Western Living

CITY GUIDES: Calgary

		Inspirations Carey Jones 5 Things that inspire Carey Jones of Calgary's Kit Interior Objects Carey Jones, 31, is a busy fellow, finishing his masters degree in environmental design at U of C, forming a new design collective named Scribble and manning the always hip Kit.

403-984-5000, olivesrestaurant.ca, 1129 Olympic Way SE, Calgary.		Eat Olives Restaurant Calgary’s latest culinary hotspot, located in the new arriVa condo complex, is a stylish eatery, lounge and deli from the folks who brought you Saint Germain and Raw Bar. The trademark chic, sophisticated interior (designed by Andrea Raimondi and Sarah Ward of Ingenium Design) belies the comfort of Italian classics like potato herb gnocchi or veal bolognese pappardelle prepared by chef Johnathan Canning. A deep wine list, including a diverse selection of Italians by the glass, is available in the lounge. In a hurry? Pick up a panini or an entree at Olives to Go market deli.—Karen Ashbee

403-608-3008, tactiledesign.ca, 524 Woodbend Rd. SE, Calgary.		Shop Tactile Design Tactile Design gives the classic tile new life, redefining its boundaries with new shape, design and function. The Calgary-based company fashions its handcrafted tiles into stylish wall compositions that embody modern elegance. Produced in never-seen-before shapes like “amoeba” and “slot,” the tiles function as “energetic textual wallpaper,” explains Sherry Schalm, the company’s founder and creative director. Their innovation comes from the versatility of the tiles: they can be used in their traditional sense—on walls and floors—or, more creatively, as striking wall art sure to enliven any space. Choose from a vivid menu of colours to suit every decor.—Vanessa Scrubb

		Artist Brad Pattison I’m allergic to dogs, but I can’t get enough of the dog-training show At the End of My Leash. It’s addictive, because episode after episode, Brad Pattison proves that there are no bad dogs, only bad dog owners. Pattison ain’t no wimpy dog whisperer: his techniques can include assertive body language to establish himself as the alpha-male, encouraging unleashed dogs to cross busy streets—and forcing owners to take a long, hard look at their own behaviour. He developed his approach running a doggy day care and observing his own two mutts like a canine Freud, eventually rejecting many widely accepted training methods (forget treats). Like the canny (human) life coach he is, Pattison has leveraged his animal insight not only on television but into dog-training accessories and cross-Canada workshops, courses (from dog-sitting for kids to doggy fitness) and radio spots on Calgary’s Vibe 98.5. Catch new episodes throughout this spring on Slice. —Charlene Rooke

		Artist *Danny Singer* The tag “Western artist” is so loaded that it has been used to describe everything from Frederic Remington’s cowboys to Jackson Pollock’s drips. But cameraman-turned-artist Danny Singer’s monumental portraits of prairie towns perfectly encapsulate the West’s scope, occasional majesty and dominating expanse—just what a Western artist should capture.

		Artist Alison Yip Artist Alison Yip was a three-year-old girl growing up in Northwest Calgary when Saskatoon’s Mendel gallery debuted a show by American post-modern representational painter Eric Fischl. The show became a watershed, not just because Fischl went on to become one of the towering art stars of the 1980s but because it showed Western Canadian painters that there was a human option to the two solitudes of abstraction and landscapes that had so dominated art in the West. Flash forward twenty-five years and Yip, now a 28-year-old painter, has completed her first solo show at Vancouver’s Monte Clark gallery. There is no disputing that the images are Fischlesque in their anthropologically honest portrayal of humans spied unawares during a day at the beach. But it’s Yip’s sense of exploration—be it through her painting or her utilization of the seemingly forgotten disciplines of collage and pencil on paper—that shows Yip has some of the sense of purpose that made Fischl a star all those years ago.— Neal McLennan

403-397-2394 1212 9th Ave. SE Calgary		Shop Knifewear Chef Kevin Kent honed his passion for knives while working as a sous-chef at St. John Bar and Restaurant in Smithfield market in London. It was here that he was introduced to the finer qualities of Japanese steel. “I developed a taste for exquisite knives and upon returning to Calgary in 2005 I couldn’t find anything comparable, so I started importing my own,” explains Kent. Now, his store, Knifewear, in Inglewood’s Bite Groceteria, imports a variety of blades, including the Blazen, Hattori (made of folded Damascus steel) and Hiromoto lines from Japan, as well as heavy-duty Spanish cleavers from Arcos. All of them are distinguished by handwork and are as functional as they are handsome.—Karen Ashbee

403-252-2458 4107 11 St. SW Calgary		Shop Empire Kitchens and Bath Empire Kitchens and Bath, whose smart showrooms have been known to the design cognoscenti for years, has taken the mantra of not resting on your laurels to the extreme. The company has just completed a major overhaul of both its Calgary and Vancouver spaces notwithstanding that both were still au courant. But we can’t argue with the results. The stores now offer a shopping experience that’s both sophisticated and user-friendly—not the easiest combo. You can now immerse yourself in walls of tile from classic lines like Ann Sacks to newer ones such as Artistic Tile or New Ravenna, or stroll into one of the completed design kitchens and imagine yourself a the emperor of your own culinary domain.—Colleen Tang

100, 751 Third St. SW, 403-237-8237		Eat *Tangerine Supper Club* Groucho Marx famously quipped that he wouldn’t be a member of any club that would accept him, but we wonder whether Mr. Giggles would have reconsidered if the club was located beside Holt Renfrew and served really good food. Tangerine Supper Club blends the best of its rarefied location and subdued interior with family-style dining wherein the plates come to the centre of the table in ample portions and are passed around just like in the Waltons—though we imagine John Boy might have had some difficulty coming up with the $1,300 for the bottle of 2003 Mouton Rothschild on the wine list.—Neal McLennan

403-257-4772 7222 Edgemont Blvd. Calgary		Do Life Spa We are largely distrustful of those who bound out of their beds eager to tackle their morning workout, but a new Calgary venture threatens to put some spring back into our step class. Life Spa has recently opened at the Edgemont World Health Sport Club. It bills itself as an “express spa” and many of the treatments are designed specifically for post-workout. Book an hour session with your trainer and then treat yourself to the Energizer Massage or the Deep Tissue Therapeutic Massage, or simply lie back and enjoy a soothing facial and relaxing pedicure. Makes working out seem almost fun.—Karen Ashbee

208, 8180 11 St. SE, 403-301-0288		Shop Poggenpohl Fire up and pop the clutch on this high-performance kitchen. When German kitchen icon Poggenpohl chose Calgary for its first corporate-designed concept studio, local foodies and design aficionados were gleeful. With the launch of its newest kitchen concept, you can soon throw gearheads to the growing legion of fans. The Porsche Design P7340 may be the most important tool for bringing men into the kitchen since cheese was first put into an aerosol can. Distinguished by its innovative framework, functional design and purist styling, the kitchen also features a state-of-the-art audio visual system, which lets you tune in to the Food Network or Speed TV. It also features multi-functional lighting, and cabinets that open at the push of a finger, thereby eliminating the need for handles. No word yet on zero-to- 60 times.—Karen Ashbee

		Shop Priddis Travelling with an open mind, a keen eye and desire to bring back a little of her former latin stomping grounds to Calgary, Susan Abbiati has launched a furnishing business to appeal to your inner gaucho. Best described as rough-and-tumble chic, her pieces such as a handmade armoire or an antique chandelier, evoke the well made, well used ethos of the South America. For a bit of BA bohemian gusto, outfit the kitchen with a rough-hewn harvest dining table accompanied by a home-grown wine cabinet. All are worth the trip to Abbiati’s new barrio, Priddis. Sales are twice yearly (next is June) or by appointment. —Karen Ashbee

1643 Altadore Ave. SW, Calgary		Shop Rundle Wood Gardens For most, gardening in Calgary could be considered an extreme sport. With only ninety frost-free days and a plethora of precipitation perils like hail or snow during the growing season, it’s tough to maintain any garden at all, especially one devoid of the ubiquitous spirea and mugo pines. But Rodney Shaver and Llyn Strelau of Rundle Wood Gardens have managed to conquer the elements with their homegrown efforts. Their small speciality garden, which occupies their entire front and back yards, is the place to find unusual as well as never-before-seen perennials—such as a variety of peonies from pale yellow to white and rosy pink, as well as hepatica and liverwort. Open on select days from May until mid-September.—Karen Ashbee

403-237-9667 703 23 Ave. SE Calgary		Shop Valta Bison Gil and Darlene Hegel already had a home where the buffalo roam—their ranch outside Valhalla Centre in northern Alberta. What they lacked was a home base close to their Valta Bison booth in the Calgary Farmers’ Market. And so it was last fall they happened across a 400-square-foot storefront in the inner-city neighbourhood of Ramsay. The spruced-up store opened last fall, offering Hotchkiss greens, freshly baked bread, saskatoon berry pies and assorted jams and teas. Of course the heart of the 1911 shop is the Hegels’ naturally raised bison. “It’s appropriate in a way,” Darlene says. “It’s a heritage building for a heritage animal.” —Bruce Weir

403-228-4442, 1126 Memorial Dr. NW Calgary		Stay Kensington Riverside Inn When it opened in 1999, the Kensington Riverside Inn’s concept—fewer rooms, better service, all in a design-forward package—was downright revolutionary in the West. Since then boutique hotels having been popping up everywhere, so John Torode, the Inn’s new owner (and owner of The Hotel Arts) decided to give his still-young hotel a major facelift. The task included re-engaging original architect Richard Lindseth to partner with interior designer Andrea Raimondi to give the hotel a new modern spin with a contemporary grey palette. Rooms now feature four-poster beds, Frette linens, wine cabinets, flat screen TVs and heated towel bars. The lounge, featuring a Bisazza glass tile feature wall, adds to the pared-down sophisticated style of the hotel.—Karen Ashbee

		Stay M Private Residences Honey, do you want to go to the house in Cabo or Provence? Or the flat in London? Welcome to the new era of collective ownership of luxury private residences, a concept that is taking off among well-heeled travellers who want the benefits of owning a second residence—or a few dozen—minus the headache of long-distance upkeep. Calgary-based M Private Residences is leading the pack, and has a growing collection of $2- to $3-million properties, managed for shareholders as both investment properties and vacation homes. A local concierge stocks the fridge, books tee times and snags hard-to-get dinner reservations.—Jennifer Cockrall-King

403-452-8820, 1109 Olympic Way SE, Calgary		Shop David Walker Wines Does a temperature-controlled wine cave and priority access to some of the world’s finest limited-release wines sound tempting? These are some of the indulgences given to exclusive members of 100, Calgary’s new wine store, by the Fairmont Banff Springs’ former director of wine, David Walker, who will tailor individual buying programs for members based on their personal tastes. Non-members are in for a treat as well: 100 carries that very number of wines from the best vintners around the world, hand-picked by Walker.—Katie Nanton

403-452-1001, 1534 17th Ave. SW, Calgary.		Shop Riva's As a one-stop shop for all things green, the recently opened Riva’s: The Eco Store has it all. Overseen by local sustainability guru Riva Mackie, the store’s wares run the gamut from air filters to bedding, and from non-toxic baby care to household cleaning products. Riva’s also features several fashionable—and ecoconscious—clothing lines, such as Montreal’s Grace and Cello.—Karen Ashbee