Happy Space Year

Thanks to everyone who made 2009 one of HQ's best years. 2008 was such a shit-bird that I had my doubts for 2009.

I had done a really long post regarding some of my favorite artists and new designers from '09 but Blogger wasn't into it and it got deleted. So, instead of doing it all over again (which didn't really feel right) you can fill in the blanks...

"The work of ___________ really blew my socks off! And new designer _______ was the cats pajamas!!"



Moving on...
Angie and I were watching some old "Rocket Robin Hood" cartoons and we wondered; at what point in time do we start naming things with the word "Space" in the title? If you watch any Science fiction film or program from the 1960's to the end of the 80's, normal everyday objects use the words "space" or "cosmic" in them. And most of these shows set in the future, take part in the year 2000.


"Dinner was great honey, I couldn't possibly eat another planetary bite. I'm saving room for that amazing Galaxy pie you made."

So, is there a point at which my telephone becomes my "Cosmic phone"? Or instead of paying me with money, it's now "Space Bucks"?

OK, so technically the "Wayback Machine" traveled to the past but if Professor Peabody gets bored of Dino shit, then he'll probably visit us in the future!

I say the time is now people! We have forty years worth of sci-fi programming to live up to! What if someone from the past, built a time machine and traveled from 1960 to 2010 just to find out we're pretty much just as boring as before? What would he do? He'd kick you in your "space balls", that's what he'd do! So, to be safe, I say we all start to speak like well traveled Space Pirates, from now on. Who's with me?!

New cosmic art by Aya Kakeda

And finally...

For those of you who missed our last "Astral"exhibit, "It's Probably Worth More Than That!", the show will run until the end of January, so you still have time to get your "Space Ass" down here! Oh, and my number one son left the "Art Making Machine" on, so we have tonnes of amazing pieces still up for grabs! So, come on down!

Space-ily yours,

tyson

Holiday hours and other news

Barf!

Hiyo! I hope everyone had a great Christmas. I'm sure I'm not the only person who can say that I literally stuffed my face for the last week. My friend Garry puts it best, "It's like packing a musket." Think about it.

Anyhoodles, we will have a few closed days in the upcoming week due to New Years, etc.

Thursday, Dec. 31: 12pm-4pm
Friday, Jan 1: Closed
Saturday Jan 2: 11am-6pm
Sunday Jan 3: Closed
Monday Jan 4: Closed

The "Jean" Dress by Valerie Dumaine. $125.

For those of you looking for a New Years outfit, local designer Valerie Dumaine's amazing pieces are now all 25% off, as well as equally beautiful work by Anastasia Lomonova.

The "Keiran" dress by Anastasia Lomonova $98.

And lets not forget, Ukrainian Christmas is coming up very soon! As I'm sure I mentioned in an earlier post, I went to Ukrainian immersion from grades 1 through 5 (wicked useful in Quebec, thanks Mom & Dad). Anyway, there was one really cool thing about it. After the regular Christmas holidays were over and everyone was back in school, the Ukrainian immersion students were lucky to celebrate Ukrainian Christmas which began January 6! We got presents and holidays again and the Ukrainian equivalent of Santa Claus, Svyatyi Mykolai, would come to our class and give us gifts, etc. It was pretty awesome!


We even dressed up in these weird little outfits and danced and sang Ukrainian Christmas carols (which always sounded pretty grim when compared to regular carols). I remember one year signing at the pageant in front of our parents and friends, I had a little case of the sniffles. I sneezed into my hand and looked into my palm with horror to see I was now in possession of a fist full of snot! With nowhere to unload this slimy wad (my little Ukrainian dancer pants had no pockets), I did what any smart boy would do.. wipe it on the shirt of the poor sucker in front of me! Poor kid. If he felt the back of his shirt get heavy and damp he showed no signs of knowing and I was able to get off the stage with nobody being the wiser. Heh-heh!

Happy Holidays,

t.

Owl Dating Service

Only a couple days left before Christmas. So, unless you're a glutton for punishment, you'll want to stay away from the malls. Am I right folks?

So, to help you out, my lady friend, Angie, dropped off a new batch of owl plushies. A few have already flown from HQ, so if you want to nab one you better get your sweet buns here quick. I'll have a nice Christmas beer chilling in the fridge for you when you get here!

Christmas can be a lonely time for some people or in this case, some Owls. Below are some of our favorite bachelors and bachelorettes. Maybe we can find the perfect owl match for you!

"Smoochie smoochie" Here is one of our success stories.

Wayne from Toronto says:
"Want to meet up, smoke one and see if we fall in love and live happily ever after? "
Oh Wayne, so romantic!

How about Brian from Edmonton..
"I am 26 years old, occasionally depressed, and unable to achieve my goals. i can focus on things like going to the bathroom, watching south park, and crippling nostalgia, but i cannot seem to galvanise my efforts in order to maintain a relationship, or to achieve any long-term goals."
Whoa girls! Stop pushing and get in line like everyone else!

Meet Denis from Laval....
"I'm looking for a girl who's into metal, hard rock, classic rock.
I have no other real requirements... I'm just tired of dating girls who tell me Metal is all just screaming crap... "

"Hi, looking for a long term relationship. not into one night stands. plus im a bbw"

Thanks for getting right to the point, Stephanie from Winnipeg.

Tell us a little about yourself, Brenda from Ottawa...

"I'm the type of girl that won't take shit; that has been called fat more than once by a total stranger; that is drunk at this moment; that is as comfortable in hoodies and jeans as in stilettos and hot aforementioned dress hob-nobbing with fashionista-bosses; that tries to make everyone feel comfortable; that lacks a sensible filter; that always goes from the wrong kinda guy"

Well where do I sign up?

Ar you Prince Charming? Maybe you're what Dianne from Calgary is looking for. But just to make sure, here is what she is not looking for....

"Please do not contact me if you are: Bearded, over 28, creepy, pretentious, into drugs, unemployed or overall unmotivated"

Sheesh! Well pardon me all to hell, your majesty!

Take one of our more than eligible singles home for just $55.

Seriously though. I got all these profiles off of Craigslist. Awesome!!

Grosse Face collection by Mauve Naif

Mauve Naif designer Catherine Lebrun is a busy girl. So, I rarely get a chance to see her here at HQ. The first time I had a chance to check out her new "Grosse Face" collection was at the *Smart Design Mart show last month and I was really happy to see her amazing new illustrations silkscreened onto sweaters, tees and scarves for guys and girls.

The tees are super soft and drapy, made from a great cotton/viscose blend. It's the kind of shirt that's so comfy you want to throw it on every day, yet the great fabric and awesome prints make you look like you still put in some effort. It's a win win situation.

Black on black sweatshirt. I'm going to be picking up one of these for myself.

We have these scarves down at HQ right now, in all four colours. Hand screen printed on a heavy weight jersey, these babies go for $70.

Catherine also took part in the En Masse project at the *Smart Design Mart.

For those of you familiar with Catherine's hand painted pieces she will still be making them from time to time, just not at the same frequency as before. They're hand painted one of a kind pieces people, the girl's gotta sleep sometime! So, if you see one, you better grab it while you can!

T.

5 best worst Christmas gift ideas.

The 5 Best and Worst Christmas gift ideas

Hi-ho. Over the years, I've received many gifts that left something to be desired. I'm not going to name names but one time I got a pack of zit creme. As a teenager, I was lucky to not have a crater face, so I have no idea where the logic behind this gift was. Oh, and another time I got a pair of Hypercolor socks. You know, the clothing brand that changed colour from your body heat. So, if you had a shirt, you'd get these weird stain like marks under your armpits. Great idea! Oh, and I forgot to mention, they were snot green Hypercolor socks. So, after wearing them for a while, they were snot green and vomit yellow Hypercolor socks. Great gift. Thanks. Anyway, here are 5 shitty and 5 awesome gift ideas for you. I'll try to keep the gift ideas unisex. Enjoy....

The 5 worst:

#5 Your picture on a mug

Really? You're seriously going to give me a mug with your mug on it? Now, not only do I have to listen to you all day but I can stare at your face while I relax with a cup of coffee/tea/whiskey.

#4 A Jigsaw puzzle

Oh, great. A jigsaw puzzle. Thanks grandpa. So, basically what you're telling me is that I'm so boring, that you thought a jigsaw puzzle would be a thrilling present for me. Thanks. Next time buy me a bottle of sleeping pills because you obviously think my life is shit.

#3 A paper weight

-Oh, my... what is this?
-It's a paper weight... you know.
-Oh... OK.
-I figured you liked, uh... paper and uh, weighing things down..... like my hopes and dreams
-What?!
- I think we should see other people.

#2 A Coupon Book

No way should anyone be giving these. Seriously, even if you're like, 5 years old. If I had a kid and he/she tried to pull off this shit, I'd stab them in the face.

#1 Jewelry made out of cutlery

I knew this guy, lets call him.. oh I don't know, Tyrone. Well Tyrone was out one afternoon in the new city that he had just moved to. He didn't know anyone and he decided to go for a few beers at a nice outdoor patio thingy. Any-hoodles, afterwards, he was a little tipsy and decided to buy his lady friend something nice from one of the outdoor street vendors. God knows why he chose a fork bracelet but later on, a more sober Tyrone, seriously questioned his purchase. He ended up hiding the bracelet for years without mentioning it to his lady, Flange.He found it at the bottom of a box, years later and I.. I mean he still has no idea what made him buy it. Lesson learned.

The Best:

#5 Classic childrens books

Whether it's for nostalgic reasons, the amazing artwork or just trying to introduce someone to a classic story, you can't go wrong with titles like "Where the Wild Things Are", "The Hockey Sweater", "In The Night Kitchen" or "There's A Nightmare In My Closet". And if you can find a now out of print copy of "Nicobobinus" by Terry Jones of Monty Python fame, then consider whoever you're getting it for to be one luck SOB.

#4 Log Pillows

Yeah, I know, my lady friend makes these. So what?! They're awesome. Perfect for taking on the plane or road trip.

#3 Jeffrey Brown books

I always recommend books by Jeffrey Brown. Everyone can relate to these short little anecdotes about puppy love, harmless crushes and being dumped.

#2 Artwork

It's Probably Worth More Than That!" our 4th annual group exhibit showcasing artwork for $100 and under is still running. New works by Aya Kakeda, Daniel Lim, Rupert Bottenberg, Michelle Sayer, Benjamin Deshaies and many more. It's better than giving someone a bottle of Dep wine, am I right folks?

#1 HQ Gift Certificate

Well, I guess you'll be telling the person "I really don't know you that well but at least you can get something you'll like". So what? What else are you going to do? Give them an envelope with money in it? What are you, their Grandma?

Hope that helped. It's a weird coincidence that all the best ideas are from HQ. Strange.

I love you,

tyson

Worn issue #9

Yes, we've finally got our grubby hands on Worn issue #9. For those of you who didn't come out to the Slow Dance launch party, feel free to swing by HQ to secure a copy for yourself. And I really recommend going to the next Slow Dance Party (this New Years Eve... and it's free!) It feels like being in High School again... without the weird puberty and uncontrollable boners... ahem.

Moving on....

#8

#7

#6

#5

#4

We also have Worn gift sets that include issues #4, 5, 6, 7 & 8 for $24! That's one free issue dudes, do the math! And each set comes with a pair of 1" pin back buttons. You can also pick up each issue separately for $6 each.

#3

#2

#1

Psst. We still have a few copies of the otherwise sold out issues 1 & 2. So, you better haul ass to make sure you secure a copy for you or a friend before someone else does. Just sayin'.

Forever yours,

tyson

sébastien kauffmann

We've been adding many new designers to the HQ Family lately. Sebastien Kauffmann is one of the newest with his felt laptop covers. Never lose sleep over a scratched laptop again. Play hours of World Of Warcraft at your local Starbucks in style....... NERD ALERT!! Busted.

But seriously, these are dope.

Jonathan Pitoscia

Hi hi! We just got some new pieces from Jonathan Pitoscia and they are pretty awesome! Perfect gifts for the impossible dude to buy for. We all know someone like that (my Father, fer sure-sies).

Knox/ Intern Edition with Furni
$98.

Sapele Business Card Holder
$38.

Beech Business Card Holder
$38.

Walnut Business Card Holder
$38.

Mahogany Business Card Holder
$38.