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created by welikewelove.com
{ a magazine about sharing the things you like }
the first issue inside } What they like + love } new projects: OpenYawn } Love from Pete & Jo } photo essay(s): Polaroid & 20 Houses... } Onima Fashion } Virtual Coffee Date with Neil Smith } music: Braversince } short stories: Ben 01 & Members Only } + more... }
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Bags, books and more available at:
shop.uppercasegallery.ca
welcome Somewhere in my parents basement there are Tupperware containers brimming with magazines. There are volumes of magazines that line the shelves in my room. The fact of the matter is I love magazines. So it was only a matter of time that I fashioned a magazine of my own. It started as a blog to satisfy my need to share my found treasures of music, photos, clothing, and many more slices of love and inspiration. It also dawned on me that I am surrounded by many incredibly inspirational and talented friends. There are times where we all experience greatness, see beauty, taste divinity and are touched by the world around us. Or maybe we create something that we are proud of. We are filled with excitement and feel compelled to share with others, but lack the means to do so. We Like We Love was created to fill that void. It has been many moons since I sent out my first call for submissions and I was overwhelmed by the response to say the least. I would like to thank everyone who shared his or her work with us. I hope you will continue to do so and please invite others to do so as well. Thanks to all who have helped and encouraged me throughout the process. So after years of dreaming, months of planning, days of designing, hours of procrastinating (sometimes you just have to), and minutes of pacing, I present to you – with nervous excitement – the premier issue of We Like We Love magazine. xoxo
{ Alyssa Chomick } alyssa@welikewelove.com
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Firsts
{ Liz Field } likes to write and wear toques
Albert Camus, winner of the 1957 Nobel Prize in literature, once said that we are the sum of all of our choices. That is to say, each of our choices and experiences has a purpose, if for nothing less than to help us on to the next. Each experience, each choice, each consequence (good and bad) added up, although not as scientifically uncomplicated as mathematics, to bring us to the present day. It’s usually the first of any experience that tends to act as a landmark and in our lives which we constantly refer to. We use our memories like measuring sticks when we have ventured into the unknown, chartered new territory and done the sometimes hard work of creating new paths to journey on. With no previous or familiar references to use, one can be found in the usually uncomfortable process of learning something new about themselves. This can be terrifying. And exhilarating. Or a mixed up combination of both at the same time. I have a vivid memory of the time my father let go of the back of my brother’s old red and yellow BMX bike (adorned with new pink streamers in the handlebars), as I rode down the street for the first time without training wheels. My attempt was a wobbly mess, and I ended up looking like a yard-sale in the middle of the road not far from where my father stood.
It was one of the first times I can remember trying to do something on my own. Or the first time I tied my own shoes, red high top converse all stars (sitting on the floor in the meat section at Safeway) then racing to catch up with my mom to share my glorious news – no more Velcro! We celebrated with slices of bologna from the deli. It was one of the first times I can remember feeling successful (I have a different take on bologna now, but it was my favourite at the time). The first time I fell in love. Or my first heartbreak, and the first time I felt inconsolable sorrow. The first time I lived alone. Or the first time I moved back and felt like I belonged. The first funeral I had to attend. Or the first time a close friend got married and inevitably pictured myself in a gown. This issue created by welikewelove is our first, and in similar but different ways we are venturing into uncharted territory, carving a new path as we go. We are a mixed up combination of terrified and exhilarated that you will like and love what we have to share.
projects
Getting an OpenYawn { Liz Field } likes to write
{ } When asked to describe his new company’s website, twenty-eight year old
But he couldn’t imagine it without his business partners.
David Brunning politely declines, but with valid reasoning. OpenYawn.com is a website geared to those looking for an alternative to explosively expanding social networking giant that is Facebook.
“We all hold our strengths and all add to this company in ways which are meant to be.”
“Let’s just say people want to know what is next and we believe strongly we are on the right path. If I say too much the strength of the site will be let out and that is what sets us apart.”
Brunning explains OY’s concept was birthed when he and Gillett were returning from an Edmonton road trip. The highway time led to a two hour “verbal spin-off” in the direction that became what the pair believed the next step in conscious social networking.
It was interesting for Brunning to see the front page of Facebook change a month after OpenYawn’s mock-front went up in the beginning of September. Noticing too many similarities in Facebook’s new ‘world map’ and OpenYawn’s page after the launch, any additional information about the Calgary based project is on lockdown.
“Our goals are big and plentiful and not out of reach! It is exciting!” But entrepreneur isn’t yet what Brunning is best known for in his urban community. Many know him first as one of Calgary’s most prominent graffiti artists. While some might not see a connection between OpenYawn and spray paint and canvases, Brunning disagrees.
“Maybe I’m tooting my own horn here, but I laughed when I saw it. Our page is for sign up only. As the site develops, you’ll hear about it!”
“This is no departure! I am a visual artist and you sure can tag that line of graffiti on me also - I love letters and the art form! This side project is the mind working freely.”
Working with Brunning, David Gillett and Trent Martens are the project’s cofounders. While the trio remain tight lipped on OY details, Brunning does mention a desire to do things differently than other social networking sites, with increased online security while offering information in a new way. Brunning hopes the site will bring people a better sense of belonging and a bigger sense of community. “In a large part it’s my brainchild, alongside Gillett’s expressed interest to do something to connect some type of demographic. I am titled CEO, but more honestly play the role of the idea person, the sales person and the passionate force to keep this thing focused as we move ahead!”
Since Brunning stepped out in September 2006 to pursue art full time, he hasn’t stepped back. But it hasn’t stopped him from getting his feet wet with modeling, printing his t-shirt line and investing his time and resources in youth programs, and now, OpenYawn. Whatever he’s got on the go, he strives to express to himself and others “the freedom of knowing the box but living outside of it.” “OpenYawn interests me because it is a positive thing for all that join it. If I can make a difference somewhere, whether through art or through speech or through action, then I am for it! If it is positive, it most likely will be something I look at!”
people we like
Every issue someone from a feature article will open up about the different things that are catching their eye right now.
David Brunning
CEO of OpenYawn.com, Grafitti artist and Visionary A solo exhibit of Brunning’s artwork is on the block for early 2009, as well as another possible collaboration with New York’s Tim Okamura. { in his own words }
{ Visit } www.thekidbelo.com
As of lately, I mostly listen to reggae – though raised on hip-hop and classic rock. I listen to the likes of Gentleman, Sizzla, Jah Cure, Alborosie, DJ Ozone mixes, Richie Spice, some Collie Buddz and basically just a wide mix of uplifting reggae. You always have to throw in some dancehall though – speakers wouldn’t be the same without it! I believe I best fit the eclectic grouping - I love music, you’d be surprised what I sing along with and have in my iTunes.
trilogy almost religiously and I am always down to check out any type of film, really. I am very open to films. I find myself watching a lot of movies at home more so than out at the theatre.
I also love reading! I just finished a few books. I read Ethan Hawke’s, The Hottest State, and have enjoyed a few different ones like The Last Lecture, A Million Little Pieces, Sex God, The Measure of a Man (Sidney Portier), The Hobbit and a few others. I tend to read things that uplift and have the ability to touch the human spirit or soar the imagination. My library is strong but focused.
Architecture interests me. Fine art interests me. The artwork of my close (artist) friends gets me really stoked. I appreciate the creative process and the results of true talent!
Lately, outside of film and books, I have had the ability to meet daily with the amazing people in my life and hit Caffe Beano, Galaxie Diner, The Coup or other spots that deliver that community feel and provide the atmosphere to create better community! I love my people and I love my hood!!! { } I love art and no one artist really has gripped me. I was amazed when in Brooklyn this past year. I was able to see many old graffiti pieces and many new writers up and about. I stay in touch with the worldwide community of graffiti writers through my Flickr account (www.flickr.com/photos/thekidbelo) and I am constantly encouraged by them, as well as inspired by what is being produced!
The best part of my life is the freedom and sharing that freedom, encouraging that and being able to be more awake within! I love living in the Beltline area and love the building I am in, my roommate and the many faces that grace these apartments! We are a community in itself and that encourages me. There is hardly a dull day, though I do find myself wandering within my heart and mind much of the time, dreaming about what is to come and smiling about what has been! I am rich with the life that is around me and I hope for many others to be just as rich! I am confident I am surrounded by love, as cheesy as that sounds, and humbled by those who For films, well, I watch share their lives with me. The Lord of the Rings
A Virtual Coffee Date with Neil Smith { Alyssa Chomick } loves to read, but usually in the comfort of her own home
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After a friend suggested I read “Bang Crunch”, I began reading this collection of stories and could not put the book down. I was addicted, keeping it close by so if I ever had a spare moment I could fill my time with more of Neil Smith’s words. I can even confess that I read it during while sitting in my car during rush hour. I wanted to share this book so I emailed Neil and asked him a few questions, to see what he is interested in and to get to know the man behind these stories.
We Like We Love is a magazine focused on what is currently going on around you, a place to share the things that are influencing you right now. What have you recently been inspired by? The writings and drawings of Adolf Wölfli, a schizo phrenic Swiss artist, are my big inspiration now. He died in 1930 after spending over three decades in a mental asylum. During this time, he wrote and illustrated an autobiography called From the Cradle to the Grave containing thousands of pages. His drawings, done in regular pencil and colored pencil, are breathtaking. He also incorporated advertisements into his work (like the Campbell’s tomato soup can) long before Andy Warhol. The short stories in Bang Crunch are vastly different. Where do you get inspiration and ideas for story writing? British writer Michel Faber called Bang Crunch “magpie-like in its influences.” I love that. As if I’m a little bird lining a nest with bizarre trinkets I’ve stumbled upon. Here a few of the trinkets that inspired the book: the brilliant choreography The Pornography of Souls by Montreal wonderboy Dave St-Pierre; a glow-inthe-dark rabbit called Alba created by Brazilian
transgenic artist Eduardo Kac; a child-like sculpture called Fleeing Young Girl by Joan Miró; the creepy and macabre pen drawings of Edward Gorey; a bigwig union president who was arrested for stealing a pair of gloves from a Montreal department store. The list goes on and on. But you get the picture: my inspiration comes from lots of places. When did you start writing? Can you recall your very first short story? I started writing occasionally about eight years ago. My first story was about a demented elementary school teacher who stole house keys from her little students and broke into their homes when their families were away on vacation. She didn’t steal things; she simply liked living in other people’s houses. Writing is like that: you live in other people’s houses awhile. How much of yourself do you put into your stories and characters? Fiction writing is also like Halloween: you slip into someone else’s costume. I’m not a lonely 55year-old widow with a drinking problem. I’m not a narcissistic actor who fears he’s a hack. I’m not a detached mother trying to squeeze out a little love for her newborn baby. But rooting around inside the heads of so many different people is a real
books
{ Bang Crunch } published by Knopf Canada and is available in stores now
{ } pleasure. This is the reason I write. Writing about myself would bore me silly.
ing in her bathtub and her friends imitating various animal noises.
What is your favorite thing about Montreal?
Is there any moment from your childhood that you vividly remember, but now feel as though it wasn’t real?
Right now, my favorite thing is our mountain, Mont Royal. I cycle up the mountain trails at night for exercise. This summer, the woods on the mountain were filled with fireflies (or lucioles, my favorite French word). The flies looked like tiny constellations that had fallen from the heavens. In November, I’m moving into a seventh-floor apartment with a beautiful view of Mont Royal. What are you currently reading? What are you currently listening to? I’ve just finished Miriam Toews’s The Flying Troutmans, a touching and hilarious book about a young woman trying to care for her sister’s two kids after her sister ends up in a psychiatric hospital. My favorite character is Thebes, an 11year-old white girl who talks like a black rapper. I wanted to adopt Thebes by the end (even though she smells because she wears the same terrycloth outfit for weeks on end and never washes). As for music, I’m listening to Music Hole by Camille. She’s crazy. She creates music using water splash-
I lived in Salt Lake City when I was in fourth grade. The boys played hopscotch using a disk called a Hoppy Taw that looked like a thin hockey puck. These Mormon boys had very intense hopscotch competitions that sometimes ended in swearing and fist fights. Hopscotch was to these boys what ice hockey was to Canadians. Very surreal. You are a professional translator, did you translate your own book into other languages? Bang Crunch was translated into French as Big Bang. I didn’t do the translation because I work from French to English (and not the other way around). I did, however, sit down with my translators, Paul Gagné and Lori Saint-Martin, to discuss the obstacles, particularly the plays on words, always a challenge to render in another language. For instance, a character uses a bubble bath called Mighty Mousse. In French, this became Nostrada Mousse after the French astrologer and physician Nostradamus.
Bang Crunch also comes out in German in 2009. The Germans still haven’t come up with a title. I want umlauts (maybe something like Büngkrünchen). Heaven Is a Place Where Nothing Ever Happens is the title of a novel that you are writing. What is it about? Are you a Talking Heads fan? My novel is about Johnny, a 15-year-old boy who gets shot in the head at his high school and ends up in heaven. There, he lives in a housing project reserved for the murdered. This isn’t a Christian heaven, though. There’s no omnipotent, omniscient god. The place itself is a kind of god, but one that doesn’t care if we pray to it, doesn’t want to hear our tedious confessions, doesn’t read our dreary thoughts, and doesn’t care if we covet our neighbor’s ass. The title is ironic: lots of stuff happens in the book. And yes, I loved the Talking Heads, particularly Remain in Light. Is there some place that you are really excited about at this moment? Yes, Paris. I leave in a few days for a literary festival called Festival America. I love being in Paris because I can speak with a Parisian accent and pretend I’m somebody I’m not.
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Love from Pete & jo { Liz Field } likes to ask questions { Peter & Joyelle } like to draw pictures of each other
Meet Peter and Joyelle Komierowski. They are married. And they are illustrators. Joyelle is busy at ACAD, finishing her Print Media degree, while Peter is busy working full time for a computer software company (he also went to ACAD and got a degree in Painting). They were recently kind enough to make time to sit down with us and talk about their company, Lovefrompeteandjo.
What makes you feel differently than that person? Peter There have been plenty of times where we’ve felt the same way, especially when going to ACAD and being immersed in post-modern art culture. There are so many aspects and facets to art that many people can be confused by what art actually is. But I think we’ve come to realize that the one thing that art isn’t is boring. It’s always changing and artists are always trying to keep things fresh. Some people think “Art is so boring, why would If you think art is boring then most likely you are anyone ever waste their time and money on it?” - not very creative.
What was the first picture you ever drew? P I can’t remember for sure. Some of the earliest memories are actually just playing around with tempera paints and coloring books. Also, I loved drawing dinosaurs and monsters straight from the imagination. Joyelle My earliest memories are drawing during Church sermons – my favourite thing to draw were deer. When you are finished a drawing, are you happy with it? How do you tell when it’s “done”? P I’m not always happy with a drawing. For the past year I’ve been trying my hardest to not look at reerences and draw everything from memory to the best of my ability, obviously things aren’t going to look perfect but I think that’s part of the charm. It’s hit and miss; I’ll have a drawing in my head and I’ll just start to get it out on paper, when mistakes are made I just go with it. Sometimes I feel like I’m just decorating the paper, once I think
people we like
{ Visit } www.lovefrompeteandjo.com
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it looks pretty it’s done. J I can get real pissed off over something I’m working on and Peter thinks I’m going crazy but then he usually does the same thing the next day. There is an obvious element of playfulness in the illustrations you both do - how come? P I think this is because for me going to art school kind of confused me as to why I wanted to make art in the first place. So I like to think about why I first started to draw and why I enjoyed it. Thus, my drawings aren’t about crazy deep religious experiences or something like that, it’s as simple as I draw fun things because I want to. J I want my art to be fun - I need to be entertained more than anything. Why did you guys create lovefrompeteandjo.com? P+J We were living in Vancouver and we didn’t have too many friends and I think we were just making lots of stuff. We decided to make a place online to
show it to whoever. So at first it was just a place to terns, and other people’s sketchbooks. J My obsessive compulsive urges. put and show our stuff. what do you hope people take away from your illustrations? P I hope people can feel the love that was put into the drawings. I’ve been working really small so my drawings are really intimate, even if the sub-ject matter isn’t. I would like for people to open my sketchbook and flip through the pages and just have a warm feeling in their hearts. J I want to transport people back to the warm magical place in the hearts where they keep their fondest feelings and memories. Who is your ideal client? P I like it when people know exactly what they want. What influences your art? P Nostalgic memories of childhood, drawn pat-
Peter Likes: If you like to read and laugh at the same time then you’ll love: www.pbfcomics.com and www.smbc-comics. com. Also, I like rain, london fogs, my bicycle, driving through the mountains early in the morning, stories.
Joyelle Likes: If you like being surrounded by shinning crystal then you’d love the Carrington Lighting’s Chandelier room. Also, I like Kitten, babies, and scented candles, and I love chinatown.
music
We’ve Been Feeling Braversince { Liz Field } likes to write about music and take pictures of musicians
{ 10 } { Visit } www.myspace.com/braversince While Braversince might be a new name on the block, it’s members are no strangers to Calgary’s music venues. Drummer Craig Davies, formerly of Winter’s Longing, coupled with Jordan Goerzen, ex-guitar player for You Are a Weapon, join front-man Adam Power as the group’s perma-nent members.
progressions and Power’s guiding guitar and vocal melodies meet on weekly basis. It is also where songs are played over and over and over until they each key and beat is perfected, and consequently where plenty of sweat (and even some blood) is lost in the process.
“We’re a relatively new band, so it’s definitely hard to pin a genre right now...I would say a mix of alterLess permanent is the bass guitar, currently played native, experimental and some heavier elements,” by alternating friends in other bands, lending skills said Davies. to Braversince for shows until they are content with their line up. Referring to the lengthy harmonic guitar builds, crashing rhythms that would make any metal band Basement jam sessions scheduled between work proud and soaring vocals that bind the two together, and the neighbour’s kids bedtime are when Davies’ Braversince’s sound is commanding, but difficult to breakdown-worthy beats, Goerzen’s intricate chord classify.
Favorite venue to play: A: Broken City J: When I play there Ill tell you. C: If there is a good sound system guy, I am happy.
If you could eat anything, what would it be? A: Nanny’s pancakes. J: A donair from Pita Pit. Or a cajun chicken cheddar sandwich from Earls with an iceberg Kokanee. C: A salmon burger, yam fries, watermelon for dessert, and a beer.
“Besides being an amazingly good time with some of my best friends, music allows me to create something to my own tastes and through it I meet so many incredible, fun people,” said Goerzen. While the trio is still making a name for themselves and carving out their sound, little room for insecurity exists as all three covet opportunities to contribute and grow their local music community, which many of their friends are invested in. “There is no better feeling then looking up from your pedals and seeing your friends having the best time enjoying something you have made,” said Power. Look for songs on their myspace in the near future. In the meantime, you can check out some of Adam’s solo work at www.myspace.com/adampower1.
Musical influences? A: Sigur Ros. Alexisonfire, Thrice, City and Colour. J: Coheed and Cambria, Kaddisfly, Copeland, Circa Survive, Thrice, The Beatles, Death Cab, MuteMath. C: Thrice, Underoath, Death Cab for Cutie, M.I.A., John Mayer, Four Year Strong, Coldplay, Jurassic 5...
photo essay
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Polaroids
{ Darby Magill } likes to take pictures { Visit } www.darbymagill.com
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{ Shoes }
photo essay
{ Man Made Construction }
{ Global Warming }
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{ Nicotine }
{ A Day in the Life }
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{ 20 Minute Valet }
photo essay
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20 houses on 20th Avenue { Shane Yuhas } likes to take pictures { Visit } www.shaneyuhas.com
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photo essay
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photo essay
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art
What is Love? Wikipedia defines love as an intense feeling of affection related to a sense of strong loyalty or profound oneness. How would you define love? { Nadine Getz } likes to take pictures and ask questions
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Nadine Getz posed a simple question “What Is Love?” to the people in her daily life. She photographed them in a simple portrait session and then compiled a book with their faces and honest answers. Nadine concludes the small book with an essay about her recollections of love. “...this is all I ever think about, it is all that consumes my thoughts every single second of every single day and I cannot stop it. When I go to bed it’s all I want and when I wake up it’s all I want.” She continues to ask her own honest questions “How do relationships start? How can you love someone for so many years after you have changed and grown and slept in the same bed for so long? What do I do with it? When will I have it in return?”
thoughts
{ Visit } www.jfgerrard.com
Graceland
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{ John Gerrard } likes to write and take photos
Notes come creeping in, and there’s relief on your breath. You make minor volume adjustments before you take those first sips and a possible morning cigarette. You’re lying in your bed after sleeping off the night’s poison and like many mornings before and probably many mornings to come. You press play, drop the needle or use that fancy home stereo remote. Those familiar notes that you adore and rely on, delicately and purposefully come creeping in. My choice for this morning was Paul Simon’s ‘Graceland’, as it belongs to a definite “go to” selection. It came from my mother. It came from earlier moments of musical discovery, and it came before I searched for myself - a hand me down if you will. More importantly though, it came back to me in the passenger seat of a 15 passenger van - out of country and miles from home. A close friend put it on and I snapped back to that peach coloured house I used to live in before my parents divorced, with it’s large and barren backyard, with it’s brittle orange roof bricks and that safety I’ll probably spend
a lifetime trying to recover. Back I was, and in a way that only music can deliver you, transcending physical space and time, left with that sparkle of remembrance and comfort of old. It’s an ocean out there. Your music, your favourite artists and those “go to” records you’ve acquired, were all discovered by no shortage of effort on your part. Likely, a percentage of your likes were found by your own devices, and likely there’s a percentage of hits you acquired from friends of a similar musical mindset. The musical ocean, much like the physical one, is plagued by a whole lot of nothing, a whole bunch of uninspired shit. It’s an intimidating jaunt these days to push off on that wobbly row boat, and attempt to capture a big fish in the form of a new great record. But, you know there is hope! If mined, all the gold suspended in the world’s seawater would give each person on Earth 9 pounds. Less than 1 per cent is fresh water, but considering the ocean covers 71 per cent of the world’s surface, it’s a single per-
centage large enough to work with. Some musical findings will become precious, while others will remain perfect for backgrounds and school work sessions. Some will transcend into the “go to” category for that needed inspiration in the morning, and some you’ll get sick of after only a few listens. My “go to’s” usually hold certain memories within their chords, making a song into a powerful force when it does. It has an uncanny ability to shift you from the present to the past, in healing and motivational ways. On the other side of the sword there are a few albums that we love, but can’t bare to listen to anymore. The memories they hold have become so powerfully depressing. It’s inevitable some will go sour, so we push those melodies into the back of our minds, only reaching for them occasionally and against our best efforts. Like most things in life, we avoid the imperfection and our less than pleasant portions so we can revel in the precious and beautiful nature of better things. And in my case, “graceland.”
fashion { Amy Truong-Vauttoux } Onima Fashion
Omina Fashion
{ Kristian Jones } likes to write and take photos { Visit } www.kjphotography.ca
{ 22 } Last Friday my husband took part in a friends wedding. Admiringly I watched the bridal party in flowing gowns and groomsmen in smart black suits, glancing at my husband I smiled. I was reminded of what he said to me when his smart black suit was ready for pick up. He casually walked through the door with a black garment bag which he casually tossed aside in exchange for the paper. “Well, can I see,” I asked as I started to unzip the black bag. Looking at me bewildered, as in, what’s the big deal it’s just a suit. He shrugged his shoulders, shook his head and obligingly started putting on the pieces. As he was buttoning the top button of his coat he caught a glimpse of himself in the bedroom mirror. My guess, he liked what he saw. A few charming GQ poses later, and perhaps the snickering from the peanut gallery, his attention was brought back to the world around him. “Man I forgot how good it feels to wear a nice suit,” he said. Hearing that simple phrase started me thinking. I would like to walk into a shop, and have my measurements taken. Have a tailor sit me down, ask what I wanted, out of what I wanted and have a garment created just for me. I said to my husband that perhaps I’ll start putting together a suit fund of my own. I could find someone with impeccable grace and style to create the suit I have envisioned for years.
fashion
{ 23 } As he was getting undressed, he looked at me, tilted his head and said, “ I dunno hunny, It’s very expensive. And is it really worth it. I mean this was for a wedding.” Worth it? Of course it’s worth it. What a strange question. I made up my mind. I decided to set aside funds for my new suit and start looking for a designer. I was sure it was fate when just a few weeks ago my friend Alyssa from welikewelove.com asked if I could fill in to photograph a fashion show, there was a local designer competing who Liz, a mutual friend, met days before and suggested we have a look. The evening of the fashion show I was introduced to Amy Truong-Vauttoux through a business card, Liz passed along a bronze card reading “Onima tailor-made to fit you.” Liz told me about Onima’s 11th Ave. studio and the designs she saw, how she (Amy) was focused on custom pieces and how tailoring is a large part of the designs. She was the last on the runway and gave the show it’s grand finale, the volume of excitement rose
as one amazing piece strolled out after another. Beautiful fabrics, clean cuts and impeccable tailoring. There was even a swim suit. Truthfully, I left before I heard the winner announced, but speaking with Amy a few days after the show, she reported the win and is awarded an evening at Tantra to host her own fashion show. She’s hoping to show her ‘09 spring collection. Winning the chance to host her own fashion show comes at an exciting and lucrative time for Amy. December ‘08 marks the one year business anniversary of Onima. The Calgary Fashion scene has been a rewarding and positive experience for her, she said people have been receptive to her work and have shown lots of support in helping Amy accomplish her goals. “I Take pride in my Tailoring,” she said as she toured me around her studio. “My Clients are happy, and thats the most important thing.” She explained how trends are different for Onima, trying not to go by the fashion ‘rules’ and instead catering to personal style. “I create my own collec-
tions and try not to follow...I prefer to stand out.” I enjoy working hands on with my clients, it’s a way to collaborate with different people all the time. I want my people to feel good in their clothing. Amy spoke passionately about her designs, her clients and her future. Her goal is to represent Canada and become a luxury Canadian label. The ideas and designs behind Onimas appointment only service is exactly the sort of thing Calgary needs. A young, fresh designer giving fashion forward Calgarians exactly what the want. Their very own custom garment made especially for them. I have a very simple philosophy, says Amy “I want to make people look beautiful.” Onima fashions range anywhere from $100 to over $1000. And if like me your curious what her starting price on a tailor made suit is, your looking at a reasonable $870 to start. Onima fashion is located at 309-638 11 Ave. S.W and is by appointment only. 403.269.8827
fashion
In my head...
Aussie Style
{ Erin Williams } likes to dream and create clothing
{ Visit } www.buildaboy.org As a firm believer in function following form, I find it hard in my heart to make anything less than art when it comes to creating clothing. Perhaps I design out of mere frustration seeing what is being sold and worn. Also the good challenge of making the newest coolest thing I can. I am part of a big network of art lovers that are tough to fool in thoughts of what’s good. My focus is to grow with those people, get them stoked and feed them the newest art fashion I can. Although I am tuned into the creative scene, I target no one in particular. That could be a bad thing, and also a good one. You see there is no use to be so specific as you may miss the bigger picture of consumers as a whole. In saying that I justify it by my own label, which is fueled by all types of folk. Even though I pick specific stores, my mind is open which allows me to have the freedom to let any type { 24 } of consumer into my category for the pure enjoyment of standing out as an individual. I sound like a darn hippy, but bare with me for a minute. Being creative comes from within, people faking it can only for so long until they run dry. You can call it a creative block, I say its fraud. Being creative is pushing yourself to make things you’ve never experienced. Don’t get me wrong though, inspiration is necessary, but you can never fool yourself when developing a concept through ideas. There are tons and tons of resources,…find what gets to you, and roll hard with an original idea.
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{ Oxford St
{ Bren
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Video
Editor,
19
{ Rachel K } Dancer, 21
{ Sam K. } Film Student, 19
MARKET COLLECTIVE is an independent market showcasing the works of local artists, artisans and musicians. If you are a local artist interested in rent ing a space, or a musician interested in performing, email Angel Guerra or Angela Dione at: the.market.collective@gmail.com.
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{ Erin S. } Student,
18
{ Libby M } Dancer, 20
poetry
on a street in a house in a room on a chair sat a girl her eyes half open, but starring at a tree on a hill in the yard the breeze came through the window and lingered in her hair and on her face and at her fingertips her thoughts were stationary but r e s t l e s s by the way he had looked in her eyes her hands, they were clasped tight at her side on the chair turning white
the chair
{ Alyssa Beckum } likes to write poetry
her mind left her numb, but wanting to be heard to be [silent] and to see when he took his last breath a year ago she had run out of words out of time she sought life in the place where he died in a house in a room above a chair desperately trying to see what he’d seen in the tree on the hill in the yard in the tree, she saw growth [he’d forgotten] in the breeze, she felt life [he’d neglected] and she stood and walked out the door
of the place for twelve months she had hidden
{ 25 }
short story
Ben: Chapter 1 { Dalyce Chomick } likes to write, sing & play with feathers This is the first installment of the adventures of Ben. Continued in the next issue...
{ 26 } I started rifling through the box, my manager looked on, studying my stalky body and probably amusing himself with the fact that my pants were an inch to short (I’m in the middle of a premature growth spurt. My mom keeps telling me I’ll learn to love myself. It’s embarrassing when she says it to me out the car window before school). And the beige shirt that was 3 sizes too large was just sitting on my shoulders like a wet walrus on a great rock. I hadn’t showered that day either - didn’t see the point. In fact, I don’t see the point most days, but my mother insists I do it once a week. I comply to amuse her. It allows her to feel like she’s doing a good job as a mother. I let her live in this world of make-believe only because I don’t have the heart to tell her otherwise. But I will not give in to her constant nagging to shave my adolescent moustache. I will not compromise myself. The 17 hairs housed above my upper lip make me look at least 2 years older then my ripe age of 17. I look like I’m pushing 18, maybe 19. Once I was mistaken for a 26 year old man. I was called sir and ordered 2 ½ Gin and Tonics - its the only drink I know of. It’s what my Dad drinks after work. He says he needs it when his boss has been “riding his ass”. The box was marked “hairnets” and it was my first day at Tim Horton’s. I was on bagel duty. My parents thought it was about time I started
funding my own addictions. My love for Dungeons and Dragons action figures had reached an all time high and my parents told me they would no longer “fund” my addiction to torture. What did that mean? Could it be that I came home from high school everyday, or almost everyday with a bloody nose? I’m guessing most likely. Those little treats were delivered especially from Todd Rowden’s elbow to my right nostril, and then followed with his ghastly chuckle. But I think the worst part of this body contact was either his peanut butter breather that basically slapped you in the face, or his laugh. It’s the kind you hear in a movie theatre when it’s a silent, tear-filled moment. It’s a laugh so loud and obnoxious you have no control over your neck as it flies around in search of the owner, the kind of laugh that awakens comatose patients from years of deep incurable slumber, the kind of laugh that causes you to punch baby lambs in the face. God forbid you’d be in a meadow of baby lambs when you hear this laugh and go on a lamb punching spree. My parents said if I only left my cape at home I wouldn’t get pummelled so much. But the cape is a symbol of my love for the world I truly belong to. A world of dragons and knights, wizards and goblins - a world where I’m not asked or questioned - where I just belong. My dad yells, “It’s just a stupid game! Is it really worth getting your face mangled everyday?” A soft whimpering
sign usually follows this argument from my worried mother, a few un-mentionable curse words from my heated father and then a quiet evening spent in my bedroom watching old re-runs of Family Matters and eating grilled cheese sandwiches (My favourite episode is when Urkel climbs in to Laura’s bedroom like in ‘Romeo and Juliet’ and tries to get her to go to the dance with him. Oh Urkel, I know your pain all too well). So get this - I’m standing there, in my Tim Horton’s uniform, hairnet, bagel knife and a ripe tomato in hand, then in SHE walks in. Her hips are like the paint shakers you use at Home Depot; back and forth, back and forth, if you get close enough to her your world would start to shake. Her shiny lips and big emerald eyes - I could spend days digging in the Sea of Diogeoni but would not be able to extract any jewel comparable to her eyes. Then the hair flips; they mean nothing, they mean nothing. Oh and her budding bosoms, I could search all… “Ben. Ben! I said it’s a Multigrain bagel with herb and garlic cream cheese! Hello!?!?” “Sorry, a little stage fright. I’m on it.” Her name is Claire; she sits two seats in front of me in my English, Math and Bio classes. She smells like
“But I will not give in to her constant nagging to shave my adolescent mustache.” { } Vanilla and some sort of deli meat. I never thought that Italian meats would give me such a blood rush. My feet go numb when she walks by. I have to get out of here before she sees me.
and I don’t usually care to talk about the personal workings of strangers day to day lives. Geisey is one of those guys who wears bandanas on his premature balding head with a total of 7 piercing in his ears and cut off Bugle Boy jeans. He calls all the guys ‘dude’ and any and every girl ‘baby.’ He usually gets slapped 4 times a shift. I heard him even call Suzy, a 60 year old lady with “Um, Gary I just need to go get some more Multi- arthritis who runs the cash register, Baby Doll and then he slapped her butt. I grains from the back.” walked in looking for Multigrains, even though technically we didn’t need any more up front. I just had to get away from the vanilla waft hitting me in the Gary is my manager; he’s the kind of guy who wants face from all of Claire’s hair flipping. It can’t be good for your neck. you to believe he’s invited back to Tim Horton’s actual house for dinner. During my training he told “Dude! F@*! Man!” me if I worked really hard like him, I could one day be a manager - I’d just have to tough it out for 5 Oh, I didn’t mention that about Geisey, one of his favorite words is F followed years. He then pointed to a plaque on the wall that by a whole string of Shift 8 stars or ***. That’s only one of his favorite words; stated for the last 9 months he’s been appointed the rest shall stay in the abyss of your or my imagination (as I’m still unsure employee of the month. He said I was manager if this is a diary story or third person kind of thing). material. I don’t know if I should take that as a compliment or insult, as that means he sees some “F***, Gary is such a F*** tool. He’s got me coming in here at 5:30am. I hate of himself in me. I did a slight polite chuckle and Bageling. You know.” said “that is one of my goals in life.” He’s not too bright, he didn’t pick up on the thick film of sarcasm “Yea.” I had been allowing to build up over the course of this orientation day. Like I said, I was never one for small talk. I prefer awkward pauses to awkward babble- verbal diarrhea bores me. At least with awkward silence you can do I walked into the backroom where the bagels, something with it, but once you’ve started talking you are basically trapped in doughnuts and other food products are stored. The a Gogorion Dungeon, you can’t siege a Gogorion Dungeon its unconquerable. guy who works back there is named Geisey. I think that’s his last name, but I’m not sure. But I wasn’t So insert awkward silence. born with politeness-a-plenty. I don’t do small talk
{ Pamela Rocker } likes to write
short story
I often go to Starbucks to write. I find it far less distracting to be in a busy coffee shop, surrounded by noises and smells and other coffee snobs, than to be at home in my office, staring into nothingness. I can always find something in this nothingness that seems far more important than writing. I like writing “to-do” lists, and this alone can take up 2 hours. Then when one or two things on the “to-do” list have been completed, it would be absurd not to write another, more updated version of the list. Plus, the squiggly lines I use to cross off finished items tend to leave my list looking second rate. How can you complete a “to-do” list if you don’t respect it?
warehouse offers this in the form of a membership card, which lets you shop there. “You can come and buy more food than you could ever want or need, but only if you pay us. In return, we’ll give you this plastic card.” Yet we line up and get a low quality picture taken to put on the back of said plastic card so that we too, can have access to these ‘members only’ treasures. This new card in hand, we picture the possibilities and conclude that they are, indeed, endless. Not only do we have complete access to every shelf in the store, we also have access to their snack bar, now featuring cheap slices of pizza bigger than your imaginary cat.
Then there’s always cleaning to be done. As I begin to clear my mind in preparation for some rare form of genius to come flowing out of fingertips, I wonder if the kitchen counter has been disinfected since I cooked chicken last night. I try to convince myself that there’s no way I would have left the counter infected, but my attempts fail and soon I am disinfecting the entire kitchen in case some mutant salmonella had found a way to sprout appendages and drag itself across the room. Bacteria and viruses are ruthless, so I applaud my efforts, mentally awarding myself a medal of honour, because I may have, in fact, just saved the entire neighborhood. “It was nothing, really”, I recite modestly to my bottle of Lysol, “all in a days work”.
Starbucks lends itself more to offering a sense of pride in the product itself. Sure, you could make coffee for yourself at home for mere cents, but what would you be missing out on? We’re not exactly sure, but we don’t want to risk it. There’s a sense of pride and loyalty, an invisible membership card. If you { 29 } walked into work with your own thermos in hand, people might think you’re bordering on destitute and may even see your “World’s Greatest Channel Surfer” mug as a cry for help. “We could just buy Starbucks coffee and make it here, ourselves,” comes your plea, “think of the money we’ll save”. But the thought of pouring a fresh cup of coffee out of a boring carafe into a cheap ceramic mug versus a teenaged stranger pouring it into a disposable cup with that catchy naked green mermaid logo, leaves no room for negotiation. Homemade coffee would definitely get your invisible membership privileges revoked.
The word ‘work’ startles me and I realize it’s been 3 hours since I started “writing” and mysteriously, don’t have a sentence to show for it. So I pack up my laptop and head for a place where I won’t be tempted to save the world or do laundry because I have 2 pairs of dirty socks. I leave the house in hopes of using my time wisely, but time means nothing when you’re in Starbucks. The less you’re aware of the outside world, the better. This is its own world, with no stuffy rules, so you might as well buy another marshmallow square. They have no clocks anywhere, just like those huge warehouse/membership places where you can get a 30lb bag of Cajun flavoured pistachios. They figure, if you don’t know what time it is, you might stay longer and decide that, heck, I do need that side of beef after all. I deserve it. The free samples they offer you may seem like a good-natured way to sell a new product, but those bite sized pastries filled with hot dog-like meat only add to your inability to discern right from wrong. Minutes turn into hours and before you know it, you’ve snatched up that great deal on cat food, although you don’t even own a cat and secretly hate them. This scene is all too familiar to me. Standing in the checkout line, wondering how I’m going to fit this basketball sized wheel of cheese into my refrigerator. But I need it, I tell myself. I deserve it. Warehouses full of food and overpriced coffee shops both offer something we are all looking for. The feeling of being a part of something ‘elite’. The
Disappointed, bitter, and a little outraged, you head home, cursing the powers that be and their odd stranglehold over the wallets of North Americans. Feeling poetic, which is probably just a side effect of the outrage, you recall the words of Shakespeare. “What’s in a name?” You begin to ponder these words, thinking you might throw out all of your brand name clothes, start grinding your own flour, and maybe even plant those miscellaneous vegetable seeds you bought on clearance last winter. Your thoughts flow freely, culminating in a party thrown for you by your co-workers. “You made us see the light”, they beam, “you’ve...changed us.” Your party is interrupted by someone else seeing the light, but in this case, it’s the driver behind you that’s seeing the green light you’re happily oblivious of. You think of giving him the finger or maybe even memorizing his license plate and reporting his car as stolen. But a spirit of change has come upon you in the last 5 minutes, so you decide to calmly take the wheel, deftly steering your car ahead, pulling into the nearest Starbucks. And why not? You deserve it. Pamela is a writer, artist and designer currently working on her memoir. When she isn’t writing she can be found creating “products & apparel with mixed feelings”. { Visit } www.liveinthetension.com
opinion
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{ Nate Lardner } likes to ask questions
{ 31 }
Thank You...
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Submissions for the second issue of wlwl are now being accepted. Deadline: Feb 15 { For more info, visit } www.welikewelove.com { Or email us – we love mail! } info@welikewelove.com