Layered Blog

As per usual, at the start of any new year, I take some time to reflect on the year past. We all do. Maybe it’s in order to gain some perspective, to revel in successes or maybe dwell on opportunities. Nevertheless, I always get a supreme sense of renewal and feel re-invigorated to take on new and exciting things in the year ahead.

One thing I am proud of is being President of the Vancouver Island Pipers Club (the “VIPC”). The VIPC is an organization that was formed in 1968 with the intention of providing quality Scottish entertainment for the local bagpipers and drummers of Victoria, BC.

Having been involved with the Club at a young age: as a attendee, as part of the entertainment and now President, I realized early on the importance of an such organization – however, small and specialized. Throughout the recent years, we have seen increased numbers in attendance, increased interest in playing at the Club (not only from local organizations but from outside of Victoria) and are now trying to forge stronger relationships with other piping and drumming organizations. I am extremely grateful for the VIPC Executive who are committed to the goal of promoting and developing the organization as well as the VIPC members who are also committed to those same things. With them, the Club would not be celebrating its 44th year in existence!

For each Club, I design a poster for promotion online and otherwise. Below is the VIPC’s Season in Review in posters. (NOTE: we take a break from June to October as this is prime competition season!)

Here’s to an even better 2012!

After the craziness of the Festival Inter-Celtique in Lorient, our friends, Marie-Agnes and Jean-Yves were kind enough to take us out for a day of exploring in and around Quimper. They first took us to La Torche, in southwest Finistere (a département of France). The Breton name for Finistère ‘Penn ar Bedd’ translates to ‘head/end of the world’.

A sea of cairns that withstand the relentless wind and pounding waves at La Torche.

As we approached ‘the end’, old German bunkers became clearer.

Remnants of when the Nazis feared invasion, fortifying Pointe de la Torche.

Situated at the southern end of the ‘wild’ Bay of Audierne, the currents are strong and sometimes violent. These tidal currents deter swimmers yet attract wind-surfers and surfers alike. The surfers particularly love the magnificent, long ocean rollers as it poses a challenge in a beautiful setting.

After La Torche, we stopped in Combrit for some refreshments. It was such a beautifully sunny day that it would have seemed silly not to spend it outside. Unfortunately, the clouds started to roll in shortly after sitting down in the marina.

Combrit remains a family friendly resort town; quaint in nature amongst beautiful scenery and historical architecture.

Being close to the water all day, I was reminded of home; fresh, clean air, a crisp breeze with a touch of saltiness – all which give you a distinct sense of being unbelievably alive and quite healthy.

Pont Aven is where Paul Gauguin came to paint in the 1880s. Other artists came to the town to be around Gauguin and gain inspiration from the surrounding areas; they were collectively known as the ‘Pont Aven School’. In 1993, the Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art was founded and is an international fine arts program for advanced under-graduate and post-graduate studies. Interestingly enough, it is a private, United States non-profit university fully accredited for undergraduate study through its affiliation with Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, Oregon!

I immediately fell in love with this little port full of art galleries and put it on my ‘list of places to explore next year when we return to Brittany’. We did not have sufficient time to wander throughout the town because we had other pressing business: seeing the ‘Garden of Love’.

At first look, it just appears to be a bunch of brightly colours pieces of metal all converging into one large cone-shaped object in the middle of a carefully planted garden in the middle of a wooded area. Upon closer inspection, it becomes very apparent that these colourful pieces of metal are in the shape of sperm and the concept becomes all that more clear. They are racing towards the egg (top of the cone-shape), with two sperms on top of the egg forming a heart. How weird; how clever; how wonderful!

The idea is of Yves Donval, a French expressionist artist.  In addition to this installation amongst the flowers, he made available 365 postcards to the public with the idea for people to write down their ideas of love and mail them back to him. All in an effort to spread laughter, colour, craziness and of course, love!

The concept is ‘365 Days of Love and Friendship’. As I checked the website today, there are no more postcards left. Ultimately the cards are to be returned by the end of September and will be posted on Yves’ website in order for the public to view and ‘vote’ (registered users) on the declarations of love and friendship.

A bird’s eye view from the bridge above the Garden of Love. Think of all of the postcards that are out in the world and the variety of responses that could be written on them!

The sperm are even in the river. These colourful little guys are also throughout Pont Aven; all pointed in the direction of the garden. See more of the Garden of Love and Yves Donval (Google can translate it!)

This was the perfect way to end our outing! Not only because Amber and Matt knew that I’d: a) LOVE Pont Aven and b) appreciate the art in the garden but c) it got me thinking….

Maybe we don’t think about love often enough….and maybe that is the ultimate exercise of this whole thing. It is meant to slow us down for a even just a minute and think….like, really think…..about what love (in all of its various forms) and friendship (and all if the paths that it could take) truly means to us…

As we drove back to Quimper, although weary from our tour through Carnac and its rocks and Pont Aven and its Garden of Love, I couldn’t help start to think about how love has affected my life. Without it, I wouldn’t be where I am I now, that is for damn sure. I returned to Kerriou, overflowing with LOVE LOVE LOVE.

As this was only days before Aaron proposed to me, the timing of visiting the Garden of Love couldn’t have been more perfect!

Imagine the surprise when out of a large group of French speaking people, a clear and distinct American voice emerges. After days of communicating through broken English/French with the nicest people on earth, it was a small relief to hear the familiar twang of an Iowan accent. You don’t realize how mentally exhausting it is to try and communicate in a language that you are not comfortable with until you are able to speak in your native language and free to elaborate eloquently with multiple syllable words…!

We were introduced to Amber, who now resides in Quimper with Erwan (one of the Kemper bombarde players) on the night of the Bagad Kemper barbeque. This is a yearly event before Lorient and is a huge gathering of current and past Kemper members as well as family and friends. The lawn of Kerriou (Kemper’s house) becomes populated not only with tons of people but, with a grill, a bar and tables full of baguette, salads and treats.

Amber wasn’t the only English speaking person there. Her brother, Matt, just happened to be visiting from Iowa before settling into law school and was equally as happy/relieved to hear English speaking people (there was also a ex-pat Canadian there…more on her later!) We made fast friends and I was invited to join Amber and Matt as they were taking a trip to Carnac the very next day.

Under two hours away from Quimper, the locals were amazed that the North Americans were actually going to drive that far away in a day!  Carnac is renowned for the Carnac stones – one of the most extensive stone collections in the world as well as its beaches as it’s on the south coast of Brittany.

These stones are local rock and were erected in the Neolithic period by the pre-Celtic people of Brittany . They stand in straight lines which has brought much speculation as to how and why. The local legend is that the stones are a Roman Legion turned to stone by Merlin or Saint Cornelius.

The Carnac megalithic sites consist of alignments (rows), dolmens (tombs), tumuli (mound of earth and stones raised over a grave) and single menhirs (large upright standing stone) and are classified into three groupings of stone rows: Ménec, Kermario and Kerlescan.

Ménec is eleven (or twelve) converging rows of menhirs that stretches more than a kilometre. There is said to be remains of a stone circle at either end. The largest stones are at the wider, western end and they become smaller along the length of the alignment.

Kermario (”House of the Dead”) is a fan-like layout and consists of 1029 stones in ten columns 4,300 ft in length.

Kerlescan is a smaller group of 555 stones, further to the east of the other two sites. It is composed of 13 lines with a total length of about 2,600 ft, ranging in height from approx. 3 ft to 13 ft.

Tumulus – we crawled in there and there was a light inside…pretty sure the pre-Celtic people did not put it there.

One our way back to Quimper from Carnac, Matt and Amber suggested we go to Pont-Aven, as they really wanted to show me something……

My lack of posting is starting to add up to mega amounts of spam. So if that’s not motivation enough to get off my arse and starting writing/posting/bitching, I don’t know what is.

Moved to Edmonton at the end of June. Got a new job (more on that later). Living in a beautiful condo downtown with the love of my life. Left for a two week trip to France/Scotland at the end of July. Came back engaged. Lots has changed in a very short period of time and I (we) are now just starting to be able to piece it all together.

Our trip to Quimper, Brittany (France) was almost not going to happen. But through sheer drive and determination, it did happen. Aaron’s love for Brittany and genuine want to play with one of the most respected Bagads in France for the Festival Interceltique made the idea of not going unbearable. I knew I needed to be there for not only the support but because deep down, I knew that this was going to be one of the most memorable trips I have ever had.

Boy, was I right.

Quimper is an ancient city and the capital of La Cornouaille, which is Brittany’s most traditional region. On one of the most beautifully sunny days, Ronan (one of the Kemper drummers) drove me into the city centre so I could wander, explore and drink in some Breton culture.

Quimper’s best known product is Quimper faience pottery. Painted by hand, the older pieces of Quimper faience is widely sought after by collectors worldwide.

Footbridges galore!

I just happened to be in town for the annual market day….the pedestrianized streets of Old Quimper were packed with shop owners selling their wares (everything from clothes, soap, cheeses, candles, you name it) as well as shoppers snapping up the end of the season deals. Lots of activity!

The Cathedral of Saint-Corentin sits in the middle of the city. A Roman Catholic cathedral with a Gothic-style façade, it is seen over and above the buildings and trees with an almost foreboding presence.

A little graffiti in the city of Quimper.

Theatre de Cornouaille and the Contemporary Art Centre of Quimper, The Quartier.

The Quartier was a former military barracks constructed in 1874. It also houses the Quimper art school and is a place of assembly for the art loving public as well as a production studio for local artists.

Although a small city, I could have spent days wandering around….watching and listening amongst the many creperies, cafes and shops. So relaxed and beautiful, the people of Brittany are so friendly, thoughtful and inviting. After getting over the initial culture shock of their warmth and instant graciousness, it made me realize we, as North Americans could learn a good lesson in the art of respectfulness.

The trip was to only get better…

I am a big believer in the fact that people come into your life for a reason; to guide, show, teach, support and/or encourage us in ways that we may or may not notice. Kathryn Moncur is one of those people for me.

Kathryn and I worked at the Royal BC Museum in the summer of 2007 during the showing of the Titanic exhibit. Through the thousands of people touring the museum, convincing patrons to buy Titanic souvenirs, flirting with the actors dressed in period costumes and generally being traffic directors, we managed to forge a special friendship.

I was fascinated by Kathryn’s passion for Nicaragua and learning the Spanish language and culture. I admired her strength and bravery at traveling on her own to Granada; the ease in which she created a family and friend base in Nicaragua and the passion that allowed her to completely submerse herself in the Nicaraguan culture. What totally and completely blew me away was her determination and dedication to start a non-profit providing Nicaraguan children with school supplies which would serve as a important vehicle to provide the education that they deserved. This, along with the pursuit of a Masters in intercultural communication at Royal Roads University, was a recipe for success.

Partnering with two locals that she met during language classes, Kathryn founded Si Quieres, Pueden Reir, otherwise known as the Nicaragua School Project Society. The project has taken great strides since 2007 and has provided 600 students with the proper supplies they need to attend the local school in El Pantanal. With social and traditional media, the project is gaining some attention…most recently on The Province’s BC Without Borders blog.

I had the honour of creating the Nicaragua School Project Society website and continue to want to contribute to this important cause, one way or another. Having the opportunity to visit with Kathryn after each of her trips to Nicaragua, I am inspired by her commitment and drive to make this project grow. As Kathryn says in the article: “Education is a way that empowers people…”

I have had the opportunity to travel the world because of music – playing in competitions and concerts; now might be the time to make a difference in a different way…

There are a number of ways to learn more about the project, donate or read Kathryn’s blog OR follow Kathryn and the Nicargua School Project Society on Facebook and Twitter.

I haven’t posted in a long time. There’s no excuse really….it became a back burner type of thing. Trying to get through the Christmas season in retail is overwhelming and then having the prospect of something really exciting come crashing down very quickly can stop you in your tracks but I finally found something, well I should say, a couple of things to rejoice in. And of course, they all came at once and are eerily related.

#1. Burberry live-streamed their F/W 2011 show this past Monday. Perfect way to see the show if you can’t be there in the front row with Anna Wintour. I love Burberry. The collection was sixties inspired and set to music that had been haunting me in previous weeks. Lesley Gore’s ‘You Don’t Own Me’ opened the show which seemed to play endlessly on my overnight shifts flipping merchandise. Also played in the show, Adele’s ‘Someone Like You’ (see below).

#2. Adele’s new album ‘21′ is out. And the Brit Awards just aired. I caught her  live performance of ‘Someone Like You’ which is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. This girl has a flawless voice that reaches deep into your soul and twists up every emotion you have. Highly recommended.

#3. Mumford & Sons are gaining some serious airplay these days. Great music and true voices, no special effects needed. Their Grammy performance was stunning and they just happened to be wearing Burberry.

#4. Christopher Bailey, Chief Creative Officer at Burberry, talks about HIS inspiration in this video….which also just happens to include Adele. Coincidence? I think not. The other videos he sites are worth watching as well….especially Tim Berners Lee, the inventor of the world wide web. You wouldn’t be reading this if it wasn’t for him.

#5. And lastly, although not fashion related but definitely music related: DCI drum corps in general light a fire in me. Being a drummer myself, I appreciate the technicalities of what these guys do although the discipline and perfection is what really turns my crank. A fellow drummer friend posted this video on my Facebook just the other day knowing how much I LOVE watching these guys do their thing. The Cavaliers are just one of many DCI corps but they all produce a beautiful precise and clean performance every time. They even line their hats up perfectly when they are not wearing them!

Now that’s inspiration.

I came across this video on the blog, Searching for Style.…a video on the process of making the Miracle shoe by John Fluevog. Magic.

Being such a fan of the quality of Fluevogs, this just provides greater insight into the production, love and care that is put into each shoe.

Enjoy!

After the unanticipated uproar from the general public, GAP has reinstated their classic blue box logo. To read company statements, industry insider opinion and other feedback, here is yesterday’s Huffington Post article.

To say this was handled incorrectly is an understatement. And I almost may be convinced that this was a lame publicity stunt although even some co-workers in my store DID NOT know about the logo change and/or didn’t seem to care like the few of us that had heated debates about the issue in the bathroom hallway. Call me a nerd but I like to be informed. And passionate.

After posting some phenomenal numbers in the last week, the ’stunt’ seemed to have worked. Let’s see what happens over time.

After YEARS of the iconic ‘blue box’, GAP quietly re-launched their logo today.

FROM THIS:

TO THIS:

Despite the overuse of Helvetica in virtually everything we see, Gap chose to go with the font in order to re-brand, re-style, re-do and make us re-think of the way we envision the brand and what it stands for. No longer wishing to be ‘known’ for denim and khakis, this new logo signifies the clear and distinct fact that Gap wants us to think of the company as a more clean, slick and dare I say it, on trend clothing company.

When I was doing my schooling for Fashion Marketing and Merchandising, Gap was one of the leading retailers I kept my eye on for fashion marketing strategy, visual display inspiration and new merchandising concepts (I even got kicked out the Toronto Eaton Centre Gap for taking notes for a school project I was working on). So it was a big deal when I became an employee of the company. I now execute all of the window installations, in-store displays, mannequin dressing, styling and detail first hand. And a little bit of me hopes that it inspires other up and coming visual merchandisers to become as passionate about their job as I am.

Always changing the in-store esthetic, it comes as no surprise to me that the logo followed. I’m inside Gap every day, I could be brain-washed.  But seeing the same things bore me, re-branding and marketing strategies make my knees weak, keeping people on their toes is what I’m all about….so a new logo makes me smile. Although I do think they could have done something a bit more interesting, this change is exciting for us.

Think of it this way: first the logo – now the clothes, people.

What do you think?