Cool Things We Want

We’re a pretty satisfied bunch, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t covetous. Sometimes we see things out there that we just must have. This is an archive of those earthly desires.

Cool Things We Want / East Vancouver

Check Out the New Autumn/Winter Collection from East Van’s Old Fashioned Standards

Each design by Cassandra Bailey is timeless, unisex and durable enough to stand up to the season's weather.

Cool Things We Want / East Vancouver

We Want Some Hand Written Communications from Friends and Family

Jeanette has a knack for saying what I struggle to find the words for, and she pairs the messages with cheerful illustrations.

Cool Things We Want

Drool Over the Pages of This New Pizza Book

If you often have pizza on the brain, you'll want to get a copy of PIZZA: A Book by Pizza Pilgrims when it’s still hot off the presses.

Cool Things We Want / Oregon

We Want a Bottle of This Fragrance That Smells Like Old Books

"Powell’s by Powell’s" is a limited edition novelty fragrance with subtle hints of wood, violet and biblichor.

Cool Things We Want

How Vancouverites Can Fake Early Morning Sunlight During the Long Dark Bummer Ahead

The lack of sunshine between now and the winter solstice is one of the worst things about life in Vancouver, so why not fix it?

Cool Things We Want

We Want Bottles of this Local Company’s New Wild Black Spruce and Giant Kelp Hand Wash

Who knew the world of hand cleaning would ever become such a highly considered part of our daily lives?

Cool Things We Want / Main Street

We Want a Big Bite of Downlow Burger’s Limited Edition ‘Monster Mash’ Halloween Special

Think beef patty, spicy fried chicken, crispy fried pork belly, jalapeño ranch, cheddar, lettuce and tomato layered on a potato bun.

Cool Things We Want / West Side

We Want to Learn How to Grow Our Own Garlic With a Little Help from UBC Farm

UBC Farm is hosting an online community workshop on the growing of garlic this Wednesday with Earthbites' Brendan Young.

Cool Things We Want / Mt. Pleasant

We Want a Pair of Skate Shoes Hand-Painted by Local Coast Salish Youth, Nora Pape

Orange Shirt Day has come and gone (almost), but there are other ways to show your support for the Wet’suwet’en Nation

Cool Things We Want / Main Street

Cool Things We Want at Mt. Pleasant’s Much + Little

From kitchen things to clothing, the shop stocks local brands and handmade goods that make us smile in hard times.

Cool Things We Want

We Want These Bushcraft Books So We Can Learn Lots of Cool Stuff While Camping

Dave Canterbury's collection instructs on how to gear up, build shelters forage for edibles, and so much more.

Cool Things We Want / Gastown

Five Cool Things We Want From Gastown’s 51 Powell Shop

51 Powell contains an eclectic collection of handmade and vintage items that are beautiful, useful, and often surprising...

Cool Things We Want / Kitsilano

One of Vancouver’s Best Restaurants Has Finally Produced a Cookbook, and We Want It

I'm not certain which of Maenam's 100+ recipes I'm going to try and tackle first, but I expect to be both challenged and rewarded.

Cool Things We Want

We Want This Camper Trailer Made Out of a 1967 VC10 Jet Engine Housing

What is easily towed to campsites, sleeps four people, has a working kitchen and once upon a time had a top speed of 933km/h?

Cool Things We Want / Commercial Drive

We Want Some of Livia Bakery’s Canned Cherries, Blackberries and Huckleberries

The popular Commercial Drive establishment is just about to release a sweet line-up of summer deliciousness...

Cool Things We Want

Face Shield You Didn’t Know You Wanted Smells Like Fresh ‘Krispy Kreme’ Doughnuts

The many innovations in our fight against Covid-19 now include Andy Clockwise's clever recycling of a doughnut bag.

Cool Things We Want / The Okanagan

We Want Every Camp Cooler-Friendly Can of ‘A Noble Blend’ We Can Find

Flats of Joiefarm's signature white wine blend quickly sold out online, but can still be found at a handful of stores.

Cool Things We Want

Turning a Metal Suitcase Into a Small Camp Kitchen

Instead of being stuffed with cash and handcuffed to a gangster's wrist, this metal suitcase is living its best life.

Cool Things We Want / The Okanagan

We Want One of These Very Special Bottles of Local Cabernet Franc

The very BC story of this wine - originally made for two Chinatown restaurants - has us wishing for a sip before it's all gone...

Cool Things We Want

We Want This Wall-Mounted Folding Desk

They look to be the perfect workspace solution for small apartments. (We'll pounce when we see one produced/sold locally.)

Cool Things We Want

We Want to Learn How to Tie All the Knots That Every Camper Should Know

The skills will prove super handy when Covid-19 gets under control and we're all given the green light to go camping in our parks again.

Cool Things We Want

How to Make a Model of the Moon at Home While Social Distancing

All you need is a plastic sphere, some candle wax, a sheet of sandpaper, some paint and a global pandemic that gives you the time.

Cool Things We Want / Downtown East Side

We Want One of Local Artist Christina Kenton’s Fanciful Bic Lighter Sculptures

These cases are hand-sewn, built up and painted over with intricate patterns to create elaborate dioramas of animals and objects.

Cool Things We Want / East Vancouver

New Cup Share Program Now in Action at Four Coffee Spots Around East Van

This smartly designed, easy-to-use local cup share program is already in operation at several cafes in Vancouver.

Cool Things We Want

We Want This ‘Be Goose Do Crimes’ Patch

We're not entirely sure why this 3-inch, iron-on, embroidered patch needs to be in our lives but such is the mystery of material desire.

Cool Things We Want

Creator of BB-8 Develops New Hexapod ‘Mantis’ Vehicle (and We Want to Drive One)

I don't like that it's slow, heavy (4,200 lbs) and runs on diesel fuel, but I still want to give Matt Denton's creation a go...

Cool Things We Want

Six Ways to Enable and Inspire Some Self-Care This Holiday Season

8 Places

We've thought up a short list of local products and services that we think might help inspire and enable a self-care ritual this season.

Cool Things We Want

8 Thoughtful Gift Ideas for the Picky Food Lovers on Your Christmas List

From wine to chocolate, these gift ideas provide not only instant and delicious gratification, but also tasty reasons to come together.