VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA A CURATED GUIDE
A Curated Guide to
VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA By Aleyah Solomon
Here & There Magazine www.hereandtheremag.com
From the East Coast to the West Coast, there is so much of Canada to explore. In our curated city guide, we highlight some of our top local spots around Victoria, British Columbia, and really get a sense of the City of Gardens.
INSIDE THE GUIDE INNER HARBOUR 18 FISHERMAN’S WHARF 20 OGDEN POINT BREAKWATER 22 ROYAL MUSEUM OF BRITISH COLUMBIA
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CHINATOWN GALLERY SCENE 28 ROCK BAY CONCRETE CANVAS
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ROBERT BATES FOUNDATION 32 FAN TAN ALLEY 34 BEACON HILL PARK 38 ABKHIZI GARDEN 42 HORTICULTURAL CENTRE OF THE PACIFIC GARDENS
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CITY BEACHES 46 GOLDSTREAM PROVINCIAL PARK 50 THETIS LAKE REGIONAL PARK
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FISGARD LIGHTHOUSE 54 THROUGH THE ISLANDS 56
LOCAL HIGHLIGHTS RACHEL SAUNDERS CERAMICS 62 HANDS ON CLAY COLLECTIVE
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OPEN HOUSE 68 SALT 70 LUNA COLLECTIVE 72 LORE GENERAL 74 ROOK & ROSE 76 TONIC JEWELRY 78 ASSEMBLEY OF TEXT 80 LITTLE JUNE CAFE 82 WHISTLE BUOY BREWERY 84
From the local scene to some amazing out-of-city hiking excursions, our main focus for this guide is to offer an experience of the lifestyle on the West Coast of Canada and, perhaps, you may feel the need to book a ticket to come and experience it all for yourself.
Flying into Victoria, gazing out the window onto the islands, the cliff views and all that green, John Williams’ Jurassic Park theme song came to mind, and, oddly enough, this was the first of many thoughts back to this movie in my short two-week trip! An immediate reaction, when I walked out of the airport was to grab my camera and venture out into all the luscious nature. Little did I know what this green oasis would bring, but one thing is for sure; a couple of weeks is not nearly enough time to put a dent in all the nature-exploring that Vancouver Island has to offer.
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Victoria, the capital city of British Columbia is located on the Southern tip of Vancouver Island. Unsurprisingly, the city was named after Queen Victoria of England and was settled by the British in 1843. Victoria, one of the oldest cities in the Pacific Northwest has such an amazing climate, it is no wonder that the city is internationally known as the City of Gardens. A drive around will confirm this, as everyone takes great pride in their yards. From beautiful floral beds to exotic trees, taking a walk throughout the streets makes you feel as though you are wandering in a never-ending garden.
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Inner Harbour Downtown Victoria
Victoria’s Inner Harbour, once used for shipbuilding, and a centre for commercial fishing, is a bustling harbour, seaport and seaplane airport. Sitting along the boardwalk waterfront, it’s common to see sea planes come and go often amidst the water taxis. Along the boardwalk, you may stumble upon a local market, walk past some beautiful boats and grab an ice cream from the ‘lemon’ stand, all while enjoying the architecture of Parliament and the infamous Empress Hotel, which holds high tea each afternoon – and yes, the Queen of England has indeed been present for tea here!
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Fisherman’s Wharf James Bay
Continuing along the boardwalk (or cut through the streets) you will find a small hub of house boats and restaurants at Fisherman’s Wharf. Built after the Second World War, this area in opened in March 1948 and accommodated commercial fishing vessels. Definitely a spot worth seeing while in Victoria; walking up and down the piers, it’s incredible to view the exteriors of the boats, home to local residents. Other options are to order fresh seafood, adventure with some ecotours and drop in some of the shops.
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Ogden Point Breakwater James Bay
Along Dallas Road, on the outer harbour’s opening into the Juan de Fuca Strait is the Ogden Point Breakwater. This cement structure extends out into the Strait and offers a panoramic view from the furthest end where the lighthouse is, looking south to the Juan de Fuca Strait, west to Macaulay Point Park in Esquimalt, and north towards the James Bay area. And if that isn’t enough of a view, you have the beautiful mountains of the Olympic National Park in Washington nearby making this an incredible, scenic outing in the city.
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Royal Museum of British Columbia Downtown Victoria
Whether you catch a rainy day or want to spend an afternoon inside, the Royal Museum of British Columbia offers some interesting insight into the history of British Columbia. Permanent collections include a display of totem carving styles from Kwakwaka’wakw, Heiltsuk, Nuxalk, Gitxsan, Haida and Nuu-chahnulth communities, a look into the late Kwakwaka‘wakw chief, Jonathan Hunt’s ceremonial hut and more historical carvings and structures in the First Peoples Gallery. Enter scenic exhibits of the Ice age, the western coast forest and the shoreline in the Natural History Gallery with a look at the effects of Climate Change and head back into the streets of Victoria’s urban history and the gold rush at Fraser River and more in the Modern History Gallery.
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Empty Gallery (bottom) Photo credit: Mike McLean
Chinatown’s Gallery Scene Fisgard Street
Nestled amidst the shops and restaurants in Victoria’s Chinatown, there is a hidden art district where artists have studios and galleries showcase local artwork. Among these galleries is the award winning Fortune Gallery, a contemporary gallery in the heart of Chinatown (537 Fisgard St) and Empty Gallery (833 Fisgard St), an independently owned project space and commercial art gallery highlighting emerging and mid-career artists, particularly West Coast Canadian artists.
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Rock Bay’s Concrete Canvas Rock Bay Ave
When wandering the streets of Victoria you may spot a few murals randomly, but the place to see great street art is in Rock Bay. Concrete Canvas Rock Bay Mural Project began in August 2018 with 17 artists (local, national and international) painted 17 murals on the walls of 16 sites. Reflecting the culture, history and character of the neighbourhood, the project was designed to create opportunities for artists, build connections between local artists and businesses, add to the identity and encourage dialogue of Rock Bay.
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Robert Bateman Foundation 470 Belleville St
Robert Bateman, a Canadian naturalist and artist, born in Toronto, Ontario, currently resides in Saltspring Island, Vancouver Island. Finding inspiration from the Group of Seven, he became interested in creating abstract paintings of nature yet, since the 1960’s to present, has progressed his style creating realism paintings. His foundation, the Robert Bateman Foundation, promotes the artist’s work as well as other nature artists, and the preservation and sustainability of the environment.
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Fan Tan Alley Downtown Victoria
If you have ever been curious to see the most narrow street in Canada, you will come to the oldest Chinatown in Canada (the second oldest after San Francisco in North America). This street is Fan Tan Alley, a narrow alley that runs between Fisgard Avenue and Pandora Avenue. This area was once a gambling district, making the name ‘Fan Tan’ quite fitting as it is the name of a Chinese gambling game.
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Though small in size, many shops are located in this alley including a few noteworthy local shops. Local Assembly specializes in locally made and specially curated vintage items. All of Saltspring Soapworks has been produced in Salt Spring, using all natural and organic ingredients grown on the island. Recommended by many as the ‘best ice cream in town,’ Kid Sister Ice Cream certainly lives up to the hype and, for those with food restrictions, they offer vegan flavours as well as delicious paletas!
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Beacon Hill Park Downtown Victoria
South of downtown Victoria, along the Juan de Fuca Strait lies Beacon Hill Park. Made up of many winding foot trails amidst natural areas and manicured gardens as well as stunning Garry Oak trees, this 200-acres green oasis is divided in two by Dallas Road and offers an incredible view, on a clear day, of the Olympic Mountains in the distance. Peacocks roam freely in surrounding green areas to what was previously a large zoo complex and make for delightful entertainment as they interact with each other as well as other birds that pass through. The West Coast climate allows for beautiful and exotic plant life to thrive making this city and in particular this park the perfect spot for any horticulture enthusiast.
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Abkhizi Garden 1964 Fairfield Rd
Wandering the narrow paths among florals and greenery, ‘the garden love built’ has key features of Rhododendrons, Japanese Maples, and Garry Oaks that surround a pond with lily pads. The story of Prince Nicholas and Princess Abkhazi began when they first met in Paris in 1922. Prince Nicholas, the last surviving son of an ancient line of kings of Abkhazia, had been living in exile since escaping the Bolshevik Revolution, and it was in Paris where they bonded over galleries, walks and their language of French. Keeping in touch throughout the years, the First World War kept them apart until they met again in 1964, were married and decided to settle in Victoria, on this one-acre property to build their home. Sitting on the terrace sampling fine teas and sandwiches, this is one of the many reasons to pay a visit to Abkhazi Garden. Privately owned and further from the downtown scene, the intimate experience allows you to forget you are in a city and more like you are in your own space.
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Horticultural Centre of the Pacific Gardens 505 Quayle Rd, Victoria, BC V9E 2J7
Just 12KM outside of North Victoria is the Horticultural Centre of the Pacific Gardens, an internationally recognized botanical garden. Five distinct sections, including the only outdoor Bonsai Garden in Western Canada, the HCPG was started in 1979 and is known as the ‘gardener’s garden.’ Open year-round, the gardens are cared for by volunteers, staff and the students studying to become gardeners in their eleven-month program; the HCPG is a centre of learning, conservation and research. Various sections take inspiration from monastery and cloister gardens in design.
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City Beaches Downtown Victoria
One of the many perks of being so close to the water is having nearby beaches. Victoria offers a variety to choose from including Willows Beach, Gonzales Beach and Dallas Road Beach. Each of these beaches hold something similar yet different to each other. All face towards the incredible mountains of Washington’s Olympic State Park, with motion of sailboats, paddlers and other water-based action. Dallas Road Beach is the nearest to the downtown centre, located just at the base of Beacon Hill Park, while Willows Beach and Gonzales Beach are located in Oak Bay.
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Goldstream Provincial Park Langford, BC
It’s almost impossible to avoid the outdoors in Vancouver Island, not that you would want to, and luckily there are many trails to find just outside Victoria. For a venture into the woods and only 16KM outside the city, Goldstream Provincial Park makes you feel that you are completely cut off from civilization, and that’s a great thing! With multiple trails – 11 to choose from, including a railway track extending over an incredible view, a waterfall, stunning greenery and a river that runs to the sea, this park allows for a deep connection back to nature without any interuptions, other than other hikers passing by.
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Thetis Lake Regional Park Six Mile Rd
Established as Canada’s first nature sanctuary in 1958, Thetis Lake Regional Park’s wood trails surround two incredibly scenic freshwater lakes suitable for a swim. With swamp and lake ecosystems for nature study, spring wildflowers, Garry oak ecosystems and Douglas-fir forest and rainbow-trout stocked lakes for fishing, and multiple trails, Thetis Park is a great (and quick) city escape conveniently 12KM from Victoria’s city centre.
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Fisgard Lighthouse 603 Fort Rodd Hill Road
It wouldn’t be a coastal visit without a visit to a lighthouse! The Fisgard Lighthouse sits at the end of a causeway extending out from the Fort Rodd Hill National Historic Site, just 12.5KM from downtown Victoria. Owned and run by Parks Canada, this historic lighthouse is the first on Canada’s West Coast and remains in operation today.
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Ferry Ride Through The Islands Southern Gulf Islands
If you come to Vancouver Island, chances are you may get a day or two to venture into Vancouver, and if you don’t want to travel by air, you can always travel by sea! The ferry from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen is a nice way to see the island from the water, and you will not regret sitting outside for this! Riding through the Gulf Islands, the ferry itself becomes the destination you want to be at just for the view all around.
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LOCAL SCENE
How to best learn about a city, of course, is to meet locals who are almost always eager and happy to share some tips. After walking around and talking to many people, we compiled a list of some of our note-worthy shops that were either recommended to us or ones we simply stumbled upon. 61
Rachel Saunders Ceramics Born on Salt Spring Island, one of the Gulf Islands in British Columbia and raised on a hobby farm, it took ceramic artist Rachel Saunders a move to Los Angeles before she realised the ‘big city’ life was not for her. Moving back to Victoria, Saunders joined and volunteered at a communal studio where she learned pottery – learning as much as she could and ultimately launching her own business. Walking from shop to shop in Victoria, you may stumble on a few Rachel Saunders pieces, specifically her well known Woman Vase which has also been released as a pendant in collaboration with Wolf Circus founder Fiona Morrison.
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How would you describe your artistic style? I would definitely describe it as intuitive, intentional, because function is very important to me and is one of the things that drew me to ceramics in the first place. I always kind of struggled with different artistic mediums just being for viewing pleasure. I like things to have a purpose and substance behind it, and maybe a bit playful, too. Where do you find inspiration for your collections? I have come to realize that what I like in aesthetics and environments and art is a feeling of tranquility. This is really important to me because I am a sensitive person and I depend a lot on having a calm and beautiful, supportive environment which is a lot of what Victoria gives to me. I really love making shapes and creations that are not obtrusive and just very sort of elegant and soft. One of the most amazing parts of pottery is that it literally comes from the ground and the earth and that is an attribute that I love to highlight, so I do leave a lot of my pieces unglazed. Where did you grow up? I was actually born on Salt Spring Island, one of the many gulf islands. Salt Spring is one of the largest, and is a hippy island. I was raised on a farm just an hour from [Victoria]. What kind of farm? Just a hobby farm, but I grew up getting eggs from the chickens and had horses and dogs and cats and everything like that. Of course, back then I didn’t appreciate it and wanted to live in the suburbs like all my other friends did, but now, one of the most important things in my life is reconnecting to that and being in nature. And then you moved to LA. Yeah, I moved to LA for a little bit when I was 21 or so, because you know, being from a small island, you really want to ‘get the hell out of here’ and I didn’t really have that contrast or that experience. I usually have to learn by doing, it’s how I learned pottery and how I have to learn everything in my life, for better
or worse. I somehow magically ended up getting a working visa and moving down there. It wasn’t really for me in the end and I felt inspired to come back and work for myself. Are there other artists who inspire or motivate your creations? The next biggest art form I get the greatest inspiration from is music, so that is a huge part of my inspirational and creative process. There are a lot of experimental jazz musicians that I really am deeply inspired by, who are obviously channeling something greater than themselves. So anyone who can just fully get into that creative space where you are able to intuitively channel something, but in a contemporary way, inspires me. I love the artist Ana Kras who uses so many different materials and modalities to make functional, super-beautiful forms and... I guess I like artists who can use what they have in a resourceful kind of way. I am not really drawn to the more glamourized sense of creating, it’s more about function and form for me. Also, I am inspired by my chef friends who make art on the plate – I am inspired by my friends. What is your ideal weekend in Victoria? Or a leisurely day in the city… First and foremost, I always try to get to the beach, so walking along Dallas Road, just a couple kilometres up and down that strip, is so magical. Sometimes you can find little nooks where you feel like you are the only one there. It’s super special walking through Beacon Hill Park as well. I always try to incorporate nature in my day-to-day and weekend activities, and then I will probably meet up with some friends for brunch or something like that. A friend of mine opened up a really cool pop-up on Pandora St., called Back In Five, that is a really beautiful space to commune and eat delicious food. Relaxing is such a big thing; food and relaxing are the main things I try and do when I have a day off, so, you know, leisurely wandering around some bookstores downtown, like Russels or Munroe’s, to look at beautiful cookbooks... stuff like that. I would then go out for dinner to maybe Sherwood or Part & Parcel. They are my two favourite go-to restaurants. Both are owned by friends, which feels really special, and they get their food from local farms, which is really important.
How would you describe the art scene in Victoria? I don’t really know. There are a lot of people who work for themselves here, and, like me, run their creative businesses, which is super cool. There are many great people hosting events and putting on music shows and just kind of trying to fill the gap and void that we do have f when it comes to diversity and multicultural artists and stuff like that. A number of people are putting effort towards that and we try to host that in our space as well, to contribute towards inclusivity. Sometimes I do feel like Victoria is a little bit lacking in that regard but I think we are constantly becoming more aware and getting better and better. Everyday it seems like there is a cool new business or art show popping up. How would you describe the West Coast, or more specifically, Victoria’s fashion style? Comfortable! [laughs]
Practical and ethical, too! We have some amazing women who run clothing lines working with linens; we have a great circular economy here, which is sweet. When I am out, I often see people wearing the necklace I made, or my friend’s jumpsuit, and that is really nice. We also have a fairly large vintage scene, with a variety of buyers and sellers. Sustainable fashion is definitely more on people’s minds. Fan Tan Alley, which is where your studio is, seems to be a huge tourist spot. Do you find that distracting at times? It can be overwhelming during the peak tourist times. But Victoria is such a special place! It is such a privilege to live here, and obviously people want to see it. So I can get a bit annoyed on a day-to-day level, but, for the most part, it is nice to see new faces and people so excited by the natural beauty of this town. Besides, those are the ones who bring a much-needed diversity into the city. ■
Hands On Clay Collective 1910 Store St
Sometimes getting lost makes for amazing finds! While making my way from Chinatown to Rock Bay, I went down what I thought was the right street and ended up finding the shop for the Hands On Clay Collective. This small shop is full of beautiful ceramics made by local artists like Sarah Leckie and Kate Kennedy. Select works are created by artists who are part of the hands on collective and work in their pottery studio as well as artists who sell their pieces on consignment.
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Open House 106-561 Johnson Street
Owned and operated by Stephanie, originally from Vancouver, Open House is located steps from Joseph Street, tucked in one of the many alleys of Victoria. Beautifully crafted linen garments and layers of locally designed ceramics are among a mix of items – all locally made – in this beautiful shop.
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SALT 813 Fort Street
Named after ‘Salt Spring’ where the owners are from, SALT is a brand of streetwear clothing but also features accessories and an apothecary of locally designed items. With a focus on slow fashion, SALT creates ‘sustainable items for a mindful life.’ Locally designed and sewn in Vancouver, SALT is passionate about connection, community and ocean conservation.
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Luna Collective 2000 Fernwood Rd
Luna Collective is your one-stop shop, with handpicked vintage clothing, local designed ceramics, jewelry and more. Canadian labels like Pink House, LTV Handmade, Bud & Bloom among others, this small boutique is located in Fernwood, a small neighbourhood just North of downtown Victoria.
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Lore General 1332 Government Street
Hand-crafted, local, sustainable – each item you find in Lore is consciously sourced and promoted with their local mentality of supporting the environment and small, independant businesses throughout Canada, the USA and around the world.
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Rook & Rose 569 Johnson Street
Walking along Johnson Street, just across from Market Square is the small floral shop Rook & Rose. With beautiful bouquets, plants and crystals displayed on the exterior, this boutique carries florals, apothecary, accessories, artwork and vases. Their list of Canadian designs carried include Rachel Saunders Ceramics, Brand & Iron, Corey Moranis, F. Miller and Nightshift Ceramics.
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Tonic 106-560 Johnson Street
Located in the trendy downtown area and tucked in a small passage in Market Square’s second level is Tonic Jewelry. Exposed brick, bright, natural light accented with a vibrant turquoise, vintage tunes played on vinyl, a cozy sofa and offerings of white rabbit peppermints, owner and designer, Honor Cienska creates the perfect West Coast atmosphere which makes sense as the only designs you will find in Tonic are local, West Coast designs.
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The Regional Assembly Of Text 116-560 Johnson Street
With the original shop in Vancouver, Assembly of Text is a small stationary and gift shop located on Johnson Street. In a digital world, there is something amazingly nostalgic and fascinating about finding a shop like this. Take the time to send a locally designed postcard, sit at the desk and type out a note to a friend or grab a few buttons or notebooks. Co-founders Brandy Fedoruk and Rebecca Ann Dolen, both graduates of the Emily Carr Institute of Art and Design, decided to open their shop in Vancouver after collaborating on projects in school, which eventually led to the opening of the Victoria shop in 2013.
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Photo credit: Dasha Armstrong
Little June Cafe 1301 Gladstone Avenue
Open windows, wood details and white walls make this cafe a breath of fresh air. In the Fernwood neighbourhood, this cafe is an added bonus, featuring their in-house roasted Fernwood Coffee beans and some delicious treats. You won’t find it overcrowded with laptops, as WiFi is not offered, so this makes for a lovely social break to catch up with friends or a good book!
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Photo credit: Lyle Berzins
Whistle Buoy Brewery Whistle Buoy | A buoy that makes a whistling sound when air is trapped or compressed in the open-bottom chamber by the rising and falling water level caused by waves. Founded in 2019, Isaiah Archer, Colin Curtis, Nina Colvic, Matt West-Patrick and Iwan Williams were inspired to start their own brewery with a personal touch to set them apart from the existing breweries nearby. Located in the bustling Market Square just steps away from Chinatown and the waterfront, Whistle Buoy offers a West Coast experience of craft beers and a variety of local drinks, along with good company.
Photo credit: Christian Tisdale
What is the story behind Whistle Buoy?
The design of the logo initially drew me to your brand.
The actual whistle buoy has great significance, as myself, Matt and Ewan are avid spear divers and spear fisherman. There’s a spot we have been going to every summer in Banfield (between Victoria and Tofino) where we go salmon-fishing and free-diving. We found a whistle buoy with such an incredible reef underneath and, on one particularly foggy day, we lost our bearings and the coast around us just disappeared from sight. It was a really eerie experience though we have done this a lot and are comfortable out there in the ocean, knowing about ocean safety and whatnot; we knew the fog was not going to be the end of the world so we still went diving. We did start to drift a bit but the whistle buoy whistled – it physically whistles a sound as it is an ocean marker that the DFO puts out there to warn ships of reef that is submerging out of the water so they can steer around it. So, we had this ominous experience and yet, a really productive dive. We felt we had a bit of a narrow escape from something that could have been a bit sketchy, but it turned out to be this really awesome thing that brought us all together and we have been going out to that spot since. It was also on the drives there that we began tossing out ideas of starting a business together and where we decided to start a brewery – on these trips out to the whistle buoy.
Yeah, our logo is a good representation of us in that it is well thought out, it’s clean and concise; it’s a representation of the experience that you can expect when you come here. It is professional and carefully planned out – there is care and attention in every detail of our branding.
Oh wow. I love hearing the back stories to businesses! So, this is a spear in the logo? Yeah, the logo is a monogram. The ‘W’, which is pretty obvious that has a fish tail and a spear on the ends. There is the notion of this nautical experience but it’s not too literal or over the top. The line through the ‘W’ represents the water line to give you a sense of the ‘buoy’ resting in the water without actually adding a huge buoy in the middle of the logo. We worked with a branding company in Edmonton (Berlin Communications) on the designs. My brother, one of the partners there, was good enough to send some of his team out here for a weekend. We took them spearfishing, which was really great, and they were able to experience what it is that we do, that led to the creation of our company. From this, they really got a sense of what matters to us, and that really helped to develop the brand. We fully immersed them into the experience, taking them to all our favourite spots to have beer, and had a bunch of exercises as far as what we were trying to achieve – because it is clean and modern and we are in the heart of downtown Victoria where there is a lot of amazing businesses and design is to a high standard in this city and we want to contribute to that.
Tell me a bit about your styles of beer that will be offered and if you have gluten-free options. Everything is produced on-site to be consumed on-site. We are aiming to connect people to the art and process of making the beers and have them consume ‘straight from the source’ more or less. We have a small system of 800 litres, so, per brew, this is how much we are getting. We have 8 tanks in total and will always have our signature beer. But we wanted to leave room for creativity, to try different recipes, so we rotate between many other recipes. The idea is to come into this room (the main room in the space) to sit and enjoy different beers. The music will never be too loud so you are able to come and socialize. We will not be selling our product in liquor stores or making more production. There are 51 seats inside and 57 seats on the patio so 108 people can come and enjoy the experience of our beer. And, what would you say is your signature beer? Our signature beer is a West Coast Tropical Ale. 4.5% pale ale that has piny notes but will be dry-hopped heavily with more fruity flavours. And this one is an assumed popular beer as it is our favourite to drink. But we are doing a ton of low alcohol beers – and will be featuring local fruit as much as possible – so you can have a few of those without feeling too tipsy. When it comes to creating new beer recipes, do you guys all meet up and write out some ideas you have? Yeah, we have a very long spreadsheet of different ideas for different types of beers as well as beer names based on the ingredients. Matt is our head-brewer so he makes the final decisions on recipes as he has the experience and knows what is actually going to work together and what characters he wants to shine through in certain beers. There are a lot of local artisans and farmers that we have been talking to about the byproduct of their production that we can feature in a beer that could bring out something really interesting.
So, a lot of it comes through from conversations with other people who are passionate about making great produce and goods. Can you buy beers to take away? We have a crowler so we can sell 1L cans with whatever is on tap, however these are only available to buy from our bar. In terms of gluten-free beers and products, we are offering some local cider from Sea Cider, as well as Culture Kombucha, also a local company on tap and then we have soft drinks and cold brew coffee in a can, so there is a huge mix to be offered. And we also may be including a red and white wine to offer from Salt Spring Islands. Everything we offer is made locally on the island. How do you see yourself fitting in with the Victoria scene? We all love this city. I did my Master’s in Sweden, and was thinking about living in Europe, and Colin was out in Eastern Canada so we weren’t sure, but it eventually came back to the fact that this is where we all wanted to set up shop, having previously lived here for a number of years. For me, it was about finally having the confidence to say ‘this is actually where I want to be’, and every time I leave Victoria, I find myself missing home. The beer scene in Victoria is kind of where a lot of craft beer started to become prominent – certainly between the ‘80s and early ‘00s. Vancouver Island Brewery and Lighthouse and a few others have been around longer than anyone else, then Driftwood, Hoyne Philips – the larger breweries that you see around Victoria today – have been around for 15-20 years. Vancouver has become the epicentre of craft beer in BC over the last ten years and it is very much because of the tap room model. And so, with a ton of existing breweries (over a hundred in Vancouver now) and maybe ten more opening up every summer, there is a lot of competition in that city, so the level of quality in beer has gone through the roof. It’s been really cool that this has been happening, but I would say that Victoria now is coming back a bit; there are a few new breweries that have opened recently – Île Sauvage is a sour brewery so they specialize in that kind of thing and we are next. The Drake is also an amazing spot to grab a beer. They are opening up a brewery down the road from here as well. The industry is a collaborative one, people don’t see it as competition, it’s more of a district where
people come to try everything as opposed to pushing people out of the market. That’s not the spirit of the industry. We’ve been met with a lot of positivity from other breweries and brewery owners, everyone is excited for us and has offered to help in many ways. So, it’s cool they took a new step in the craft beer thing, it’s the ingredients that go into it, and the art of it. They have really paved the way for a lot of us, and are really supportive and excited for us. We haven’t had any negative experiences so far with any of the breweries! We have a lot of genuine and authentic relationships with these people, so that’s what it’s all about and, if we stick to that, we will be fine. I feel like the sense of community is really strong here. Yeah, sense of community is really strong in Victoria and we certainly want to play our part in this community – to be a hub that is welcoming to all who want to come, and if you don’t drink alcohol that’s fine too. And you can bring food from other places and eat it here, and have a craft soda or kombucha. In the winter time, tourists leave and it’s those who live here that are part of this community, those who really see a business through and it’s important to us to focus on that. We have all worked for independent companies and that has been instilled in us, it’s just how we do it. Can you tell us a bit about the space? It was designed by a studio in Vancouver, Studio Rosamund. A lot of what you see in this room came about through conversations with us and then them having the creative liberty to try a few different things. It was a lot of thinking, like ‘is this going to work’, while it was coming all together, and there were hesitations about the colour schemes or other details, but, personally, I am really happy with it. We made the effort to feature a lot of things that matter to us as well, such as the marble countertop and the bar front, which is made from scrap metal from our tanks; we painted it and created a ship look – the idea is a nautical concept without being over-the-top literal. There is a lot of playing with this idea and also making an effort to use as many materials from around here as possible, that hold a story to them. The tables were created by Lupin Furniture. They are mainly hobby woodworkers but they just pushed out 40 tables for us. ■ *INTERVIEW BETWEEN ALEYAH SOLOMON AND ISAIAH ARCHER (MARKETING & RETAIL)
Special thanks to Tourism Victoria!
Š 2019 Here & There Magazine