Stacy - Alouette Lake, British Columbia
Stacy Reynaud is a Canadian college instructor, former gifted kid, writer, and creative known for her raw, unapologetic style. Drawing from her own experiences and emotions, she doesn’t shy away from the darker aspects of life.
Her collections are often described as straightforward and intense.
Stacy was born in Vancouver, British Columbia, and 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 with the encouragement of Vancouver poet and multimedia artist Gerry Gilbert.
Gilbert praised her poetry, said 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 thirteen hundred unique posts, one million plus visitors, and links in T magazine - the New York Times Style Magazine.
Teaching
Her strong writing and storytelling skills secured marketing and communications faculty positions at the British Columbia Institute of Technology and Camosun College.
Stacy has also held contract teaching positions with Kwantlen Polytechnic University and the Richmond School District.
Over the past two decades, she's taught close to a thousand students at colleges around the province how to unlock their own unique stories.
As of 2020, she teaches writing with Simon Fraser University's Editing program.
Stacy holds a Bachelor of Arts in History (political ideology) from the University of British Columbia and a teaching credential from the University of Cambridge (ESL.)
The Rag Trade
Inspired by the new wave and punk scenes of the early 80s, she began shopping at thrift stores with the money earned at 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 and LA
During the early 2000s, Stacy moved her collections to the United States. In New York City, her collections were fixtures during fashion week with the prestigious Manhattan Vintage Clothing Show. She also curated numerous vintage collections for Los Angeles exhibits with Caskey & Lees.
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 situation of the early 00s, she bought 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.
Contact
stacy@bijouliving.com
