HYPEBEAST Feature: Essentials - Western Canada

While not wrestling with polar bears or building humble abodes out of snow, Canada has… ok grossly misappropriated stereotypes aside, Western Canada and Canada in general has had a flourishing retail scene as well as being home to the development of numerous strong brands. From the mountainous coastal city of Vancouver with Roden Gray’s Rob Lo and Livestock’s Garry Bone, to the blue collar workings of Edmonton’s (forever known as the City of Champions) Justin Der of Foosh and Arthur Chmielewski of Haven; Western Canada’s shop list is providing great opportunities for shoppers looking for their fix of various levels of fashion and footwear. Our latest Essentials uncovers the things that get each of these four store owners through their daily rigors while Edmonton seems to thoroughly run on the strong black stuff from the Canadian institution Tim Hortons.

Garry Bone – Livestock

Race Car
My life lately is about trying to find some balance between work and play. I work a lot so to find something to balance it out it had to be heavy. Racing is doing the job perfectly. It’s a 2003 Honda S2000. it use to be my daily driver but last year I took off the road and turned it into a full race car. I just got my race drivers license and had my first race on April 12th 2008.

Reigning Champ Zip Hoodie
Black has been the majority of my wardrobe for the since I was 18. This RC zip hoodie is now a staple in my daily life.

Home
Vancouver is probably one of the best home base cities in the world, it’s a great place to come home to. Super central, pretty clean, and on a nice day when you look out over the city it’s hard not to feel good. This is the view from my apartment.

Earl Grey Tea (w/honey and milk) and Fruit Salad
No day for me starts with out these two. I usually get it from Starbucks cuz their fruit salad has no grapefruit.

Dior Homme Black Tie
For obvious reasons these are another essential for me. Not only do they help me see but they also help with my look. New glasses can help me be a little more anonymous in my own city and old ones can make me instantly recognizable.

Arthur Chmielewski – Haven

Tim Hortons Coffee and Donut
I think Canada is the only place with Tim Hortons. They make the best donuts and coffee for sure. Large double double coffee and a honey cruller donut usually starts the day off for me. There is a Tim Hortons right across the street from the shop so I hit it up daily.

Necklace
A few years back before we opened the shop I took a trip to Thailand. In one of the outdoor markets I found this necklace. My girlfriend ended up buying it for me and I’ve had it ever since as a good luck keepsake. Not really sure what it is but it looks like two upside down lotus leaves with a red gem in the middle. It’s made of sterling silver and looks rad, it goes with me everywhere.

Maiden Noir Black Raw Selvedge Denim
I’ve had these Maiden jeans for about a year now. I wear them almost everyday so they are pretty beat and I’ve ended up patching them up here and there. Maiden makes some amazing quality jeans and the fit on them is perfect.

Glasses
I’m pretty much blind as a bat, so when I’m not in my contacts I’m sporting my specs. They are Gucci Frames from a local shop in Chinatown. The dude their hooks me up with crazy deals so they ended up pretty cheap. For the summer, the Stussy Artie sunglasses from this season are a must. They got a classic Wayfarer look to them and are made in Italy.

MGD
This one is not so much a daily. Miller is a American thing, but somehow a started drinking MGD beer and I haven’t really switched it up to anything. When I’m drinking a beer, MGD is my choice. The local spot called the ‘Red Star’ keeps these in the cooler for us. I don’t think anyone else drinks them there. But they know what’s up when we roll in.

Justin Der – Foosh

Apple
I never go to the doctor, and i never get sick, i believe it’s all because of the apple. You know the saying an apple a day keeps the doctor away.

Blackberry
Have you ever tried calling me at the store, you probably been told “he’s not in right now” or “i think he left, let me check” Well in all honesty I’m there, and if you really need to get a hold of me, you’ll have my cell number. Text me. I answer all those.

Timmy’s
If you are from the Great White North, you know what I’m talking about here. Large double, double. Everybody around the world likes their five dollar coffee, a buck sixty five for this java. I think they lace it with crack, cause this coffee is highly addictive, and If i go without it for a day, i get the shakes.

Computers
Used for design, music, emails, surf the web, you name it. However I just use it for updating my Facebook and Myspace page.

Olive
No matter what happens, good day, bad day, when I get home, she’s always there waiting for me, super happy. And if I don’t walk her every day, she gets pissed, and starts wrecking the house.

Rob Lo – Roden Gray

Wings + Horns 100% Organic T-Shirts
They come in a two pack and come in an amazing reusable box. These tees are really soft and they wash really well and the fits are perfect!

Sonic Care Toothbrush
It’s clinically proven to remove significantly more plaque than any electric toothbrushes on the market. Once you’ve tried this you‘ll never go back to just an ordinary toothbrush, it’s also compact enough for traveling.

Sleeman’s Amber Micro Brew Beer
Don’t really have to explain much about this great Canadian beer company.

Rodney Graham
One of my favorite artists from Vancouver Canada, also internationally known!

Roden Gray Custom Furniture
Our latest project is producing custom furniture. Initially, we crafted Douglas Fir beams into fixtures for Roden Gray. After a favorable reaction; we were commissioned to produce exclusive pieces for a select group of worldwide clients. The production process is extremely intensive; each individual piece takes at least two weeks for production. The process is complex; each beam is cured, carved, burnt, sealed, sanded, and finally colored.