The thing that really sets Aberdeen Centre in Richmond apart from the rest of the malls in the world is the originality of concept when it comes to stores. Take for instance, Cube Inc. Not convinced? Now there’s also Look So Real, a store that asks, “are they real or just look so real?”

You may ask yourself why the average person would buy a plate of plastic lobster with garnish. Here’s the copy off the site:

Bring home a lobster dinner when you’re on diet or throw on a pair of ice cream cone earrings… Here we have the greatest selection of products that are great for restaurant display, movie props, television commercial, or simply enjoyment for yourself and your friends…

I don’t really know what else to add, except that they seem to sell stuff that looks so real plus lottery tickets (which I believe are actually real). I took some pictures of other stuff and, well, see for yourself…

Continue reading »

I was looking for a recipe the other day and came across this Japanese cooking show on YouTube called Cooking with Dog (note: I was looking for a Japanese recipe, not a dog recipe). I am not sure if this is something the whole world has seen except me, but all I know is that a) this is a cooking show hosted by a poodle named Francis b) he’s Japanese but speaks English and c) the recipes on this show seem like they’d be quite good.

I am totally mesmerized by this show!

Continue reading »

Joe’s folks live in Edmonton, and even though we’re not that far away in Vancouver we don’t get to see them very often. We’ve been to E-ville quite a few times to visit (my first experience with -30 degrees!) and always have a great time, but once in awhile Joe’s mom likes to shake it up and take us for a vacation somewhere in between instead.

Lucky for us, she has found a great spot. We’ve visited the hot springs in the town of Fairmont, B.C. two times now, which is situated in the Canadian Rocky Mountains on the east side of the Columbia River valley, just outside Banff. It’s magnificent!

Continue reading »

It was a few weeks ago now but I got to go to this year’s Polaris Music Prize Gala at the Phoenix Concert Theatre in Toronto for work. It was dark and crowded, and I took a lot of crappy photos – these are the only two that even remotely turned out.

It was a really fun event to witness – even though I’ve been to Toronto quite a bit it’s hard for me to be get out of the intensely clubby entertainment district when I go because I’m usually there for work and it’s only for a few days. I did figure out a few new things on this trip though…

Continue reading »

For the first time in a while we dug out the old gocco print machine and made some cards, as a favour for a friend’s wedding this weekend. We used to design and silkscreen cards more often but kind of let it fall by the wayside, as we are getting old and lazy. It was pretty easy and quick because we managed to find a place online that sells recycled paper and envelopes, which cut down on having to measure and cut all the paper ourselves.

Joe came up with the design, which was inspired by some washi paper we had seen, and the idea that the wedding’s colours were brown-orange-gold for fall.

Gocco printing is a fairly simple, fun way to print – we’ve found it to be a lot easier than full-on silk-screening…

Continue reading »