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Category + shopping
Other Shopping StoriesShopping Vancouver's Main StreetBy Angela MurrillsAround Vancouver’s Main Street, design-savvy locals have inaugurated a new generation of chic shopping.
Vintage clothing shops, fashion-forward boutiques and home decor emporiums have made this the epicenter for fresh finds. Here’s a selection of what you’ll discover around 24th Avenue.
An oversize leaf-wreathed Venus de Milo draws decor maniacs into the circa-1900 building that houses A Bakers Dozen Antiques. Antique chandeliers to hang over that Modern table, curvy Art Deco dressers, “a murder” (the collective term) of locally crafted concrete crows �" it’s a snapshot of the neighborhood’s eclectic taste in design.
Hip bouquets and floral arrangements lure the same crowd into the prettiest corner store in town. Simple and sculptural still lead local preferences, say staff at The Flower Factory. Hipsters currently favor showing off blooms underwater, with butterfly-fragile orchids and scarlet anthuriums being the favorite submersibles.
Subversive tableware? Why not? Check out the chartreuse silk tea cozy featuring the face of Canadian icon Louis Riel. What could be more original than that? Try bunnies and biplanes printed on cappuccino mugs and teapots in retro pastels by B.C. design firm Horn of Plenty. All, along with their famed screen-printed clothing, are sold at Smoking Lily.
Beyond the translucent drapes at Shaktea are saffron walls, comfy chairs, original art and an amazing array of teas. Rest those feet, put down the packages and sip a cup of green from one of Japan’s oldest tea families.
Just up the street, gaze at the displays at Front and Company, such as elaborately wigged and frocked life-size characters emerging from carriages and glittering trees concocted from glitzy evening bags. This is haute couture window dressing. Inside, expect a beguiling mix of fashion and home accessories. Babies abound here (chic ones, naturally). Organic cotton T-shirts by Vancouver label Parada identify your little “bean” or “pumpkin” with a suitable adorable graphic. Meanwhile, mummies indulge in the yummy made-in-B.C. Trillium line of body products.
Walking a few more blocks takes you to The Regional Assembly of Text �" and back in time. Here cream walls and old-school fixtures create a Jane Austen ambience that draws writers and poets yearning for life before laptops. Glassware, wall hangings and notebooks showcase old-fashioned typefaces. Customers settle in on the sofa to clickety-clack messages on a manual typewriter or sign up for the monthly letter-writing club. Don’t miss the lowercase gallery which, at 2.7 m (9 ft) by 1 m (3.5 ft), is the most petite in town.
Cross the street, head north toward the mountains and stop in for chunky black bean soup or a well-padded panino in longtime fave Liberty Bakery. On sunny days, snag a sidewalk table and bask in the sun.
At Eugene Choo expect to see chic environmentalists toting designer Fiona Curtis’ eco-friendly cotton bags in funky stripes and florals. Jeweler Anna de Courcy recycles century-old coins as pendants and, still thinking green, casts earrings from tiny but real pine cones. This major fashion stop is best known for hot local labels like Dace and emerging talents like Imaginary Friend.
Getting here A Bakers Dozen Antiques, 3520 Main St., 604-879-3348 Angela Murrills’ food writing has won awards in Canada and the U.S. Her books include Hot Sun, Cool Shadow: Savouring the Food, History and Mystery of the Languedoc, Farm Folk City Folk: Stories, Tips and Recipes Celebrating Local Food for Food Lovers of All Stripes and Food City: Vancouver.
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