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ISSUE 1 | VOLUME 2 | 2009
10240 - 124 Street, Edmonton | mousybrowns.com | 780.482.0060
WELCOME TO SPRING
PARLOUR LIVING
08 FARM think kitchen not kitschy
09 CULINARY HIGH Culina in the hood
10 PROMENADE who’s who, and what’s what
GO!GO! GAGALady Gaga goes off on our favourite topics: art, sex, and fashion
PARLOUR MUSIC
16 TOKYO POLICE CLUB we test TPC’s knowledge on Alberta
17 LYKKE LI Swedishsongbirdfinishesoursentences
WHEN MARIONETTES DREAMFashion Spread
PARLOUR STYLE
30 SPRING BEAUTY have your cake, and wear it too
33 AGED PERFECTION confessions of a vintage junkie
PARLOUR INSPIRATION
34 MY DATE WITH SNOWBOARDING ROYALTY or so I imagined it
PARLOUR STORIES
37 SIN CITY SIDEKICKS wisdom from the backseat of a cab
PARLOUR FAVOURITES
38 PARLOUR’S PRIZED POSSESSIONS favourites to add to your collection
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ON THE COVER LADY GAGAPHOTO • Ashley Armstrong HAIR • Lauren Hughes from Mousy Brown’sMAKEUP • Ruth Bancroft STYLIST • Annaliza Toledo of venzillavintage.comCorset by Sweet Carousel graffitied by Kashvenoms www.sweetcarousel.comJacket is Lady Gaga’s own, gloves borrowed from Elise, nails are by Kiko Nails
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ISSUE 1 | VOLUME 2 | 2009
PUBLISHER / EDITOR-IN-CHIEFShelly Solarz [email protected]
ART DIRECTOR / DESIGNERPeter Nguyen [email protected]
MANAGING EDITORAndrea Dorrans [email protected]
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER /MARKETING AND BUSINESS STRATEGYMichael Brechtel [email protected]
PHOTOGRAPHERSAshley [email protected] [email protected] Newby
WRITERSLeah BaillyCaroline GaultSandy KarpetzGreg Crompton
INTERNSGeorgia Venner
MAKEUPNicola Gavinsfrom Cherry Blossom 780.908.6333Ruth Bancroft
HAIRLauren Hughes from Mousy Browns
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part without permission from publisher. The views expressed in Parlour Magazine are those of the respective contributors and are not necessarily shared by the publisher.
www.parlourlife.com
subscriptions inquiry contact:[email protected]
My pet is better than your pet because...
01. “... she watched the Departed TWICE
and was knighted by Queen Elizabeth
and she eats pieces of shit like your
cat for breakfast.”
PAWS • Eric
02. “...actually...they’re not.”
FREDDIE, AND EMILY • Nicola
03. “...she looks like a Jim Henson creation.”
NEIKO •Lauren
04. “... he looks like George Clooney and
will kick your cat’s ass”
BORIS • Andrea
05. “...he eat’s cats.”
LIONEL • Pete
06. “...she’s mini, can dress up like a
hot dog for Halloween, and howl
“Happy Birthday” better than any
jazzed up cat I know.”
NALA • Caroline
07. “...he is like a dog.”
FOOSH • Ashley
01
04
06
02
05
07
03
sattva & ashtanga yoga
Yes, the magazine has gone though a transformation. I too have
gone though a transformation. Last week I woke up at 4am and
decided to cut all of my hair off, the outside just wasn’t matching
the inside. Over this year I’ve grown and found my voice; it was
time to shed my old look. The fact is I have no background in
publishing and every issue of this magazine has been a progres-
sion into “What is Parlour”. I see my role as giving Parlour a voice
and keeping its integrity. Parlour mirrors my life – and we are
taking huge leaps and coming into our own.
During this transformation I had the opportunity to fly
to Vancouver and interview Lykke Li, one of my all time girl-
crushes. She was as enchanting as I had imagined she would
be, and instead of an interview we had a conversation – two
girlstalkingaboutfindingtheirbeautyandthemselvesthrough
their voices. Lykke Li talked about how her voice has changed
though the process of following her heart. And when you hear
her sing it’s obvious – her voice is full of soul and beauty.
Another marvel took place one morning when I received
a message inquiring if Parlour was interested in doing an
interview and photo shoot with Lady Gaga, someone who I
had heard once on MuchMusic. Within weeks of receiving the
message, I began to see Lady Gaga everywhere, in passing I
mentioned to a friend that Parlour was asked if we wanted to
do an interview, and the response was a look of “are you crazy
to even be thinking about this”. With this smack to the head I
turnedandranbackintomyofficeinhopesthatwestillhada
chance for the interview. In the upcoming months everyone was
talking about this outrageous performer. We were able to spend
four hours with the pop princess, and in our time together my
admiration grew – she has a dream and is doing it, she works
hard and doesn’t care what people think. But with all this, she
is still a girl with real girl problems, she commented that she’s
good at a lot of things but sucks at love, all I could think of is -
“I’m with you on that”.
But we stay on track and those highs we experience from
following our dreams are like being on that mountain on a clear
sunny day ready to take on the world with no doubt in sight.
Shelly Solarz
Publisher / Editor-In-Chief
EDITOR’S LETTER
TEXT • Andrea DorransPHOTO • Darren Wolf
8 PARLOUR
I wanted to call this article Everything is Illuminated (the title of the Safran-Foer novel I recently finished). The reason – because every edible delight placed
in front of me at Janice Beaton’s new tasting kitchen, FARM, is the star of the show. Every ripe, sweet, salty, piquant, delicate, bitter, fresh, savoury bite
and sip stand alone – center stage.
Attached to the relatively obscure (the entrance is in the alley) 17th avenue location of Beaton’s famous Calgary cheese shop, FARM has taken the
concept of gourmet dining and deconstructed it into its most basic elements. A crumble of Cabrima (a hard goat cheese from Holland), a sip of Syrah,
and a bite of baguette dipped in balsamic reduction – the flavours are simple, decadent, delicious.
FARM is not a restaurant; it is not a bistro, a café, or a tapas bar. FARM is a tasting kitchen – and it is all about taking your time. Stephanie Chiasson,
resident “wine-geek”, explains her philosophy, “Smaller plates encourage sharing. Having lots of flavours, slowing down, and engaging in the food, I think
it’s good for the soul to eat like that.” I agree. Nevertheless, the concept is largely unfamiliar (at least to us dopey Albertans.)
With several small menus on the tables and a full-wall chalkboard scribbled with various specials, diners are perplexed. But the well versed, laidback
staff is quick to guide guests through their experience. Chiasson is thrilled that Calgarians are open to the idea, “They’re like, ‘Just go do the pairings,
choose whatever.’”
When it comes to pairing, Chiasson is a rebel. “I want to change the way people think about what they’re pairing with what they’re eating – if you want
to have sweet sherry, and then you want to have a glass of white, then you want beer, do it, there’s no rules here .... It’s going to take your palette one
second to reset itself.”
It’s refreshing to sit back and let the staff pair a B.C. Pinot Grigio with Janice’s signature mac ‘n’ cheese, or a French Chablis with a seared lamb liver
drizzled in mint oil (yeah, I did). The pairing possibilities at FARM are endless, the wine list is awesome – about 50 bottles (ever changing), with over 30
available by the glass and the taste: “I want people to try as many things as possible.” And it’s not just about wine, Chiasson enlightens me, “Beer and
sherry are where it’s at.”
So unlearn everything you thought you knew about food and drink. Toss it out. Because as my experience at FARM taught me, everything is illuminated.
“It’s about being present in the moment, getting back into your head in a good way, taking an hour to sit across from agirlfriend,havewine,havefood,haveafight;talkaboutwhateveryouwanttotalkabout,haveagoodtime.”
(think kitchen, not kitschy)
9 PARLOUR
“Howdoeshedothat?”
“Dowhat?” I’m distracted bywhatmight be themostdelicious appetizer I’ve ever had: pulled-pork crepes drizzled with house-made blackberry barbeque-sauce and sour cream.
“Glide around the room like he’s on wheels.” Shelly Solarz, our Editor-
In-Chief, is talking about Ido Van Der Laan, the dining room manager at
Culina Highlands.
It’s true; Van Der Laan could be performing (the server’s waltz?). He’s
relaxed, elegant, and refined; much like, well, everything about Culina.
The 332 square-foot room vibrates with laughter and clinking glasses. My
Chablis is rich and smooth, my companion is glowing, and for the first
time in a long time, I don’t know what I should be doing. This is Culina
Highlands, and if you didn’t know it opened its doors this fall, you might
wonder how Edmonton could’ve existed without it.
Located on a quiet street in Edmonton’s historic Highlands neighbourhood,
the space that formerly housed BACON restaurant is all grown up.
Many Edmontonians have lamented the loss of the eclectic and eccentric
BACON restaurant, but the heart behind the venture is alive and strong in
the reinvented space. The sophisticated elegance of Culina Highlands is the
result of owner Cindy Lazarenko’s lifetime of experience with the culinary
arts, “I’ve been cooking since I was ten years old,” she tells us, “my parents
would come home from work and I’d be like “Voila, I made dinner.”
Cindy’s husband, Geoff Lilge, who holds a Master’s degree in Industrial
Design, spearheaded the renovations. He scoured the city for wooden
chairs – classified ads, garage sales, antique stores – painted every inch
of the space, retiled the ceiling, and custom-built the solid walnut-trim
tables.
The result is a balance of modern elegance and old-world charm. Clean
white walls house prints by cutting-edge Edmonton based artist, Ian
Craig, the original hardwood floors are perfectly worn, and the entire
space is awash in the glow of paper-bag lanterns – it’s as if every element
were destined to be exactly where it is.
The menu, designed by Lazarenko siblings, Cindy and Brad, mimics the
seemingly effortless beauty of the room. My main course – a roasted
free-range chicken breast in a grainy mustard, garlic, and white wine
cream sauce, garnished with cranberry chutney and buttermilk biscuits
is a modern comfort food masterpiece.
Cindy is humble about her accomplishments, “We just do our best, we’re
not trying to win any awards, I have no agenda. It’s my livelihood, and I
hope I can create a space that inspires people to cook and learn more
about food, and that people feel comfortable coming here and have a
great time here.”
Shelly and I spoon-fight over our Bergamot-infused crème brulée and I
reflect on Cindy’s manifesto and think, bravo, all of the above and more –
now back off Solarz, the last bite is mine. •
TEXT • Andrea DorransPHOTO • Ashley Armstrong
10 PARLOUR
MEESE CLOTHING 31 D Perron St. Saint Albert, AB www.meeseclothing.com
Whether your summer is full of picnic dates, dance parties, long bike rides, patio barbeques,
afternoon weddings, grasshoppers, sunsets and sunrises, or even long hours at work Meese has
got you covered... literally.
With over 40 Canadian Labels including:
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Smoke, Magdilene, and Second Denim Jeans
Photo: Centree Photography
FRIDGET BY BRIDGET SMATLAN www.fridget.ca
Available at: Bamboo Ballroom
Persistently bursting with mischief and flair; Fridget Apparel never fails to produce your seasonal
favorite. Whether its a seductive skirt or an over flattering blouse Bridget Smatlan’s designs appear
to be dangerously suited for that saucy librarian. Find Fridget Apparel locally at Bamboo Ballroom
(8206 104 St). Also check fridget.ca for news on sales at local markets!
Photo: nathanburge.com
SUKA DESIGN BY ALI SHICK
This year suka design is inspired by her secret persona the “ Prowling Cobra “ smart and sleek;
she’s not willing to give up her day job. Ruthless and fierce; she’s not ready to stop having a little
fun while she’s at it.. With clothes that will take her through a life of versatility offering comfort with
no sacrifice to style and edgy details influenced by some of the most memorable sub cultures and
icons of our time.
Sleek style with a little sting..!
Explore your inner cobra by checking out suka designs at Bamboo Ballroom On Whyte ave and
Meese clothing.
Located in Riverbend, this charming space entices you by carrying
many hand crafted items from all over the world. Elegant, unusual home
assessories along with award winning jewelry make this location ideal
for finding the perfect gift.
ELEGANT EXPRESSIONS 628 RIVERBEND SQUARE
Keeping it unique and original… Amor jewelry is handmade, designed in
Edmonton and uses fresh water pearls, metals, & charms; gold, silver, and
copper chains, all mixed together to create a unique blend of elegance
and funk. Designed for the FUN in you! Visit and support your locals.
Sold at Foosh, Bamboo Ballroom, Meese, & Social Script.
AMOR BY AMOR CARANDANG
I ’m more than nervous when Lady Gaga enters the
dress ing room at Rexal l P lace, and her ca lm, husky
voice greets us wi th genuine exci tement. She doesn’t
consider herse l f an int imidat ing person, but the pop
star ’s se l f -assurance is terr i fy ing as hel l .
In sk in-t ight leggings and dark sunglasses, the 22
year-o ld New York nat ive throws her feet , adorned in
three- inch black ankle boots, onto a countertop. Whi le
pat ient ly wai t ing for the taming of her whi te-blonde
Rapunzel locks, he lmet-cut bangs, and makeup she
cal ls “g lam,” Lady Gaga chats f ree ly wi th Par lour about
her fabulous wor ld of ar t , sex, and fashion.
TEXT • Carol ine Gault PHOTO • Ashley Armstrong HAIR • Laruen Hughes from Mousy Brown’sMAKEUP • Ruth Bancroft STYLIST • Annal iza Toledo of venzi l lavintage.comCorset by Sweet Carousel graff i t ied by Kashvenoms www.sweetcarousel.comJacket is Lady Gaga’s own, gloves borrowed from El ise, nai ls are by Kiko Nai ls
12 PARLOUR
I snap out of my star-struck stupor and discover that for Gaga, art comes
in many forms. Be it her debut pop album. The Fame, her fashion, stage
performance, or Transmission-Gaga-Vision webisodes, she’s speaking to
us on a level we haven’t heard since the androgynous era of David Bowie
and the avant-garde days of Andy Warhol. She looks through Warhol-
esque round specs to prove her manifesto: “[Andy Warhol] would say ‘this
is what’s great,’ and if he said it enough, people started to listen.”
“That’s what The Fame is. My album and my music and the attitude
that I sing about, is all about being somebody that wears their passion
on their sleeve. And, you know, I’ve been tricking people for a long time
into thinking that I’m someone that I’m not because of the way I dress –
because I make my own clothes . . . It’s that walking art piece idea.”
Gaga’s outrageous fashion is shocking, delightful, and “all about the
shape.” This is abundantly clear at her Edmonton performance, where
she dances in fluid-robotic movements, wearing a “cocaine inspired dress
that’s all about the rock crystal.” Her trademark pairing of fishnets, hoods,
and shoulder pads is inspired by the ambiguous and theatrical, the graphic
and the dimensional, the glam-superhero and the infamous discotheque
at Studio 54. Although she won’t deny her love for Karl Lagerfeld and
Maison Martin Margiela (“That’s just me being a fashion snob,” she says),
she revels in the unveiling of underground designers.
“I find that my strengths are in discovering new talent . . . I want
to work with creative [designers and] magazines – like you guys; creative,
innovative, and forward thinking. It’s not just about being sponsored by a
huge name.”
But there was a time when the reception to Lady Gaga’s uncon-
ventional style was largely negative: “I mean now my outfits are consid-
ered cool. Now every time I’ve got an outfit on someone says, ‘You
have amazing fashion!’ But there was a time where I was hanging out
on Rivington Street and people were like, ‘You’re a fucking freak!’”
I suggest that such hostile reactions are because North American
paparazzi-magazine fashion is just a little too safe, and Gaga reacts
tenaciously: “It’s not just safe – it’s lack of vision. It’s totally uninspired.
When I go to London, I want to lick the street, and try to understand.
. . because in London people are in full high fashion walking to work. I
mean, people look twice at me in London, but not as much . . . It’s the
same way that I can wear [an] outfit in Germany and I’m on the Best
Dressed list in a fashion magazine, and then I wear the same outfit in
America and I’m on the Worst Dressed list.”
Despite the impression that Gaga was born looking like a rock star,
she assures us she wouldn’t be able to materialize her artistic cravings
without the help of her creative team, The Haus of Gaga. This talented
group of people, who help to choreograph her performances, design her
stage-wear, and search for new technology (without making her look like
“Inspector Gaga Gadget,” she says), have channeled her Warhol influ-
ences with little encouragement.
“It’s really funny, because I always sort of imagined how I’d love
my creative team to be, and it’s kind of like that 70’s Factory feel, [where]
everyone’s fucking … and I always wanted that. And then I didn’t even
have to try. It was like, ‘Oh look – people are pregnant, we’re wearing
amazing fashion, there’s debauchery, fights, black eyes, it’s torrid, and it’s
fabulous.’ I’m very happy.”
When I ask Gaga about the kind of sexual message she’s sending
out, she says, “Well, I think that the disco stick is a pretty obvious
metaphor. But it’s really just like sexual freedom and a woman being able
to exist as a man in that kind of thought and intellectual space. But at the
same time it’s difficult to talk about in a way like we are right now, because
I also have such strong views about safe sex and STDs . . . But in the
music? Yes. I sing about sex. And yes, it’s very over-the-top and kind of
raunchy – even lewd. But I’m not really dressed in the same kind of sexual
way that you see other female pop stars. There’s like an androgyny and a
theatre and a concept to it.”
Up to this point in our interview, I’ve successfully controlled my
jittery behavior, but when an important phone call interrupts, I shamelessly
eavesdrop and share in Gaga’s ecstatic revelation to the Parlour gang that
she’s just booked the Ellen DeGeneres Show.
“Oh my God! I can’t even breathe!” She says. Neither can I, I think,
which is overly enthusiastic, misplaced excitement, because I have
nothing to do with her world-wide success. Nevertheless, the experience
of meeting someone who touches their desires and maintains confidence
in their presentation – with a total disregard for the possibility of provoking
mass criticism – is inexplicably unique and rewarding.
Moreover, Lady Gaga’s vision for the future proves we haven’t got
just another ditsy, over-marketed tabloid-celeb on our hands, we’ve got a
generational icon: “When I talk about the future, I don’t mean outer-space.
So much of what I’m doing is about pollution, it’s advanced technology,
it’s industrial and it’s factory life. It’s not like Mars.”
Over an hour later, after pampering has completed the Gaga
transformation, she silences us at the photo shoot with an extravagant,
colourful bodysuit, a gold-studded Haus of Gaga jacket, and a bow of
hair on top of her head. Lady Gaga poses with spunk, extremity, and
variety, allowing little room for direction because, well, we’re watching
avant-garde art at its best.
I reflect on a statement she made earlier: “You know, God didn’t
make me good at everything. I suck at love, I’m not great at math – I’m
like pretty good at math, but I’m not great.” And I think, Okay, so you’re
not good at love and math. But you’re taking risks, blurring the concept of
gender and changing the face of pop culture! I think I speak for the rest of
the Parlour crew when I say we’ll take Gaga just the way she is. •
15 PARLOUR
“But I’m not really dressed in the same kind of sexual way that you see other female pop stars. There’s like an androgyny, and a theatre, and a concept to it.”
CONNECT • www.tokyopol iceclub.com LISTEN • “Your Engl ish is Good”, “Juno”
16 PARLOUR
Tour Bus Necessities How well do you know Alberta? What exactly is an Elephant Shell?
Within four years Tokyo Police Club has put out “the most well received 16 minutes of music in recent history”, promptly followed up with their much-
anticipatedfulllengthalbum“ElephantShell”,garneredravereviews,andmanagedtofitinafewnationaltours.WecaughtupwithNewmarket,
Ontario’s indie rockers while on the road to quiz, draw, and speak good English.
CONNECT • www.lykkel i .com LISTEN • “Tonight”, “Unt i l We Bleed”, “T ime Fl ies”
LYKKE L I
17 PARLOUR
I’m a little bit in love with Sweden’s Lykke Li. She’s pretty much perfect, earlier this year, at 22 years-young, she released her debut album,
Youth Novels, on her own record label, LL Recordings. I can’t stop listening to the sugar-sweet, edgy-beat tracks, and the fact that her videos
are sexy, adorable, and fun only adds to my infatuation. Oh, and she grew up in a fairytale: summering in her native Sweden and wintering in
India with her fabulous hippie parents.
The voices in my head tell me...
My dreams are...
First thing in the morning I...
I am...
If I could I would...
The sweetest thing is...
The playlist of my life...
Pho
to b
y H
an
son
Ng
8 2 0 6 1 0 4 s t | b a m b o o b a l l r o o m . c o m
seven for all mankindj brandcitizens of humanityhudsonpaige premium denimjoe's jeansfree peoplecovetsessunnumphsoia & kyoben shermankershhouse of spyvalerie dumainesukafridgetobeyringspunreligionleft of houstonmatt & naterica weinermimi & marge
20 PARLOUR
Photos by Ashley Armstrong | Hair by Mousy Brown’s
Makeup Nicola Gavins | Models provided by Mode Models
Stylists Colleen Mcginn, and Shelly Solarz
Shot on location at Design Pics
Jessica Esposito | Paul Smith scarf, tank, pants from Gravity Pope Tailored Goods | Shoes from Gravity Pope
Riley Braden | Dress from Gravity Pope Tailored Goods | Shoes from Gravity Pope | Rings from Elegant Expressions | Necklace from Nokomis
Ines Mitchell | Bodybag dress from Nokomis | Shoes from Gravity Pope
Natahna Bargen | T shirt and shorts from Gravity Pope Tailoed GoodsShoes from Gravity Pope
Court Baker | Shirt and skirt from Fridget by Bridget SmatlanBracelet from Elegant Expressions
Dawn Hiron | Dress from Gravity Pope Tailor Goods | Bracelet from Elegant Expressions | Shoes from Gravity Pope
Megan MartinDress from Gravity Pope Tailored GoodsBracelet from Elegant ExpressionsNicola’s bird
Sam YpmaPaper dress and gloves designed by Suka designs by Alisha
PHOTO • Ashley Armstrong
TEXT MAKEUP • Nicola Gavins TEXT HAIR • Lauren Hughes
MODEL • Dara Main from Mode Models
30 PARLOUR
MAKEUPDelight in this spring’s sweet treats. Be inspired by a visit to
your local patisserie; frost your lids with shades of petit-four
pinks, mint greens, sugared violets, and butter creams. Skin is
glowing and hydrated, dusted with iridescent silver, pearl, and
champagne highlights. Treat your cheeks to decadent shades
of pink and peach, using blush creams and cheek stains to
achieve a natural flush. Glaze your lips with barely there shades
of fleshy pink, lilac, and peach. These guilt free indulgences
will compliment this season’s feminine, flirty fashions while
satisfying your sweet tooth.
HAIRVolume, Volume, Volume, and more Volume. This season put
some spring into your do.
Let your hair gush with sexiness mingled with softness. Pull
your hair up and expose your neck. Ballerina buns, messy
buns, and perfect ponytails are a great and easy way to get
into style.
Wearing your hair down and long? Pin curl set it. Grab large
sections, and use a strong hold setting lotion – I recommend
Styling Creme by bumble and bumble. To make a pin curl you
can take a 2 x 2 section wrap it around your finger and pin it
into place. Make sure your hair is only lightly damp. You should
have about nine pin curls all over your head. Dry the pin curls
and voila, you have wicked wave.
AGED TO PERFECTION, THAT IS HOW I LIKE MY CLOTHES.
It should come as no surprise that I have an
addiction and it’s called vintage. There is a certain
sense of satisfaction one gets when finding a
treasure amongst racks of abandoned cloth-
ing…a high none can achieve when shopping
retail – with multiple sizes in every style.
I have had the pleasure of thrifting all over this
wonderful world and I still believe that the best
finds happen locally. Canada has a wealth of
vintage clothing, you just have to know how to
find it and what to do with it when you do. A few
helpful pointers:
1. Try it on – you never know what it’s going to look like. Sometimes garments that are ugly on hangers look gorgeous on people;
2. Ifitdoesn’tfitperfectly,beltit;
3. Ifthepatternisphenomenal,butthe dress is shapeless, hem it;
4. Neverignorethechildren’ssection. Itemsareoftenmisplaced(ortightin alltherightplaces.);and
5. Hauntthevintageshopstoincrease your odds.
AGED TO PERFECTION
33 PARLOUR
TEXT • Sandy Karpetz PHOTO • Eric Newby
Green is the new BlackJoin Parlour staff and stylists Saturday, April 4th,
10am to 8pm at The University of Alberta But-
terdome to discover the then of now. But don’t
come alone; bring your gently used clothing!
Donate some of your old clothes to make
someone’s wardrobe new, and karmically,
another’s once-had will become your next
must have. All you have to do is let go …
Edmonton’s first environmental expo will be
the home of a myriad of fresh ideas. From
big name companies like Greenpeace to local
retailers and style visionaries like Parlour. Learn
how to go green in style.
Free clothes + expert advice = a clean closet,
conscience and a fresh new you.
All at Parlour’s Vintage Boutique at the Go
Green Eco Expo.
www.gogreenecoexpo.com
Colleen Yukes
I launch myself through the doors of a Mexican restaurant, expecting
a coffee cup to the head and a ‘Do you know who I am?’ but all the 28
year-old Calgary native offers as I stumble up to the table is a juicy smile.
Leanne is about the hippest female snowboarder on the mountains. Since
voted 2005 Female Rider of the Year by her peers, Pelosi has racked up
more awards and grabbed more face-time in major snowboard mags
than any other female snowboarder on the planet.
I grab a one-o’clock beer and ask Leanne about the pink box at her
feet. She is on her way to return some grey suede boots she snared on
an impulse buy.
“When I got home it hit me that they were $600,” she laughs. “My
boyfriend thinks it’s insane.” Leanne admits that she spoils herself with
shoes. It helps that the 2006 winner of TransWorld Snowboarding’s
Readers’ Choice Award for women is sponsored by, among others, Etnies
Shoes. “Yeah, they hook me up,” she says, chuckling at her good fortune.
Leanne is gorgeous. Although her Italian/Welsh blend, ebullient grin, and
snowboard talent is obviously attractive to sponsors, it is her intelligence
that has solidified her career in the industry.
“You have to make the right connections. You can go and win a
million contests but still sponsors might not think you’re cool enough to
get paid by them.” How does one network in this industry? Well, you get
pissed. You connect over highballs; you get a paycheque by getting sloppy.
“All the reps and riders are at the industry parties. And it’s a lot more fun
making contacts over drinks than over email.”
Leanne, however, doesn’t just cruise through life in a haze of hangovers and
fresh powder days. When not posing for International photoshoots, Leanne
spends much of her time co-ordinating More Good Times (MGT), an inter-
national snowboard camp she started with a friend to help young female
snowboarders make it in the industry. In its seventh year, MGT will provide
roughly 250 young women with pointers on their spins and rail grinds.
We help them develop into athletes who can go out and have
careers. It’s kind of like the gateway into pro-snowboarding.” MGT’s
success rate is good—two of the three finalists for TransWorld Snow-
boarding’s 2008 Rookie of the Year are alumni of the camp.
Then there is Runway Films: a film production company that Leanne
co-founded and whose debut release titled See What I See follows an
all-female cast through the rails, mountains, streets, and parks of Russia,
Europe, South and North America.
See What I See is a mélange of expertly filmed shots of female
rippers launching off stadium railings, tapping onto ominous powder
puffs, and flying over frightening gaps. As the title of the film suggests,
each rider was given a Super 8-film camera and let loose to capture the
snowboarding experience from a personal vantage point.
Although very little of the rider-shot footage made the final cut,
the concept is magnetic. The final product undoubtedly gets your pulse
going, but more importantly, the flick showcases the place women have
carved out in a once male-dominated industry. The film, one of the first of
its kind, has enabled women to venture into backcountry areas and exotic
Leanne Pelosi glares out the window into the fog of Vancouver’s Hastings Street. She is annoyed—with me. Well, that’s what I imagine as I slalom my bike through the homeless and drug-addicted streets of the Downtown Eastside. I am late for my date with snowboarding royalty.
35 PARLOUR
My Date withSnowboardingRoyalty
TEXT • Greg Crompton
locales where sponsor dollars would previously have only taken men.
Leanne can’t help but glow about her impact on the industry.
“It’s pretty cool when people come up to us at premieres to tell
us how many times a week they watch the movie and how much it
inspires them. That’s what makes me feel the best, when younger
girls can look up to us and strive to be where we are right now.”
And to think she could have been designing bridges instead of
busting open a path for the next generation of female snowboarders
to follow. Leanne already had one degree under her belt—BSc. in
Biomechanics—and was half way through her second—Mechanical
Engineering—when the snowboarding gods came calling. “It was
awful, like banging my head against a brick wall. I didn’t fit in with
engineering at all. Everyone was like [Leanne busts into a hilarious
computer geek/robot impersonation] uh, look at this computer game
I made yesterday…”
So in 2003 she fled to Whistler to snowboard for a year. At the
end of her first season she tore her anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).
Dejected, she went home to Calgary and enrolled in summer engi-
neering courses. Then a letter arrived: “It was a contract from K2 for
a few boards and a few thousand in travel expenses. I was like, yes!
And the door kind of kicked open for me.”
But her future as a pro-rider was far from secure. Leanne was
recuperating from her ACL surgery, unsure how her tender knee
would stand up at the season’s debut competition in Colorado. K2
also had no idea about her injury. “I thought my knee was going to
blow on the first landing. [My first jump] would define if I was going to
have a snowboard career or not.”
Her knee held out and she became a fixture in the snowboard-
ing world. She has had few missteps since then, and she gladly tells
me about her most recent blunder. In Vancouver, See What I See
premiered with a few other films to a packed house of eight hundred.
To hype MGT, Leanne hosted a pudding-eating contest.
“It was a little ill-thought out. It was after four premieres,
everyone was pretty wasted. Girls ended up licking chocolate off
each other and showing their goods. That wasn’t part of the plan.”
She laughs, “I wanted to keep it PG.” If that is one of her bigger
mistakes then things are looking good.
Leanne’s 2008/2009 season will be a frenzy of snowboard
camps, competitions, schmoozing with highballs in hand, and
of course joyfully carving through days, weeks, and months of
snow. Sigh.
We high-five outside the restaurant, I get on my rickety bike
and head back to the poorest area code in Canada while Leanne
strolls to Holt Renfrew, exchanges her boots for a pair of $4000
Imelda Marcos stilettos, and drinks Cosmopolitans with the
salespeople (who end up investing in her all-female heli-boarding
movie shot on a newly-active Peruvian volcano.) At least that’s
what I imagine. •
“A dead body used to last two days out on the desert.” The cab driver glances at me in his rearview,
all watery eyes and wrecked voice. “Now, with all the preservatives in your guts, your body can last
weeks out there.” This is my first taxi ride across Las Vegas, City of Sin, of showgirls, gangsters, and
murderous desert. From the air, the landscape looked uninhabitable. From the ground, the people
are bloated, the earth, paved and smothered with stucco. “Y’all staying in Vegas for the weekend?”
My hands clutching my fresh immigration documents, I am sweating, afraid. “I’m moving here,” I
mutter, as if convincing myself of an impossible fact. “Ah, yeah? Yer gonna love it! Praise Jesus!” The
cab driver beams at me and turns all the way around in his seat; I can make out decades worth of
tobacco stains on his teeth and fingers.
My second taxi ride across Sin City, I am wasted. We both are, having guzzled 17 dollar-fifty rocktails
at the Stage Door before a wobbly dance party at the Paris Resort and Casino. Last year, my boyfriend
and I lived in a tiny chalet in the French Alps, surrounded by glaciers and real French people. This year,
we have “Paris,” with its fake cerulean skies, Le Village buffet, and slot machines jingling Frère Jacques
with every winner. This cab driver won’t look at us as we holler out the windows, idling in traffic on
Las Vegas Boulevard. He casually suggests we consider a strip club or nightclub, any destination that
bribes cabbies with a $50 drop-off fee. But now, we are locals. We want burritos, and we scream it into
the neon night, at the hordes of tourists waddling the length of the Strip. “Burrito burrito!!!” The cabbie
presses his lips together, the closest thing to a grin he can muster.
My third cab ride in Vegas, I am weeping. The driver, a Columbian mother of three is consoling
me, but I sob into my seat, gutted. My boyfriend is in Canada, my car has been towed, and the
largest-legged security woman in the world claims she has video footage of me parking illegally. I am
forsaken. Outside the taxi window empty lots flash by, stitched by chain-link, desecrated by trash.
This is North Las Vegas, where unclaimed cars corrode over decades – where my Freshman English
students have survived drive-bys and evictions from cinderblock apartments hung with laundry,
swarmed with children. “¿Es como Mexico, verdad?” And I nod, it is like Mexico – the plastic chairs
and outdoor cantinas, Western Union signs on every corner. I suddenly feel better, and ask the driver
if she’d like a taco-break, my treat, from one of the dusky taquerías that line the road. “No m’hita,”
(she calls me her daughter,) “I’ve got mouths to feed.”
We move in next-door to Muhammad, the Moroccan cab driver, in a compound full of immigrants, all
of which have lived in America longer than us. Across the parking lot is Traien, the Romanian pimp;
next door Ernesto, the Salvadorian plumber. We are America’s “aliens,” an accidental gathering in a
gated complex half-empty from foreclosures. Some warm fall evenings, we sip weak beer and trade
stories. Muhammad starts driving at 4 a.m., performing loop after loop from McCarran International
to the Strip, in 12-hour shifts. Traien loves the yearlong sun. Ernesto just can’t get caught. In the
parking stall next to my window, Muhammad’s taxi glimmers with a fresh wash-job, across the body,
an advertisement featuring a stripper and the words “What Happens in Vegas…” But this could not
be more false. Like stumbling over a rotting corpse in the desert, Vegas happens to you, hard. Vegas
is impossible to ignore. What happens in Las Vegas will follow me, everywhere.
Prophetic Words from Las Vegas Cab Drivers
TEXT & PHOTO • Leah Bailly
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SHARE • Show us your favouri tes, emai l us at: favouri tes@parlour l i fe.com
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01 MCSWEENEY’S 28 “An egg-boy is born. He betrays his sister pretty much right away.” There’s nothing better than eight illustrated micro books with enough obscure morals to confuse even the brightest child.
02 SALGADO FENWICK CLOTHING Salgado Fenwick Clothing is an Edmonton-based collaboration featuring bold and fancy-free original t-shirt designs. www.salgadofenwick.com
03 CITYOFSOUND.COM From book reviews of books you were too lazy to pick up, to short essays on design practice in the modern world, designer Dan Hill blogs with insight.
04 EDMONTON FASHION WEEK APRIL 2-9 We got talent.
05 CARDBOARD DUVET 100% cotton designer duvet made to look like cardboard boxes. Call it derelict fashion or what you will, a portion of the sales goes to housing projects for the homeless.
06 BUBBLE CALENDAR ‘Cause everyone likes to pop bubble wrap, let’s make it a year ‘round thing.
08 WEFEELFINE.ORG If onlywecould findaway tocollectall the feelings in theworldandarrange them indynamic visual database.Ohwait,wedid.Doyoufeelfine?
09 THOMAS DOYLE ART Think snowglobes,butwithout the fakeplastic flecksof snow, andsnowmen, and replace themwith compelling scenes based on intricate human memories, hand sculpted and painted at a 1:43 scale.
10 HP VIVIENNE TAM SPECIAL EDITION MINI Theworld’sfirstdigitalclutch.
11 LADY ZZ TOP Julie and Clarice are often asked, “Do you always rock out this hard?” they say, “Effin’ right we do!” Check out Lady ZZ Top every Monday from 11AM to 1PM on CJSR FM 88.5 or try ladyzztop.ca
12 WANT ESSENTIALS Found at Gravity Pope Tempting like a dirty little leather secret, WANT luxury leather goods are like the lovechild of an understated French Canadian beauty and a muscular Italian leather tanner. Twin designers Byron and Dexter Peart may have created the hottest ipod case ever. (the Arlanda)
13 ST8 UP GYPSIES Ride boho-style in Edmonton’s gypsy taxi -st8 up
14 KIDNAPPER FILMS Canadiancomedythat’sfunny,Montreal’skidnapperfilms.com
15 MAN ON A WIRE I almost didn’t watch this movie. After one hour, my heart beat matched the erratic soundtrack interwoven into this documentary about Phillipe Petit’s 1974 high wire stunt performed between the two towers of the former World Trade Center in New York. You will laugh and gawk in disbelief.
16 THE YEAH YEAH YEAH’S - IT’S BLITZ An iPod staple.
17 THEMODERNLEISURE.COM Take a little jaunt through the modern.
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39 PARLOUR
PAPIRMASSEPAPIRMASSE IS A MAGAZINE AND SOCIAL EXPERIMENT ALL ROLLED INTO ONE.
Every month PAPIRMASSE features a new and exciting work of art paired with thought-provoking text. Subscriptions to PAPIRMASSE follow one full calendar year, so no matter when you sign up you will receive 12 signed and editioned prints (from January - December 2009). There are, however, only 1,000 subscriptions available.
The goal of this project is to provide art that is accessible and affordable.
WWW.HELLOKIRSTEN.COM/PAPIRMASSE.HTML
18 THE ARDENT SPARROWBY REBECCA WAGLER
Rebecca Wagler designs charming and electric handmade jewelry and accessories inspired by nature and created using vintage materials and antiqued metals. Her unique rings, bracelets, earrings, and necklaces areearthfriendly,inspiring,andstunningwearablepiecesofartthatwilltakeanyoutfitthenextlevel.Rebeccaisanelementaryschoolteacheronleavewithherfirstchild,adaughter,Brennah.SheliveswithBrennah,herhusband Jason, and her shi-poo puppy Ruby in Brampton, Ontario. Rebecca has been designing jewelry since June 2008 and the business has grown quickly, much to her surprise and joy.
FOUND AT BAMBOO BALLROOM
