Shop Cocoon opened its doors in November of 2005 and since then has generated quite a buzz in the Vancouver fashion community. If you ever find yourself wandering the storefronts along Cambie Street in Vancouver and are looking for a truly unique shopping experience, make sure to stop by Shop Cocoon.

The concept is simple: designers rent floorspace from store owner, Brenda Li, allowing local designers a venue to sell their goods and reach a wide audience of shoppers. Inside, you’ll find everything from jewelry and clothing to paper goods and even wedding gowns.

The store makes the most of its limited space by displaying goods creatively and offering a selection of well picked items that are sure to please a wide range of styles and fashion tastes. Shop Cocoon is also getting a lot of new foot traffic, now that the new Canada Line transit system is done for the upcoming Olympics. Most of the businesses in this area prior to completion were going through hard times due to decreased pedestrian flow. Now that traffic is back to normal, it will be exciting to see Shop Cocoon be discovered by new shoppers looking to score that unique one-of-a-kind piece.

Shop Cocoon
http://www.shopcocoon.com
3345 Cambie Street
Vancouver, BC V5Z 2W6
Tel: 778.232.8532

Monday 12-6,
Tuesday-Sunday 11-6

General Inquiries: info@shopcocoon.com
Media Inquiries: media@shopcocoon.com

I’m not sure how I didn’t come across Vancouver based Union Wood Company sooner, but I’m so glad I did. The owner, Craig Pearce, founded Union Wood Company in the summer of 2009 and combines vintage and industrial objects to create beautiful custom furnishings.

Using materials mostly reclaimed and re-purposed from salvage yards, antique stores, demolition sites and other sources, Union Wood Company creates pieces that are solid, bold and one of a kind.

I love this industrial looking pendant light – I’d love to have it hanging in my living room.

This is the E.Woodward Spotlight and I think it’s fabulous.

Union Wood Company’s original works are for sale through the website, at select retailers and is available for custom work on a commission basis for projects both large and small.

Union Wood Company
http://www.unionwoodco.com
Powell Street, Vancouver, BC
(604) 992-5485
sales@unionwoodco.com

I was at Ikea the other day just browsing around when I came across this print. Normally, I’m not a huge fan of Ikea prints but for some reason this one just really stuck out to me and I’ve never seen anything like it at Ikea so I had to have it. Total cost  was $59.99 including the frame.

There was also this other version with wood type numbers that I really liked but thought buying two prints was a bit overkill for my small apartment. The numbered one wasn’t framed – I think it was going for $19.99.

If you have an Ikea near you, definitely check it out and see if you can find these great prints.

P.S. I can’t believe it’s NYE and in less than 24 hours it will be 2010. EEK.

Christmas is just around the corner and what better way to feel festive than to decorate your surroundings? I love browsing Etsy around this time of year for great holiday themed items and gift ideas. The level of creativity always amazes me and I love discovering new shops and sellers.

Here’s a roundup of some of my favorite shops and items this year.

NestaHome
http://www.etsy.com/shop/NestaHome
Paintings and other home decor creations

oh so good
http://www.etsy.com/shop/ohsogood
Environmentally conscious, one-of-a-kind design that salvages discarded paper, books, and other materials

Gilstrap Designs
http://www.etsy.com/shop/gilstrapdesigns
One of kind original art work, jewelry and home accessories

Femme Petal
http://www.etsy.com/shop/erinkeys
Fabulous, fun jewelry with a vintage twist

A month ago when the sun was still out in Vancouver, we decided to stop by Langley, the birthplace of British Columbia. The township is located near the historic Fort Langley, a fur trading post used during the 1800s by the Hudsons Bay Company.

Today, the main strip of Langley sits a dozen or so antique shops. We were fortunate enough to step into a live antiques auction taking place inside the gorgeous Fort Langley Community Hall.

The Village Antiques Mall is definitely worth a visit while you’re out here. It may look small on the outside, but once you’re inside there’s tons of stuff to look at.

The Langley CN Station is a wonderfully preserved train station build in the early 1900s and is certainly worth checking out.  A bright orange CNR caboose built in the 1920s and beautiful rail car from the 1940s sit on the tracks just outside the station.  During the summer and fall seasons, you can enter these trains for a peek. The best part is it’s free!

Fort Langley Community Hall
9167 Glover Road
Fort Langley BC
604-888-1223

The Fort Lanyley Heritage CN Station
Opened weekends during summer and fall 12-4 PM
604.888.1759

Village Antiques
23331 Mavis Ave
Fort Langley, BC V1M 1A1
(604) 888-3700

A few weekends ago after Ryan and I visited the Cloverdale Flea Market, we decided to explore Cloverdale further and came across the MOTHERLOAD of all antique stores. This place is badass – like badass to the extreme. On the outside, it looks like a cutesy place with typical vintage wares. Inside, it’s heaven within four walls and I walked around with my mouth open wide enough that I would give any venus fly trap a run for their money.

When you first walk in, it seems like a pretty typical place. There were bubbly space aged televisions, retro stoves and a super cool looking vintage cash register. One of the coolest things I came across was a stack of old books of consolidated newspapers from The Vancouver Sun. They were sorted by year and had every single page in them including all original ads and comic strips ranging as far back as the 1930’s.

It’s difficult to tell how big this place is from the outside, but once you’re inside you realize how absolutely huge it is. There are tons of smaller rooms that they’ve sectioned off to group themes of things. It seems like a lot of the items are also from movie sets and old advertising memorabilia. After being to so many flea markets, vintage shops and thrift stores, it’s hard for me to see something and say, “OMGSOCOOLIWANT.”

Everything in this place made me say that!!

I love the collection of old tins on the shelf. I’m not totally sure what they are or what they used to hold.

One thing I do have a soft spot for is vintage advertising. Anytime I see a box of ads for sale I always navigate my way towards them and stand there sifting through them all, usually chuckling at the hilarious one-liners. I especially love these old vintage cardboard cutout ads.

Vintage jukebox anyone? How about an old-school drink dispenser or a room full of stuffed animal heads?

I must share these next few rooms with you – the Coca Cola/Pepsi Cola/Soft Drink room. I’ve never in my life seen so many Coca Cola advertising pieces in one place at the same time – EVER. It felt like a trip down cola memory lane. It was also pretty neat to see the evolution of the logos over the decades.

If you’re ever in the area (or why not just make a trip out to this place) – definitely check it out. You’ll be glad you did.

Red Barn Antiques
5553 176 Street
Surrey, BC V3S 4C2
(604) 576-8737

The lovely Farrah Maliavsky wrote to us about her vintage button pins on Etsy. If you’re like me, you have a million pieces of paper and quickly scribbled notes floating around or little photos and odds and ends that you’re constantly losing. These pins are made from an assortment of vintage buttons and would be a great way (along with a cork board) to keep your life organized with style.

Like us, Farrah is also inspired by all things old and the ability to make them new and exciting again. Her latest project was an inspiration board which is basically a vintage frame (from a flea market no less) around a big bulletin board covered with things that inspire her.

Once the board was done, she felt like she couldn’t just use plain boring push pins, which led her to develop these awesome pins made from vintage buttons. They come packaged with the pages of Boho Magazine and are in a handmade paper box out of the already recycled pages of the magazine.

Check out her Etsy shop!

One Sunday, Naomi and I decided to explore Cloverdale after a trip to the Fleamarket. We came across what seemed to be a small antique shop located along a strip mall. Little did we know but this little store turned out to be an 18,000 square foot antique mall filled to the brim with all sorts antiques and vintage paraphernalia!

The Cloverdale Antique Mall is a massive maze of furniture, lighting, dishware and printed ephemera. What caught both of our eyes was an amazing display of Pyrex type dishware which was amazingly arranged from pinks, yellows and blues on the top floor.  I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves.

If your visiting the Cloverdale Fleamarket swing by the Antique mall which is about a 5min drive away.

Clover Square Village Shopping Centre
#106 – 17780 #10 Highway
Cloverdale, B.C., Canada
V3C 1C7

Phone: (604) 576-2263
Fax: (604) 576-2363
info@cloverdaleantique.com
www.cloverdaleantiquemall.com

Last weekend we decided to venture out to New Westminster, a city about 25 minutes outside of Vancouver. One street we wanted to visit in particular is home to Antiques Alley – Front Street. Back in the late 1800s, it started as a market and dockside street which was home to one of the earliest established Chinatowns in Canada. Many films have been shot here because the area feels like you’re in the backstreets of New York.  Today, it’s home to some of the best antique stores this city has to offer.

Front Street is easy to miss because it’s located underneath a busy bridge and half covered by a parkade. Once you do find it, you’ll also find about half a dozen stores filled with all sorts of treasures.

Remember the cool art deco desk I bought during the summer for $45? We found a fully restored version in one of the stores for $750.

If you ever find yourself in the area or want to visit, here are a few of our favorite shops to check out while on Front Street.

Antique Alley Collectables & Movie Props‎
605 Front St
New Westminster BC V3M 1A1‎
(604) 759-1422‎

Armstrong & Fitzgeralds‎
641 Front St
New Westminster BC V3M 1A1‎
(604) 520-1478‎

Mid-Century Modern Home
609 Front Street
New Westminster, BC V3M 1A1
(604) 515-1865

In Vancouver’s Chinatown, we have apple tarts that are comparable to the copious amounts of pastries I ate the last time I was in France. New Town Bakery has been serving Vancouver for over 30 years, making some of the best Asian baked goods in Chinatown. They make fantastic steamed buns and cookies, however they are famous for their apple tarts.

New Town is a unique Asian bakery, specializing  in Fillipino and Chinese cuisine. The place is divided into two sections. The front is a bakery and the back is a restaurant which serves dim sum and western cuisine. I grew up eating these as a kid and could never eat just one. New Town serves almost every type of  food that an Asian kid growing up would eat. These treats range from pineapple buns and BBQ pork buns to almond cookies and sesame seed balls.

As I stand in line, the tray of apple tarts behind the glass becomes smaller with every customer in front of me. These tarts sell so quickly that they’re always hot from the kitchen. Needless to say I stuffed my face, savoring the flaky crust and hot apple filling. If you’re in the neighborhood, be sure to pick up a box or two! A dozen apple tarts will run you $8 or $4.25 for six.

New Town Bakery
158 Pender Street East
Vancouver, BC V6A 1T3
(604) 689-7835

Open 6:30 am -8:30 pm 7 days a week