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IT’S HARD TO believe but as quickly as it came – it went. Okay maybe not as quickly as it came… there were a lot of “holy eff” moments that preceded “okay I’ve got this” moments before the Vancouver edition of Kinfolk Gatherings actually happened. But, nonetheless it’s hard to believe that 2 months of planning equated to a few (albeit amazing) hours on the eve of October 11.
While I’m eager to share a bit more of the planning/designing/creating/executing process with you (in particular the photos!!!) I don’t have all of them yet so instead I wanted to put down on paper the web a digitized version of the thank you speech I shared with our dinner guests that acknowledged all the amazing local talent that went into making this dinner possible. My apologies if I sound like a broken record but you guys, these businesses are the coolest and even if they weren’t involved in this dinner I’d be shouting their praises from the rooftops anyway.
About 30 minutes leading up to guests arriving I looked around at the room taking in what we’d created. I realized that – safe from the table cloths and the lighting – pretty much everything else was carefully curated and contributed by local artisans and/or businesses.
This was particularly special for me because I love Vancouver and the talent that lies within it. My preference is always to shop local choosing a small coffee roasters over Starbucks any day.
So, in no particular order here’s my Oscar-esque thank you to all our amazing partners…
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To Union Wood Co. for their generosity and hospitality! We are happy to say we were the first to use their new woodshop/venue Bon Accord. Also – for the amazing serving boards each guest dined off of (and got to take home with them). Huge shout out to Craig for letting me ask “one more question” about 100 times. Check out Union Wood Co. for beautifully designed and constructed reclaimed wood furniture and goods.
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To Juno Kim (and his team) for crafting the most delicious, inspired and progressive 5-course dinner. His attention to detail and dedication to the theme (Wabi-Sabi) did not go unnoticed. Juno hosts pop-up dinners around Vancouver – follow him on instagram @Jun0K (thats a zero not an ‘o’) for more information!
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To Postmark Brewing for sharing their beer with us. This is an awesome new brewery located in historic Railtown and certainly worth checking out.
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To Karla of Written Word Calligraphy for providing this gorgeous print that each guest got to take home with them. It reads “limit everything to the essential but do not remove the poetry”. This quote served us as our guiding principle during the creation of the dinner.
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To the lovely ladies of The Pie Shoppe for the amazing pumpkin tart that we served for dessert.Image may be NSFW.
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And to my personal favourite ice cream makers in Vancouver – Earnest Ice Cream for developing a custom flavour – White Miso (!!!) – for our dinner. Meeting Erica (co-owner) was a little bit like meeting a celebrity for me. I LOVE me some ice cream.
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To Pallet Coffee Roasters for orchestrating an amazing coffee service to accompany dessert. AND for giving each dinner guest a bag of coffee to bring home. They’ve got a new adorable little shop in East Van – I highly suggest you add them to your coffee rotation.
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To Heather and Sven from Greenstems for taking an impossible venue and challenging theme and absolutely killing it with the florals. Their installation along the 60 ft table went seamlessly from Decay to Growth inspired by Wabi-Sabi. It was actually mind-blowingly beautiful.
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To Woodlot for lighting up our table with their incredible coconut wax candles. And for not thinking I was crazy when I asked them to fill “imperfect” and/or broken ceramics from the lovely Heather of Dahlhaus.
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To Niche Wine Co. (a dear friend of mine) and Tantalus for providing us with some amazing Okanagan Vino. Image may be NSFW.
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To Breanne and Elisa from Spruce Vintage Rentals – arguably my favourite mother/daughter duo – for the amazing enamel jugs, washtub and reclaimed wood benches… but mostly for not hesitating for even a second to return to Abbotsford to pick up more seating when we realized we did the math very wrong (hey I went to art school). You guys saved the day – I (and 25 guests who would have been sitting on the floor) are so grateful!
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To Janaki Larsen for her beautiful Wabi Sabi ceramic plates that we served our first course on. What an amazing way to start our dinner. And in case you didn’t know – she’s the same lovely lady behind Le Marche St. George one of Vancouver’s best cafes (in my humble opinion, or course).
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And last but certainly not least – Lock and Mortice who – in the eleventh hour pumped out a ridiculous amount of wood serving boards at the request of Juno our chef. They were stunning.
And of course, a shout out to our volunteers – all of whom I am lucky to call my friends. To Victory Gardens for giving me the opportunity to work on this dream project with them, to Jourdan Tymkow who’s photos I’ll be sharing soon, and to Tiff – my bestie who was my partner in crime. This event would not have happened without her love, support, logistics brain and hard work.
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