Stacy - Alouette Lake, British Columbia
Stacy Reynaud is a college communications instructor, ADHDer, former gifted kid, and creative.
Born in Vancouver, British Columbia, Stacy has lived in numerous small communities and islands around the province. Growing up on the coast of BC, she's influenced by the moody tones and vivid imagery of the landscape and the gritty, hard-living souls of the city streets and remote islands.
Spoken Word
Her journey with spoken word and underground literature began in the late 1990s, thanks to the encouragement of Vancouver poet and multimedia artist Gerry Gilbert.
Gilbert praised her poetry, saying it had a drive that would read well live, and invited her to read her work on his radio show, radiofreerainforest.
She continued her live readings with Gilbert and at underground clubs and cafes around the city.
Writing
In 2008, she established Bijou Living, a profitable design and architecture blog with over 1,300 unique posts, more than 1 million visitors, and links in T Magazine—the New York Times Style Magazine.
The Vintage Biz
Inspired by the new wave and punk scenes of the early 1980s, she began shopping at thrift stores with the money she earned from her part-time job at a local fashion retailer.
At 14, she was taken under the wing of Kenny Spada, proprietor of Vancouver's first vintage shop, deLuxe Junk.
Spada purchased Stacy's first collection of vintage clothing, not once questioning her young age.
Spada was a mentor and friend who encouraged her to branch out with her collections.
Czarina Vintage
In 1999, she designed and established one of the first online vintage stores, Czarina Vintage. Czarina was profiled on CBC's Venture TV program and in many national print publications.
New York City & Los Angeles
During the early 2000s, Stacy moved her collections to the United States.
In New York City, her collections were fixtures during Fashion Week at the prestigious Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show.
She also curated numerous vintage collections for Los Angeles exhibits with Caskey & Lees.
Restructured Streetwear
The idea for her next endeavour came to her at a vintage show in Manhattan.
After constantly being asked if she had 'another size' in one-of-a-kind vintage pieces, she had her aha moment.
Inspired by Joe Strummer's Combat Rock era, her expertise in fashion history, and the political and social climate of the early 2000s, she purchased the entire attic supply of vintage apparel from a military shop.
2006 saw the launch of edle - named after her Norwegian grandmother.
Her restructured vintage military streetwear line was carried internationally in boutiques in Tokyo's Shibuya-ku, Chicago's Wicker Park, Los Angeles' Venice Beach, Portland's Pearl District, and New York's SoHo.
Ceramics
After her sixteen-year marriage ended, she changed direction, journeyed to La Cañada Flintridge, California, and pursued a lifelong goal - to practice pottery.
She continued her studies at the Shadbolt Centre For The Arts in Burnaby, BC, focusing on free-form hand-building.
Her work is carried in shops in Vancouver and sits in many private collections throughout Canada.
Instructor Marketing & Communications
Stacy taught marketing and communications at the British Columbia Institute of Technology, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, Camosun College, and Simon Fraser University. At BCIT, Stacy also served as the Program Head of the Marketing Management department.
She holds a Bachelor of Arts in History, with a focus on political ideology and propaganda, from the University of British Columbia, and a teaching credential in English as a Second Language (ESL) from the University of Cambridge.
Contact
stacy@bijouliving.com
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My week just isn't a week without some bubbly! Vintage Baccart serves it up nicely...
