Articles by Luisa Rino.

Georgia Straight Living

Into the fry pan: chefs at home

By Luisa Rino
Photos by Tracey Kusiewicz
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Georgia Straight Living

The fine art of buying art

By Luisa Rino
Four gallery owners provide expert advice on what to put on your walls.
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Georgia Straight Living

Design yourself a merry little xmas

By Luisa Rino
Four creative pros share secrets for doing the holidays in style Photos Evaan Kheraj
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Georgia Straight Living

The sweet side of "really evil" Lowe

By Luisa Rino
Vancouver’s Crystal Lowe gets a bionic break.
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Georgia Straight Living

Making the scene

By Luisa Rino
Photos Shannon Mendes
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Georgia Straight Living

Intrepid explorers

By Luisa Rino
Jason To and Linh Diep comb the east for their modern-zen-influenced decor finds
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Georgia Straight Living

Shop scores

By Luisa Rino
Vintage charm and thrift-shop scores visual artist Meghan Paterson lets eclectic furniture “find” her.
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Georgia Straight Living

Favourite things

By Luisa Rino
We asked four local home-decor mavens to each pick a piece that captures the design mood for 2007.
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Style Features

Planning tips span nails to scents

By Carolyn Ali, Janet Smith, and Luisa Rino
FAIR SEASON Wedding fairs are in the air, with two coming up next month. Tiaras and Tuxes: Boutique Gala Wedding Affair bills itself as an antidote to the larger events with an intimate atmosphere, music, and refreshments. Featuring fashion shows and a bridal auction, it takes place on February 11 at the Chapel at Stanley Park (606 Chilco Street). Tickets are $30; for information, see www.savvypromotions.ca/.
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Style Bites

Inspire your style

By Janet Smith and Luisa Rino
SUGARY GOODNESS Although it’s an unlikely time of year to be introducing sweets into your life, Vancouver jewellery artist Holly Cruise has found a way without having to compromise any New Year’s resolutions. Her Sweety Cakes and Lolly lines of rings ($125 to $195) have all the pretty appeal and none of the nasty calories. Handmade glass miniatures of birthday cakes, cupcakes, and lollipops sit atop a sterling-silver base—perfect for the girl turning sweet 16.
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Georgia Straight Living

Off-camera style

By Luisa Rino
How do you describe your home style?
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Georgia Straight Living

House warmers

By Luisa Rino
Bed beauties, Well-stuffed, Making good scents
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Georgia Straight Living

The Queens of Clay

By Luisa Rino
Four local female artists are reshaping ceramics.
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Style Features

Winter style bites

By Janet Smith, Luisa Rino, and Shawn Conner
Meet the season in style.
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Georgia Straight Living

Ask an expert

By Luisa Rino
Janette Ewen is one of the many décor specialists available for consultation at the Vancouver Home & Interior Design Show (October 12 to 15 at BC Place). Ewen began working at Chatelaine in 2000 and moved to Canadian House & Home in 2004. She’s now décor editor at home-shopping magazine Chocolat.
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Georgia Straight Living

Cookin’ with Corner Gas

By Luisa Rino
Corner Gas and Robson Arms star Gabrielle Miller chatted with Georgia Straight Living by telephone from Winnipeg, where she’s finishing up filming her most recent project: Elijah, based on the story of Elijah Harper (the first treaty native to be elected as a provincial politician, and the aboriginal leader who stymied Meech Lake).
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Style Watch

Catwalks come to life for jam-packed fashion week

By Luisa Rino and Sarah Rowland
B.C. Fashion Week revved up the runway action from September 26 to October 1, with previews of spring shows centred at Performance Works on Granville Island. The FMA Vancouver show (formerly Fashion Rocks) was just one of the other stylin’ events to make for a busy week. Here, in pictures and words, is a recap of some of the catwalk chaos...
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Style Bites

Style Bites

By Janet Smith and Luisa Rino
Celebs like Denise Richards, Britney Spears, and Liv Tyler have started a bit of a trend by hauling Harveys Seatbelt Bags almost everywhere they go.
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Georgia Straight Style

Behind the scenes at BCFW

By Luisa Rino
Bernice Noel knows how to face a fashion mob. The front-of-house venue captain for BC Fashion Week and New York’s Olympus Fashion Week took time out from a photo shoot in the Big Apple to reflect on working on live shows and on the differences between here and Manhattan. (The dates this fall are September 8 to 15 for New York and September 26 to October 1 for BCFW).
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Fashion Plate

Making scents of branding

By Luisa Rino
Hermès owes its perfume successes to the nose of Jean-Claude Ellena.
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Style Watch

Show stoppers

By Luisa Rino and Angela Murrills
From prim preppies to laid-back 'boarders to retro-glam movie queens, the looks that were rocking the runways this week could feed all kinds of fashion fixes.
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Style Watch

Running from runway to runway

By Luisa Rino and Angela Murrills
With both B.C. Fashion Week in full swing and the biggest runway show of the season on the roster, the city has been crammed with catwalk action. Here are a few of the highlights of the past week.
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Georgia Straight Style

Take that, Paris!

By Luisa Rino
When British Columbia Fashion Week began two years ago, most of the industry greeted the concept with a big question mark. It's remarkable that a mere three seasons in, this annual event (like those in glamour capitals around the world) feels like it has always been a part of the Vancouver landscape.
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Features

Festive fashion

By Luisa Rino
It's the same problem every year: somewhere to go, nothing to wear. Holiday parties rear their ugly heads as early as six weeks before Christmas, giving you plenty of events to fret over. But those sick to death of sequins and sparkle have a new option this season: everything old-centuries old-is cutting-edge again, and designers are drawing on historical grace and elegance for fresh inspiration. Think Merchant Ivory on the cocktail circuit.
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Fashion Plate

Dreamy word spells success for designer

By Luisa Rino
There isn't much arguing with destiny when it comes to you in a dream wrapped with a bow of religious reference. At 14, Lacy Barry had the word ëphoe appear to her in her sleep. "I didn't actually know what it meant, and through research the meaning [of it] unravelled itself to me," she explains over the phone from her studio in Calgary.
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Style

Urban Bites

By Luisa Rino and Janet Smith
Magic lantern Isn't it ironic how often the word irony is misused? Maybe not, but in the case of Kartell's Bourgie lamp ($373, Living Space [188 Kingsway]) the sly joke and, yes, playful use of irony in its design are manifestly clear. Having mined the baroque style to inspire the modernist polycarbonate creation, the Bourgie sits squarely between the two schools. The classical curves of the base and the transparent hard plastic of its construction are perfectly at odds.
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Georgia Straight Living

Seatmates

By Luisa Rino
These days, the hunt for the perfect sofa is more daunting than ever. A couch is a sizable investment, it takes centre stage in the main room of the home, and there are more styles choose from this autumn. Even within the realm of sleekly modern décor, there are diverse options: looks range from the severe, straight-lined, and neutral-toned to the curvy, futuristic, and electric-hued.
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Georgia Straight Living

Stone-cold cool counters and tiles

By Luisa Rino
it seems the latest trend in interior décor revolves more around how objects feel than how they look. Clearly, aesthetics continues to be extremely important; however, designers' love for the tactile is leading to new indulgences, and an upswing in stone tile purchases is one of the results.
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Georgia Straight Living

The rug that shagged me

By Luisa Rino
If it were possible to have the warmth and comfort of shag carpet-yes, egad, shag-yet still maintain a sleek (and hygienic) contemporary look to your living room, would you take it? Of course you would. That's why Mat the Basics is able to design and sell its dreadlock-thick rugs and effortlessly blend them into a modern living room. They're durable and practical as well. Made of 100-percent New Zealand virgin wool, their high lanolin content gives them a natural stain repellence.
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Georgia Straight Living

Luxe looks

By Luisa Rino
Will that be tufted, hand-knotted, or loomed? Jordan Archibald, in-house design consultant at Living Space (188 Kingsway, 604-683-1116) tells us that with the economy doing so well, people are ready to splurge. "They are adding the outrageous accessories," he says. Rugs are definitely in the running, and it's all about the feel.
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Georgia Straight Living

Pillow Bites

By Luisa Rino
It's often the colour that determines how to accessorize a room. In the case of the Peking Lounge's (83 East Pender Street, 604-844-1559) line of pillows, it's the textures. Bolsters are available in a perfectly grained silk with stamps of the Chinese symbol for good fortune in cut velvet. Obi pillows come in candy-coated chocolate and green satin. The matching runner and tissue-box cover just make the decorating job that much easier. I came, I saw, I touched.
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Style

Duelling fashion weeks mean busy runway action

By Luisa Rino and Janet Smith
CASUAL ELEGANCE B.C. Fashion Week launched its series of shows on September 28 at Performance Works with veteran Toronto designer Joeffer Caoc, onetime apprentice to Lida Baday.
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Streetwise

Jewellery spans pearls to pop-art plastics

By Luisa Rino
With the eclecticism of this season's trends, it would be difficult to update your wardrobe without committing to at least one of the current fashion themes. The question, though, is this: is it better to go boho, Russian, Edwardian, late-'60s graphic, or even a little bit country? Thrown into the mix is the deep diversity of accessories available. An entire wardrobe of jewellery is essential for each of these looks.
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Streetwise

Duo spins pony tales into playful collection

By Luisa Rino
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Style Bites

Farm-fresh plants

By Janet Smith, Luisa Rino, and Guy Babineau
Far from being just a weekly stop for organic vegetables and artisanal cheese, the city's farmers markets are increasingly appealing to green thumbs in search of something a little different.
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Style Bites

Mission control

By Janet Smith, Luisa Rino, and Guy Babineau
The mission-style Denver Stool from Montreal-based Baronet, available at Design House (110 Mainland Street), features a hint of Asian influence. You certainly won't feel like you're sitting in a hacienda. The pagodalike scooped seat and subdued lines of this sleek, slick stool transform High Noon into Zen Noon. The wooden stools are available in several finishes: chocolate, walnut, painted aluminum, dark tea, and anthracite.
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Georgia Straight Style

Techno Wraps

By Luisa Rino
If it's a techie gadget, it can be accessorized. The influence of fashion is far-reaching and for some time now it has encompassed all things handheld, from MP3 players to cellphones to PDAs. Sure, you have an iPod (a fashion statement unto itself), but do you have a skin to decorate its bare outer? Your phone may be the smallest on the market, but can you match it with your socks? Socks and cells-fashion rule No.
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Style Bites

Encore for the golden age of radio

By Janet Smith, Luisa Rino, and Guy Babineau
The more gadgets that appear on the market, the more interesting the persistence of certain others becomes. Tivoli Audio built a company based solely on the impressive quality of its table radios. The technology and sleek 1960s design are the work of the late Henry Kloss, Audio Hall of Fame member. If you can't find or afford his original KLH Model Eight table radio, Tivoli offers the Model One and Model Two, with extra speaker ($139.99 and $219.99, respectively, at A?&?B Sound).
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Style Bites

Small-screen screens

By Janet Smith, Luisa Rino, and Guy Babineau
Too often, the boob tube is the focus of the room, drawing attention away from the rest of the décor. Now a Canadian company has come up with a funky way to cover up the television when it's not in use: TV Kozys are made of fabrics that fit over different sizes of sets. Custom-made in Hogtown, they come in such fabrics as mod black-and-white geometric poly-canvas, classy blue-and-white toile, neutral ultrasuede, and shimmery smoke-blue taffeta-all with cord trim.
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Georgia Straight Style

Curling rocks

By Luisa Rino
Cascading wavy hair made its way back onto the runways for fall, and it looks like the not-so-perfect curl is how to make a statement. To help move things along, the TiGi Catwalk Curls Rock range uses five products to enhance existing curl: shampoo, conditioner, leave-in conditioner, amplifier, and booster ($13.95 to $17.95 at various locations). Curly or wavy hair needs moisture, and that is what this product is filled with.
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Style Bites

Snippets of chic

By Janet Smith, Luisa Rino, and Guy Babineau
Although they're definitely a far cry from the paper-doll chains you made in elementary school, it could very well be nostalgia that has made Tord Boontje's streamers, curtains, and lamp garlands so popular (Design House [1110 Mainland Street]). Part of a collection entitled Wednesday, the various manifestations are laser-cut from metal, silk, or a synthetic paper called Tyvek. The Until Dawn curtain ($145) makes for a perfect room divider and can be cut with scissors to fit.
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Georgia Straight Style

Slim pickings

By Luisa Rino
Volume is one of the buzz words for fall, as in voluminous silhouette. But choose wisely: the focus should go up top or on bottom, not both. Heather Young of Dust has created two versions of this season's skinny pant to balance the proportions for those full coats, collared Victorian blouses, and leg-of-mutton sleeves.
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Georgia Straight Style

Hair and makeup pros offer tricks for fall trends

By Luisa Rino
It's time for wholesale change. This fall, the trends have made a switch from the natural beauties of summer to the luxe and refined feminine looks of the '40s; the modern, graphic punch of the '60s; and the regal mystique of Empress Josephine. Classic updos, smoky eyes, and free-flowing curls have all made their way into the culture for fall/winter.
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Style Bites

Magic mushrooms

By Janet Smith, Luisa Rino, and Guy Babineau
If Frodo let the Designer Guys have a go at Bag End, they'd probably pick these hot new table lamps from sassy, sexy, and super-progressive Spain to shed a little light on his new décor. Just in at LightForm (1060 Homer Street), the retro-'70s, mushroom-shaped Yeyeye lamp was designed by Enric Gregorio for the Barcelona-based company Lookiluz. The metal shades are available in white, black, red, and yellow, with white metal or light wood bases. They sell for $985.
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Style Bites

Great balls of fire

By Janet Smith, Luisa Rino, and Guy Babineau
You can set them around your patio, light a garden path, or arrange a few on your balcony for a romantic summer supper. Garden Fireballs are ceramic spheres filled with lamp oil, creating soft, natural ambient lighting outdoors, available at Chintz & Company (950 Homer Street).
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Style Bites

Cuckoo for coconuts

By Janet Smith, Luisa Rino, and Guy Babineau
A local company has invented a way to disguise those ubiquitous moulded-plastic patio chairs. Coconut Covers slip over the cheap seats, transforming decks into chic outdoor living rooms. Heavyweight cotton-canvas versions come in two styles: Fresh has ties on the legs, and Luxe features a wide box pleat and a belt that buttons on the back. The colours are navy, black, forest green, burgundy, natural, and taupe, at $29.99 apiece.
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Streetwise

Intricate line sparkles with glam-boho style

By Luisa Rino
It's a fairy-tale wedding story that turned into a business idea. Big sis was getting married and little sis thought of making something special for the event. Many crystals and several backaches later, a new jewellery line took shape. Not long after the Just Married sign came down, Amanda Vogler had launched her first sample collection.
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Streetwise

'Boarding in Paris at hard-core heart of sole

By Luisa Rino
It's remarkable how a youthful passion can become a life's work. For one fashion entrepreneur, skateboarding has led to a global footwear brand and help for the homeless. Pierre André Senizergues, president, owner, and CEO of California-based sportswear giant Sole Technology, grew up 10 minutes from Paris, where he skateboarded through the catacombs and around the Eiffel Tower. This was one hip kid back in the 1970s.
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Style Bites

9 choices for summertime fashion

By Janet Smith, Luisa Rino, and Guy Babineau
Crocodile toes The tennis-inspired Lacoste brand, famous for decades for its crocodile logo-often mistaken for an alligator-polo and tennis shirts, has just launched a fresh new line of men's shoes. The cute little critter imprints the Vert collection, now available at Holt Renfrew Pacific Centre. Vert comes in three styles: Stroll, Amble, and Mosey.
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Streetwise

Fashion is elemental for fresh Manganese

By Luisa Rino
It's right after graduation and you've still got that glow from peaking on your final project. Your fashion presentation was a success, you've made great friends and allies, and even found a future business partner. Then you are invited to participate in the city's fashion week as a guest in the Up and Comers section of the event. What could come next? That's when the call arrives. It's the Bay and they want to see your line.
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