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FALL COLOURS & TRAVELS Part 1

I’m really feeling grateful for the past few months, and after last nights crazy wind storm, even more grateful. I live on the side of the mountain in North Vancouver with a greenbelt of amazing forest above me. This includes many large cedars, douglas fir, and hemlocks on the slope. Needless to say wind storms make me nervous. This vibrant red maple in my yard is just a showstopper! A lot less leaves than yesterday, but OH, so beautiful! This morning in the calmness, a coyote crossed the back of the yard. Nature is magnificent!

You haven’t heard from me for about a month as I’ve been travelling. The next two posts are about a trip to Edmonton with two great days in Jasper; a trip to the Van Gogh exhibit, West Edmonton Mall shopping and visits with long-time friends. I have so much to show you about retail stores, exquisite scenery and design elements that I’ve decided to break it into two parts. Here we go with Part 1…

I’ve rarely seen Mount Robson in all it’s glory, but it is the highest peak in the Canadian Rockies standing at 3954 metres. (12972.4’) With Jasper National Park as it’s easterly neighbour, Mount Robson Provincial Park is a portion of the worlds largest blocks of protected areas and is part of the Canadian Rocky Mountains World Heritage Site by UNESCO. It is also the headwaters of the mighty Fraser River.

It would be very odd if you made a trip to Jasper and didn’t see any elk. With over 1300 in the park, elk are the most commonly seen animal in Jasper. They can be seen in fields along the roadways (especially on Highway 16), and in the town site. This one was just across the fence from my hotel room.

The same thing goes for Big Horn Mountain Sheep. Bighorns have a sandy coloured coat and a white rump. Rams have massive curved horns while the ewe's horns are short and spiky. Bighorns are primarily grazers and migrate seasonally between low grassy slopes and alpine meadows, always ensuring that the safety of a rocky ledge is nearby. My hunter daughter-in-law Mindy tells me that this image is mostly female and with younger sheep.

We were really fortunate to stay at the stunning Fairmont Jasper Park Lodge and the next few photos are all from there. It is surrounded by incredible views of majestic mountains and the emerald green Lac Beauvert.

This is the lobby entrance. The things I loved were the comfortable seating in beautiful full grain leather, the massive stone fireplace, the fabrics and the carpet colours. It’s all very welcoming, rustic and warm with stunning artwork everywhere!

My favorite things to do in display are shown below. Line-ups of plants, vases, and accessories make a long stretch of hallway look inviting. You’ll notice large pine cones, polished stones and small grapevine balls in the display.

This rich earth-toned carpet is gorgeous!

The views in every direction are stunning, and emerald-green LAC BEAUVERT is just beyond the swimming pool!

Now, I’m moving into town to show you where we had an incredible dinner at Syrah’s and to explore Mountain Air Clothing and what’s so special about it.

SYRAH’S JASPER

To those of you who gave me great recommendations…a huge Thank You! We chose Syrah’s. It didn’t disappoint and I highly recommend it. In fact, I’m still raving about it! My friends Caesar topping included a strip of Candied Boar Bacon that was soooo freaking delicious that we ordered a 2nd piece of it just to savour it’s sweetness. After that a Carmelized Onion Tart which we shared and after that I can’t remember! Maybe too much wine! :)

To quote from their website. “Our menu features a regional Canadian theme with tantalizing appetizers, wild game dishes and Canadian seafood, and some of the finest desserts in town, including our famous white chocolate goat’s cheese cheesecake. Our menu is also almost entirely gluten free.”

Mountain Air Clothing - Jasper

Clothing and accessories for your adventures

Their mission is to bring you the most relevant names in fashion with an emphasis on ethics, environmentalism, and Canadian-made products.

This image is opposite the entry doors. I love the rustic nature of the tables and the upright logs that you see in the background, both of which are in-keeping with the outdoor environment of Jasper. There is lots of room to walk between floor fixtures and small containers are used everywhere to hold accessories. These pant forms are ideal in any presentation of denim, and you can order them through me. They come in female and male versions and can be ordered in any colour you desire.

Check them out in this PDF

I love their shoe display wall and you’ll notice that the shelving is also ‘timber’ and their hangers for the most part are wood. There was a bench for easily trying on shoes just opposite the shoe wall. You can see it in the first photo of Mountain Air above.

You can clearly see in this image below how nicely presented the clothing is, and when I looked closer I saw that they had inserted tissue into the folding. This was something that I had done years ago - especially when the garment was light or flimsy. It just gives it more body and looks great! I asked Karen Jacobs (the owner of Mountain Air) if she would do a quick video of how to do this…and she did this amazing video. A huge thank you to her!

WATCH VIDEO HERE!

Here are some of the things she mentions in her video.

She has two sizes of folding boards. One for larger garments i.e. sweaters and one for smaller ones.
You’ll notice that she leaves the board sticking out at the top so that she can pull out the board towards the end of the folding.
I have always used regular tissue paper (sometimes a couple pieces that I have to prefold) to insert into the fold, but you can use pretty much any paper. Even brown kraft paper.

The other thing to notice from a merchandising point of view is that the garment on the bustform is just below it on the table, and the jean jacket that is folded on the table is shown on the form to the left of the table. This way the customer isn’t searching throughout the store to find the garment.

Lastly - what a great cash desk! When I talk about branding a store image I ALWAYS think about the elements of design that support the brand message. In this case MOUNTAINS + SLATE LOGO + LOGS + ROCKS These are all consistent with who they are as a retailer. MOUNTAIN AIR CLOTHING Even the piece of plexi that is suspended by a piece of lumber in front of the desk is brand appropriate.

A huge thank you to those of you who ordered these beautiful bustforms shown below. I can’t wait to see your photos. If any of you missed seeing how versatile they are…check out my last post

Contact me for more information. heddy@urbanspaces.ca

Hope you loved this post. Please share it with your colleagues. I can’t wait to share Part II of my travels.