Gastown Shop Hop and Sans Soucie

The Gastown Christmas Shop Hop is this Thursday, Dec. 3rd from 5 - 9pm.  Bring a friend!  It is a festive evening of sales and sips. URBANITY will be offering yummy hot gløgg and special prices on Sans Soucie designs.

For this week only, we have an exhibition of Katherine Soucie's newest work.  The Christmas window looks fabulous!

VANITAS by Katherine Soucie

The recent collection Vanitas, produced by Vancouver based clothing and textile designer Katherine Soucie, is a new series of garments created in response to investigation into the concept of modest indulgence and what that has come to represent in today's society.

This new body of work was initiated through the support of the Downtown Eastside Small Arts Grant Program and Emily Carr University of Art and Design. Soucie who was selected as a recipient of this grant this past summer was inspired to create this new work after being donated an obsolete industrial embroidery machine in conjunction with experiementations with a digital embroidery machine recently acquired by Emily Carr University. This funding not only encouraged the development of new work with this equipment but also has also enabled for other artists and designers in the community to have access to such equipment for research and development purposes.

Soucie was selected among 10 other artists who live and work in the DTES of Vancouver as a recipient of this grant which is a new program designed to help artists and designers produce a new body of work that will allow their practice to be taken to the next level in their career.

Yuletide* at URBANITY

Sunday, November 29th--please come by!

We are starting our Christmas season at URBANITY traditionally, by lighting the first candle on the advent ring, serving glogg, making a decoration (if you wish), being entertained by Anne-Elise Keefer from 1 - 2.30pm, and Pat Ernst from 3 - 5pm. You will be able to make a $5 donation to the Union Gospel Mission who offer meals to our less fortunate neighbours. 
*In Denmark this event is called a Julestue  (yool eh stoo)- literally translated as a "Christmas Room".

Opening of Beyond Borders

THE EXHIBITION OPENED on Thursday evening, September 10th, and will continue until the 26th. The opening was wonderful. Lots of people, food, good feelings, and a super dance performance choreographed by Kokoro's Barbara Bourget.

This is the first opportunity I've had to send you a note to tell you
what a superb job I think you did on the Oleana opening. It was by
far the most sophisticated opening I've attended, with the beautiful
exhibit, splendid food, truly sensational dance (I loved that the
dancers were simultaneously sensuous and awkward---so effective), and the heart felt speeches. You are to be thoroughly applauded for a job exceptionally well done. -- Cher

Oleana is really in Vancouver!

Oleana's Solveig Hisdal, Signe Aarhus, and Kolbjorn Valestrand are here in Vancouver! Kolbjorn and Signe have already cycled around Stanley Park. Solvieg has fitted Molly and Caroline's dresses for the performance on Thursday. We have started to dress the mannequins. It has been a very busy day!! A morning swim was traded out for a good breakfast, a check of the Pendulum, and a quick trip up the sea to sky to Lyons Bay, and a wonderful lunch at a sea-side restaurant in Dundurave. They are loving it and I am loving having them here!!!

Beyond Borders - OLEANA - the Norwegian Story

We are so excited because in just two weeks OLEANA will open the exhibition, BEYOND BORDERS, at the Pendulum Gallery. Press releases have been written, invitations have been sent out, people are RSVPing, and everybody is looking forward to Norwegian Magic coming to Vancouver.

Solveig Hisdal is going to be here! For many of you, meeting Solveig is going to be a very special experience. For those of you who have her book "Poetry in Stitches", this is a chance to have your copy signed. Signe and Kolbjorn will be here too, as will the new Norwegian Ambassador to Canada.

Barbara Bourget from the Kokoro Dance Company has choreographed a dance performance based on a piece of music that uses the sounds of the Oleana Factory.

OLEANA is such a special company with so many facets that make it truly unique, and this exhibition will give Vancouver a chance to touch it.

Oleana on YouTube

My colleague Grete, who lives in Switzerland, sent me a message to say that she has posted some Oleana videos on YouTube. Grete has joined our Facebook group "I love OLEANA", where she has posted links to these and more videos.

I hope you will join the Facebook group, and ask you friends to join too. We need more people to know about OLEANA - the little Norwegian factory that makes very beautiful clothes. Grete calls them "Wearable Culture"!!

Here is a small video from the show Saltsberg in February '09 featuring some of the new Spring designs:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-j4P9RtZ4EY&feature=related

And here is the DVD that was made for the Oleana Exhibition that took place at the Museum of Decorative Art in Bergen in 2007, to celebrate the 15th Anniversary of the firm. It is quite a wonderful DVD, and I am delighted that Grete has made it available on line. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uuog-XZKvnM&feature=related

New Arrivals!!!

At URBANITY you can enjoy new spring arrivals although the weather is still chilly. I have received the new OLEANA collection , and the response to the colours and the styles is really positive. You can go to the OLEANA website and look at the pdf catalogue. Notice the new cardigan with a yoke and raglan sleeves. It comes in blue (the colour shown here), green/yellow, and coral. The new V-neck cardigan shown here, comes in blue, coral, and blue/white with a coral band. It is absolutely STUNNING!!!

Join the FACEBOOK group "I love OLEANA" and spread the beauty!!