My Latest Post for Vintage Maya

I've started a three-part series on shops that propagate vontage lifestyles in St-Henri: Part one.

Photo source: tonpetitlook.com

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Week-End Roundup (Or: A Makeover, A Silent Flick, Jamaican Proverbs and Not One But Two Dairy Queen Ice Cream Cakes in My Freezer)

Last week-end, I took a much needed break away from my clothing line and had a fantastic time.

Friday night was the second night of Terrasse St-Ambroise's Oktoberfest. My son and I headed there for a wee bit so I could drink a surprisingly huge mug of beer (I'm not sure what I was expecting, given that it was Oktoberfest but that shit got heavier and heavier as time went on, despite me working diligently at draining its contents). My son was studying for his high school entrance exams, with ear buds in, until this really loud Bavarian band hit the stage and started jamming.

On Saturday I met up with a fantastically talented and inspiring friend who has scored a two-month singing contract in Morocco. Before heading out, she wanted to undergo a make-over and add to the stage clothing she already owned and so she hired me as an image/fashion consultant. After having hit up my favourite thrift store and having her hair colour changed, this week-end was our second and final shopping trip before she zipped out of here and I had a lot of fun! After hitting up the shoe and underwear departments of The Bay, Lolo sat down to have her make-up done by Simon at the MAC counter and to receive a tutorial on how to recreate the look at herself. She looked smoking and, from certain angles, she really reminded me of Juliette Lewis. I had my face done by Simon years ago and I would definitely go back to see him, whether for clients or for myself.

A great haul!

I wish we could have hung out more but Lo has some socks to knock right the hell off in Casablanca, where she went the next day!

Saturday evening, the kids and I headed to Westmount where we saw The Phantom of the Opera presented with live music. It was fantastic!

My daughter rocking some H & M and Forever 21, at the bus stop.

We started with a screening of The Red Spectre (1907).

While a member of the Cineclub changed reels before the masked ball scene, in walked The Phantom.

Sunday the kids and I went shopping and our day looked something like this:

Last day of the season for Dairy Queen apparently means mad sales.

Once in a while, I miss Jamaica so I gravitate to one particular shelf at the super market. This time, we picked up sodas and jerk sauce.

"Puss and dwag no ha de same luck."

photo cred: Thanks to my chum Ben Kalman for the photos of The Phantom.

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A Few Photos From the Week-End

I had a relaxing but productive week-end. 

Here's a shot I took with my iphone on Rue de Maisonneuve Ouest, on Friday.

And here, the day after, spring trying desperately to sprout right through winter's remnants on Rue de Courcelle.

Also in St-Henri:

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Local Business Spotlight: Mixx Authentik (Or: A Great Vintage Shop in St-Henri That Was Opened By A Super Kick-Ass Lady).

Several weeks ago, when the temperature in Montreal warmed up enough to make long walks pleasurable again, my kids and I decided it was time to go to St-Henri. We live right on the other side of the tunnel that leads to St-Henri from the South West so it normally takes about ten minutes and we're there and this is one of the reasons my ex and I chose the flat. That said, the tunnel, named Le Tunnel St-Remi and built in 1951, underwent a massive overhaul that lasted what we thought was a very long time. For about a year, we were cut off from what seemed like the rest of the world. Major detours and the traffic they caused were the bane of our existence. Early this year, though, the tunnel finally reopened and the wee people and I decided to venture to the other side. 

Holy shit, has St-Henri ever changed in the last year!! We saw quite a few new businesses along the way to our final destination, the new Magasin Générale de St-Henri, where we bought some tasty, locally made goodies. A great new mens' clothing store-slash-coffee shop caught our eye (more on that soon!) but one place in particular stopped the three of us dead in our tracks and got my daughter to exclaim, "Whoa, Mom!" right as I was saying, "What is THIS?"

Why it's Mixx Authentik, is what is is! 

I immediately pulled my camera out and started snapping away at the storefront before heading in.

We were greeted by the super friendly and helpful Penny, who let me wander around and snap pictures to my heart's content (and boy, was my heart content!).

This store is a vintage lover's paradise: Tons of stock and at really reasonable prices, too. This collector has found new hunting grounds. 

If you're into vintage dishes and cookware, this place is loaded with amazing pieces!

I was super thrilled to come across this display, featuring Rocky B's rockabilly, two-tone and tattoo culture-inspired, hand-painted dishes!

I waited for the other customers in the shop to leave and chatted Penny up. Here she is in her favourite section of the store:

I asked her about the business and about its owner, a close personal friend of Penny's, Valérie Lalonde, who I later caught up with.

Valérie is a kick-ass, hard-working mom of three who started out studying business admin but then switched over to cabinetmaking. She loved the latter so much she actually started her own kitchen cabinet company. Something was still missing though and so she answered her calling when she heard it and opened Mixx Authentik. 

Here is Valérie, shot by Paul Brutal:

I sent her a Q & A, which she graciosuly answered:

Have you always lived in Montreal? What makes you stay in this city?

I was born in raised in Montréal, in Ville Emard, a 'hood' right beside St Henri and proud to have been! The thing I prefer is the access of variety that we have to people, culture, food... I can't imagine myself living anywhere else, but we never know. 

When did you open the shop and what inspired you to do so?

The shop opened April 20th, 2012. I was looking to open on the web but when I saw the empty store it was just calling me. I felt the the people needed a place like Mixx, I mean, not everyone as the time or inspiration to go and search for used furniture or decor. The goal of Mixx is the change the point of view that people had regarding ''used'' furniture and just show them the beauty in it. There are too many good, solid gorgeous pieces out there that just need a place to be seen 

What are some of the most interesting things that have passed through your shop doors?

It is hard to pick a piece. I just simply love everything in the shop. Ialways shop in a way that if I don't sell it, I will be more than happy to use it myself. I have to say that I love couches with bars in them, or really tacky lamps. Ok i have it-- I have a painting that lights up. It as been in the boutique for the longest time and I don't know why as it is such an original piece. It just might end up in my house and I love that idea. Lol.

Did you pick St-Henri because commercial rent is still pretty low compared to, say, Le Plateau, or was it something else about the hood?

I just love being in my area. The rent is not that cheap but it is worth it. I meet great people everyday and it is just wonderful to see a hood that was known to be ''ghetto'' kicking so much ass!!! Can't wait for Ville Emard to do the same.

Can you see yourself opening up at a second location one day?

Yes, I would love to open another one! Big things are coming this year for Mixx. I just partnered up with Orange Mecanique that as a wonderful collection of quality Vintage and Zip Zap that offers juke boxes, metal advertising signs and more... So we will start with that and see where it takes us but I have to say that the feeling is pretty good for the future

Faves:

What is currently your favourite item in the shop?

For now my favorite item is the black Bambi lamp and the ghetto blaster, but then again I could go on and on about what I love.

What is your favourite place to grab lunch in the hood?

Campanelli's sandwich is just paradise in my mouth. I try really hard to resist the poutine from Miracle. lol.  Atwater market is a great place for anything thing to eat and IGA always saves me cause it is close by. But there are still a lot of spots I need to try, the restaurants are  blooming and it makes my belly reaaaallly happy.  For dinner that's another thing and I have the say that the list is REALLY LONG.

Favourite place to grab a pint?

For a Pint here are my must go to: Drinkerie and Bar de Courcelle just have the best dj's that spins old school style with vinyls; jazz, funk, hip hop french, you name it. Those guys are amazing  One of them, Mathieu Coates is even helping me with my vinyl section at the shop.  In the summer one can't miss the terrace and shows at la brasserie St-Amboise.

If you could host a dinner party for any five people in the world, living or dead, who would you invite?

Just 5! That is not fair. lol. For sure I would go with my mom and my dad and my 3 kids, I would of love for them to meet my twins and my daughter would be more then happy to see them again,

Top five favourite albums to play in the shop:

Album's ... I would so love to pitch my boyfriends band on this one, but I just can play Fallstaf at the shop; it is a bit to metal lol. So I will go with anything from Kings of Leon , DJ Brace, any vinyl's that come in the shop, my favorite (Iknow it is not a album) but it is "Burning Down the House" by the Talking Heads:  It just primes me up. Any soul, funk is appreciated but anything that has a chill vibe!! I am actually trying to build a playlist for Mixx but I still have a lot of discovering to do 

***

What, people, is not to love about any of this? Go check 'em out!

Mixx Authentik's facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/MixxAuthentik?fref=ts 

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Vintage Montreal: 02

le canal lachine. 1920.

photo: anonyme 

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Roots. Part Five: Khimera Kreationz. 2000-2004.

i was nothing short of a hot mess when i arrived in montreal, in march of two-thousand. i was nineteen, pregnant and completely incapable of being alone without experiencing great anxiety. i had just been diagnosed with a non-life-threatening but rather scary heart condition and i got lodged into this vicious stress-causes-palpitations-causes-stress pattern. i barely had any furniture, the few childhood friends i had couldn't relate to me because i now spoke an international french, having long since dropped my quebecois dialect, i was about to become a mother and i now wore cat-eye contact lenses and goth clothing.

i went on an online goth forum and wrote to three different girls i thought i might have something in common with (one of them is the closest thing i've had to a nemesis in this town, the second i was friends with for several years but abandoned her due to her weak character general flakiness and the third i am still friends with) and i made plans to meet with them and most of the other forum members once i'd had my baby.

my daughter was born june twenty-ninth, two-thousand, a few months after i turned twenty. her father came to stay with us the day before. he remained with us for six months and then, to my relief, went back to toronto. it was around this time that a group of my ottawa friends began visiting on a regular basis, bringing gifts for my child and helping out but also crashing all over my apartment, eating my food and keeping me up at all hours. i briefly dated a man who was handsome but quite troubled and, despite all the ambition he possessed, he made no move to improve his life and spent his time brooding. he was creative and a fellow aesthete; things may have been different had we possessed more life experience but he was destined to be yet another one of my passengers. 

here i am in the fall of two-thousand,  just a few months after my daughter was born:

i had begun working as an event planner and part-time coatcheck girl for a goth club that was set to open new year's eve, 2000. it was there that i met a dj and fell in enough lust to break up with mister troubled, start dating the dj, get pregnant and move in with him. a month later, i realized my mistake but it was too late. we vowed to stay together until our child was born and see what happened then. my little mister was born january twenty-ninth, two-thousand-two, just six weeks before i turned twenty-two. when our son was four months old, his father moved out and i found myself alone, with two babies.

my style began to change quickly. i shaved all of my hair off but kept my bangs, sporting a chelsea haircut. my attire did not follow suit, though, as i went from being a more classic goth to wearing rivethead styles. a typical outfit was comprised of a mesh top over a tank top, an a-line mini skirt over coloured-tights and torn fishnets with laced up, knee-high rangers. within weeks of the dj moving out, i started dating an electronic musician. (that was a fiasco and my friends spent a lot of time with an eyebrow raised for about a year. he was the source of much mockery, having failed grade one four times and quite obviously pretending to play the keyboard on stage, with one finger tapping random keys in a rythmic way and the other arm straight up in the air, pointing at the ceiling. also, his keyboard was sometimes unplugged while he pretended to play.)


right around that time, i also became a dj. i started spinning noise and then branched out into industrial, eighties, ebm, synth pop, darkwave, new wave, electroclash, techno and old school goth. i was really good at it and quickly drew a crowd. for the first time in my life, i found myself seeking stage clothing of sorts and had immense fun coming up with outrageous outfits. i grew out the top of my hair and teased it up so that, when it started coming down towards the end of the night, people called me "robert smith" or "siouxsie soux". i shaved off my eyebrows and drew them on. i was the first one in the montreal scene to wear new rock platform boots, with visible springs in their six-inch soles.

here i am spinning at an 80's night, on club saphir's first floor, right as my hair was starting to grow out. these senneheisers are still my favourite earphones of all time:

when the top was long enough, i began fastening all sorts of extensions to them, as is popular among this crowd.

since my first pregnancy, i had been sketching and designing clothing at least three or four times a month but now, given everybody i was starting to know and how immersed in the whole rivethead and cyber goth cultures, i decided to sit down and draw up a collection. i started talking to other people about it and, before i knew it, i found myself with a small but enthusiastic production crew. everyone was so helpful and wonderful and, they believed in my project's success to the point of working for free. i began thinking that it would be a great idea to open up a third goth store in montreal and spent two months working on a business plan and looking into grants. i named my company khimera kreationz, which made sense at the time, given that i was dj khimera.

the man i had almost left my daughter's father for, before moving to toronto, had moved to montreal and we spent a lot of time together. we still really liked each other but he couldn't deal with my young children on a regular basis and so we remained friends. he was a great artist and made this graphic impression of me, with larger breasts and gun of course, wearing a t-shirt with my company's logo on it. (he also included my company's name and font as part of a card game he'd created).

here we are at bar passport, between my sets and right before i became wednesday nights' resident dj:

in may of two-thousand-three, i hosted my first fashion show at foufounes électriques. i figured the best way to have as many people as possible in attendance, men included, would be to book a well-known band or two and then have my fashion show open for them. i got together with another dj and two investors and, together, we booked covenant and melotron, electronic bands adored by most of the goth crowd in town. we had six-hundred-and-twenty people in attendance but, boy did i learn a lot about what not to do when organizing a fashion show! firstly, i had an over-zealous crew member who was happy to go her own way and make executive decisions regarding my clothing. she hadn't finished two outfits on time so she grabbed coloured duct tape and proceeded to tape up said outfits so that they had diagonal, duct tape strips running across them. another crew member showed up with work that was well-made but he hadn't used the right fabric and had added style elements that were not part of the original design. my sound guy, who was my son's dad, dropped out at the last minute and the new guy was a bit lost. i had foolishly decided that i should not only design, book, oversee, organize and style but host the damned thing too, so i was onstage when things ran amok backstage and i had no idea why my next two models weren't coming out. i had to gesticulate frantically to the poor gymnast we had gotten to perform during a half-time of sorts.

here are some souvenirs from the show. you can see the duct tape fiasco at the bottom left and i'm the one in the vinyl cheerleading skirt (who can't believe that sentence just came out her). my baby cousin modeled the red, velvet corset.

the response to my show was fantastic, despite all of its hiccups and it's small size. many people wanted to buy from me but the truth is that i was twenty-three, with a baby and toddler at home and i wasn't able to deal with any of it. i would only find out a year later but i was also sufferiing from grave's disease, making me hyper, skittish and unfocused as well as keeping me up most nights and experiencing migraines. everyone i had showed my business plan to liked it but not enough to finance my project, given my age and lack of business experience and so i continued to dj but backed out of the event planning and designing for a while. i let my crew down and spent a few months only going to clubs in order to tend bar or dj and left when my shift was done or his out in my booth until closing time.

i went to a few parties. this was taken a t a loft party in the gay village, with the guy who'd sewn the vest i had designed and am wearing in the photo:

i started dating someone that wasn't right for me and who was really aggressive and whom everyone around me had a hard time communicating with (we're friends now but now i also don't tolerate a tenth of what i used to back then). we moved in together and i settled into a routine. bring the kids to daycare, work, pick the kids up, watch tv with the boyfriend. i had undergone radiation treatment for my thryoid condition and now found myself with the opposite disease, hypothyroidism. i put on almost a hundred pounds, got depressed and had a hard time sticking to anything.

things would get better for me but not for another couple of years.

as with everything else i've shared in my "roots" segment thus far, this all seems like it was in another lifetime. someone else's lifetime, even. it's where i come from, though, and it's these experiences that have lead me to where i am today. next up in "roots": 2005-2007.

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Montreal Street Art. Ville-Émard.

i had a lengthy post in mind for today but i' wiped. i somehow got through my first nine-to-five since july on only four hours of sleep and i'm not quite sure why i'm still awake so today i'll leave you with unedited photos that i took a few blocks from my place, while on a walk with my son, yesterday.

let's kick this off with château st-henri seen from the other side of the lachine canal:

there was another guy with a camera touring this building and several cars slowed way down to get a look at its walls, too. ian and i were quite happy to have access to this, now that the st-remi tunnel has been revamped.

the a-shop at it again:

what's up now, youpi?

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