Interview by Alan Ng
Words by Jenkin Au
Photography by Christine Tang
Vancouver Special is a store that features a lot of hard to find design throughout the world. Playing off the typical homes found scattered throughout Vancouver, Anne, the owner of the store, strives to find even greater and more original design. She describes Vancouverites as a design hungry and venturous individuals and she attempts to bring them their fix. Not surprisingly, Anne hopes to own her very own Vancouver Special one day, with the interior nicely renovated. Read on as Anne shares with us her story on bringing Vancouver a “special” treat.
Tell us a bit about yourself and how the store came to be.
I am Anne and I studied art history at the University of British Columbia. I got really interested in architecture, design, and photography. I went in and did my masters in architecture at UBC and while at architecture school, I realized pretty quickly that I didn’t want to be an architect and I sort of started to think about all the things I could possibly do with my education. I wanted to do something that combines my interest of art and photography as well as design and architecture. Originally, I wanted to open a gallery, but I didn’t really think that I could pay my rent just by selling art. Then I started to think about the sort of things that I could combine so I came up with this concept of a design store that features a wide range of products, everything from art to furniture, to industrial design, to books, and to combine everything together to curate a space myself, just like an art gallery. I started doing a lot of research, traveling and found a lot of amazing products. There was so much good design out there that wasn’t available in Vancouver yet. I found the products and brought it here to show Vancouver all the amazing stuff that’s out there. The whole concept was to have a design store.
The name of the store is called “Vancouver Special” and the usage of the city name in a store definitely showcases how the store also represents the city in a certain way. How does the name promote Vancouver?
I have a lot of love for Vancouver. I wanted to carry a lot of local products as well as products from Japan and Europe. The name “Vancouver Special” is the reference to the houses all over East Van. I wanted to reference that house because it’s a house that a lot of people live in; it’s a very typical house and I wanted the store to be accessible. I wanted it to be not too high end, not to expensive, not too much attitude, I wanted people to come in the store and feel comfortable. From the democratic nature of the Vancouver Special, it was something I wanted to keep in terms of the image of the store. Also, the fact that I just carry residential products, it’s a very special residential design store. I am referencing the housing type and also the meaning of the name is sort of a double meaning as it is a store that is carrying specific things that are only available here. A lot of products we carry are only exclusive to us. I don’t want to carry things that you can get anywhere else in Vancouver. We are constantly looking for things that nobody has.
Traveling in your life has definitely helped bring all these cool designs together. What are your traveling experiences and what have you brought to the store through these various journeys?
When I finished my undergrad, I moved to Japan. I love Japan and it really influences my aesthetics. Ever since living there, I have gone back numerous times. I have really developed an appreciation for their design and their very minimalistic aesthetic, there’s something about the Japanese culture that really appreciates detail. With everyday products, people care so much about the pen that they use, the notebook that they use, the cup they drink their tea from. All these tiny details, they really draw attention to those and I just became very obsessed with everything Japanese. The store really affects that. I feel a lot of the things I carry have that Japanese design aspect of minimalism in it. I have traveled to Europe and the States. I love to travel and look at new products, meet people and check out different stores.
Looking at the range of products, how do you select products to be sold at your store?
I have developed a set of criteria that I would look for in new products. The number one criterion is quality and that’s really important to me. I hate that sort of mentality that North America has adopted that things are disposable. People are shopping at Walmart and Ikea buying things that only last for a few years and end up in the landfill. I have a huge problem with that. I feel that if you buy something, you should buy something once and it should be great – love it, and always have it. Quality is very important and the next thing is that it has to be aesthetically beautiful and functional. Thirdly, is it affordable? I don’t want to carry anything that’s really out of people’s reach. I have a lot of friends that are architectures and designers and they don’t make a lot of money, and so I always think of them when I look at a product. I relate to new architects and designers and see if they can afford to buy this. I am really trying to appeal that people that are my age – students, people that are young and are starting families. I like to carry products that people can potentially buy.
Are there any products that are not in the store yet and are coming in the future?
Yeah, we are always finding new products. I am always on the internet reading design blogs and magazines looking for new stuff. We are looking at outdoor furniture right now, things for the summer. Tons of books – there are so many good books that are coming out. We are going to do a limited edition Vancouver Special t-shirt for the store. Lots of new furniture as well.
The store seems to be a very personal aspect apart of you and it seems like your personality and interests are reflected throughout the store. Compared to your store and your home, is it really similar?
My store is way nicer than my home. I spent so much time to make my store look great. I am constantly moving things around, setting up displays and moving furniture. When I get home, I don’t have a lot of energy which is really too bad. I live in a really small apartment and I have way too much stuff. My apartment is not minimalistic, as I would like it to be. I have some really cool pieces of art. It’s sort of my dream to buy a Vancouver Special and renovate it, and has a basement to keep all my junk in and then make the house look really great. I would love to have a renovated Vancouver Special somewhere in East Van.
Describe the average person that walks in to the store, what do people come in for?
I think a lot of people come in to look. They are walking by and they are really just taking it back. That happens a lot. They are just so excited to see the store. People definitely come in to see all the new stuff that they haven’t really seen before. I love it when people come in and just browse. Take some books and sit on the couch and just hang out. I think a lot of people come in looking for presents for people. It’s a really good place for gifts. There are also people that come in specifically to buy furniture, but what we are finding is that people are coming in just to hang out and talk.
What is it about street culture that sparks the wave of modern entrepreneurship in the world of design?
I think that the people that are very involved with street culture, and the music, and the graffti, the arts and fashion are really hungry. They are really wanting to push the status quo of design. They are not just going to accept the stuff that their parents have. I think that’s what it makes it really special. It is sort of the new wave. I am totally obsessed with hip-hop. My younger brother works here and he’s 22 skateboarder and he helps me find a lot of the art in the store. I think the elements of street culture are a real inspiration of what we are looking for in the store because we want to keep it young and fresh. We want to carry contemporary designs. I am not interesting in carrying vintage furniture. What we are interested in selling here is things that are new, up and coming and not stuff that you can see everywhere else.
Looking at the whole art and design scene of our city, it isn’t quite established yet compared to other international cities across the world. What do you think it is for our city that is needed for the elevation of the above to happen?
I think it’s just starting but it needs to be encouraged. It’s also very exciting that the city isn’t there yet; it’s growing, and emerging. There are lots of cool people in our city that are doing lots of cool stuff. Since opening the store, I have met so many amazing artists and designers across the city that I didn’t even know existed. It has become a great place for me to learn about what’s going on. I realize that a lot of people that are in the scene that don’t really know each other and I sort of think that networking is happening and the vibration is starting and the scene is evolving. Vancouver just seems very young right now. I think it has lots of potential to be a great design city. People that live here do care a lot about designs. They don’t just care about the outdoors, they care about the indoors as well. I think it’s going to take awhile before we actually become a leader in world design, we are not there yet but it’s exciting because I know it’s going to happen.
The whole retail space that you have cultivated from the beginning, it must have taken a lot of hard work and time. It seems like you have created the atmosphere that you strived for and that’s wonderful. What advice do you have for upcoming people that are looking to start a retail store in balancing between budgets and their love for design?
If I have all the money in the world, the store would probably look a lot different. I feel like by keeping it very simple, it allows the product to really speak. Rather than putting a lot of money in the interior design of the store, I just wanted to keep it very raw so we just have concrete floors, white shelving, exposed ceilings, white walls. I wanted to give a sort of raw gallery type space. Then, what people notice when they come in isn’t that there is some amazing lights or crazy colors on the walls but focusing on the amazing products that we are selling and I find that has really worked. There’s a lime green sort of kind of entrance to the store, because I wanted that presence on the street to help draw people in. I wanted to put the flash on the outside and have the inside be more subdued and have the interest come from the design of the product. As for advice for somebody opening your own store, just realize that you are not going to get much sleep for the first couple of months. It has gotten a lot easier now ever since the store has been running for two years. I never had any business experience and had an idea on what I was getting into so it’s been a huge learning curve figuring how to run the store on a daily basis. It’s also just like a big design project which is really fun. I really have to treat this store like any design project. It’s really fun to find stuff and be constantly involved in the store. I think people shouldn’t be afraid to open their own stores in Vancouver as well. I think people a bit hesitant about retailing in Vancouver. Actually, if you do something that’s really great and interesting, people will come. People are craving for the design in Vancouver.
What is HYPE?
I think HYPE is something that makes you feel alive. HYPE is something that when you see it, you are like, “Oh shit. That is something that I did not expect and that is something that really excites me.” If I see a great work of art, or hear a great song and it’s something really exciting about being alive and being alive in general, then that’s HYPE.