 | The cool part of 4th Ave and surrounding areas | FREE

Writer’s Festival

It’s the Sunshine Coast Writer’s Festival this weekend. Highlights of this years festival include talks by Giller Prize winner Joseph Boyden (Through Black Spruce), Steven Galloway (The Cellist of Sarajevo), Naomi Klein (No Logo), and Wayson Choy (Paper Shadows). Some events are sold out (forget the salmon dinner) but many still have seats available. Check out the deets here: writersfestival.ca

PS. Just a heads up in the event that you are noticing a curious increase in aged rockers on the streets this weekend – don’t freak out – Aerosmith & ZZ Top are in town.

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Michelle Sproule grew up in Kitsilano and attended Bond University in Australia and the University of Victoria before receiving her graduate degree in Library Sciences from The University of Toronto. She lives by the beach in Vancouver and enjoys wandering aimlessly through the city’s shops and streets with her best friend – a beat up, sticky, grimy, and uncooperative camera.

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The Scout List: “OH MY GOD The Summer Is Almost Gone” Edition

The main objective of this website is to scout out and promote the things that make Vancouver such a sweet place to be. We do this with an emphasis on the city’s independent spirit to foster a sense of connectedness within and between our communities, and to introduce our readers to the people who grow and cook our food, play the raddest tunes in our better venues, create our most interesting art, and design everything from what we wear to the spaces we inhabit.

The Scout List is our carefully considered first rate list of super sweet things that we’re either doing, wishing that we could do, or conspiring to do this week. From our calendar to yours… Read more

Rethinking Hood Laneways With Bryn Davidson & Mat Turner…

Lanefab Laneway Housing is a Vancouver based design/build partnership between Bryn Davidson – a LEED accredited designer- and local builder Mat Turner. With an upcoming lecture at Granville Island’s Lighthouse Sustainable Building Centre (see this week’s Scout List for details), we thought it would be interesting to ask them a few questions about what they do, why Vancouver is ready for them, and what a ‘Lanefab Manifesto’ for improving eco-density in Vancouver might look like.

Three things about your neighbourhood that make you want to live there:

Bryn: Main St./Mt. Pleasant: 1. Close to downtown and skytrain 2. Interesting and creative neighbourhood with many good cafes with free wireless 3. Relatively affordable (given 1. and 2.). Mat: Fairview – I live close to all of my favorite parts of the city – easy walking distance to Granville, Broadway, Cambie and Main. It is only a 10 min bus trip to downtown.

Where do you enjoy shopping for food and furniture in Vancouver?

Bryn: Brewery Creek Cold Beer and Wine (Main and 15th): The only really good selection of beer in the city (other than Six Acres pub in Gastown). Brewery Creek carries many of the fantastic American micro-brews that are impossible to find anywhere else north of the border.  Furniture: ‘Vancouver Special’ for new, ‘Sugar Barrel’ for mid century modern.  For ‘working cafes’ I rotate between ‘Our Town’, ‘Gene’, and ‘Bean around the World’ which are all near Main and Broadway. Mat: One of my favorite hobbies is cooking. When I moved to Vancouver 3 years ago, my full day of driving from parking lot to parking lot to find the right ingredients was transformed to a short walk to Granville Island. Infact, I am a bit embarrassed to say, I quite often saved time by driving to Vancouver from Langley to pick up decent products. When I don’t have enough time to make dinner I am fortunate that I live across the street from, what I believe, to easily be the best pizza in Vancouver- Zacchary’s- hint #17 is my favorite.

What is your favourite Lanefab design?

Bryn: Probably the LF2. I designed it as an example of what I would want to live in if my wife and I decided to have a baby and needed a second bedroom. The LF2 is ground oriented,  has a ‘bike garage’, 2 bed ‘pods’ and still comes in under 16′ tall.  The general layout is based on our current home, the ‘Rao/D Pod’ – a 360sf condo that we gutted and renovated as an experiment in small-footprint living. Mat: My favorite designs are actually ones that are still in the development stages. We have been able to take aspects of our current plans and adapt them to suit the site. It is always exciting to be able to build a brand new, super efficient, healthy green home that looks like it has always been there.

Why is Vancouver a good city for Lanefab?

Bryn: It has lanes! (unlike many other cities) which provides the opportunity for these mini-dwellings to function as real independent homes versus simply being backyard novelties. There is also an established history of urban condo living, so there is already much broader acceptance of the viability of micro-dwellings for singles, couples or even families. Mat: The last I heard, there were 75,000 lots in Vancouver that could support a LWH. Most of these lots are close to Transit routes and bike lanes, which makes them very attractive for rental units. When my wife and I were looking to move to Vancouver we considered renting but could not find anything in the rental market that fit our criteria of safe neighborhood, close to restaurants, shopping and transit at a reasonable rate.

What are the top three signs that Vancouver is a city aware of the importance of sustainability?

Bryn: When we first moved here (from Anchorage Alaska) we were amazed by the narrow streets, preservation of small scale retail (vs. big box), the bike street network, and the transit system which is used by everyone (vs. just the poor, as in some US cities).  It’s also pretty amazing that nearly all of the ultra-high-value waterfront land is publicly owned.

Is there a local interior designer, architect or landscape architect that you admire above all others?

Bryn: Hmmm. If anyone, I’d probably say Patkau Architects. I studied under Patricia Patkau at the UBC School of Architecture, and I’m a fan of their style of innovative west-coast modernism.  Their approach aims for what I’d call ‘meaningful invention’ (in contrast to a Gehry-esque sculptural approach) and integrates green features without sacrificing design intent.

Other than waiting for Council to adopt a final draft guidelines regulating their construction, what is the biggest challenge of working with Laneway houses?

Bryn: The biggest challenge is trying to work around the parking requirements while still creating spaces that I would want to live in. I’d prefer to create nice homes for people versus nice homes for cars.

Other than that, it’s also been a challenge to create designs in the nouveaux-heritage style that many clients are demanding. I’m what you might call an ‘eco-modernist’ by training and inclination, and it’s occasionally frustrating adding heritage features which hinder access to daylight and natural ventilation.

You are currently working on a project with Light House Sustainable Building Centre to build a Lanefab structure as “a leading demonstration of eco-friendly design and construction for infill dwellings and detached garden suites” in Vancouver, can you tell us what will distinguish this structure as a leading example?

Bryn: I think that the real example will be delivering a super-insulated green building at market competitive prices.  By investing in the walls, roof, and good windows we are able to save much of the money and space that would typically go towards a boiler or furnace.  For those clients wanting to push the envelope further, we can also do a ‘net-zero’ solar energy package and/or a rainwater capture package that redirects rainwater to the toilet, laundry, and landscaping.

In a nutshell, how does one go about building to ensure a “net positive” impact on their community’s emissions and oil dependence?

Bryn: ‘Net positive’ means that your project has a measurable, positive impact at the scale of the city – and, in most cases, this just means having a renovation / replacement / repair component as part of each project (in addition to making all of your new construction highly energy efficient). By contrast, a brand new ‘green’ building built on a natural site is not net positive because it is still adding to the city’s total consumption of resources.

With Lanefab, we’re building super-insulated mini homes in walkable communities that will have very low energy consumption. At the same time we’re asking clients to work with us to make their existing house more energy efficient.  Ideally, at the end of our work with a given client, we would like the entire site (main house + lane house) to use 10% less energy than before we were involved.

If you were in charge of it all, what would the ‘Lanefab Manifesto’ for improving eco-density in Vancouver look like?

Bryn: In many ways Lanefab is a laboratory for trying to apply ideas developed through the Dynamic Cities Project – a non profit think tank that I co-founded 5 years ago to research peak oil and climate change impacts on cities. A Lanefab manifesto, then, is really a Dynamic Cities manifesto:

As a general planning and design strategy, I would aim for every project to be: 1. Green  2. Net-Positive 3. Resilient.

Of the 3 strategies, ‘Green’ is relatively well understood.  A policy for ‘net positive’ development would likely involve some sort of offset-fund whereby you would be charged a fee based on the net change in energy and water consumption for your site.  If your new building uses less energy than what it replaced, then there would be no fee. If it uses more, then you would be charged a proportional fee that would go towards improving the energy efficiency and resiliency of other buildings in your city (like schools or low income housing). I’d like to see the same strategy applied to cars and trucks as a means to finance the electrification of our transit fleets and freight rail systems.

‘Resilient’, for me, has two meanings. It means being able to quickly recover from shocks (like rising energy prices, or food shortages) it also means that a ‘resilient city’ will function well in a wide variety of possible futures – including ones defined by peak oil and climate change.  By contrast, new investments in road capacity or airports are probably not resilient investments, because they only have value in a ‘business as usual’ future.

What inspires your work?

Bryn: I’d say that I’m inspired by the opportunity I’ve been given to take a very eclectic approach to doing design and research. My current blend of projects lets me work at a very local, very personal level, but also takes me to many different cities to discuss the major energy and environmental challenges that we’re facing globally. I’ve worked in the fields of engineering and architecture, and I’m continually influenced by my wife (an urban planner with an even broader background in graphic design and physics) and I’d like to think that my work is inspired by the sometimes random connections between all of these various influences. Mat: I am a bit of building technology geek. I am passionate about new building techniques and products? and try to use them when ever possible.

OTHER COOL PEOPLE

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