When I was five I found out that I can’t hear. I didn’t notice anything wrong but my parents, teachers, they noticed. I was acting out. I got hearing aids and some assistance, but for the most part, I went through all of school without ever knowing what was going on. I got okay marks […]
Bottle Depot vs Recycle BC
This poster went around recently. It says that Bottle Depot, the biggest recycling company in Victoria, won’t accept Blue Box materials anymore. It was a real kick in the gut when I saw this, and for a lot of other people as well. We try our best to recycle responsibly around here. Especially amongst my […]
Extended Producer Responsibility
As a human living in a progressive, west coast city where everyone brings their own bags and mugs and has gardens and chickens in the backyard and rides their bike, I feel like we are already doing as much as we can, and at the same time not remotely enough, to stop pollution and climate […]
New job + A new SEO tool I made
I started a new job a couple months ago. I don’t think I notified social media, so here’s the official announcement – I’m a project manager at Geeks on the Beach! […]
Compostable plastics: The hard-to-break-down facts
Update on compostable plastics – we had a talk where Jack, Chet, and two other experts shared their knowledge about CP. Here’s a writeup. https://vancouverisland.surfrider.org/compostable-plastics-101/ Chris-Ann and I picked up Chet at the Compost Education Center in Fernwood on Monday morning. In the car, he told us a little of his background. He was a […]
Viking Ship of 2018
My friends and I got together to build a boat the other day. We build one at the end of the year to fill up with memories and put out to sea in a Viking burial ceremony on New Year’s Eve. In past years the boat was made of cardboard and papier-mâché. It’s lots of […]
The Shipping Container Plan
Last year I needed a big project. Having just returned from Denmark with a head full of information about Danish interior design, I decided to import a container of vintage Danish furniture to Victoria, where there is a strong market for it. Cost breakdown As the plan came together, I needed to increase my certainty […]
Learning About Upholstery
Upholstery is expensive. I’ve learned a few things on my journey – how to refinish teak, how to walk into someone’s place of business and try to sell them stuff, how to get awkwardly shaped large objects into a car without scratching anything – but the advice I’ve heard most is, stay away from projects […]
Treasures from Ladysmith
In March I found a dresser that checked all the boxes for a killer UsedVic deal. Terrible, poorly-lit photograph that didn't show what the item looked like; ungrammatical copy; located up island in Ladysmith. The dresser itself was a teak 9-drawer midcentury modern piece with wooden drawer pulls and those conical legs that are so […]
Stuffing Large Things Into Small Cars
I’ve been busy since the last time I checked in. Of my ten ideas for growing the business, I’ve tried two. Instead of turning my car in for a van, I got a tow hitch installed. And I’ve tried selling things myself and putting them up for consignment, so I can get a bigger share […]