Style YYC

Shauna Thompson

Shauna Thompson

Aldona Barutowicz | May.15.2012 | comments 0

Market Collective is always a hot bed of hot local style, and when I spotted Shauna Thompson manning a friend’s booth at the last event, she proved to be a prime example.

Clearly, Thompson’s beautiful hair colour and super-high bun garner some attention.  The rest of her look is casual and cool with a few bohemian touches that I love. The rich purple hue of the top highlights Thompson’s fair complexion—in a good way—and the additions of a pair of chucks, woven belt and statement necklace keep her simple pieces looking fresh and interesting.

Design Decoder

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Cory Barkman

Rita Sirignano | May.14.2012 | comments 0

Walk around the back of a crumbling brick building near the CP tracks in the industrial neighbourhood of Ramsay and you’ll find Cory Barkman’s studio, a step up from a loading dock in a space once used to unload boxcars. Above and beyond the pieces that are made there, the studio itself is a work of art of sorts­—a perfect example of the saying, “a place for everything and everything in its place.” All order and function, with little space wasted. Barkman says he pretty much knows what’s in every nook, cranny and drawer. Read More more

Style YYC

Jessica Wittman and Caitlind Brown

CultureHouse Party

Aldona Barutowicz | May.11.2012 | comment 1

When I saw that the fun at Theatre Junction’s fundraiser included a fortune teller, I had a hunch this was going to be a good night. When I saw the tie rack, my hunch became a conviction. Read More more

Cover Stories

Grandma-Cover

Don’t Call Me Grandma

Rita Sirignano | Illustrations: Vidhya Nagarajan | May.11.2012 | comments 0

Musing on the matter of g-mahs, glam-mas, abuelas and other less-than-delighted grandmothers who do not answer to tradition when called by their offspring’s offspring.

Let me be the first to admit that my initial reaction was less than stellar. Upon being informed by my son and daughter-in-law that they are going to be parents, I shared a group hug. Then, squirming from their embrace, I pathetically yelled to the heavens, “But I’m too young to be a grandmother!” Read More more

Cover Stories

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It’s Curtains for Him

Bruce Weir | Photos: Todd Korol | May.06.2012 | comments 0

Mark Bellamy is poised to leave his post as Vertigo Mystery Theatre’s artistic director. But before he goes, he’s presenting Sweeney Todd, The Demon Barber of Fleet Street, which means his final act is poised on a razor’s edge. Read More more

Style YYC

Emily Moore

Emily Moore

Aldona Barutowicz | May.01.2012 | comments 0

There’s nothing I love more than a pretty summer dress. The femininity of this quintessential warm weather piece can’t be beat. It is also one of the most versatile pieces a woman can have in her wardrobe, as the options for dressing it up or down are endless. Short or long, belted or left loose, add the right accessories and you are dressed to kill for most occasions. Read More more

Swerve Was There

Caden (middle) and his folks

The Comic Book Expo

Apr.30.2012 | comments 4

As you may have gathered from the news of the sold out events and less organized (read: ticketless) fans being turned away at the doors, this weekend’s Calgary Comic & Entertainment Expo was a hit.  And after seeing these shots by Heather Saitz of the  well dressed individuals at the event, it’s easy to see why: people are seriously into this stuff! Take Phillip Gribben, for example, whose Lego costume landed him the coveted best-in-show honour.   Read More more

What We Want Now

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The Boys & Girls Club

Rita Sirignano | Apr.27.2012 | comments 0

The other day a Facebook friend used her status update to rail against women who describe their childhood selves as “tomboys.” “There is nothing ‘boy-like’ if you grew up playing in the dirt, throwing a ball or playing hockey! That IS what being a girl is!” she wrote, “and I want to smack the woman next to me at work who described herself as such.” Read More more

Cover Stories

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Après-Flee

Jacquie Moore | Apr.27.2012 | comments 0

The two of you (plus a chosen few) got outta Dodge for your nuptials. Now it’s time for an after-wedding party that both suits you and smoothes out any turbulence with the folks you left behind.

Your eyes locked for the first, fateful time over a particularly lumpy volcanic rock on the summit of Mount Kilimanjaro. Three years and one devastatingly romantic proposal later, there was no place on the planet either of you would consider tying the knot except, you guessed it, on top of Africa’s highest peak. Read More more

Style YYC

Laurel Green

Laurel Green

Aldona Barutowicz | Apr.24.2012 | comments 0

As far as the weather goes, this past week has been glorious in YYC. And with the sunshine also comes the blooming of spring’s ubiquitous floral prints. When I spotted Laurel Green rocking her pretty poesy print shirt-dress, I was intrigued. When I discovered the lovely cut out in the back, however, I was enamoured with her look. Read More more

Cover Stories

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Blue-Ribbon Treatment

Bruce Weir | Illustrations: Byron Eggenschwiler | Apr.20.2012 | comment 1

Sometimes, you just want a good, simple meal. The Swerve Greasy Spoon Index ranks the sort of no-frills places where eggs are eggs, bacon is not pork belly and hold the star fruit.

Before 9 a.m., most people believe in the medicinal properties of coffee. It’s fitting, then, that the waitresses at the Blackfoot Truck Stop Restaurant wear bright pink outfits that bear more than a passing resemblance to nurses’ uniforms. Read More more

Style YYC

Amy Darling

Amy Darling

Aldona Barutowicz | Apr.17.2012 | comments 0

The Calgary Underground Film Festival is now in full swing, and Amy Darling, the festival’s volunteer co-ordinator,  recently gave me a run through of this year’s films and special events. Saturday morning cartoons and cereal? What more can a girl  ask for in a party?

Even more exciting than the festival lineup, though, was Darling’s ensemble. Read More more

Cover Stories

Women Priests

A Woman’s Place is at the Altar

Malwina Gudowska | Photos: Leah Hennel | Apr.16.2012 | comments 45

Calgary’s only female priest is a member of a small but growing movement that is challenging the very nature of what the Roman Catholic Church considers sacred. 

There’s something both ironic and prophetic about meeting a Roman Catholic priest at a Humpty’s restaurant. With its grim, 1990s-inspired decor and large booths that swallow you up, the eatery best known for “breakfast that never ends,” regularly serves as a weekend confessional for morning-after tales of wild, alcohol-fuelled nights. Read More more

We Want To Know You

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Riley Miljan

Aldona Barutowicz | Apr.16.2012 | comments 0

As the head scenic carpenter at Alberta Theatre Projects, do-it-yourself home renovator and soon to be owner and operator of his own business, TechArt Custom Creations, Riley Miljan is a consummate artist in all facets of his life. Partnering with his wife, Shylin, for this new endeavour, Miljan hopes to bring his beautiful furniture and visual-art pieces to the world. Luckily for us he’s starting right here at home.

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What We Want Now

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Living the Vita Lohas

Rita Sirignano | Apr.16.2012 | comments 0

The first Earth Day took place on April 22, 1970 when a U.S. Senator, concerned the planet was going to hell in a handbasket, held the first “environmental teach-in.” Forty-two years later, Earth Day is celebrated globally, and though arguably things are in worse shape than ever—you naysayers can stop reading now—lots of us are making the choice to live LOHAS, the acronym for Lifestyles of Health and Sustainability, a billion-dollar market sector interested in all things green, organic and socially responsible. Read More more

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