The Facing Page

Design, Culture and Style from Vancouver

Month: March, 2012

30 March 2012

The Hill-Side Scarves

by Connor Keller

Spring in Vancouver can be quite a fickle beast, with sun giving way to grey skies and rain at the drop of the hat. To be properly prepared, it always sensible to have a good light scarf on hand to keep the neck and head warm. When it comes to scarves, or neckwear in general, the Hill-Side produces some excellent options. They have a couple of particularly desirable offerings in their most recent collection including their famous Chambray scarves. Beyond to the Chambray classics are the new Guatemalan Ikat print scarves and the Jacquard Fair Isle scarves, both of which would make fun and functional additions to the wardrobes of men and women. The scarves are, in typical Hill-Side style, made from fabric sourced from around the world which is turned into the scarf in their New York factory. The scarves are all of a good length and so can be worn in any style. Mr Lee’s General Store in Vancouver often has a couple in stock and Hickoree’s New York always has a great selection in their online store.

- CK

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27 March 2012

Red Wing Work Chukka

by Connor Keller

One of the standouts in the ‘Made in America’ family of goods is the Red Wing Boot company. Founded in Red Wing, Minnesota in 1905, Red Wing has been producing well-crafted, built to last boots for over 100 years. Their work boots have recently been picked up in the Americana heritage movement, a sensible choice given their comfort and amazing lasting power. For me, the Work Chukka boots are the highlight of the line, particularly in the briar oil slick leather. The crepe sole, common among their work boots, is retained and paired with a gorgeous brown oil slick leather. The resulting boots are best described as ‘ruggedly handsome’ and are a boot that can be worn from winter to summer on both hiking trails or city streets. They’re available in Vancouver at the Red Wing store or over the internet at Unionmade Goods.

- CK

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26 March 2012

Filson Rutland Medium Duffle Bag

by Addi Perkins

 

When I’m travelling, I find myself pulled in two directions as far as my luggage goes. Part of me wants something capacious and functional; a backpack perhaps. However, another part of me wants something that looks good; a vintage leather suitcase. Recently, I’ve been using an aged leather doctor bag for all my travelling. It is small enough to fit into carry-on when flying but large enough for two weeks away if packing is done carefully and frugally. Unfortunately though, it isn’t always the most comfortable bag to walk with for a long distance, and sometimes you just need more space. So I’ve been hunting for a new bag and in Filson’s Rutland Duffle Bag, I’m pretty sure I’ve found it.

The Rutland is a medium sized duffle bag built from a heavy twill and leather. This particular model is accented with Sebago leather and comes only in tan, which is fine with me as I think it looks great. It is just over two feet long and slightly over a foot wide and deep. I’ve had the pleasure of looking the bag over at Filson’s flagship store in Seattle and it strikes a perfect balance between capacity and portability. The leather on tan combination gives the bag the rugged yet stylish look that I’m looking for – it’s the sort of bag that makes me want to drive a Land Rover to Tierra del Fuego, take the Eurostar from London to Paris and canoe down a forgotten river in a mountain valley. To me this desire to use it is key to an excellent piece of equipment. While the US$325 price tag is steep, Filson is known for their exceptional build-quality and I imagine that this bag will last for a quite a long time and will only get better looking with age.

- AP

Photos: filson.com

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26 March 2012

Midori Traveller’s Notebook

by Connor Keller

A brilliant piece, the Midori traveller’s notebook is an amazing example of Japanese design. The exterior of this notebook is a rough cut brown or black leather with an interior elastic strap to secure a choice of notebooks and a handsome exterior elastic to hold the notebook shut. The selection of interior notebooks and ability to interchange on a whim makes the Midori traveller’s notebookamazingly versatile. For a demonstration of how it works, there’s a handy video available here. There are a wide variety of the inner notebooks that work with the Midori from simple lined, blank or graph paper sheets to travel journals, day calendars, heavy sketching paper or business card holders. There is a smaller, passport sized, option for those who like to travel particularly light, with all the aforementioned items available. Before I discovered this, I would never have thought about abandoning my Moleskine, but thanks to Miscellaneous Store I’m transcribing this article from my new Midori.

- CK

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21 March 2012

Brookline Jacket

by Connor Keller

Engineered Garments, the brainchild of Daiki Suzuki, easily one of the top names in the workwear fashion industry, has produced a number of gems in their Spring/Summer 2012 line. Manufactured in New York’s garment district under the ideal of wabi-sabi, a Japanese concept basically meaning that all things pass and nothing is ever perfect, EG pieces are known for their lasting power and top craftsmanship. One piece of the Spring/Summer 2012 line that has stood out particularly for me is the Brookline jacket, particularly in the  khaki and blue combination. The jacket is reversible, so you can swap from the khaki to a wind and water proof blue, making it quite versatile and good looking in both ways. It’s a tour de force by Daiki Suzuki making a reversible jacket in which each side is functional and attractive. The combination of snap buttons on the blue side and button up on the khaki side is another nice addition. I’ve yet to snap one up, but a trip to the Inventory Stockroom, Vancouver’s finest EG stockist, may be in order.

- CK

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19 March 2012

Business Cards

by Connor Keller

Of late I’ve started to take something of a fascination in business cards. Due to the emergence of the internet as the dominant connective force they have declined somewhat in popularity of late in North America, but can still provide a medium for passing along the ethos of a company via a tangible object. There is a sense of creating an emotional attachment for those who pick up a card or are given one in a meeting. I take pleasure in investigating the business cards of shops, locations of people that interest me, and find there is a lot that can be learnt from them. Interestingly, there is still a great deal of prestige associated with a great business card in Japan, as well as a whole culture surrounding the presentation of the business card in a meeting. North America, please take note, the business card isn’t dead.

- CK

Examples via Terrapin Stationary

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15 March 2012

Revolver Coffee

by Connor Keller

Since moving from Victoria last summer, I’ve been on a permanent hunt to find a coffee shop that can live up to the lofty standards set by Victoria’s Habit coffee. Of those I’ve tried in Vancouver thus far, I think Revolver in Gastown has come the closest. At Revolver every cup of coffee – both espresso and drip – is made individually from beans you’ve selected from their bean menu. They offer taste tests on a weekly basis and continually rotate their bean selection, adding to their exceptional customer experience. The decore, particularly a world map comprised of nails, silver for most of the world, copper for those coffee producing regions, is also an aesthetic highlight of the shop. The shop itself is a gorgeous gastown space with high ceilings, a 20 foot bar, and some well-crafted seating. As coffee shops in Vancouver go, for me Revolver scores high, I’d recommend it to anyone looking for a good cup of coffee.

- CK

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14 March 2012

wings+horns

by Connor Keller

For well made, well designed and exceptionally comfortable clothing, wings+horns is one of the best out there. A Vancouver based company founded in 2004, it combines Japanese quality, detail and function with Canadian tradition. This comes as the result of a director who having lived in Vancouver, spent seven years in Japan immersed in the fashion and culture before coming home to launch wings+horns. Many of their basics pieces will become staple favourites after a wear or two. Each piece is simple and classic  and will survive for ages due to the exceptional craftsmanship. In particular, their basic pocket tee, their long and short sleeved henleys and their west point chinos integrate perfectly into any wardrobe. While some of the wings+horns pieces can run a bit expensive, a couple times a year they organize a sample sale in Vancouver which offers a great opportunity to pick up the pieces you’ve been looking at at really reasonable prices. They’re also available at Roden Gray in Vancouver.

- CK

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10 March 2012

Objectified

by Connor Keller

Objectified is a documentary that explores the relationships we have with the objects in our lives. It delves not only into the objects and how we interact with them but also the design process and the people who design them. It’s an interesting look at how we have such a complex relationship with everyday objects, and how some of the objects were brought into being. This is the second part of Gary Hustwit’s ‘design trilogy’ – the first being a documentary on Helvetica and the third being a look at how we interact with cities. Hustwit describes the film as being about ‘personal expression, identity, consumerism, and sustainability.’ Having watched it a couple of times now, I’d agree. It’s a fascinating look at industrial design today and I’d highly recommend it to anyone interested. It is available here.

- CK

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7 March 2012

Big John x Tenue de Nimes

by Connor Keller

Last post on denim for a while — I promise. This pair is a collaboration between Big John, Japan’s oldest jeans brand, and Tenue de Nimes, Holland’s premiere denim distributor. A slim tapered cut in a gorgeous 14.5 oz denim, the jean is dyed in a reduced indigo solution giving it a lighter colour. The jean has clean aesthetic and the patch commemorating the collaboration is nicely designed and suits the jean. For me, the highlight of this pair of jeans, and one of the details that’s gotten me most excited about an article of clothing in a long time, is the Delft blauw (blue) pockets. Having a Dutch mother, I grew up seeing this pattern a lot and I’ve grown to love it. Seeing it used with denim was a delight for me and while it may not be on display all the time, it’ll add a little extra pleasure each time you put them on. This was another point of recognition of the Dutch and Japanese collaboration, as the Delft blauw pattern was often produced in Japan once the trade route between the two countries was opened. The one problem with this jean — only 24 were produced and I slept on buying, missing out on my chance to get my hands on a pair. If you’re a waist 29, 30 or a 34 though, follow the link as quick as you can.

- CK

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