Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Art Kills Texas


Art Kills Texas - Saturday May 3rd, 2008

Remember to swing by HQ this Saturday night to witness the opening of Valerie Sury's exhibit "Art Kills Texas" showcasing original paintings inspired by the bands from 2005's South by South-west concert. Starting at 6 pm and running until 11 pm join us for drinky-poo's, music and amazing art. Do you posses the music savvy to name all the bands in the exhibition, based on their attendance at SXSW and the paintings alone? We challenge you!

The show will be running for the entire month of May , so be sure to check it out 2 or 3 times. At least.

*****

http://www.valeriesury.com/

Friday, April 25, 2008

Worn Fashion Journal Slowdance Prom


Well, the sweet memories of the Worn Fashion Journal Slowdance Prom are just a glimmer in our minds. But thanks to their beautiful photo op setup, the memories can live on in technicolour! Here is just a small sampling of the decked out slowdancers. For the rest of the pics go to the Worn Journal Flickr set: Slowdance Prom



Friday Night is here!


And so is the "Alba Matters" show!

Scroll down to the post from earlier this week for all the info on this awesome colab show. It's for one night only, so stop by, have a drink and check it out. The clocks will be available in HQ and online on the Furni website afterwards, but this is the only night to revel in their digital brilliance as one plugged in group. Behold them!

www.furnicreations.com

Wednesday, April 23, 2008

Yanas Panties!



Hee hee, even typing the word "panties" makes me giggle a bit. Just thought I'd share with you guys a couple pics from Yana (of Supayana fame) and the ladies who took her underwear making workshop at the Etsy Labs last week.

GOOOOO Yana!!

www.supayana.etsy.com

Unkie Tysie!


So any of you who have been by the shop have probably (hopefully) noticed that it's me (Angie) here at the shop instead of Tyson who is usually here all week. Well, Tyson is visiting family in Winnipeg because his brother and sister in law had a beautiful baby girl, Violet Ash Bodnarchuk! Tysons mom took this sweet pic of Tyson and Violet, so I thought you all might like to see the little cutie (the baby, not Tyson). She's so TINY!!!

Wish I was there to see her too guys!

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Happy Earth Day!



What a beautiful, sunny, happy Earth Day!

How has the last year been for you, is your brain ready to explode from hearing about how "green" everyone is becoming? I want to take a second to talk about greenwashing, just for a moment. According to my best friend Wikipedia "greenwashing" is:

Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that is used to describe the act of misleading consumers regarding the environmental practices of a company or the environmental benefits of a product or service.[1] The term Green sheen has similarly been used to describe organisations which attempt to appear that they are adopting practices benefical to the environment.[2]

With every tv show, magazine, celebrity and company talking about "going green" it can get a little confusing. How do you know what is really and truly green? I'm no expert by any degree, but I keep my eyes and ears open, and here are 2 things that really bug me:

- Flashy or literally GREEN COLOURED packaging. Come to think of it, how can a product with packaging on which to print actually be that green at all? Yes, some items must be packaged in some way but if the packaging looks exactly the same as the old packaging, and it has a swoosh of text saying "now greener than ever!", be a wee bit suspicious.

- Magazines touting new green products that you MUST buy! (clothing, furniture, cups, shoes, etc.) While it's wonderful that these products are being made, just remember that it's excessive consumption in the first place that got us into this mess. Don't go out and replace perfectly good items. And if you do, please remember to give your old items to Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. Useable items should NEVER go in the trash!! I want to buy your old items at the Goodwill anyways!

Here's a little recap from Wikipedia on what to watch for in regards to greenwashing.

In December 2007, environmental marketing company TerraChoice gained national press coverage for releasing a study called "The Six Sins of Greenwashing," which found that 99% of 1,018 common consumer products randomly surveyed for the study were guilty of greenwashing. According to the study, the six sins of greenwashing are:

* Sin of the Hidden Trade-Off: e.g. “Energy-efficient” electronics that contain hazardous materials. 998 products and 57% of all environmental claims committed this Sin.

* Sin of No Proof: e.g. Shampoos claiming to be “certified organic,” but with no verifiable certification. 454 products and 26% of environmental claims committed this Sin.

* Sin of Vagueness: e.g. Products claiming to be 100% natural when many naturally-occurring substances are hazardous, like arsenic and formaldehyde (see appeal to nature). Seen in 196 products or 11% of environmental claims.

* Sin of Irrelevance: e.g. Products claiming to be CFC-free, even though CFCs were banned 20 years ago. This Sin was seen in 78 products and 4% of environmental claims.

* Sin of Fibbing: e.g. Products falsely claiming to be certified by an internationally recognized environmental standard like EcoLogo, Energy Star or Green Seal. Found in 10 products or less than 1% of environmental claims.

* Sin of Lesser of Two Evils: e.g. Organic cigarettes or “environmentally friendly” pesticides, This occurred in 17 products or 1% of environmental claims.[10][11]

So what's a person to do?

Well, research actually. It's your job as a consumer and human being to figure out which brands and products are good for the environment and which are not. All you have to do is actually care a bit and pay attention, and you'll start noticing hints all over the place. I good tip I read is that if your great-grandma wouldn't know what it is, it's probably not all that great for you. Obviously a few things are exceptions, but it's kind of a nice rule. Grandma didn't have saran wrap, or yogurt in a tube, or a Swiffer and she did just fine.

So what am I doing? Well, here are a few things I'm going to work on:

- Focusing on buying organic cotton for all my basics (tanks, t's, etc.) There are a lot of companies now doing organic cotton basics, so I really have no excuse. American Apparel is one of those companies, and I get most of my basics there anyways, so why not?

- Switching my bathroom towels to organic cotton or bamboo. We have 2 dogs, so our towels turn into rags pretty darn quick. Organic cotton and bamboo towels are available at many large scale retailers at this point, so again this is an easy one.

- Homemade dog food. This is really more Tyson than me. That's right, I can't even really cook good dog food. It's mostly better for our dogs, but it does reduce packaging, and is made with all natural items with no preservatives or additives. The dogs seem to like it A LOT better too.

- Buying more local produce. Food that has travelled less obviously creates fewer emissions. Now I just need to convince my fruiterie not to use styrofoam plates to put their food on. Are those things REALLY still allowed?!?!?!?

- Try convincing my local noodle place to let me use my own dishes/containers for takeout. This might be a tough one, but it would be amazing!

- Finding a brand of biodegradable doggie poop bags that I can buy in Montreal. We found some once but couldn't find them again. 'Cause really, putting biodegradable poop in bags that will not degrade or allow the poop to degrade, it's kind of stupid.

- REMEMBERING to bring my own tote bag to get groceries with. Why can't I remember!?!?!?!

- Switching more lights to CFLS, both at home and at HQ

- Switching some of my magazine subscriptions to online versions. Readymade magazine is now available online (with a subscription code). It will reduce paper, but will also reduce clutter in my house, an extra bonus.

- Convincing people that bottled water is the craziest thing in the world. I understand that you may need to buy a bottle of water when you're at some music festival or something and your hydration is at risk, and they won't let you bring in your own water, but in your office? at home? at the gym? Come on people, bring your own water!!! Does no one realize that the REASON people think we need to drink bottled water is because people think tap water is not clean enough? Because of pollution from, oh I don't know, WATER BOTTLES?!?!?!? The irony people, the irony...

- One last tip I just read is that The Home Depot is now offering FREE recycling of all your broken or dead CFL lightbulbs. This may sound like a small thing, but it is AMAZING. Not sure if everyone realizes this, but CFLs have mercury in them, so you can't just chuck them out like a regular bulb. Thank you Home Depot!

Happy Earth Day everyone, here are a few links to check out if you're interested in learning more:

Wikipedia page on Greenwashing
www.inhabitat.com
www.treehugger.com
www.re-nest.com

****

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Alba Matters


Um yeah, summer's here, in case you didn't realize... wow. So let's talk about something that is ski/snowboard related. PERFECT!

Seriously though, we've got an amazing last minute collab show lined up for Friday April 25th (that's in about a week and a half). Our friends at Furni got together with 20 artists to make one of kind versions of their popular "Alba" clock. The show is fresh off it's debut exhibition at the Telus "Spin" Ski and Snowboard show in Mont Tremblant and is now making at stop at HQ.


The "Alba Matters" art show will be viewable one night only, so get your butts down here!!! This art show is an initiative from Furni, a montreal based design-build studio and Rekognize, a full service design firm also based right here in Montreal. The clocks on show are both relevant and affordable (fixed price of 150$ each) with a portion of the proceeds going back to the artists themselves so come on out for a great night.


Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Brixton hats have arrived!


Holy shit, it actually happened, spring/summer is here! I know I write about the weather a lot, I guess it's part of my prairie roots. People in Manitoba CONSTANTLY talk about the weather. All I know is that a few hours ago I was eating lunch on a terrasse and talking about vintage bathing suits. Seriously.

The Castor

On a completely less girly note, we've received our shipment of Brixton hats! I just spoke to Tyson on the phone and he assured me that they are on the shelves and looking amazing. Kick ass really. We have a few different colours of these styles kicking around in a couple of sizes. Finally, something for the guys!

The Pinch

Brixton is a collection of hats (and now belts and jackets) created as a collaboration between three southern California friends. Created in 2004, they wanted to design a line of hats inspired by the music, culture and people that surrounded them.

The Stroll

These hats are seriously amazing quality, with satin linings, grossgrain ribbon detailing, nicely woven fabric and vintage tattoo flash style illustrations on the inside linings. Serious attention to detail, which I always love.

The Hooligan

Also, Tyson has one that he treats like shit (throws it in his backpack, puts it on the dog, sits on it, etc.) and it's pulling through just fine. Tyson is the ultimate wear-test for any piece of clothing, I swear.

The Ruffian

As usual though, girls will no doubt be filching some of these hats for their own. So it goes, girls get away with wearing anything, leaving the boys in the dust.... Ha! So here's a little "girls wearing hats" style inspiration for you as well, get that style motor turning! (all images from www.facehunter.blogspot.com) Click on the images for bigger versions...

Black hats, done two very different ways

A mix of colours and patterns

AND a little style inspiration for the boys...

slick and black

A little more casual and layered up

And if I EVER catch you wearing one of the Brixton hats THIS way, I'll knock the bloody thing off your head and you will be forever banned from HQ!

www.brixtonltd.com




Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Mixtape in your face!

My second instalment of what will hopefuly be a weekly thing. It's finally starting to warm up, so here are a bunch of fun new and old songs that remind me of of warm times. Getready to have your face melted off by sweet Springtime jams!

Damned Dollies


It's been awhile since we mentioned the little dolls we sell at HQ made by our friend Dana De Kuyper. They're a mixture of cute and evil, and she calls them Damned Dollies. We love them. We give them to people as presents A LOT. Dana also makes amazing illustrations which she screenprints onto tees, change purses, etc. If you haven't seen these little ladies around town or in some magazines you're probably a hermit. They've appeared in Bust, Marmalade, British Vogue, Strut, Elle Quebec, enRoute, some Italian magazine, some Swedish magazine and various local papers. Dana was one of the first people we met when we moved to Montreal, and we love seeing her out and about at concerts, and of course at every craft show under the sun. Yay Dana!

Oh and for those wondering about that Jill Bliss package in the above pic, it's brand new at HQ! Jill Bliss is one of my favorite artists, you may recognize her art from some of the My Favorite Mirror "pocket mirrors" we have in the store, or from one of the coaster sets. Well, we now have a beautiful set of mini journals for sale. Cute!

Thursday, April 10, 2008

Reminder: Chatte Bottee Tonight!


We stayed late last night helping Carole and Nika set up the shoes for the Chatte Bottee vintage shoe party we're hosting tonight. Don't forget to pop in and check out their selection (red leather boots anyone? Or perhaps you're looking for some colourful pumps or wedge sandals?). There will be drinks and snacks as well, and the boutique will be open all night so stop by and check out our HUGE array of summer dresses.

Hooray for dresses!

Hooray for vintage shoes and boots!

Hooray for snacks!


*****

Worn Fashion Journal: Issue 6 Launch Party Slowdance Night!

It's Friday night, you're wondering what to do. Maybe you're sitting at home in a fancy gown eating ice-cream? Why sit at home when you could be wearing that fancy gown out on the town...and slow dancing in it!

Worn Fashion Journal & Slowdance Night team-up to bring you The Most Important Night of Your Life featuring the release of Worn Fashion Journal issue 6!

Featuring all slow songs, all night long and an intimate dancecard-booklet!

But wait, there’s more to this very special evening!

- Door Prize Pack Draws!
- A Lending Library of Resident Dancers!
- A Photobooth for the Fashion-Passionate!

The night will be lit by a mirrorball & the projections of prom scenes from over 20 movies!

Dress fancy! Fantastic attire, while not required, is greatly desired. Why wouldn't you want to be fantastic? Why I ask, why!?!?!?

$10 Prom ticket comes with the very latest Issue of Worn Fashion Journal as well as your dancecard. This is a queer & senior friendly event, welcome welcome one and all!


More info:
www.wornjournal.com
www.licketysplitzine.com,
www.slowdancenight.blogspot.com


****

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Muxtape


I found the most magical site today. Muxtape is an amazing site where you can upload music (12 songs) to pass along to friends to check out. I think I'll make this a weekly instalment on the HQ blog. Get ready to have your ass blown off!

http://www.hq.muxtape.com/

I love you all so much.

xo tyson

Outfits of the Week: April 8, 2008

Thank freakin' god, the sun is here! A couple of sunny outfits for the upcoming sunny weekend! (as usual, click on the image for a large version of the pics)

Yellow chiffon blouse by Soi Disant (Montreal), Grey vest onesie by Valerie Dumaine (Montreal), black bow belt, blue plastic and cord vintage necklace, denim monster bag by Dumb Chauffeur (Winnipeg), vintage canvas runners (never been worn, amazing!!!)


Colourblocked halter dress by Homebaked Fashions (Montreal), charm necklace by Tilly D'Oro, vintage gold quilted purse, vintage metallic peep toe pumps.

Monday, April 07, 2008

Springtime Shoe Dreams


Yes, we're teaming up again with the girls from La Chatte Bottee! This Thursday, April 10th from 6pm to 9pm pop by to get your spring shoe fix! Nika and Carole (the shoe savvy ladies themselves) have assured us the collection is larger than ever, with tons of cute pumps, summery slingbacks and sexy sandals to sate your spring shoe appetite.

Tyson is predicting it will be something like a giant McDonalds ballpit, but with shoes instead of balls. But sometimes Tyson exaggerates....the only way to find out for sure is to stop in a see for yourself. And hey, drink enough wine and you just might be rolling around in a pile of shoes, who knows?

For more info about Chatte Bottee go to www.myspace.com/lachattebottee

Team Macho interview


Hey all! Team Macho, an awesome collective based out of Toronto did an interview with Mass Art Guide and it's been posted on their site. Take a few minutes and check it out. These guys are amazing!

http://www.massartguide.com/audio/200804_team_macho_toronto_on_1.php

Thursday, April 03, 2008

Idilio


HQ and Aria Jewelry are proud to present "Idilio" a group exhibition opening this Saturday. Aria guest curates this show by hand picking international artists and marrying them with a design from her jewelry collection to use as a "Canvas" for their work.

Contributing artists include:
Tim Barnard
Melissa Del Pinto
Dan Climan
Kara Love Eaton
and more...

The show starts at 6 pm until 11 pm. Join us for drinks, art and magic times.

Music by DJ Garry Vickers

If you can't make it out, no worries, the exhibit will run for the whole month of April.

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

New T-shirt designs from Poisson


The Poisson girls have been busy sketching up a storm and screenprinting their designs onto some new mens and womens tees. We have a nice variety in the shop right now for all you die hard t-shirt fans. You gotta love the Poisson girls for designing a weird two headed snake-like graphic and naming it "Brangelina"! I love the gradient monsters too, and there are a tonne more that we don't have pics of, I guess you'll just have to see them for yourself!

Outfits of the Week: April 1st, 2008

I know, I know where the heck did the outfits of the week go?! I guess we'll never really know, but the important thing is, they're back and better than ever!

I've always been a little annoyed at the fact that the "whole outfit" shot is so skinny and tall, while the detail shot has a much nicer proportion. Silly detail I know, but it really bothered me. So I've decided to just take that little bit of extra time and make a nice little collage for each outfit, and actually including some close up detail shots. As with almost all of the photos I post, you can click on the image to see a bigger version (go ahead, try it!)

So much more pleasing to the eye, so much better for shopping! Hopefully graphic designers all around will appreciate the effort and I will sleep better knowing the outfits are fairly represented! Here goes:

Raw silk jacket by Yarncraft (Montreal), cotton voile lined dress by Valerie Dumaine (Montreal), wood slice necklace by Norwegian Wood (Montreal), vintage patent belt & vintage boots (still available at HQ)


Coral, stone and metal necklace by Aria (Montreal), green dress by Hastings + Main (Vancouver via Montreal via India! That's right, Marianne, designer of Hastings + Main is living in India right now and taking advantage of all the beautiful textiles at her disposal!). Vintage boots (still available at HQ). I also thought either pair of the vintage low heeled sandals would look great with this outfit too...

*****