Influencers; How Trends and Creativity Become Contagious

INFLUENCERS FULL VERSION from R+I creative on Vimeo.

Beautiful embroidery paintings by Kate Keara Pelan. 

Stunning.

Kelly Chandelier in Brass by Gabriel Scott.

I have loved the candles by Cire Trudon for ages, and I aim to return home with a wax bust by them this week. I have tried twice to get my hands on one, when in NY and Toronto, to no avail. So it is definitely a priority for my time in Paris this week.

Cire Trudon has been manufacturing candles in France since 1643, making them the oldest and most prestigious wax manufacturer in the world. Trudon came from humble beginnings as a grocer and wax producer but eventually became the suppliers of candles to the French Monarchy, and Napolean Bonaparte. It was these historical connections that maintained their business, despite the electric revolution at the turn of the century. In fact, Napoleon gifted his son with a custom Trudon candle when he was born, featuring three gold silhouettes of the Emperor.

While they have an extensive line of beautifully perfumed candles, their wax busts are my favorite. They are a true objet d'art. I can't wait to have a grumpy Napoleon greet me at the door every day.

About 5 weeks ago I received an excited message from a local supplier, asking me if I wanted to accompany them on their factory tour this year. Of course I was interested. I love seeing the manufacturing process that goes into all of the materials we specify, and it enables designers to speak better to the product as a whole. Little did I know the tour would involve a 10 day excursion to Switzerland and France. I was beside myself.

So today I embark on a 10 day tour of Zurich, Lucerne, and Paris with a group of designers from across Canada. I am thrilled to be included and am in awe of the opportunity I have been offered. In addition to the whole Europe thing, which is amazing in itself, we are also attending Maison & Objet, which is an incredible design trade show held in Paris every year. It's the cream of the crop as far as design goes, and my brain is on the brink of exploding every time I think about how many marvelous things I will be exposed to.

I promise to share all the beauty here.

Image from here. 

This signage graveyard is a vintage dream. So many beautiful treasures here. 

 

 

Photography by Pam Sattler.

Last weekend I got to knock another item off my life list. Looking back, I notice that my last life list item was done almost a year ago. That's really pathetic. Note taken to do more of this stuff. 

Anyway, so last weekend we ziplined! And not just any zipline, the fastest zipline in North America! Canada Olympic Park here in Calgary has a 500m long zipline, where you can achieve speeds between 120 and 140 km per hour. My friend offered us the opportunity to report on a few great things to do around Calgary, and this was one of them. If I wasn't being motivated by external forces, I'm not sure I would have done this. The morning before we went, I stayed in bed as long as possible, to prevent myself thinking about it. It didn't work, I had bad dreams about it instead.

On the way to the hill, I watched this video, knowing that Jann Arden would help to soothe my nerves.



Jann is my inspiration.

So we got suited up, and you have a little lesson on a short track to practise the flying and braking. That turned out to be not so bad, and helped me to feel better about the whole thing. Then you get in a van, and you drive to the top of the hill.

And then you take an elevator to the top of the ski jump tower, and area greeted with this view.

Really incredible. Scary, but incredible.

You climb down those stairs, and your harness is attached to the cable. You are basically sitting in a suspended sling that you zipline in. My biggest fear about the whole thing was actually jumping off. I kept envisioning this great drop off that you would have to jump off to get started. In actuality, you are suspended from the track, and then they pull the platform out from under you. Then they flip a lever and you are off. You just sit back and wait for the countdown.

And it was incredible. The first bit is the worst as it's the steepest part, and I could barely catch my breath. But then it evens out, and it's an amazing ride to the bottom of the hill. And while that view from the top looks intimidating, you are never that far from the ground, as the line follows the slope of the hill. All in all, it was a way better experience than I was expecting, and I would certainly do it again.

If you are interested, all the information for the COP Zipline can be found here. COP also offers summer rides down the bobsled track, as well as other great activities like wall climbing and mountain bike trails.

Thanks to my friend Alex for making it all happen.