At Home with Bakelite
A Guide to the Best Vancouver Vacation Attractions
by: Greg Mattson
Vancouver is a great place for vacations, romantic getaways, or as a base for exploring southwestern B.C. Let me tell you some more about our hometown!
One of the most unique aspects about Vancouver is its location. The wilderness is only a hour drive away from downtown!
Getting close to nature is very easy here. The hiking, sailing, skiing and golfing opportunities are just awesome and available most of the year. You can travel to Whistler quite easily (1.5 hr drive from the city), and the ferry to Victoria on Vancouver Island is a short 30 km trip to the south.
When is the best time to plan your Vancouver vacation? Anytime between April to the end of September will give you a decent chance for some nice weather. We get the most rain and low clouds between November and February.
Here’s a brief look at some of the top Vancouver attractions:
Stanley Park: One of the jewels of Vancouver. An incredible 405 hectare park right beside the city center! Trails through the forest, excellent views of the city and north shore mountains, historic totem poles, and the Vancouver Aquarium are just a few reasons why this should be one of the first stops on your Vancouver vacation.
Robson Street: The main shopping artery in the city. Shops, restaurants, and hotels line each side of the street, which gets pretty busy from June to October. If you like Starbucks and love to people watch, there are 2 of them across from each other on the corner of Robson and Thurlow streets!
Canada Place: Originally built for Expo 86, Canada Place, which includes the convention center and Pan Pacific Hotel, is a signature building on the Vancouver waterfront, vaguely familiar to the Opera House in Sydney. A walk around the perimeter shows off the North Shore Mountains, harbor and any cruise ships that are docked during the summer season. If youre in the mood for a film of some type, the IMAX Theater at the north end has interesting films on a giant five story high screen with surround sound!
Granville Island: Just a great place to spend an afternoon or early evening wandering through the shops, checking out the Public Market, sipping an espresso and watching the buskers, or stopping by the Granville Island Brewery and sampling the latest pale ale! You can also catch the sea taxi, a small little craft that shuttles you around False Creek to different places like Science World and across the water to the downtown side.
Capilano Suspension Bridge: Its a long way down! (Over 200 ft). A rope-and-plank swinging bridge over the rushing waters of the Capilano River scary, but totally safe! Numbers of visitors wise, this is the biggest draw in the city, and the admission price has gotten a little steeper too. Try mornings or early evening for the fewest crowds.
Copyright © 2004 Excellent Romantic Vacations
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About The Author Greg Mattson is the editor of Excellent Romantic Vacations A guide to great romantic vacations & getaways in Canada, the USA and around the world. Find out more about Vancouver and Vancouver hotels in our Pacific Northwest Vacation section. |
At Home with Bakelite
by: linda grossman and evelyn roth
Plastic objects are part of our history. These items represent a significant example of Americana. The Smithsonian, the Museum of Modern Art and the Philadelphia Museum all include plastics in their collections.
You do not have to go to a museum to enjoy seeing and collecting plastic items. The primary goal of the new movement, in the 1930s and 40s, was to provide less expensive, decorative, and useful items in the home, using machines to create and service the large population.
It created an enormous variety of both functional and decorative high and low cost objects for the home which are sought after by collectors today. Antique plastic is not a contradiction of terms plastics have been around in synthetic form for well over 100 years making them a true antique.
BAKELITE was developed by Dr. Leo Baekeland in 1907 and was originally intended as an insulator for electricity, and is not quite 100 years old. Besides Bakelite jewelry, Bakelite has brought us items such as radios, kitchenware, flatware, clocks, Bakelite handled utensils, telephones, salt and pepper shakers, etc. The list of items boggle the mind and keeps increasing the pleasure it brings to the collector of any or all of the above.
When to decide to collect Bakelite? Colors, design and style are no doubt what will attract you initially. The broad pallet of Bakelite enables todays collector to enjoy both nostalgia and utility. For example, your eye catches a set of red plastic canisters and it becomes a look in your kitchen, which can be followed for a search for a set of Bakelite Flatware for your dining experience. Above all, you are buying what you like and at the same time buying items of value. The value increases as authentic examples of an era diminish in supply. Collecting is a tangible, you had fun finding it and have the pleasure of the item in your home.
The term streamlined appeared in magazines and illustrations of the day, to describe the design that set this era apart. Cocktail shakers, some accentuated with Bakelite, Bakelite napkin rings, drink stirrers, fruit knives, etc., were all part of the scene - the streamlined Bakelite radio playing popular songs of the day. This is now what collectors seek to continue to enhance the look of the era that has now become an important part of their lives.
We advise collectors of Antique and Vintage Bakelite items for their home, to buy what gives them pleasure and dont be afraid to set an eclectic table utensils and flatware do not have to match nor do they have to be the same color. Buy orphaned pieces of Bakelite flatware to create a bright and colorful look all that matters is what appeals to you, the collector.
Be certain, that in order to assure the continuance of this search for Antique and Vintage Bakelite for the home, one has to always be certain of where and from whom these items are being purchased, and buy from reputable and knowledgeable dealers.
At our shop Evelynnes Oldies But Goodies at Ruby Lane, we have been dealing in and have an expertise in the field of Antique and Vintage Bakelite for well over 20 years. Please stop by and enjoy our selection of all things bakelite, including Bakelite household items, which include utensils, flatware, etc.
http://www.rubylane.com/shops/evelynnesoldiesbutgoodies
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About The Author My mom and I have been vintage Bakelite dealers for over 20 years - with shop and show experience and now in an online shop for over 2 years - dealing in vintage Bakelite Jewelry, Bakelite Flatware and Kitchenware. |
