middle child reviews – Vancouver Event, Food, Film and Product Reviews by Sandra Garcia

Pop-Up Holiday Miracles in Gastown!

With just 11 more days until Christmas, I know everyone’s feeling the pressure. Me? I’ve got only two presents to go so I’m on the home stretch. If you’ve been keeping up with this blog, you’ll know that I only shop locally. So when I stopped by the Local-E pop-up shop in Gastown to see what they had in store, I discovered within the same block that there was The Found and the Freed. So now I get to blog twice! It’s a holiday miracle!

Local-E features ONLY local designers, which is so awesome. There’s lots to see, but I’d say it’s heavier on the women’s side of things. Lots of accessories, apparel, and jewellery. If I was Santa, picks for myself might include the following:

Shibang Textiles Clutch – $70
More colours and sizes available!
Does anyone else think of William Hung from American Idol when you see this name?

Bianca Barr Design Earrings $58

Bianca Barr Designs Necklace – $88

Baby Hoodie by Superfly Lullabies – $38

Local Grain wooden ornaments – $5

Little Houses coat – $90 (also available in purple, grey, brown, and grey)

Little Houses is an amazing designer line I’d never heard of. This photo doesn’t do the brand justice, so you’ll just have to check them out online or go to Local-E yourself.

Amanda of Mara Gottler showed me a few of the pieces in the collection, a few of which she was sporting herself in-store:

Triple-Pleated top (Black wool gauze) $125
Harem Pant (Black vintage silk crepe) – $175

Two panelled top (Knit jersey with black wool gauze) – $75
Harem Pant (Black vintage silk crepe) – $175

Mara Gottler shirt $125
Bianca Barr Designs necklace $58

Show-stopper outfits! There is much much more to see including show favourites like Jola V. Designs recycled leather bags, and Daub & Design. So check out Local-E before they close doors on Sunday December 18!

The Found and the Freed‘s third pop-up shop in Gastown is on until December 17, 11am-7pm daily. The shop specializes in found vintage objects and antiques similar to what you’d see at Stepback in Kits. Definitely not the items you want to grab and go for that Secret Santa gift you forgot about; more for the wise collector. Some of the cool items I liked:

Antique toy airplane – $145
My grandfather was an airline pilot, so this made me think of him.