Category: Art

Friperie: Thrifting in Montreal

The first thing that strikes me when wandering the streets of Montreal is just how charming it all is. Brownstones, boutiques, ancient stone buildings…it feels more Europe and less Canada.

One thing I love doing while traveling is thrifting. It is a great way to find unique pieces, unknown (to me) brands, and clothes that now hold a special place in my heart.

My first stop was at Marche Floh, a three story vintage store on Saint-Denis street in Le Plateu-Mont-Royal neighborhood. This is a definite must-do while in Montreal, not only because of the massive amount of curated and excellent vintage finds, but because of their unique business model. Marche Floh offers their brick-and-mortar space to local entrepreneurs, each hanger in the store representing a different independent vintage reseller. Since each reseller is hand picking items to highlight at Floh, the selection is exceptional. I found cute sweater vests, vintage blouses, and a vintage slip that I could not live without. I loved that I felt that I was supporting small businesses while also adding unique pieces to my wardrobe.

Next up, Village des Valeurs, or as I know it in the States: Value Village.

I love Value Village, and frequent my local spot in Scottsdale pretty regularly. I always, always find something. On my trip to Montreal, we had an unexpected few rainy days and with lots of walking on the calendar, I knew I needed to find a poncho, raincoat, or something to keep me dry while I was there. I was delighted to find something I know and love so close to me in the Hampstead neighborhood and decided to look there for something dry.

My first impression of Village Des Valeurs was the size. To call this place a store is wildly underselling the scale, which in my mind was more of a warehouse. I was impressed by how organized and plentiful the store was. I found it hard to pull myself away from each section as there was such an amazing selection.

Ask and the universe delivers: when I finally did make my way to the coats section, there it was. A rubber raincoat without so much as a scuff on it, in absolutely perfect condition, in a beautiful matte navy color. And the price! $18.49 CAD! Sold!

Finally, while in the hyper-chic area of St. Laurent, I stumbled into Ribotti Vintage, an elegant and curated vintage, retro winterwear. Think: Snowsuits from the 90s, wool coats, and snowpants.

They also had a beautiful selection of vintage denim and my absolutely favorite, old worker jumpsuits.

I barely scratched the surface thrifting in Montreal, and I’m already daydreaming about going back for a second pass.

How to see FREE Art in San Francisco

If you are like me, art plays a central role in any trip. From paintings to architecture to weird one-person performance pieces, tuning into art on a trip adds an important dimension to all of my travels.

In a place like San Francisco, where the art world is thriving, it can be hard to narrow down exactly what to see, especially if you are short on time. How do you prioritize? And with any trip, there is always the decision point of what to spend money on and where to save. If you are going to San Francisco, don’t let the art slip by. Here is how to see some beautiful works, and for FREE!

Go For The Gallery

Mr. Brainwash

Galleries line the streets in SF, and can be found in most neighborhoods. The highest concentration of these galleries live between Union Square and The Tenderloin districts, specifically on the streets running east/west. Geary, Sutter, and Post streets all have excellent galleries with collections from very famous artists.

Salvador Dali

The collections are for sale and often the spaces are smaller, but there are no lines, no fees for entrance, and excellent variety of unique pieces you will not see in larger museums.

On this trip, we stumbled into the Christopher-Clark Fine Art gallery (where we were introduced to the artist Mr. Brainwash, who, according to the gallery staff, is a protégé of Banksy. He was already a street artist when Banksy discovered him and took him under his wing. His pieces are layered and complex and visually very, very cool.

As we perused the rest of the gallery, we discovered a collection of Salvador Dali pieces, as well as a collection of Pieces by Matisse and Rembrandt. It was an exceptional collection, and best of all, no lines and free!

Next we hit openings at two smaller galleries on Sutter. At Hashimoto Contemporary gallery we saw the opening of Scott Albrecht’s exhibit “Holding Time”, a Brooklyn based artist displaying his signature graphic relief paintings and sculpture.

Scott Albrecht

After checking out his beautiful works, we popped into the gallery next door, Glass Rice, where another opening was in progress.

Gallery hopping in San Francisco is a lovely way to see unique pieces by famous artists and fabulous new works by emerging artists. If you are traveling to San Francisco, be sure to add this to your itinerary to add an extra dimension to your experience.