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Basic Design Gives Second Life To Landfill Bound Materials

21 May

Basic-OfficeSpace-MakerlabsVancouver Mini Maker is coming to the PNE Forum this June 6th & 7th.  There will be over 100 exhibitors featuring a host of creative minds.  One of which we really like, Basic Design which works out of the Makerlabs in Strathcona.  Basic Design is a great initiative co-founded by Jesi Carson and Theunis Snyman. Basic Design is actively redefining the value of waste by giving a second life to landfill-bound materials and creating unique, cruelty-free products. The waste materials that Basic Design uses come from unexpected places, including a “leather-like”, black rubber called EPDM. These are materials used on movie sets in the film industry that came in odd shapes and sizes. With the help of an industrial sewing machines and a laser cutter, Basic Design up-cycles this waste into stylish wallets, card holders, bags and more. They hope to make a difference, one product at a time. Basic Design also does custom design projects including furniture and interior design.  They are currently designing and building 100% up-cycled furniture for Lupii Café in Champlain Heights which will be Vancouver’s first zero waste coffee shop which is scheduled to open in June. When working on these projects, they use up-cycled, local and sustainable materials whenever possible. Basic Design firmly “believes that good design is responsible design, and that their clients, customers and planet Earth deserve the extra effort”.

Basic Design will be showcasing their line of up-cycled products at the Vancouver Mini Maker Faire. If you are not able to catch them at the Mini Maker Faire, you can also watch for them at the Eastside Flea, Make It Vancouver or visit their Etsy site. They also have some of their products at Nice Shoes at 3568 Fraser Street. We love what they do.  We will certainly be stopping by and checking out some of their work at the upcoming Mini Maker Faire.

Photo Credit: Basic Design

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Meet The Makers Expo June 13 At The Makers Lab

15 May

MeetTheMakersStrathcona is an area we love. It is a multicultural neighbourhood and home to one of Vancouver’s oldest residential area. Within Strathcona there is much industry and business which is still fuelled by the railway and port, but there is also so much new industry in this area. The Strathcona Business Improvement Association is a very proactive organization that works with the community to develop this area and promote the businesses within it.  This June, they invite you to check out what is actually made in Strathcona in the Meet the Makers Expo.  You will get a chance to see some unique, innovative and delicious businesses through demonstrations, panel discussions, networking and yes tastings. The event will feature restaurants, breweries and cafes including A.G.R.O. Roasters and Yolk’s Breakfast to name but two. On June 13th, you are invited to come down to the MakerLabs at 780 East Cordova Street from 11:00 am to 3:00 pm to meet the makers behind the businesses in Strathcona. This is a free event open to the public.  In order to ear mark your free ticket, visit Eventbrite.

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Farmers Markets In East Vancouver This Spring & Summer

7 May

BerriesThe warm weather is here and the much beloved markets are gearing up for what’s expected to be another busy spring and summer. This year, you will have lots to choose from as to date, location and time. The first market to get up and running in East Van is the Trout Lake Farmers Market which starts this Saturday May 9th.  We have set out below all the markets happening in East Van over the spring and summer months.

Trout Lake Farmers Market: 9:00 am – 2:00 pm
Every Saturday May 9th – October 24th
Location: North Parking Lot of John Hendry Park at Trout Lake between Templeton and Lakewood south of the 13th Avenue Alley

Main Street Station Farmers Market: 2:00 pm – 6:00 pm
Every Wednesday June 3rd to October 7th
Location: 1100 Block Station Street along Thornton Park across from the VIA Rail Station and near the Main St Skytrain Station

Mount Pleasant Farmers Market: 10:00 am – 2:00 pm
Every Sunday June 14th  – October 11th
Location: Guelph Street between 7th & 8th Avenues (on the paved play area between Mt. Pleasant Elementary and Guelph Park)

River District Farmers Market: 10:00 am – 3:00 pm
Every Saturday May 30th – October 10th
Location: 8683 Kerr Street (at E. Kent Avenue S.)

Italian Night Market: 3:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Every Third Friday of the Month starting May 15th  to November 20th
 Location: Italian Cultural Centre, 3075 Slocan Street

We encourage you to get out and support local.

Colony Bar Launches Main Street Location With Great Bar Eats

6 May

ColonyMainInteriorWe had the pleasure of attending the opening of a new spot in town, Colony Main Street.   This is a 130 seat neighbourhood bar located at 2904 Main Street (at 13th Avenue) former space of Mr. Brownstone.  This 2,000 square foot space has an unfinished design which includes cinderblock walls and an original exposed beam ceiling and some very unique lighting fixtures.  We quite like the beer board, which had a Pizza Farina feel to it with handwritten offerings on a roll of brown Kraft paper.

Speaking of beer, there is a great selection which includes local craft beer makers Red Truck Beer and Parallel 49 Brewing.  You can expect deals on beer on Tapped Out Tuesday where most beers are $3.00 as well as daily $4.00 beer specials. Mind you, if get a chance to try the Bourbon Sour, we highly recommend this tasty cocktail.  On the food front, there are some serious burgers on the menu including the BBQ onion ring burger, but we opted for the Crispy Chicken Burger which hit the spot. What was impressive and not one to rave about fries, but their Stadium Fries, these were not ordinary fries. They were extra crispy with lemon, pepper and garlic, hands down the best fries we’ve tried.  The Wok Fried Squid with potato flour, garlic, chilies and pea shoots had some serious kick. Although not gluten free, for those that have a sensitivity to wheat/gluten it may be an option.

The Colony On Main is a definite spot for sports viewing, but will also be home to live music, comedy and trivia nights. The trivia nights will happen every Monday starting Monday, May 11th. There will be prizes to giveaway, so bring your team.   You can’t miss this spot, it’s situated nicely next to Parallel 49 Coffee/Lucky’s Doughnuts.  They are open 7 days week from 11:30 am to 2:00 am.

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Gourmet Warehouse Cooking Classes Heading Into BBQ Season

4 May

GourmetWarehouseLogoThe Gourmet Warehouse has a great line up of cooking classes leading up to the summer months including the very popular Flavours of Vietnam. This cooking class sold out in a heart beat when first offered earlier this year. So if you missed it then, now’s your chance to sign up.  Some of the other classes coming up include a Sushi Workshop, Thai Summer and Summer Grilling.  Attending one of these classes, is certainly a fun way to spend an afternoon. Of course, there is always shopping after the cooking class as participants are offered a 10% discount for purchases made the day of your class. For a full line up of all the classes Gourmet Warehouse is offering visit Cooking Classes. We have set out a sampling of some of the delicious classes they have lined up:

Sushi Workshop – Saturday, June 6th 11:00 am ($69)

Chef Cindy Low will take you through this hands on workshop and teach you how to make the vinegared sushi rice, mix wasabi, prepare a variety of fillings. You will also learn how to master sushi rolls, cones and other styles and shapes. Cindy will also pass on some tips on a hosting a do-it-yourself sushi party.  The items that Cindy will be making include:

•           California rolls (crab, avocado, cucumber, rolled “inside out”)
•           Futomaki (thick roll with vegetables, omelet, pickled vegetables)
•           Hoso maki (thin rolls with various fillings)
•           Inari sushi (stuffed tofu pouches)
•           Temaki (cones with various fillings)
•           Onigiri (rice triangles)
•           Miso soup with tofu

Summer Grilling & Fresh Summer Salads – Sunday, June 28th ($59)

Now for something on the wild side, we hear that wild meat and game is the fastest growing segment of protein in the supermarkets in North America. For this cooking class, national cooking show host, Chef Garry Steel, of “Wild for the Weekend,” will introduce you to some wild meat and game dishes. Some of the dishes that Chef Garry Steel will be introducing you to include:

•        Wild Boar Chops – make your own grilling rub and seasoning for  grilling
•        Ostrich Burgers – stuffed with stone fruit chutney
•        Alligator Tagine – give your BBQ a special zing with a Moroccan flavor
•        Watermelon Pepper Salad – a savoury spicy fresh summer salad
•        Coconut Tomato Pepper Salad

Flavours of Vietnam – Saturday, July 11th 11:00 am ($59)

Chef Cindy Low will introduce you to Vietnamese cuisine which is one of Southeast Asia’s best kept secrets. The emphasis will be on fresh Asian herbs and vegetables as well as bright seasonings that translate into refreshing, healthy and light cuisine. The dishes she will be making include:

•    Vietnamese salad rolls with prawns, served with a spicy mango dipping sauce
•    Shaking beef with arugula, served banh mi (Vietnamese sandwich) style
•    Chicken pho
•    Stir-fried seasonal Asian greens
•    Homemade Vietnamese carrot and daikon pickles
•    Vietnamese coffee ice cream

Thai Summer –  Saturday, July 18th 11:00 am ($59)

Love Thai food? Well Chef Cindy Low will introduce you to the perfect Thai summer menu. You will learn why Thai cookery is one of Asia’s most diverse and complex cuisines. Some of the Thai dishes she will help you add to your repertoire this summer include:

•      Thai salad with tree-ripened papaya, organic greens, toasted coconut, cashews, chili-lime dressing
•      Thai pork sliders – Thai-seasoned mini-burgers with sweet chili aioli
•      Chiang Mai noodles, prawns and Asian greens in a light coconut broth
•      Stir-fried chicken with Thai basil, bell peppers, chili
•      Thai red cargo rice
•      Lychee ice cream

If you are interested in any of the cooking classes, be sure to register early to avoid disappointment, classes do sell out. Bon Appetit!

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French Made Baking in Mt. Pleasant Launches French High Tea on Mother’s Day

1 May

FrenchMadeLogoFrench Made Baking, 81 Kingsway, run by the lovely husband and wife team, Catherine and David Introligator, are launching a new menu Goûters Gourmets on Mother’s Day.   It will be French afternoon tea with two options. They tell us, Goûter in France is the traditional after school snack between lunch and dinner. So they are now offering you the full Parisian experience here in Vancouver just in time for Mother’s Day. You are invited to bring your Mom for an “Après-Midi à Paris” (Afternoon in Paris). This will include in a 1 ½ hour full service high tea with Kusmi Tea imported from Paris, sweet and savoury mini-croissants, French macarons, madeleines and other tea time favourites including mini-desserts, a bread basket including brioche, whole wheat campagne bread, baguette served with locally sourced  artisan pâtés, butter, jams and Nuciola (French Made Baking’s own chocolate-hazelnut spread). All sounds pretty amazing to us.  Please note that reservations are required. Afternon tea will take place from 1:30 pm to 4:30 pm. The cost is $31.50 per person. Gluten free menu available with some advance notice.

For those seeking a lighter fare, you can also treat  Mom to the Café-Gourmand much like it is served in French bistros. That being a long plate with a cup of Mogiana coffee or Kusmi tea and an assortment of bite-sized pastries (macarons, madeleines, canelés, mini-crêpes and other delectable goodies) all from French Made Baking along with the largest selection of Kusmi Teas in Vancouver.   Goûter Gourmet “Café Gourmand” is  $15 per person and available every day whereas Goûter Gourmet “Après-Midi à Paris” (the Afternoon in Paris) is available only on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays.FrenchMadeBakingHighTea

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New In Town: East Van Light

30 Apr

East Van Light - Dan Portrait-IMG_2681Today we would like to introduce to someone doing creative work here in East Van, Dan Emery and his creation East Van Light.   Dan designs and builds vintage industrial lamps with a beautiful and simple modern design.  Dan comes from the film and television industry, but over the last 10 years,  he also kept busy buying and renovating homes with his girlfriend. They worked together stripping homes to their frames and redesigning, rebuilding and revitalizing them into beautiful new spaces. After one particular renovation, they were left with some nice scraps of birch. They also had a nice antique reproduction Edison light bulb kicking around at home. A light went off in Dan’s head and an idea of designing vintage industrial lamps was born. His first pair of prototype lamps were developed.

A year and a half ago, Dan and his girlfriend moved from Montreal to Vancouver and settled in East Van, in the heart of Commercial Drive. Dan said he was impressed with the “wonderful culture that embraces and supports a ‘Buy Local’ philosophy”.  This support of local and artisanal businesses inspired him to get East Van Light ramped into gear.East Van Light lamp2-IMG_2531

As you can see from the photos, Dan likes producing clean, minimal, designs that allow each component of the lamp to be showcased and enjoyed. He combines premium local salvaged wood bases with high quality reproduction hardware so that each lamp delivers a warm functional light.  At the same time, his goal is that each lamp has a “refined old world aesthetic that inspires the work, repose, curiosity and conversation of those around it.” Dan says that he “strives for his lamps to be subtle in their support of the spaces they inhabit, while simultaneously engaging the audience that surrounds them.”

Dan will premiere East Van Light at the 2015 Spring edition of Got Craft? this weekend at the Maritime Labour Centre.  Got Craft? is Vancouver’s largest indie craft fair and for this event he teamed up with a local East Vancouver carpenter, Brad Seiber, of ReForm + Design Woodworking, who is responsible all of the amazing woodwork that goes into the lamp bases. Together they purchased the entire trunk of an old slow growth BC Black Walnut tree, sourced from an old Scandinavian tree salvager who saved it from being torn down, and slowly and carefully dried these giant cuts of lumber in his barn out in the Fraser Valley for the last 7 years. Dan worked with the raw slabs to ensure the beautiful features, grain patterns and characteristics of this exceptional wood is showcased in each and every handcrafted lamp that he designs.  Dan is passionate about providing high quality handcrafted lamps and is excited about launching East Van Light at Got Craft this weekend.  You can expect to find Dan and 75 of his lamps at the Maritime Labour Centre this weekend from 10:00 am – 5:00 pm.  If you are not able to attend Got Craft? in person, you can also view a selection of Dan’s lamps on his Facebook page.

Photo Credit: Jenny LysengEast Van Light lamp2-IMG_2621  East Van Light lamp5-IMG_2648

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Spring Studio Sale – East Van Artist June Hunter May 1 & 2

29 Apr

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East Van artist June Hunter, is having a Spring Studio Sale this coming weekend May 1st and 2nd. If you don’t know her work, June has a way with nature that shows in all her pieces. Her work has been featured in Style at Home House and Home and Where Vancouver as well as on CBC’s Living Vancouver.

At June’s Spring Studio Sale, you can expect to find sale prices on art, jewellery, tiles, magnets, one of a kind mixed media miniatures and a small number of the highly sought after crow and Vancouver medallions as well as charm bracelets. You can also expect to find new large prints on plexiglass in limited editions. June Hunter’s Studio is located at 2785 Parker Street (one block west of Renfrew – between Hastings St. and First Avenue). The Studio Sale runs Friday, May 1st from 2:00 pm to 8:00 pm and on Saturday, May 2nd from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm.

If you are not able to make the Studio Sale, you can also visit her Shop Online or find some of her work at Doctor Vigari Gallery, 1816 Commercial Drive.

Photos Courtesy of June Hunter Images

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Consider Recycling When Spring Cleaning – Mattress Recycling Has You Covered

24 Apr

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NOTE: MATTRESS RECYCLING IS TEMPORARILY CLOSED DUE TO A FIRE. PLEASE CHECK BACK FOR UPDATES.

It’s that time of year when many of us start to do a little Spring cleaning.  With that in mind, we would like to introduce you to a business in SE Vancouver which might be able to help you with your Spring cleaning. It is Mattress Recycling and yes as the name suggest they recycle mattresses, but not only that. They have a long list of items that they recycle.  So while you are in ‘spring cleaning’ mode and purging items, we ask that you think about recycling some of the items or alternatively giving them to a local charity.

Mattress Recycling was founded by Fabio Scaldaferri in 2009 with three of his 20 something friends. The business started in North Vancouver and moved to SE Vancouver about 2 ½ years ago. Fabio was fundamental in lobbying Metro Vancouver to become one of the only regions in the world to place a ban on dumping mattresses in landfills.  The Company has grown exponentially and last year alone they recycled some 105,000 mattresses.  They are pleased to say that  90% of the material from mattresses gets recycled. As well, these young entrepreneurs have been doing something a little extra for the environment.  Last year they added a beehive to their roof with the assistance of the Main Street Honey Shoppe. In the coming weeks they are looking to add 10 more beehives.

If you are looking to drop off a mattress, the cost for an individual is $12.50 which we note beats the City of Vancouver’s price of $15.00 per mattress at the Transfer Station down the street. And the added bonus of taking your mattress to Mattress Recycling is you can pop in across the street to East Van’s newest craft brewery, Dogwood Brewing, or right next door is Lee Valley Tools for any gardening needs. Note, Mattress Recycling does not offer a pick up service. It is a drop off facility only, but for those without cars Fabio suggests a car sharing service that has vans including Modo and ZipVan.  For a fee, Mattress Recycling will also recycle sofas and arm chairs.  Add to that, there is a host of items they will recycle for FREE. These items include:

–       Batteries (household)
–       Cell phones
–       Laptops
–       Metal frames Metal appliances (although no fridges)
–       Bikes
–       BBQs
–       Filing cabinets
–       Basically, anything metal
–       Wax candles
–       Plastic film/plastic bags
–       Vehicles

We invite you to check out Mattress Recycling which is located at 8275 Sherbrooke Avenue just 2 blocks West of the Knight Street Bridge off of SE Marine Drive. They are open 7 days a week Monday to Friday 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and Saturday and Sunday 10:00 am to 3:00 pm. If you would like to learn more about all the steps involved in recycling a mattress, we invite you to check CityTV’s recent interview on YouTube.  

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New In Town: Raw Soap Skincare … Natural Products Made With Love In East Van

20 Apr

RawSoapSkincareWe love finding out about new businesses making their way in East Vancouver. Today we would like to introduce to Alisha Danielle and her company, Raw Soap Skincare.   After some health issues in her 20s, Alisha became very aware of all the chemicals being absorbed through the skin in many of the day to day personal care products we use.  She slowly began to eliminate a number of products from her daily  routine and replace them with better options. Many of the alternatives she found with all natural ingredients, came at a steep price.  So Alisha did her research and started making her own moisturizers, soaps, scrubs and shaving creams and gave them away as gifts. Everyone loved the products, low and behold a business was born, Raw Soap Skincare. Alisha’s soap and skin care products are natural, organic, ethical, eco-friendly vegan, fair trade and sustainable.   Her mission is to create products that promote inner and outer balance, while giving back to our worldwide community. Raw Soap Skincare will donate 5% of their profits to a different not-for-profit charity each month. Until April 31st, Raw Soap Skincare is donating that 5% to thewaterproject.org.  An organization unlocking human potential by providing sustainable water projects to communities in sub-Saharan Africa.

Currently Raw Soap Skincare is only available online through Etsy and the product line ranges in price from $3.75 – $5.00 and includes:

VanCity CocoCamoNilla Soap
Hornby Honey Be Like Lemonade Soap
Tuff City Green Tea Soap
Commercial Drive Rooibos Goddess Lemongrass Exfoliate Bar
Sea To Sky Fly High Sunrise Exfoliate Bar
Mt Pleasant Peaceful Pumice Exfoliate Bar
The Grove Rosemary Reefer Exfoliate Bar
P.Dot Lavender Pop Exfoliate Bar

In the coming months, Alisha plans to expand her product line to include sugar scrubs, body butters, shaving cream, lip balm, a special homeopathic salve for sore muscles as well as bath salts and herbal facial steamers. You can also expect her products at some select retail locations in the coming months.  If you live in East Vancouver and make your  online Etsy purchase, you can pick orders directly from Alisha and forego the shipping costs.  We invite you to check out this great new product line made right here in East Vancouver which means you will be supporting local with every purchase made. Right now, for every order over $25.00, free shipping is currently available if you use the Code HONEYBEE.RawSoapBars

 

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