Folio.YVR ☆ Issue 40 ☆ March 2026 ☆ Luxury Lifestyle Magazine ☆ Vancouver, BC

folio.yvr

ISSUE #40

M A RCH 2026

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K A YA K ING M A NGROVES | Baj a Ex peditions

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WELCOM E TO ISSUE # 40 - M arch 20 26

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF | Publisher's M essage

March arrives on the West Coast with the

generosity of longer days, returning light,

and the distinct sense that the city is

remembering itself.

Issue 40 of Folio.YVR carries that same spirit:

full, varied, and deeply rooted in the lives,

spaces, and stories that define us.

Art anchors this issue throughout, with works

by Peter Aspell (1918?20 0 4) courtesy of

Gallery Jones woven across these pages.

Controversial, defiant, and incapable of

compromise, Aspell forged a primitive

expressionist style that was entirely his own ?

one that pushed boldly against the boundaries

of gender and identity long before those

conversations entered the mainstream. His

surreal aesthetic, iconic subjects, and

evocative use of colour gave form to the full

spectrum of human experience, rendered with

equal parts provocation and compassion. His

legacy endures.

Our feature stories span the breadth of what

makes Vancouver and BC so singular.

Jesse Jonathon Haw es and Triet Duong open

their world at M arché M on Pitou in Fairview

? a business born of partnership, precision,

and a quietly radical commitment to doing

things their own way. Ola Volo takes us inside

her practice: the murals, the folk art lineage,

the commercial commissions, and the

forthcoming solo exhibition that continues to

expand her reach far beyond these borders.

The Vancouver Art Gallery reminds us why

civic cultural institutions matter, and why this

one in particular continues to shape how we

see ourselves.

The Geary House offers a study in

architectural restraint and considered living,

while the Pan Pacific Hotel and Damara Day

Spa represent the finest in urban hospitality

and restorative luxury. From M ontréal,

M atières Fécales arrives with a perspective on

fashion that is confrontational, conceptual, and

entirely its own.

Adventure calls in two directions this issue. Our

Baja Expedition traces a coastline that

rewards the curious, while The Solo Travel

Collection founder N adine Paulo leads us into

the Finnish wilderness on a N orthern Lights

expedition ? luminous, singular, and entirely

worth the journey.

In CELEBRATE, we turn first to Liting Chan ?

her journey, her vision, and the remarkable

path that led her to become one of the city's

most sought-after event creators. Her

Paradise Events Presents series continues

with the wedding of Linda and Jared ?

a celebration as considered and beautiful as

the people at its centre.

Our luscious cover is ' 40 Oranges' by

Gathie Falk from the Vancouver Art Gallery's

spring exhibition.

As we mark this fortieth issue, gratitude goes to

every reader who has made Folio.YVR part of

how they experience this extraordinary

province.

Helen Siwak

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K A K SLA UTTA NEN SA NTA RESORT BRIDGE | Finland

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TABLE OF CON TEN TS

HELEN SIWAK, EIC | PUBLISHER' S M ESSAGE

JESSE JON ATHON HAWES X TRIET DUON G

LITIN G CHAN : CREATOR OF DREAM S

OLA VOLO: THE WALLS THAT CARRY HER WORLD

VAG: HIGHLIGHTS FROM THE COLLECTION

CELEBRATE: PARADISE EVEN TS PRESEN TS: LIN DA & JARED

THE GEARY HOUSE: A HISTORIC HOM E

PAN PACIFIC VAN COUVER: THE ART OF STAYIN G IN

DAM ARA DAY SPA: BETWEEN THE ROM AN ARCHES

M ATIÈRES FÉCALES: THE ON ES WHO REWROTE THE RULES

BAJA EXPEDIATION S x SAN IGN ACIO LAGOON

THE SOLO TRAVEL COLLECTION : FIN LAN D' S N ORTHERN LIGHTS

M ASTHEAD & PHOTOCREDITS

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'THE SEA TED GENERA L' | Peter A spell | Gallery Jones

p e r s o n a l i t i e s

009

JESSE

JONATHON

HAWES

&

TRI ET

DUONG

MARCHÉ MON PI TOU

011

M A RCHE M ON PITOU | Vancouver, BC

J & T

Before there was a café, there was a

farmers market tent. Before that, a flight

and a fruit crumble. And before any of it,

there was a grandmother named

Gabrielle who moved through a

kitchen the way some people move

through a room full of friends ? with

warmth so instinctive it left a mark on

everyone nearby.

Jesse Jonathon Haw es carries that

inheritance with him everywhere he goes,

and nowhere more visibly than at

M arché M on Pitou, the bakery and

specialty food store he co-founded with

his partner, Triet Duong, in the Fairview

neighbourhood of Vancouver in 20 21.

The café did not arrive quietly. It arrived in

the middle of a pandemic winter, with a

vision, a team of believers, and two English

bulldogs named Ru and Jellybean waiting

in the wings.

What followed was something that no

business plan could have fully anticipated:

a community did not simply discover

Mon Pitou. It adopted it.

TWO VERY DIFFEREN T ROADS

Triet Duong grew up inside a grocery store.

For twenty years, his parents ran one in

East Vancouver, and the rhythms of that

life ? the early mornings, the vendor

relationships, the understanding that a

neighbourhood business is also a form of

service ? settled into him long before he

could name it.

He went on to complete a degree in

Health Sciences, then built a career in

biotech recruiting, eventually working

across global projects touching customer

experience, sales, marketing, finance,

and IT. He is, by every measure, someone

who knows how systems work and

why they matter.

s p i r i t s

013

Jesse?s path looked nothing like that. He

spent years as a flight attendant, learning

to read a room in seconds, to anticipate

what someone needed before they asked,

and to understand that a few moments of

genuine warmth could shift a person?s

entire day.

He is, in the most precise sense of the

phrase, a bon vivant ? someone who

does not simply enjoy the pleasures of a

well-lived life, but who actively constructs

them for the people around him.

That these two found each other, and then

found Mon Pitou, feels less like

coincidence and more like logic.

THE SOUL OF THE PLACE

Walk into Marché Mon Pitou on a

weekday morning and the difference is

immediate. The music is considered. The

greeting is real.

The shelves hold products that Jesse and

Triet have personally loved ? many of

them discovered on their frequent trips to

France, brought back not as novelties but

as memories made available to anyone

willing to seek them out.

015

The Angelina hot chocolate from

Rue de Rivoli. The Alziari olive oil. The

Les Terres Blanches fleur de sel. Each

one chosen because it passed a simple

test: they would not sell what they would

not genuinely enjoy themselves.

?At its core, this slogan is a way of living

for us,? they have said of the café?s

guiding philosophy of celebrating

everyday indulgences. ?It?s about finding

small, meaningful moments of joy in the

everyday.? That is not marketing

language. It is, in practice, the

operating principle of the place ?

present in the music selection, the care

behind every pastry, the way a team

member remembers not just your order

but your name, your week, the thing you

mentioned last Tuesday.

The M on Pitou Cookie Collection ?

Classic Chocolate Chip, Double Dark

Chocolate, Cranberry Dark Chocolate,

Peanut Butter, and the gluten-free

Almond Dark Chocolate ? captures this

perfectly. It is unpretentious, generous,

and deeply considered.

017

Jesse is, after all, someone whose

personality lends itself naturally to sitting

down with a cookie at any hour, no

justification required. Triet keeps dough

in the freezer for last-minute guests. The

collection did not emerge from a gap in

the market. It emerged from who they

actually are.

JESSE AT THE TABLE

Some hosts invite people over.

Jesse Jonathon Haw es constructs an

experience and then steps back so

everyone else can inhabit it fully.

Through his blog and his Instagram

account, @jonathonhaw es, he shares

what he calls ?a vision of living well.? How

to set a table, how to build a mocktail

worth lingering over, how to spend a

weekend in Paris, how to make a home

feel like somewhere worth returning to.

?I?ve always believed that the way we live

at home is deeply connected to how we

welcome people anywhere,? he has said,

?whether it?s around a dinner table or

across a café counter.?

The blog, the dinners, the catering ? they

are not separate endeavours. They are

the same philosophy expressed in

different rooms.

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Jesse navigates between them with ease,

drawing people in not through spectacle but

through the kind of considered warmth that

makes guests feel they were the ones being

looked forward to.

It is a quality that traces directly back to

Gabrielle. Not through a recipe card ? Jesse

has acknowledged he does not have one ?

but through something less tangible and more

durable. A standard.

A question he returns to often: how do I want

people to feel when they are here?

TRIET FIN DS HIS FOOTIN G

For Triet Duong, Mon Pitou represents a world

that is, on the surface, far removed from

biotech and backend systems and data

integrity protocols. And yet he has never been

more at home.

The discipline his former career demanded ?

the documentation, the organization, the trust

in well-built foundations ? transferred

seamlessly into a hospitality context that most

people would find overwhelming.

He set up the café?s POS system the night

before opening, alone, after the provider

missed the training call.

He built a Google Drive system with the kind

of structural clarity usually reserved for

pharmaceutical companies.

He oversees the full employee lifecycle with

the same care he would give to a complex

global project.

What surprises people, perhaps, is how

naturally the warmth came too. Triet is not

performing comfort. He grew up watching his

parents build something real inside a

community, day after day, and he absorbed

the lesson that showing up consistently is its

own form of generosity.

Six years into Mon Pitou, he and Jesse count

many of their regulars among their closest

friends. That is not an accident. It is the

result of a great deal of quiet, steady,

deliberate presence.

RU AN D JELLYBEAN

No account of Mon Pitou is complete without

Ru and Jellybean.

The English bulldogs are the café?s mascots, its

social media constants, and the unofficial

centrepiece of a small but devoted

community of bulldog lovers who have found

one another through the shop.

The name Mon Pitou ? which translates as

?my pooch? but also means ?my love,? or ?my

munchkin? ? was Jesse?s childhood nickname,

given to him by Gabrielle. Pairing it with the

dogs felt not just fitting but inevitable.

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?They also serve as a gentle reminder not

to take ourselves too seriously,? Jesse and

Triet have said, ?which is important when

you?re running a small business and

everything can feel urgent all the time.?

On social media, the bulldogs appear with

the same frequency as the pastries ?

which is to say, often, and always to great

effect.

They have become the emotional

shorthand for everything Mon Pitou

represents: warmth, humour, a refusal to be

precious, and an abiding commitment to

the people and creatures you love most.

WHAT THEY ARE BUILDIN G

What Jesse and Triet have constructed in

Fairview is not simply a café. It is a place

that has woven itself into the fabric of

people?s days, their routines, their comfort.

Neighbours contribute to the shop?s

seasonal presence in ways that feel

organic and shared. Regulars receive soup

when they are unwell. New parents find

meals at their door. Community giveback,

as they understand it, is not a programme

or a campaign. It is presence ? open,

consistent, and genuinely glad to see

whoever walks through the door.

They are, in the truest sense, the warm and

aromatic centre of their corner of this city.

And they show absolutely no signs of

stepping back from it.

M arche?M on Pitou

# 1387 West 7th Avenue

Vancouver, BC

023

LI TI NG

CHAN

CREATOR

OF

DREAMS

TALLU

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LITING CHA N | Paradise Events Inc. | Vancouver, BC

LThere

are event designers who execute

a brief, and then there are those

who rewrite what a brief can mean.

Liting Chan belongs firmly to the second

category.

As the passionate creative force behind

Paradise Events ? one of Canada's most

distinguished luxury event and wedding

design studios ? Chan has spent a

decade building something that defies

the transactional logic of her industry.

What she has created is not simply a

portfolio. It is a body of work.

Chan joined Paradise Events in 20 16, and

the evolution that followed was neither

accidental nor incremental.

Under her direction, the company shed its

rental-based model and rebuilt itself as a

fully integrated creative studio, uniting

planning, design, décor, and floral design

under a single roof.

"That shift allowed us to move beyond

fragmented execution and start

designing weddings as complete,

immersive experiences," she says. "With

everything developed collaboratively

in-house, we ensure a seamless flow

across every layer, with no detail left

behind."

Every layer flows from the same creative

intelligence.

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THE STAN DARD OF EXCELLEN CE

20 20 marked a public affirmation

of what Chan's peers had long

understood: Paradise Events was

named Canada' s Top Wedding

Florist by Weddingbells.

With over 50 0 weddings and

events to her name, Chan has

cultivated a design signature that

is immediately recognizable ?

towering floral installations,

dramatic hanging elements,

custom-built environments ? yet

never repetitive.

She speaks of her signature not as

a fixed style, but as a standard of

creativity and execution, always

adapted to the story being told.

She does not believe in providing

quotes before meeting clients.

Design begins with people.

"It's not just about logistics, rentals,

floor plan," Chan explains. "It's

about understanding who they are,

what they value, and how they

want to feel on their wedding day.

Only after that do we begin

designing."

It is a process that is as much about

listening as it is about vision.

029

GRACE UN DER PRESSURE

To lead at the level Chan operates requires

more than creative brilliance. She is candid

about the demands: the overnight setups, the

early mornings, the unwavering pressure of

delivering perfection in real time.

"This industry demands more than talent," she

says. "It requires discipline, resilience, and an

incredible amount of dedication. There are

sleepless nights, overnight setups, early

mornings, missed holidays. It's a lifestyle, not

just a job."

What defines her at this level is the ability to

stay grounded, think clearly, and solve

problems as they arise. In an industry where

something will always shift, composure is not a

trait ? it is a skill, cultivated through years of

refusal to be undone by the unexpected.

Her work extends well beyond the bridal

world. Luxury brands including Holt Renfrew

and Chopard have engaged Paradise Events

for high-profile corporate productions, and

that rigour has sharpened her instinct for what

each moment within a celebration is meant to

evoke ? how guests feel, what they

remember, how an experience unfolds from

beginning to end. Corporate clarity has

made her wedding work more precise.

Wedding emotion has made her corporate

work more resonant.

BUILDIN G IN BRITISH COLUM BIA

British Columbia offers Chan a stage of

extraordinary range. From the architectural

grandeur of Hycroft M anor to the refined

elegance of the Fairmont Pacific Rim, she

approaches each venue as a collaborator

rather than a canvas.

Every space has its own character, and

before a single element is sourced, she studies

its scale, its textures, and the way light moves

through it.

"I strongly believe in creating harmony and

balance with the venue," she says. "Every

space has its own character, and there's

always a reason why a couple is drawn to a

particular venue. Our role is to respect that

choice and build from it, not override it."

It is this reverence for place, coupled with

BC's remarkable cultural diversity, that informs

the Paradise Events Presents series featured in

Folio.YVR's CELEBRATE section. Chan sees the

platform as both a creative showcase and a

message of possibility.

"We wanted to have the message to them:

they can dream, and we can make it happen

and bring it to life," she says. "So we can see

more luxury and beautiful weddings."

Couples across the province dream of

something meaningful and singular. She wants

them to know it is within reach.

A DECADE IN , A WORLD AHEAD

Chan marks her tenth year in the industry not

with complacency, but with a beginner's

curiosity ? carrying every hard-won lesson

forward while approaching the next chapter

with renewed passion. The hallmark of

someone who has built something lasting, and

has no desire to stop building.

In her own words: the work is not about how it

looks. It is about how it feels ? intentionally,

yet effortlessly. That distinction is everything.

031

OLA VOLO

The

Wal l s

That

Car r y

Her

Wor l d

TALLU

033

OLA VOLO | Vancouver & Buildings Beyond

OA

wall for women. Painted for peace.

At the corner of Burrard Street and

M elville Avenue in downtown

Vancouver, a queen rises. She does not

demand attention so much as draw it ?

the way certain presences do, quietly

and then all at once.

She is nearly 13 metres tall, crowned

and ornamented in the visual language

of Central Asian folk tradition, her

gaze turned not inward but outward,

toward something that has not yet

arrived but is already on its way. She

holds a rose. She holds her ground.

Around her, symbols of bravery and

transformation unfurl in colour that

pulses against the concrete face of the

Hyatt Regency Hotel, visible to

thousands of people who pass beneath

her every single day ? most of them

never knowing she was painted in 20 21

as an act of advocacy.

The mural was commissioned by the

YWCA to raise awareness of

gender-based violence, to connect

women in crisis to resources, and to

offer something that policy documents

and pamphlets cannot: the dignity of

being seen.

To execute it, the YWCA called on

Ola Volo, an artist who lives between

Vancouver and M ontreal, whose work

had by then already climbed building

facades across Canada and Europe,

graced the hand-painted surfaces of

Louis Vuitton trunks, and inside over a

dozen Starbucks in N orth America

including Disneyland.

She was the right artist. She was, in

many ways, the only artist.

035

BEFORE WORDS

Volo grew up in Kazakhstan surrounded by

folklore, ornament, and a visual culture that

lived in the body before it was ever named.

She carried those stories with her when she

immigrated to Canada, carried them through

her studies at Emily Carr University of Art +

Design in Vancouver, and has carried them

onto every wall she has painted since. They

are not deployed as decoration or ethnic

signifier. They are, as she describes it, an

emotional language ? one that travels across

borders because it was never anchored to a

single location to begin with.

?My work is rooted in my own visual memory,?

she says. ?For me, it is less about illustrating my

heritage literally and more about bringing its

emotional language into conversation with a

place. The themes I return to ? beauty,

resilience, femininity, nature, transformation,

community ? are deeply personal to me, but

also universal.?

Emily Carr gave her a critical framework to

match the instincts she already possessed. But

she is clear about the limits of formal

education.

?There were things I carried with me that no

formal education could really give me. My

sense of ornament, symbolism, and narrative

came from much earlier ? from childhood,

from immigration, memory, and the visual

culture that surrounded me before I even had

language for it. School helped me refine my

voice, but the deeper pulse of the work came

from lived experience.?

037

THE SCALE OF IT

There is a paradox at the centre of

Volo?s mural practice: the larger the

work, the more intimate it feels. Her

figures do not recede into scale. They

advance.

Stand beneath the YWCA queen on

Burrard Street and the detail holds ?

the beadwork, the birds, the ornamental

halo of pattern radiating around her

crown. Drive past at speed and the

silhouette is unmistakable. Both

distances are true at once.

?Even when I am working at a massive

scale, I still want the piece to feel

close,? she explains. ?I want someone to

be able to take it in from blocks away,

but also to discover smaller moments,

symbols, and relationships when they

stand right in front of it. That layered

experience is really important to me.?

The physical reality of working at

building scale is its own kind of

reckoning. Weather, lifts, changing light,

the architecture interrupting the

composition ? all of it becomes part of

the creative process.

?Some days it even feels a bit

performative,? she admits. What remains

constant is the intention underneath:

that the work, once installed, will live

with people. Will age with a

neighbourhood. Will ask something of

those who pass it every morning without

quite knowing why.

039

WITHOUT BORDERS

Volo?s commercial work carries the same

authorial weight as her public murals. The

hand-painted Louis Vuitton trunks ? each

one a small world of mythological

creatures and celestial landscapes

rendered in her unmistakable palette

? feel less like branded objects than

like artefacts.

An album cover rendered in deep red and

black ink, figures coiling through symbolic

narrative, reads like the cover of a book

that has not yet been written. These are

not commissions that asked her to

become something else. They are

commissions that sought her out precisely

because of what she already was.

?The best collaborations happen when a

client is drawn to my visual language

because they genuinely connect with it,?

she says, ?not because they want to

reshape it into something

unrecognizable.?

She names trust as the deciding factor.

?Interestingly, some of the biggest brands

I have worked with have been some of the

easiest because there was a real sense of

trust. That said, getting to that point was

a learning curve. Over the years, I have

learned how important it is to ask the

right questions during the briefing stage

and to brainstorm together early on.?

041

There is a line, and she knows exactly

where it falls. ?If the work starts losing its

soul, becomes overly diluted,

over-directed, or disconnected from what I

actually do ? that is when it becomes

compromise. And usually when I lose the

spark.?

WHAT THE WALL HOLDS

Back on Burrard Street, the queen endures.

She has weathered Vancouver rain and low

winter light. She has been photographed

by tourists who did not know her name and

walked past by commuters who have

stopped seeing her entirely ? until one

day, they do not. That is the nature of

public art when it is made with this kind of

care. It waits. It holds. It asks its question

again.

The YWCA mural was one of the most

challenging projects Volo has undertaken.

?Through that project, I not only learned a

lot from the organization, but also had the

chance to connect with women who were

directly part of it. We painted together,

they shared their stories with me, and that

was incredibly moving.? The final work

went through many rounds of revision to

ensure it carried both empowerment and

education. What arrived on the wall was

not a beautiful gesture. It was an answer.

?For me, a successful outcome is not just

that the piece is visually strong,? she

reflects. ?It is that people feel seen in it. It

is that the artwork opens conversation,

creates dignity, and leaves behind a sense

of care rather than just branding. Aesthetic

power matters, but it has to serve

something deeper.?

Up on that concrete face, the queen looks

toward the horizon and she will keep

looking long after the scaffolding is gone,

long after the city has changed around her

? and long after the hand that painted

her has moved on to the next wall,

the next story, the next surface that

needed a voice.

That next chapter arrives this fall, when

Volo opens a solo gallery exhibition in

Calgary. No client brief. No brand

parameters. No architecture to negotiate.

Just the work, and the questions she has

been sitting with. ?What is new here? What

have I learned in the past few years? How

does femininity shift after becoming a

mother? What changes when no client is

involved at all?? She describes the process

as exciting, but does not romanticize it. ?It

has been honestly much harder than

commissioned work.?

It is a different kind of pressure ? the kind

that has no external structure to push

against, no deadline born of someone

else?s campaign cycle.

The gallery show asks her to account for

her own evolution, to look at what the

visual dictionary she has spent years

building actually says now, and whether it

has grown somewhere new.

For an artist whose work has always

carried the weight of transformation, that

is perhaps the most fitting question of all.

043

'TYROM ECHA NIQUE' | Peter A spell | Gallery Jones

a r t s & c u l t u r e

045

VANCOUVER

ART

GALLERY

Hi ghl i ght s

f r om t he

Col l ect i on

FUTURE

PROOF

CREATI VES

047

VA NCOUVER A RT GA LLERY | 750 Hornby Street

V

A

G

What do a 19th- century Haida totem

pole, an Andy Warhol silkscreen, and

a super-8 film shot in 1984 have in

common? They all belong to you ? or

rather, to all of us. And right now, the

Vancouver Art Gallery is making that

shared inheritance more visible, more

alive, and more worth your time than

ever before.

049

Opening this spring, Highlights from

the Collection is the Gallery's most

ambitious presentation of its

permanent holdings in recent memory.

Drawn from a collection of more than

13,0 0 0 artworks, the exhibition brings

together over 20 0 w orks by more than

10 0 artists across a newly dedicated

floor ? a floor built specifically to give

the collection the room it has long

deserved. This is not a rotating guest

show or a borrowed blockbuster. It is

the Gallery opening its own treasure

chest, wide, and inviting the city

in to look.

The curatorial vision behind the

exhibition is both elegant and

quietly radical.

Rather than simply lining works on

white walls in chronological order, the

curatorial team ? led by Senior

Curator and Interim Director of

Collections Diana Freundl ? has

designed environments that echo the

moment each artwork was made.

Visitors move through spaces that shift

and change around them: a salon-style

hang here, the warm intimacy of a

modernist home there, then suddenly

the scrappy energy of an artist-run

centre, before arriving in the cool

clarity of a contemporary gallery.

051

The effect is immersive in the best possible

way. You are not just looking at art history.

You are stepping into it.

The journey begins with an

acknowledgment that feels both grounding

and necessary ? the central, enduring

place of Indigenous art in this region.

Nineteenth-century Haida totem poles,

masks, and silver jewellery anchor the

exhibition's opening, reminding visitors that

what we call a "collection" rests on a much

older and deeper cultural foundation.

From there, the story unfolds with

remarkable range.

Early Collecting traces the Gallery's

origins through the work of Canadian

photographer William N otman and

Group of Seven painter Law ren Harris,

while Emily Carr's luminous, modernist

depictions of Pacific N orthw est forests

remind us why her vision of this place

still resonates so stubbornly and so

beautifully today.

M odernisms on the West Coast opens

into Vancouver's postwar love affair

with abstraction, with striking works by

BC Binning, Rita Letendre, and

Jack Shadbolt capturing the restless

creative energy of that era.

The exhibition does not shy away from

fun, either. Pop & Prints gathers

Roy Lichtenstein and Robert

Rauschenberg alongside Gathie Falk and

Dan Flavin, reveling in the irreverence and

invention of consumer-culture art.

Claes Oldenburg' s Saw (Hard Version) ?

commissioned for a 1969 Gallery exhibition

? stands as a wonderfully strange

monument to that decade's appetite for

bold experimentation.

Fred Herzog's street photography offers

something more tender: vivid, textured

images of Vancouver's everyday life that

feel like love letters to a city that no longer

quite exists.

Then things get stranger, and stranger is

good. Video & Performance transforms the

Rotunda with documentation and video

works from Paul Wong, Robert Smithson,

and N am June Paik ? artists who

challenged what a gallery could even be.

This section reminds visitors that the

Vancouver Art Gallery has long been a

venue for the genuinely experimental, not

just the safely canonical.

The exhibition closes with

Photoconceptualism and Contemporary

Collecting, celebrating the 1980 s as a

turning point for the institution, and

showcasing the extraordinary depth of

Vancouver's photo-based art scene.

M arian Penner Bancroft, Dana Claxton,

Stan Douglas, Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, and

Yin- me Yoon appear alongside

international heavyweights Thomas Ruff

and Cindy Sherman. More than 40 recent

acquisitions are woven throughout.

053

Among them are Elizabeth M cIntosh's vivid

Work Out (20 23) and Ellen Pau's quietly

historic Glove (1984) ? proof that the

collection is not a finished thing but a living,

growing one.

Interim Co- CEO and Curator at Large

Eva Respini describes the Gallery as "the

cultural memory keeper of the province,"

and walking through this exhibition, that

phrase carries genuine weight. These works

hold legacies, voices, and creative

expressions that have shaped how British

Columbians see themselves and their

landscape. That is not a small thing to put

on a single floor. And yet, somehow, it feels

just right.

To coincide with the exhibition, the Gallery

is releasing a richly illustrated hardcover

publication ? the most comprehensive

record of the collection to date, featuring

catalogue entries and stories behind 110

works by current and former curators. It is

the kind of book that earns a permanent

spot on a shelf.

So the next time the city feels loud, fast, and

a little relentless ? and it will ? consider

stepping off the current and into the

Gallery. Take the stairs slowly. Let the rooms

change around you. There is an entire world

in there waiting, patient and extraordinary,

built from 13,0 0 0 acts of preservation,

curiosity, and care. That world belongs to

you. It would be a shame not to visit.

Vancouver Art Gallery

750 Hornby Street

Vancouver, BC

055

'THE BRIDE' | Peter A spell | Gallery Jones

c e l e b r a t e

057

CELEBRATE

PARADI SE

EVENTS

PRESENTS

Li nda

&

Jar ed

059

PA RA DISE EVENTS PRESENTS | Sw aneset Bay

L & J

A M ay of Blossoms, Light,

and Forever at Sw aneset Bay

There are weddings that mark a date on a

calendar, and there are weddings that

mark something deeper ? a turning point,

a beginning so fully realized that the

memory of it stays with you long after the

last dance. Linda and Jared?s celebration

at Sw aneset Bay Resort & Country Club

on a luminous day in M ay was, without

question, the latter.

The story began in the summer of 20 14,

when Jared made his way to Toronto,

Ontario on a boys?trip and found himself

in the company of a woman who would, a

decade later, stand across from him

beneath an arch of fresh florals and crystal

light. That first meeting across the country

became the thread from which everything

else was woven.

A CHÂTEAU BEYON D THE CITY

Approximately an hour east of downtown

Vancouver, Swaneset Bay occupies a world

unto itself. Its château-like architecture

rises against a backdrop of mountain

ranges and open sky, offering the feeling

of having slipped away ? not far, but far

enough.

For Linda and Jared, that was precisely the

draw. Close enough for their 150 guests

travelling from across the country, yet

removed enough to feel like a true retreat

from the familiar. They had reserved the

venue eighteen months in advance to

secure this particular date, this particular

place. The foresight was worth every

moment of the wait.

061

The ballroom, defined by its tall ceilings and

oversized windows, was alive with natural

light from the moment guests arrived. Through

the glass, a perfectly manicured golf course

stretched into the distance, framed by

mountains and the kind of open blue sky that

British Columbia reserves for days that

deserve it most.

ALL WHITE, ALL FLORAL

Paradise Events Inc. translated the couple?s

vision ? all white, elegant, abundant ? into

an environment of extraordinary refinement.

Thousands of hydrangeas, roses, orchids, and

delphiniums filled the space in cascading

white abundance. A grand round floral arch,

constructed from fresh blooms, orchids, and

cascading crystals, anchored the ceremony

and served as the focal point around which

the day was built.

Silver and crystal ran as a through line across

every surface: in the linens, the tableware, the

lighting design, and the lounge furniture, all

custom configured for the occasion. The

stationery, designed by Emily Leung and

printed by Violet Grey Creative, carried a

monogram that appeared again and again

throughout the evening ? on the seating

chart by M aking M emories Stationery, on the

custom bar, and woven into the visual identity

of the entire celebration.

Every detail was designed once and

considered twice.

DRESSED IN FOREVER

Linda arrived in a bridal gown by Leah da

Gloria, sourced through Pow der Bride, her

feet in Stuart Weitzman, her veil from Agápe.

Her wrist carried a Rolex.

The ensemble was precise and quietly

extraordinary ? the kind of bridal look that

photographs as poetry and reads, in person,

as complete.

Jared wore Tom Ford formalwear,

his shirt buttons and wedding band from

David Yurman, his cufflinks from Holt Renfrew,

and a Rolex on his wrist to mirror hers. His

shoes were Ferragamo. Together, they were a

study in coordinated elegance ? two people

who understood that the way you dress for the

most significant moment of your life is itself a

form of devotion.

The bridesmaids and maid of honour wore

gowns from Love N ookie, while makeup artist

Brittany N ew ton ensured every face in the

bridal party reflected the luminosity of the

day. The couple was chauffeured by Xclusivé

Limos Ltd, arriving and departing in the

manner the occasion demanded.

WHEN THE LIGHT ARRIVED

The morning of the wedding had been grey.

Not overcast in the dramatic sense, but

quietly overcast ? the kind of sky that keeps

its intentions to itself until the moment is right.

When M itchell Clark, the officiant, began to

speak, the sun moved. Slowly, as if following its

own quiet cue, it found the glass panes and

streamed through them, settling across the

room in warm, unhurried light. For Linda and

Jared, standing at the centre of it, the shift

was impossible to ignore. The ceremony ?

already the emotional high point of the day ?

became something more. Surreal, still, and

wholly theirs.

It was, by their own account, a dream come

true.

063

RECEPTION , RAISED

As the evening unfolded, the

reception moved from the tender to

the celebratory. The customized bar

programme, cocktail menu, and

lounge furniture configuration by

Paradise Events created an

atmosphere that felt both intimate

and grand ? guests moving freely

through spaces designed to be

experienced together.

The wedding cake, crafted by

M omo Chen Cakes, held its place as

a centrepiece of quiet artistry. A

black-and-white portrait station by

The N ear and Dear offered guests a

memento that would outlast the

evening. Harpist Elisa Thorn

provided a live musical thread

throughout, while the dance floor ?

produced and helmed by Paradise

Events?in-house DJ ? carried the

celebration forward into the night.

Cinematography was captured by

Vshine Studio, and photography by

N omo Simply Sw eet Photography,

ensuring that every moment ? the

light through the glass, the flowers at

their fullest, the faces mid-laughter ?

was preserved with the care it so

rightlfully deserved.

065

FIREWORKS OVER SWAN ESET

When the evening sky had darkened fully

and the mountains had receded to

silhouette, Celebration Fireworks lit the

night above Swaneset Bay. It was the

moment guests would speak about for

weeks afterward ? the collective inhale,

the light expanding overhead, the sense

that a day already extraordinary had

found a way to exceed itself.

Linda and Jared stood together beneath it,

as they had stood beneath the sunlight

hours before. Different light, same

certainty.

The celebration ? ceremony, reception,

after-party ? was carried from first to last

by the full-service vision of Paradise Events

Inc., whose planning, décor, floral design,

draping, lighting, AV, linens, tableware,

dance floor production, and DJ delivery

produced an event of seamless, layered

beauty. To execute thousands of fresh

florals, full furniture rentals, and precisely

timed fireworks within a compressed

morning load-in is no small achievement.

It is, in fact, what distinguishes exceptional

production from the merely good.

Linda and Jared are married. The flowers

have been pressed, the fireworks have

faded, and the photographs are being

assembled into an archive of a day that

earned its place in memory. But the light

that came through those windows at

Swaneset Bay ? that still lingers.

067

THE DREAM TEAM

Wedding Planner, Decor, Florals

Paradise Events Inc.

Photography

N omo Simply Sw eet Photography

Venue and Catering

Sw aneset Bay Resort

& Country Club

Bridal Gown

Leah da Gloria via Pow der Bride

Bridal Shoes

Stuart Weitzman

Groom?s Formalwear

Tom Ford

Groom?s Shoes

Ferragamo

Wedding Cake

M omo Chen Cakes

Fireworks

Celebration Firew orks

Cinematography

Vshine Studio

069

'LE DA UPHIN GRIS' | Peter A spell | Gallery Jones

r e a l e s t a t e

071

THE

GEARY

HOUSE

118

Year s

of

Hi st or y

073

933 BROUGHTON STREET | West End, Vancouver

9

3

3

B R O U G H T O N

S T R E E T

075

The click of the iron gate

is the first thing.

Small, deliberate, precise ? a sound

that signals, even before the path

unfolds before you, that what lies

ahead belongs to a different order of

things entirely. The stone pillars stand

as quiet sentinels, and beyond them,

framed by mature trees and the

deep blue of a West End evening,

The Geary House glows. Built in 190 8

for William J. Geary, this

two-and-a-half-storey Colonial

Revival and Edw ardian residence

has stood on Broughton Street for

over a century ? and it has never

looked more alive.

The approach matters here. The wide

front porch, supported by triple

square columns, invites a pause

before entry, a moment to register

the deep red heritage shingle

cladding, the pyramidal hipped roof,

the dormers catching the last of the

light. Teragon Developments,

working in close collaboration with

Flora Di M enna Designs, has restored

this landmark with a devotion that

goes well beyond the cosmetic. Every

detail has been considered in

relation to every other detail,

and the result is a home that wears

its 118 years with extraordinary

confidence and grace.

077

Step through the original-style front

door and the foyer announces itself

immediately. A geometric mosaic tile

floor ? black, white, and cream ?

draws the eye inward, while above, a

coffered ceiling crowned by a

sculptural globe pendant light

establishes the register of the entire

home: heritage bones, refined

contemporary spirit.

Built-in cabinetry with brass

hardware lines one wall, topped in

dark marble. Through the arched

opening ahead, the living room opens

in full, and it is here that the scale of

The Geary House first reveals itself.

The principal living space is

remarkable. Soaring coffered ceilings

? their geometric patterning both

architectural and deeply personal ?

preside over a room that manages to

feel both grand and genuinely

livable. A marble fireplace anchors

the far wall, flanked by panelled

wainscoting that runs the full

perimeter.

Designer lighting descends in warm

clusters of gold and glass. The space

flows without interruption toward the

dining room beyond, where a crystal

chandelier catches the light above

a table set for those who understand

that a good meal deserves a

worthy room.

079

To the right of the staircase, the

kitchen is a study in disciplined

beauty. Custom cabinetry in a

considered blue-grey, fitted with

brass hardware and lit from within,

lines the walls. The backsplash ? a

hand-painted geometric tile

imported from Italy ? gives the room

its personality, simultaneously

period-appropriate and entirely of

the present moment. Thermador

appliances sit flush within the

cabinetry, professional-grade and

quietly assured. This is a kitchen for

someone who cooks with intention,

who understands that the tools

and the setting are as important as

the ingredients.

The staircase deserves its own

contemplation. Dark hardwood

treads, white-painted turned

balusters, a square newel post at the

base ? it rises toward the upper

floors with the confidence of a

well-told sentence. At the landing,

light pours in from an original-style

multi-pane window, and through it,

the green canopy of the West End

stretches away toward English Bay.

081

The five bedrooms are arranged across

the upper floors with generosity and

privacy in mind.

The primary suites offer ensuites of

notable refinement: Kohler' s Empress

Bouquet and Botanical Study

undermount sinks, polished brass

fittings, Italian porcelain tile carried

floor to ceiling. The bathrooms

throughout the house display a

consistent design vocabulary ?

graphic tile, gold hardware, white

subway tile wainscoting ? that

manages to feel both timeless and

entirely current. One powder room, in

particular, with its matte-black fixtures,

gold-framed mirror, and boldly

patterned tile wrapping every surface,

delivers the small, perfect shock of

something genuinely daring.

At 376 square metres across a

13.1- by- 20 .1- metre lot, with a finished

basement, the home offers five

bedrooms and six bathrooms ?

a footprint substantial enough for

multiple generations, visiting collectors,

or simply a life that requires room to

expand.

083

And then, at last, the back of the

house ? the stone-walled patio that

closes this particular story as all good

stories should: with stillness and

satisfaction.

Enclosed, private, framed by the

mature landscape of one of

Vancouver's most quietly

extraordinary streets, this outdoor

space offers something increasingly

rare in the urban core:

genuine seclusion.

English Bay is a short walk away.

Stanley Park begins just blocks north.

Robson Street, with its galleries and

restaurants, is moments in any

direction.

The Geary House is not simply a

property.

085

It is a position ? a statement about

what one values, what one wishes to

preserve, and how one chooses to

inhabit the world.

For the collector, the preservationist, or

the individual of discerning taste who

understands that true rarity lies not in

newness but in irreplaceable character,

this address on Broughton Street

represents something Vancouver will not

offer twice.

The gate is w aiting. All one need do is

open it.

The Geary House

933 Broughton Street, Vancouver

M ichelle Raymond

The Re/ M ax Collection

Andrea Jauck

Premier Group Real Estate M arketing

087

'K ING OF ZA NZIBA R' | Peter A spell | Gallery Jones

h o s p i t a l i t y

089

PAN

PACI FI C

VANCOUVER

The Ar t

of

St ayi ng

I n

091

PA N PA CIFIC VA NCOUVER | 999 Canada Place

PSome

hotels offer a room for the night.

Pan Pacific Vancouver offers

something considerably more

considered ? a recalibration.

Perched at the edge of Canada Place

on the Coal Harbour waterfront, its

soaring white sails a landmark on

Vancouver's skyline for four decades,

the Pan Pacific has long occupied a

category of its own. Not simply a place

to sleep, but a place to arrive into.

093

General Manager Bryce Beatty

understands that feeling more

intimately than most. He began his

career here as a bellman in 1993 and

has returned decades later to lead the

property.

"Every time I enter the property I still

get a thrill," he says. "It is both a

privilege and a responsibility to lead

this property that has defined luxury in

Vancouver for decades."

Named one of the Best Hotels in

Canada by the Condé N ast Traveller

Readers' Choice Aw ards 20 25, the

Pan Pacific holds a position on the

global hospitality map built not on a

single exceptional season but on a

sustained standard across forty years

? since opening in 1986 for

Vancouver's World Expo.

THE LOBBY

The lobby does what great hotel

lobbies are supposed to do: it stops

the pace of the day completely.

The atrium soars through multiple

levels, its steel and glass framework

drawing the eye skyward while

harbour light floods in at every angle.

White orchids rise from sculptural stone

vessels. A circular water feature

anchors the centre of the room.

Through the full-height glazing that

faces Coal Harbour, the N orth Shore

M ountains fill the frame ?

snow-capped, unhurried, indifferent to

the city's rhythm below.

Beatty is direct about what makes this

address singular.

095

"Even if you have never been to

Vancouver, if you look at any

postcard, picture, or video of

the city, we are almost certainly

in it."

The hotel does not simply occupy

the waterfront. It interprets it.

WHERE TO REST

The Panoramic Harbour View

accommodations wrap their

curved window walls around an

uninterrupted sweep of Coal

Harbour and the city beyond ?

a living canvas that shifts from

blue-gold in the morning to

amber and indigo by evening

The Residence Suites capture

the North Shore Mountains

through floor-to-ceiling glass, the

peaks snow-capped and close.

Throughout all accommodations,

the beds are exceptional in the

way that only the best hotel beds

manage: crisp white linens,

generous pillows, and a quality of

mattress that produces the

slightly disorienting luxury of not

quite wanting to get up. For a

staycation guest, this is not a

minor detail. It is, in many ways,

the point.

097

099

THE PACIFIC CLUB

The Pacific Club, occupying the upper

three floors, is a boutique experience

nested within the larger hotel ? its own

dedicated check-in, bespoke Italian

detailing, and marble bathrooms setting

a tone that announces itself on arrival.

From the suite window, the theatre of

Coal Harbour plays out in real time:

float planes lifting off the water in

smooth arcs, helicopters tracing the

coastline, seabirds riding the thermals

above the harbour.

Each morning, the Pacific Club Lounge

on Level 23 offers complimentary

breakfast and panoramic views, with

light delicacies, coffee, and

refreshments available throughout the

day alongside a dedicated concierge

team.

DISHES & BUFFET DIN IN G

Coal Harbour Bar, open daily from late

morning through to midnight, carries a

cocktail program developed by the

hotel's in-house mixologists ? thoughtful,

precisely made, and complemented by

a wine and spirits list of genuine depth.

Executive Chef Sean M urray and

Executive Pastry Chef Hans Pirhofer

bring award-winning international

experience to every aspect of the

culinary program.

Oceans 999 Restaurant is a Vancouver

institution. The Saturday Jazz N ight

Dinner Buffet is among the most

pleasurable evenings the city offers.

A live jazz trio positioned against the

full-height harbour glass while the buffet

table celebrates British Columbia's

extraordinary larder: peak-season

produce, Okanagan orchard fruits,

Fraser Valley greens, and creative

plant-forward options executed at a

scale that reflects Chef Murray's

command of the region.

Sunday Brunch follows the same

abundant philosophy, a weekly ritual

with its own loyal local following.

Beyond the weekly calendar,

Oceans 999 anchors the city's most

sought-after festive occasions, from

Chinese N ew Year to year-end

celebrations.

101

THE ROOFTOP

The Pan Pacific's heated saltwater

pool sits open to the sky year-round,

and the view from its deck stops a

swimmer mid-length.

Coal Harbour spreads below, the

North Shore Mountains rise in full

relief, and the city skyline arranges

itself along the southern shore with

the quiet confidence of a place that

knows exactly how fortunate it is.

The saltwater hot tub sits at the

pool's edge, sun loungers line the

terrace, and the combination of

warm water and mountain air

produces a quality of stillness that

no indoor facility can replicate.

The fitness centre, on the Cruise Ship

level, ensures guests whose idea of

renewal runs closer to exertion than

repose are equally well served.

DAM ARA DAY SPA

Below the lobby level, DAM ARA

Day Spa arrived at the Pan Pacific

earlier this year, and the space it

occupies is worth the visit

independent of any treatment

booked.

Roman barrel-vault corridors lit in

amber, textured limestone columns,

cascading water features framed

within stone arches, classical

sculpture at every turn ? the spa

presents itself as a genuine and

unique destination.

103

The full treatment menu covers massage

therapy, advanced facials, Japanese

Head Spa rituals, body treatments, nail

care, and medical aesthetic services, with

complimentary steam room and sauna

access on the day of any booked

treatment.

For the full picture on DAMARA's

treatments and private event spaces, see

our dedicated feature next.

THE SHOPS AT THE PAN PACIFIC

The Shops at the Pan Pacific reward the

guest who moves slowly. Victory Antiques

offers vintage furnishings, luxury designer

bags, and carefully selected clothing and

accessories. Chali- Rosso Art Gallery

specializes in fine art and collectible

editions by masters including Picasso and

Dalí. Ramin & Sons brings quiet authority

to antiques and fine collectibles, while

Sasaki Art Gallery rounds out the corridor

with local art, fashion, and creative works

that reflect the city's evolving cultural

identity. Taken together, they constitute a

genuinely surprising detour that sends

guests home with something no retail

directory could anticipate.

A PERSPECTIVE ON THE CITY

Beatty attributes the hotel's enduring

relevance to something more fundamental

than location.

"What differentiates us is trust," he says.

"For decades, guests have known they can

rely on the Pan Pacific Vancouver for

consistency, professionalism, and heartfelt

service. In a competitive market, that

legacy ? combined with continuous

evolution ? keeps us both relevant and

respected."

His guiding philosophy, instilled throughout

the team, is characteristically direct:

M ake Someone' s Day Every Day.

"A mantra does nothing if we do not have

the training, support, and passion to back

it up. I try to bring this spirit to the hotel

every time I step through the doors."

For Vancouverites who have walked past

those iconic white sails a hundred times

without walking through the doors, the

case for staying is straightforward.

The city looks entirely different from the

23rd floor at dawn ? the harbour below,

the mountains beyond, a jazz trio still

playing somewhere in the memory of the

evening before.

Some hotels offer a room.

This one offers a perspective.

Pan Pacific Vancouver

999 Canada Place

Vancouver, BC

105

DAMARA

DAY SPA

Bet ween

t he

Roman

Ar ches

107

DA M A R DA Y SPA | Pan Pacific Vancouver

DDowntown Vancouver has a remarkable

ability to reward those who know where

to look.

Tucked into the Cruise Ship Level of

Pan Pacific Vancouver, DAM ARA Day

Spa exists quietly on the waterfront like

a secret that the most self-aware

women in this city have already

discovered.

For those who live downtown, work

downtown, or are visiting and find

themselves craving a genuine pause

between the restaurant reservations

and the itinerary, DAMARA is precisely

that: a place where the outside world

simply stops.

109

The interiors alone are worth the visit.

Step through the entrance and the

architecture announces something

altogether different from the standard

spa aesthetic of pale neutrals and

ambient playlists.

Warmth-bathed Roman arches line a

barrel-vaulted corridor, its amber-lit

brick drawing you forward past a

classical sculpture standing sentinel at

the passage end.

Columns of textured limestone anchor

the reception hall where a full indoor

olive tree rises from a terracotta urn.

A cascading water feature ? framed

within a stone arch dressed with

sculpted busts ? fills the air with the

kind of white noise that signals,

unmistakably, that the afternoon

belongs entirely to you.

The lounge spaces unfold in layers

beyond it, each one slightly more

intimate than the last, wrought iron

chandeliers casting soft light over

deep sofas and jewel-toned armchairs.

111

Worth a separate mention is the

private dining room ? glass-topped

table supported by carved stone

pedestals, a golden-framed mirror

catching the room's warm light,

classical artwork pressed against

richly painted walls.

For anyone planning a pre-wedding

celebration, a brand beauty

presentation, or a gathering that

deserves a genuinely remarkable

setting, this room handles occasions

with natural authority.

The treatment rooms carry the same

Mediterranean spirit. Roughhewn

limestone columns flank the entrance to

dual treatment suites ? ideal for

friends or partners who prefer to share

the experience side by side.

A stepped whirlpool bath set into

smooth stone surrounds and lit by a

single wall sconce offers the kind of

private immersion that genuinely

deserves the word restorative.

Frescoed walls, fine mosaic tile, a

large-scale floral canvas overhead ?

each room has been considered as its

own small world, and it shows.

113

Treatments span the full range of what

a thoughtful self-care practice

requires: massage therapy, advanced

facials, Japanese Head Spa rituals,

body treatments, nail care, and

curated packages assembled around

a single afternoon or a full day.

The team works with specificity and

intention. Guests with a booked

treatment also receive complimentary

access to the steam room and sauna

? a detail that transforms even a

single-service visit into something that

feels decidedly more than the sum of

its parts. Arrive early. Use the warmth.

Allow the transition to happen on its

own schedule.

For those arriving by cruise ship,

staying at the Pan Pacific, or simply

navigating a downtown afternoon

that has begun to feel like too much ?

the harbour light at the spa entrance

is a reliable orientation point.

DAMARA knows exactly what it is

offering. The only question is when the

calendar gets cleared to accept it.

DAM ARA Day Spa

Pan Pacific Vancouver

999 Canada Place

115

'SPA NISH TRA NVESTITE' | Peter A spell | Gallery Jones

d e s i g n

117

MATI ÈRES

FÉCALES

The Ones

Who Rewr ot e

t he Rul es

119

PA LA IS BRONGNIA RT | Paris, France

M F

With their debut Paris Fashion Week collection

The Other, M ontreal' s Hannah Rose Dalton and

Steven Raj Bhaskaran did not just arrive on fashion's

biggest stage ? they reshaped it.

There is a particular kind of poetic justice in the

fact that we first met the duo, not at a show, but

in a gallery.

It was 20 19, at the M ontreal M useum of Fine Arts, at

the Thierry M ugler: Couturissime exhibition ? a

landmark retrospective developed in collaboration

with the Clarins Group and M aison M ugler, charting

the singular vision of a designer who remade what

fashion could be.

Dalton arrived in the label's signature Heeless Skin

Boots, handbag with a dildo handle in hand ?

already a walking statement of everything

M atières Fécales stands for.

Surrounded by Mugler's towering constructions and

refusal to be anything other than himself, the two

young designers seemed to belong there. It feels, in

retrospect, like the universe was leaving a hint.

The parallel is not a superficial one. Like Mugler,

Dalton and Bhaskaran ? who work together under

the name Matières Fécales ? are not interested in

fashion as decoration.

121

The label they have built in Paris

stands for something more difficult

and more lasting: a version of

glamour that is entirely their own,

born not from market research but

from lived experience and an

uncompromising commitment to

identity.

A LOVE STORY

That commitment has its roots in

Montreal, where the two met in

20 14 while studying fashion design

at LaSalle College and, in the

process, found in each other

something they had not found

anywhere else.

"We have each encouraged each

other to become who we are deep

down," Bhaskaran has said. "This

has been the greatest blessing we

have given each other."

What followed was a decade of

building ? a label, an aesthetic

and a global community of people

who share their conviction that

self-expression is not optional.

The name is deliberate and

confrontational. Matières Fécales

? fecal matter ? refuses the

perfumed language of luxury. It

insists on the full picture: the

beautiful and the repellent, the

aspirational and the abject.

It is a challenge to an industry that

has long preferred its surfaces

unexamined.

POWER UN DER THE M ICROSCOPE

For their third collection, the duo

turned that challenge toward

power itself. The Other took the

world's wealthiest individuals as its

subject ? not to celebrate them,

and not simply to condemn them

either.

"The goal is not to just point the

finger and say they are bad

people," Bhaskaran explained. "It is

not that they are bad people, but I

do think it is a time that we should

be talking about it."

The collection drew from the visible

codes of extreme wealth, from a

decade of subcultural language the

label has developed, and from

what the designers called "the

immortals" ? their term for an

ultra-privileged class now openly

preoccupied with defeating death

itself.

"We really wanted to explore that

tension within our duality, but also

explore specifically Hannah's

affluent background this season,"

Bhaskaran said. "Because in the

world we live in right now, I think

there is a lot of corruption of

power."

123

125

THE CAST

Daphne Guinness walked the show, her

presence on the runway an entirely fitting one

? a figure who has long occupied the precise

territory the collection was examining, where

extreme wealth and extreme individuality meet.

Bryan Johnson, the American entrepreneur who

has spent millions attempting to biologically

reverse his own ageing, walked alongside her,

his participation giving the "immortals" chapter

an almost documentary charge. M ichèle Lamy,

muse, collaborator and one of fashion's most

singular figures, also took to the runway ? her

presence a testament to the world Hannah and

Raj have built and the community it continues to

draw.

The show was held at Palais Brongniart in

Paris, before a front row that included

Chappell Roan, Rick Ow ens, Juergen Teller

and Christian Louboutin.

COUTURE UN RAVELLED

What appeared on the runway was couture at

its most unruly. Full-skirted gowns in cascading

tulle filled the space around their wearers, their

hemlines frayed as though the garments had

survived something.

A magenta taffeta ball gown ? structured

around an enormous asymmetric bow, its layers

deliberately torn ? had the quality of a fairy

tale that had gone slightly wrong, which is

precisely the point.

Elsewhere, a jacket assembled entirely from

woven banknotes made the collection's central

argument without needing to say a word. And

the silver feathered looks, floor-length and

shimmering, suggested beings who had

moved beyond the human categories the

rest of us still inhabit.

"This collection is about being fearless in your

identity. It is about walking into a room with your

head held high, even if nobody wants you

there."

THE LOUBOUTIN CHAPTER

The season also brought a collaboration with

Christian Louboutin, whose iconic red-soled

shoes were reimagined in forms that bent and

distorted the familiar silhouette into something

altogether stranger. Paired with the label's

signature horn bag, they extended the world of

the collection into every detail of the dressed

body.

FASHION FIN DS ITS PEOPLE

That world has found its people. Lady Gaga

and Tilda Sw inton have both worn the label,

two figures for whom the intersection of fashion

and transformation has never been incidental.

Sarah Paulson wore Matières Fécales to the

Vanity Fair Oscars Party, dressed by Canadian

stylist Karla Welch ? a moment that confirmed

the label's arrival not just on the runway but in

the broader cultural conversation.

Matières Fécales operates without apology and

without compromise. With The Other, they did

not simply make a case for their place in Paris

fashion. They made the case on their own terms

entirely ? which, it turns out, is the only way

they know how.

127

'THE M A D POET' | Peter A spell | Gallery Jones

a d v e n t u r e

129

BAJA

EXPEDI TI ONS

SAN

I GNACI O

LAGOON Wher e

t he

Whal es

Come t o

Fi nd Us

131

SA N IGNA CIO LA GOON | Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve

B?A

life lived comfortably, is not a life fully lived.?

Sit with that for a moment.

Not because it is provocative ? though it is ? but

because it demands an honest reckoning with how

much of what we call luxury is simply avoidance

dressed in thread count and room service.

San Ignacio Lagoon, deep in the Vizcaíno Desert

on the Pacific side of Baja California, offers a

different proposition entirely. No television. No

on-demand anything. Electricity courtesy of the sun,

and water that cuts out at midnight. Hopping mice

make their rounds. The heat of the afternoon gives

no warning before it becomes the chill of an open

desert night.

This is the trip. And it is extraordinary.

133

CABO: THE BEGIN N IN G

The journey south from Vancouver lands at

SJD, Los Cabos International Airport, and the

first stop is SeeCreatures Cabo ? a spirited

base of operations at the southern tip of the

Baja peninsula, where the Pacific Ocean and

the Sea of Cortez converge at the iconic rock

arch of El Arco ? one of the few places on

earth where two bodies of water meet in plain

sight. A fitting place to begin.

The night before departure is spent at the

Cabo Vista Hotel, where San Lucero

Restaurant and Bar serves dinner as the sun

drops over the community in a slow, unhurried

performance. It is also, as it turns out, the last

encounter with a television screen for several

days ? tuned to a CON CACAF match

featuring the Vancouver Whitecaps, which

feels both perfectly absurd and entirely right.

Home, briefly, before the desert takes over.

Come the appointed morning, a private coach

departs at 7 am for the FBO Executive

Terminal ? a side of air travel that bypasses

the ordinary entirely. The aircraft is a

late-model Cessna Grand Caravan,

lifting out over the Sierra de la Giganta and

tracking northwest across the spine of the

Baja peninsula.

135

Below, the landscape empties. Roads

disappear. The Pacific coastline

comes into view as something ancient

and uninterrupted ? thorn scrub, salt

flats, the occasional rancho ? and

then the shimmer of a vast lagoon at

the edge of the desert, like a mirage

that holds.

IN TO THE DESERT CAM P

Camp sits on the northern shore of

San Ignacio Lagoon within the

Vizcaíno Biosphere Reserve, a

UN ESCO World Heritage Site that

protects one of the most critical

marine nurseries on the planet. Camp

M anager Stein presents chilled

Champagne at the airstrip. The desert

air wraps around everything.

The Weatherhaven tents ? the same

shelters trusted on polar expeditions

from the Arctic to Antarctica ? are

rigged with beds, ensuite bathrooms

with hot showers, and rattan lamps

casting the kind of warm, unhurried

light that belongs in the desert. The

dining tent, bar tent, and massage

tent each occupy their own place in

this small, purposeful world.

Then there is The Dive Bar.

137

THE DIVE BAR

A retired school bus, painted in deep

Pacific blues with a panoramic ocean

mural running the full length of its body,

sits beachfront as the undisputed

post-whale-watching institution of

camp.

Bright deck chairs outside. A blender

running. A small putting green

generating considerably more

competitive heat than anyone

anticipates. Inside, the bar is serious ?

artisanal mezcals from Oaxaca, spirits

of genuine distinction, cold drinks

poured without ceremony.

Recliner sofas face the lagoon beneath

a red canvas sail. The Dive Bar is where

the morning?s encounter gets processed,

compared, and eventually celebrated.

The desert, though, has a way of

calibrating volume. When the only

sounds for kilometres are wind and

water, being loud simply does not

feel right.

139

LILIAN OF THE DESERT

Self-care at San Ignacio takes two

forms: a mojito with fresh mint at The

Dive Bar or a session with Lilian. Both

are equally valid. Only one involves

incense.

Lilian is a holistic therapist operating

out of the white canvas massage tent

at the edge of camp. Her practice is

rooted in Mexican traditional

medicine ? Rebozo technique,

Pre- Hispanic massage performed

with scarves within a ritual framework

of plants and traditional chants,

Shiatsu, Lymphatic Drainage,

Cupping, Hot Stone Therapy ? using

artisanal oils, a coconut base

macerated with local medicinal

plants. Each session opens with a

beverage, a guided meditation, and

sahumerio to settle the nervous

system. Several guests returned daily.

There is no water from midnight to 5

am. The desert coyotes chew through

the pipes in the dark hours, and the

camp has long since made peace

with this arrangement. One sleeps

differently knowing that.

141

THE EN COUN TER

Gray whales arrive at San Ignacio

Lagoon each winter ? hundreds of

them ? having completed one of the

longest migrations of any mammal

on earth, travelling nearly 10 ,0 0 0

kilometres from the Bering Sea

to these sheltered Pacific waters

to mate, give birth, and nurse

their calves.

Every guest boards the panga in

bright orange lifejackets and white

foam boots ? practical and oddly

joyful against the blue-green water.

En route, each boat pulls alongside

the lagoon sheriff?s vessel.

Wristbands are checked, access

verified ? a reminder that every

booking made on this trip through

Baja Expeditions directly funds the

government?s conservation efforts,

ensuring that the conversation

between humans and gray whales

that began here in 1972 continues

for generations to come.

And then one arrives.

143

A gray whale ? up to 15 metres long, up to

40 tonnes ? surfaces beside the boat. Not

by accident. The whale chooses this. Rises

alongside the hull, holds its position, turns

one ancient eye upward. This is no

aquarium performance choreographed

for ticket-holders. No glass between

species, no handler with a bucket of fish.

Just open water, a small boat, and a wild

creature that has decided, on its own

terms, to close the distance.

A hand goes out. The skin meets the palm

? rubbery and dense, faintly sponge-like,

with coarse brush-like hairs pushing

through the surface. Barnacles cluster in

rough constellations around the

heart-shaped blowhole, ancient and

textural. The whale does not flinch. It stays.

Sometimes it nudges the hull gently and

waits, as though offering more.

Mothers bring their calves. The calves are

the ones that undo people entirely ?

curious, enormous, improbable,

spy-hopping beside the panga with a

directness that dissolves every

preconception about what it means to

share a world with another species. The

feeling that builds in the chest resists every

word thrown at it. Most people do not try

to find one. M ost people cry.

145

N AM ED BEFORE RELEASE

San Ignacio Lagoon?s pressures extend

well beyond the whales. Sea turtles

face unrelenting threats ? among them

the same desert coyotes that patrol the

camp perimeter, attacking and

stranding turtles on the beaches.

EcoTourtugas is operated by a

multigenerational fishing family who

have built their lives around finding,

monitoring, and returning these animals

to the sea.

Guests arrive to find the turtles already

settled into shallow recovery tubs of

blue and terracotta beneath a canvas

canopy ? olive-shelled,

ancient-looking, each at least a metre

in length. The first invitation is to name

them. Then the work begins.

One by one, each turtle is measured,

de-barnacled, and tagged. A red

Velcro hammock wraps around the

animal for weighing ? practical and

oddly tender, the turtle suspended

briefly in red fabric while data is

recorded.

Then the beach cart, the water?s edge,

the unwrapping. The turtle moves ?

hurried, purposeful ? back into the

dark sandy shallows and gone.

Participating is not an add-on. It is the

point. These are the people for whom

the health of this lagoon is not a

holiday ? it is a livelihood, a legacy,

and a daily commitment.

147

WHAT THE DESERT GIVES

The cocktail hour, when the sun falls

toward the Sierra mountains and

the light goes amber and horizontal,

is among the finest recurring

moments the trip offers. A fire pit.

Cold drinks and new friendships

form across the particular ease that

comes from shared discomfort and

shared wonder.

After dinner in the dining tent, a

naturalist presentation ? the

science of gray whale migration,

the history of this lagoon, the

extraordinary reversal of a species

hunted nearly to extinction within a

human lifetime and since recovered

to grace ? sends everyone to bed

with something to hold.

The sky at night in the Vizcaíno

desert is one of the darkest in

Mexico.

With the absence of humanity's light

pollution the Milky Way is present

and overwhelming. A sky so black

and radiant with stars.

149

151

A FAREWELL TO SCARCITY

The flight back to SJD crosses the

peninsula as the light builds from

the east and the Sea of Cortez

appears in deep, impossible blue.

The photographs and videos are

remarkable ? and thanks to

Starlink, instantly postable from

one of the most remote stretches

of Pacific coastline on the

continent.

No room service was missed. No

television. The midnight water

cutoff became part of the rhythm,

the hopping mice became

companionable, the desert heat

earned its respect.

The whales, though. The memory

of them stays forever.

153

THE SOLO

TRAVEL

COLLECTI ON

Fi nl and' s

Nor t her n

Li ght s

A

Fi nl and

Nor A Baj t her a n

Li Cal ght i fs

or ni a

Jour Advent neyur

e

155

K A K SLA UTTA NEN A RTIC RESORT | Finland

FPacking

a bag, boarding a plane

alone, arriving somewhere wholly

new ? not beside a partner or

within the comfort of a familiar

group, but simply as oneself, open

and unscripted.

N adine Paulo, Founder and CEO

of The Solo Travel Collection, has

built her entire life's work around

this act. "I created The Solo Travel

Collection to inspire women to

embrace the magic of traveling on

their own terms ? because you're

worth the trip. For me, solo

adventures have been

empowering, healing, and deeply

transformative ? and I want to

share that joy with you."

157

For over fifteen years, Nadine has

designed and led journeys exclusively for

women, keeping each adventure

intentionally intimate ? never more than

ten to fifteen guests ? so that every

woman feels seen, supported, and

genuinely part of something.

These are not getaways. As she puts it,

they are "soulful experiences crafted to

uplift and energize you," with every hotel,

activity, and shared meal chosen with

care and precision. Finland's Northern

Lights journey is one of her most

extraordinary offerings.

THE JOURN EY BEGIN S

The trip begins at Vancouver

International Airport , where the

Pacific N orthw est skyline recedes

behind the clouds and the long flight east

carries each woman toward something

she has been quietly anticipating.

It is an overnight crossing ? the kind that

belongs neither to one day nor the next

? and by the time the descent into

Helsinki begins, the world outside the

window is pale and snow-bright and

entirely new.

Finland's compact, design-obsessed

capital greets arrivals with architecture

that is sharp and light that in early

M arch comes softly, like a hesitant guest.

Settled into the Art Deco elegance of

Hotel Lilla Roberts ? its landmark bones

dating to the early 190 0s, its interiors a

conversation between Nordic restraint

and warm amber light ? a quiet exhale.

The streets outside beckon: café windows

fogged from within, market squares

dusted with the last whispers of winter,

waterfront promenades where the Baltic

gleams cold and silver. Helsinki is the

kind of city that rewards wandering

without agenda, and the first afternoon

belongs entirely to discovery.

That evening, the group gathers.

Strangers who have arrived from

different corners of the world sit down

together at dinner, and something quietly

remarkable begins.

"Solo travel is a gift," Nadine says, "but

sharing it with like-minded women makes

it unforgettable. Some of you may arrive

as strangers, and by the end of this trip,

you'll likely leave with lifelong travel

friends."

The conversations that begin over N ordic

cuisine and candlelight will continue

across five more days, deepening with

every shared experience.

159

IN TO THE ARCTIC

Then comes the flight north ? a

transformation that happens not over

hours but over minutes. The landscape

below shifts from the coastal geometry of

the south to something ancient and

immense: boreal forest stretching in every

direction, river systems locked beneath

ice, the world simplified to white and

green and an enormous pale sky.

The descent into Ivalo, the gateway to

Finnish Lapland, marks the crossing into a

different register of experience entirely.

Kakslauttanen Arctic Resort emerges

from the treeline like something imagined

? and yet everything about it is deeply,

deliberately of this place. The resort sits

within Saariselkä , a region of protected

wilderness so remote that no one lives

within 20 0 kilometres east or west. There

is no overtourism here, no infrastructure

built for convenience at the cost of the

land. The wilderness remains exactly what

it has always been.

That rootedness extends to every surface

and material within the resort. The pine

logs used in construction were kept as

close to their original form as possible ?

shaped only where necessary, never

stripped of character.

161

Fabrics are sourced from M arimekko, the

celebrated Finnish design house whose work

has long been inseparable from the

country's cultural identity. The chandeliers

are fashioned from reindeer antlers shed

naturally each season. The water that guests

drink is among the cleanest in the world. The

menu draws from the surrounding land:

locally harvested berries, traditionally

prepared breads, and regional ingredients

that speak to the rhythms of the Arctic year.

Even the horses kept nearby are fed with

older bread from the kitchen ? nothing

wasted, nothing imported from elsewhere

in spirit.

The staff live in close relationship with the

Sámi people and the reindeer who move

freely through the surrounding forests. This is

not a resort that occupies the land; it is one

that has made peace with it.

The Kelo Glass Igloos ? patent structures

that are part traditional Finnish log cabin,

part panoramic glass dome ? offer one of

the rarest forms of luxury: the wilderness

made intimate and exclusive to the resort.

At night, the glass overhead becomes a

theatre. The aurora borealis does not

announce itself; it arrives. First a smear of

pale green at the horizon, then a slow

unfurling across the sky, curtains of light

shifting from emerald to violet, moving with

a rhythm that feels almost deliberate,

almost conscious.

From inside the warmth of the igloo,

watching the sky dance above without wind

or cold or distance between oneself and the

spectacle, the effect is one of profound,

silent privilege.

LAN D, CULTURE, COLD

The Solo Travel Collection's itinerary was

never designed simply for passive wonder.

The days in Lapland are built around full

immersion ? both in the landscape and in

the culture of a people for whom this Arctic

world is not a destination but a home.

Among the most quietly affecting encounters

is time spent with the indigenous Sámi,

whose traditions of reindeer herding

represent not a quaint cultural artefact but

a living, necessary practice.

The reindeer are not ornamental here. The

Sámi communities across Lapland depend

on these animals for their survival ? for a

continuity of identity stretching back

thousands of years. To stand among the herd

in the birch forest, snow falling in slow

silence, is to understand something true

about the relationship between human

beings and the landscapes they inhabit.

The pristine Arctic wilderness itself

becomes the adventure on the days given

over to exploration.

Crossing vast frozen terrain ? landscapes

that extend with an almost oceanic

indifference to scale ? a quieting of the

ordinary noise takes hold. The cold sharpens

awareness. Every sense becomes more

accurate. The compressed crunch of snow

underfoot, the exhalation of breath visible in

the air, the quality of silence in an

old-growth forest ? these details

accumulate into something that resembles

clarity.

163

FIRE, STEAM , ICE

And then, at the end of those cold hours,

the sauna.

Finnish sauna culture is not a wellness

trend imported from elsewhere; it is

foundational. The smoke sauna at

Kakslauttanen is the authentic expression

of this ? a ceremony of deep heat drawn

from birchwood fire, the air thick with

steam, the body releasing its resistance

layer by layer.

To step out from that heat and plunge into

an ice pool beneath an open Arctic sky is

to experience something at the outer

edge of sensation. The cold is absolute

and bracing and ? unexpectedly, entirely

? exhilarating. Laughter. Gasping. The

particular joy of something deeply,

physically alive.

"Every day invites us to slow down and

truly be present," Nadine tells her

travellers, and it is in the sauna, in the ice

plunge, in the long dinner afterward with

red cheeks and open conversation, that

this invitation is most fully accepted.

The farewell dinner in Lapland carries the

particular weight of endings that have

been earned. Three courses of traditional

Lappish cuisine, each plate drawing from

the Nordic pantry with simplicity and care,

served in the logdge.

Stories have accumulated. The group that

sat down at a Helsinki dinner table five

days earlier has transformed, quietly and

inevitably, into something more than a

collection of individuals.

THE JOURN EY HOM E

The return to Helsinki is brief, a single

evening of city light after all that

wilderness dark. Then the airport, the

departing gate, the long flight back

toward Vancouver ? and what travels

with each woman is harder to pack than

anything in a suitcase.

Clarity. A renewed sense of self. The kind

of connection, to place, to other women,

to oneself, that only comes from stepping

fully outside the familiar.

Nadine has always believed that these

journeys return something essential to the

women who take them. "You'll return not

just with incredible memories, but with a

renewed sense of clarity, confidence, and

connection." Finland has a way of making

that feel not like a promise, but an

inevitability.

"We are so excited to journey alongside

this incredible group of women," Nadine

writes, "to explore thoughtfully, laugh

freely, learn something new, and create

memories that linger long after the snow

has melted."

165

HUDSON PROJECTS | Ola Volo

Folio.YVR Lux ury Lifestyle M agazine

Helen Siw ak , EIC & Publisher

EcoLux Luv Communications & M ark eting Inc.

Suite #2, 1511 Commercial Drive

Vancouver, BC V5L 3Y1

ISSUE 40 - MARCH 2026

COVER: GATHIE FALK, 40 ORANGES (1969- 1970)

001- 002: DAVID SERRADELL

003- 004: JESS SINGH X CLAUDE.AI

005- 006: COURTESY OF THE SOLO TRAVEL COLLECTION

009- 022: COURTESY OF JESSE JONATHON HAWES X TRIET DUONG

023- 030: BEIGE WEDDINGS

031- 042: COURTESY OF OLA VOLO

043- 044: COURTESY OF GALLERY JONES

045: GEOFFREY FARMER: THE SURGEON AND THE PHOTOGRAPHER (2009) | 047:

MARIANNE NICOLSON, BAXWANA'TSI: THE CONTAINER FOR SOULS (2006) | 049: CLAES

OLDENBURG, SAW (HARD VERSION) (1969) | FRED HERZOG, UNTITLED (1958) | 052:

BRIAN JUNGEN, PROTOTYPE FOR A NEW UNDERSTAND # 3 (1999) | MARIKO MORI, PLAY

WITH ME (1994)


057- 068: BEIGE WEDDINGS


071- 086: COURTESY OF PREMIER GROUP X MICHELLE RAYMOND REALTY


089- 104: COURTESY OF PAN PACIFIC VANCOUVER, HELEN SIWAK

105- 114: COURTESY OF DAMARA DAY SPA


117- 126: COURTESY OF MATERIES FECALES, GO RUNWAY


129- 130: CARLOS GAUNA - THE MALIBU ARTIST

131- 132: HELEN SIWAK

133- 134: VLADIMIROS XANTHOPOULOS, BAJA EXPEDITIONS

135- 140: BAJA EXPEDITIONS, HELEN SIWAK



145- 146: HELEN SIWAK, VLADIMIROS XANTHOPOULOS





157- 158: CAMILLA BLOOM PHOTOGRAPHY


163- 164: SAAD CHAUDHRY, THE SOLO TRAVEL COLLECTION

165- 166: RYAN MAXWELL PHOTOGRAPHY

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M A RCH 2026

Folio.YVR ☆ Issue 40 ☆ March 2026 ☆ Luxury Lifestyle Magazine ☆ Vancouver, BC

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