Spend Locally | Vancouver

When I started writing this post, I decided to search my inbox for my oldest correspondance with Lunapads, and found an email from Sept. 1, 2006, related to entering a contest to win some kind of Lunapads prizes. In the email, I mentioned that I already had some of their wares... that makes me a customer for over five years! And that's only a third of Lunapads' existence - they'd already been in business for over ten years by that time.

As far as I can remember, I first found out about Lunapads from ads in Bust Magazine, which I used to have a subscription to in university. The women's center at school used to hold "sew your own pads" DIY workshops on occasion, so this wasn't a completely new concept to me, but the specific design of Lunapads (in comparison to the other reusable pads I'd seen) held some real appeal. I was hooked after my first order.

Location

Note: photos were taken before bed moved to 2907 W. Broadway, they are no longer at the 4th Ave. location! They also have a Facebook page now if you want to follow what they're up to.

I first discovered bed many years ago because its old location was very close to a few of my favourite spots in Kitsilano (namely Zulu Records, and the now defunct Duthie Books). I was attracted by the fantastic colours, as most who pass by probably are, but it was a while before I actually bought sheets from there.

Location

I met Melanie at my first big-girl job (outside of academia). Back then, she was the project manager, and I was getting my feet wet in the world of web development. Nowadays, I'm working as a project manager, and she's making beautiful pottery. I don't think either of us would have predicted this, but I think it's safe to say we're both quite pleased with our respective changes in career path.

Even back when Melanie and I worked together, her true love (after her husband and two incredibly cute dachshunds) was pottery. She spent tons of time working in (and managing) the studio she used, and even taught some pottery classes. She loves it so much, that I couldn't be happier to see her now doing this as her full time gig. 

Dots bowls (in new colours!)

Her specialties these days are: bowls, mugs, and vases with brightly coloured dots at the bottom; white vases, mugs, and pitchers with her signature hand sculpted dragonflies; and "wobbly" shotglasses.

What is a wobbly shotglass? Witness: