A (Bed) Room of One's Own

Master Bedroom Boyd House Architect Ron Thom image by Stacy Reynaud

I brought up the topic of separate bedrooms this morning, only to be greeted with, 'Should we each have our own house, too?' Geesh, sensitive.

Architectural trends reflect our culture, but how far do these trends reflect our instincts?

My first thought was that the shared bedroom is a socioeconomic thing—lots of money = lots of house. Not so much money = not so much home. 

You know what I'm talking about, so let's not go into tiny house living choices or the cost of a 435 s.f. apartment in Vancouver because I'm simply talking about the concept of the shared bedroom.

My second thought - brought into fruition by a comment regarding prudery - is an image of a lovely Homo erectus couple snuggled up under a muskox blanket in front of their amber-hued, crackling cave fire. The shared bedroom now becomes a mammalian instinct. 

Stay warm, stay safe, and have sex (in whichever preferred order).

My next thought - is Lucy and Ricky's bedroom - sure, it was fictional (somewhat), and they were shown in separate beds due to TV regulations of the 1950s. Still, I'd argue that it was actually the result of the continuous evolution of Western socioeconomic and mammalian instinctual concepts.

Okay, let's leave it at that - I want my own bedroom, and ignorance is bliss.

image: Boyd House, Ron Thom 
© Stacy Reynaud

From the Archives - Momo the Cat and Kevan

1. natural disaster
2. suspense
3. human compassion
4. cute quirky Canadian
5. Momo the cat

Three cheers for Kevan and Momo!

Calgary flood June 21 2013 - a full list of organizations looking for volunteers for the clean up can be found here.

all images © Jordan Verlage/Canadian Press
photo set at CBC

Originally published June 24, 2013

Where have all the Conversationalists gone?

Last Wednesday, I was feeling good. The sun was out, I was in my favourite part of downtown, and I felt inspired and alive - like my good old manic days that would last for weeks. The ones where I'd start four businesses, thrift shop for 12 hrs straight and forget to eat. Am I in denial to miss that? Anyway, feeling so inspired and alive, I automatically thought of my friend Ken and our hours-long vintage and fashion conversations, so I headed off to shoot the shit with him down at Deluxe - then I remembered Ken was dead. So I thought, well Rod will be there, I'll go shoot the shit with him, then I remembered Deluxe was gone - closed due to a $3000 a month rent hike. Okay, no need to get down, I'll go talk design with someone at Inform. Well, the only bodies at Inform were ones glued to computer screens behind cash desks. Five bucks, they're practicing the snobby sales technique identified in the UBC study, Should the Devil Sell Prada? Retail Rejection Increases Aspiring Consumers’ Desire for the Brand?

Well whatever, not yet feeling deflated I thought, 'Okay I'll go sit down and have a coffee somewhere.' Somewhere, conversation was already flowing, and I could at least be part of it. Uh, since when have coffee shops been so quiet? Not one person was engaged in vocal conversation with anyone. Not because they were glued to a book, writing, or staring off into space thinking, but because their heads were bent down, staring into their phones. Holy crap, people get with it. My public library has more conversations going on! I left without buying a coffee (or tipping someone for bending their arm beyond 85 degrees).

Highly irritated, I turned around and headed back home. On my way, a homeless man complimented me. (I was hoping to run into you, but I'd put a little extra effort in that day.) I turned around and said, 'Thanks.' He said, 'Anytime, sweetheart'. So, from now on, when I want to have a conversation, face to face with someone, I can feel confident the homeless guy at Water and Cambie will participate - and I guarantee he has a hell of a lot more stories and opinions to share than the dipsticks glued to their screens. What's that old saying, 'All text and no talk makes Jack a dull boy'?

God, I miss hanging out and just talking.

Stacy Reynaud
image: Simone Signoret, Marilyn Monroe, Arthur Miller, Yves Montand

The Longest Year in History

was 1972.

Remember the power of three? It's happening again, this time with the year 1972.

First off - Moody Blues, Nights in White Satin - a song I thought, from the very first day I heard remembering hearing it, was a cheesy 70s rambling poem song about King Arthur, so I paid no attention to it. Anyway, it popped up at me on the weekend, and I took the time to listen to the lyrics - which are everything but knights in white satin. 

New old favourite!

Then, I was looking at old Honda motorbikes online and came across this vintage ad from 1972. The truck and camper (and mini bike) equate to the elimination of the living in a van down by the river scenario created by the Vancouver rental pool.

Finally, Tuesday night I was looking at residential architecture and up pops this beauty. West Vancouver's Helmut Eppich house designed in 1972 by Arthur Erickson Architects (and sold in 2010 for $4.8 million.)

Things that confuse me

Efficiency committees

Initiatives that take the initiative out of initiatives

Everything we See or Seem

stacy reynaud

I was looking up Scorpion pose and came across a book recommendation, of all things. My local library rocks so of course they had it - now I will recommend the beautiful piece of literature to you.

Letters to a Young Poet by Rainer Maria Rilke. Translated by M.D. Herter  Norton, (1934). The translation/translator makes all the difference.

The close of the eighth letter:

"Do not believe that he who seeks to comfort you lives untroubled among the simple and quiet words that sometimes do you good. His life has much difficulty and sadness ... Were it otherwise he would never have been able to find those words." 

Oh, and here's Scorpion pose

Wittgenstein has got it going on

Everything that can be thought at all can be thought clearly. Everything that can be said can be said clearly. 

Ludwig Wittgenstein, Tractatus Logico Philosophicus

Momo the Cat and Kevan - the stuff of legends

1. natural disaster
2. suspense
3. human compassion
4. cute quirky Canadian
5. and Momo the cat

Three cheers for Kevan and Momo!

Calgary flood June 21 2013 - a full list of organizations looking for volunteers for the clean up can be found here.

all images © Jordan Verlage/Canadian Press
photo set at CBC

Essential Coffees That are Dishwasher Safe

Hey, remember this?
Well you can buy it, for a kind of weird function.

Prada | Wes Anderson | Candy

I can never tell if these sorts of flicks are parody or pretension. 

Ah, mais la vie est la parodie, mon cheri. 

Needless to say, I like their suits and it reminds me of Truffault's Jules et Jim.

Prada, Roman Coppola and Wes Anderson team up for Candy L'Eau.

This makes me want to shoot one of me and my bff

It would be pretty hilarious.

In My Other Life

I'm the program head (and member of faculty) for the part time marketing management program at BCIT. I'm also a tree hugger, as you've probably figured out by now. How did I get into marketing? It just happened. I actually hate marketing, or is it marketers? Or is it the campaigns? Remember, I'm also a born BC'er, as is Adbusters - and Greenpeace.

When I see a campaign like the new one from Greenpeace targeting Italy's largest fashion houses, the first thing that runs through my head is, 'OK Greenpeace, how exactly did that green rubber glove come into fruition?' Last time I checked rubber was harvested from trees - is it neon green when harvested? I thought not. Where did the dye go after the gloves were dyed? How many vehicles were used to transport the gloves? In all fairness, Greenpeace may have had a disclaimer on the gloves stating they were artisanal gloves produced by fairies - or in an ecologically sensitive manner.

Think before you approve.

Coffee

Some of these new spots [artisanal coffee shops] have a way of making you feel not cool enough--like you're dressed inappropriately. Patrick Dempsey on the artisanal coffee shop scene.

Dempsey just bought Tulley's coffee (the Peet's of Seattle). Weird.

Any Portlandia fans out there? Anyone been to JJ Bean Coffee in the Woodward's building? Check it out. You'll see what he means.


Read More

Cold War Era KGB Spy Equipment

From the archives: A Collection of Rejection

Originally published April 14, 2011

One of the best things about writing your own blog is that you really save a fortune on self addressed stamped envelopes.





















But alas!

Scandinavian Pain

When I first saw this image I thought it was a funky Scandinavian bread shop. That's what happens when you live in a bilingual country. Thanks to Moderna Museet for informing me that Scandinavian Pain is actually an exhibition running this summer at their museum in Malmö Sweden. Ragnar Kjartansson's eleven meter neon sign, Scandinavian Pain, will be installed on a barn housing works by Edvard Munch - cheeky Swedes.
image © Ragnar Kjartansson

Rustic Camper Van Conversions

The other day it dawned on me why I prefer vernacular homes with cedar siding - Little House on the Prairie. Right!

Could it be that Bill and Beck Goddard do as well? The Goddard's family-run business, Rustic Campers, is a bespoke camper van conversion company that sources local materials to convert your van, motor home, or even Mercedes cargo into your own Little House on the Road.

Living in that 'van down by the river' is becoming more appealing, is it not?

The Little House on the prairie, (actually located in Simi, California and unfortunately burnt down during the wildfires a few years back).
© Little House Insider

top images © Rustic Camper

The Business of Bourbon

My parents were Scotch drinkers. Which meant that if I ever wanted to have a few shots of liquid courage before going out I either had to grow a fondness for scotch or figure out some way to get into their unopened vodka bottle without being noticed. To make a long story short, my Dad approached me a few years ago expressing his embarrassment when he poured his friend a vodka soda only to have his friend politely comment on the lack of actual vodka in the soda. Now who in their right mind would've thought my Dad still would have had that same bottle of vodka that was watered down weekend after weekend in 1989? We both laughed about it. That's all we really could do.

Remember New Coke?  I always question brands and their ulterior motives - even if in reality they don't have one. Last week when I heard that Maker's Mark had 'underestimated' the demand for their bourbon five years ago, (barreling less of it for the five year aging process), and had in turn decided to water down future batches, (to ensure supply met demand), the first thing I smelled was foul play. To make matters worse, to state that no one would even know the alcohol content had been lowered from 90 to 84 proof, (an overall decline of 7% in alcohol), the company, that thought it was being transparent, actually made it sound as if Maker's Mark drinkers were without palette and therefore it was without consequence if they watered the booze down. In no way am I accusing Maker's Mark of anything dirty, (no publicity is bad publicity), however the Maker's Mark brand equity is at stake and I find it hard to believe a company could be so blatantly dumb unaware of the damage such a move could have on that equity.

Always the entrepreneur, I'd planned to head right to the liquor store to stock up on 90 proof Maker's Mark for resale at a later date. But wait, could this move on my part actually be the desired end result of a marketing tactic?

Digital Graffiti | Architecture | Thought Rants | Fashion | Design

Tagging a gravestone, locking locks on a fence, sticking gum on a wall. Why do people participate? Self expression? Community? Dopamine? Are Facebook, Tumblr, or Foursquare forms of digital graffiti? Why or why not?


image via my tumblr via here

• be fearless
• go beyond the obvious
• never assume
• look for hints transform them to innovation
• ideas for ideas' sake are worthless

The day before I left for my holiday vacation two of my instructors took me out for drinks - which somewhat turned into an intervention. They told me my job was sucking the life out of me. I appreciated their candor because I'm a tough love kind of chick.

Time for some changes - 2013 will see me up in front of a class again. I'm looking forward to making my students' brains hurt. I'll be teaching into the digital marketing program I created so expect to see a few thought rants like this one. I'm also going to be creating a new e-retail program which I'm really looking forward to as that's where my business was born. Besides thinking, I'm also passionate about design, architecture and fashion so I'll be blogging more - which is also a passion. Oh - and I'll also be opening shopbijouliving.com Three cheers for the entrepreneur!

Happy New Year to You! I really appreciate you sticking around and following my ups, downs and circular motions! The best is yet to come.

Happy 80s Holidays

from me -  in my Molly Ringwald meets The Cult phase.