The startup culture in Vancouver is not only thriving, it’s growing. It’s become a trend of it’s own that inspires, and encourages everyone to join in. People who move to the city see and experience this first hand, and realize that when surrounded by the energy here, there isn’t anything they can’t do. The world is your oyster in Vancouver, but how did that come to be? Why is Vancouver such a hot-bed of self employed creatives?
As part of an ongoing series, we’ll be meeting and interviewing creative entrepreneurs in Vancouver to see how and why they think this has happened, how they’ve benefited from it, and what makes them tick as an entrepreneur; we want to know, “Why Vancouver”.
Part of the beauty of doing your own thing in Vancouver, is that if you want to mix the best of two worlds ("regular" 9-5 jobs AND freelance gigs), well you can! The majority of our creative community is made up folks just like todays interviewee Chelsea, merging multiple jobs to fulfill income and passion needs.
"I think it’s really common for people in creative careers to go in and out of various forms of employment, or change up their income streams. I’ve worked in-house at a signage company for years, agency side for over 3 years to learn from mature seasoned pros, [and have] freelanced full time for 4 years while balancing some retainer contracts. Now I’m working 80% in-house, in which I enjoy large scale projects, and 20% freelance so that I can keep taking on small projects for [the] non-profits I love.
I see myself as being almost bi-vocational. This is really common in Vancouver; swinging between full time freelance to partial freelance, while maintaining some level of employment contract and then likely back to full freelance one day in the future.
Could be years away, but I’m not ruling out being a full time freelancer again – there’s just so much interesting work to be done where I’m at for now. The digital nomad lifestyle for a season appeals to me. Right now I split my time between the creative hub of Mt. Pleasant, sitting in coffee shops in the East side of Vancouver and the Surrey City Centre. Both are hot spots in BC for tech and commerce fused with creative thinking. I’ve enjoyed making the commitment to work for Century Group Development Corporation. Their outlook on innovative mixed-use projects, building communities [and] making the best use of the land parcels they developed [has] made it irresistible not to partner with them. I have worked with them for nearly 3 years on contracts - most of the time responsibility for change also requires significant commitment. That was a trade off I was finally ready to make.
I struggle with the loneliness that can come with endless days of freelancing, [but] on the flip side [I have] the routinized days of a ‘grown up job’.
I’m grateful for this season of life. It’s a rare privilege to have the agility to go between blazer-wearing-meetings and construction-sites-tours to yoga-pant-patio, beers and brainstorming - both help me fully express my potential as a versatile designer. Again the west coat, lower mainland culture makes a lot of this possible.
Vancouver has big-city resources with a small town vibe. While it can be hard to ‘break in’ here, you’ll find everyone knows everyone. Making acquaintances is easy, but as a caution, making real friends can be hard. But persevere! Most people say it can take a year to feel like home and that’s true for me too.
Cities with higher costs of living tend to force people to be creative in their income streams [and] you find these cool hybrid lives emerging. I have two roommates, one is an artist and social worker with a non-profit the other is a server/bartender/singer. Cross pollination of ideas has to happen; it’s necessity. Friend groups, living arrangements, co-working spaces are populated with such cross discipline people that unique collaborations happen in this city as the norm."
Stay tuned for more interviews (1 every week!) with other creative “do-ers” on the topic of “Why Vancouver”, and in the meantime check out Chelsea’s top 5 for getting sh*t done:
1. Do you have a favourite cafe or local spot to work from?
I need so much variety in any kind of routine, I almost exhaust myself trying find a new corner of the city I haven’t explore yet! My ‘home’ coffee shop is the original Matchstick off Fraser Street, but keep that as a safe place for my mind for personal stuff purposely don’t do much stress filled client work there; I tend to do personal days there, reading, journaling, praying – it’s home. For work through the summer my go-to spot has been JJ Bean on Main St, primarily the range of seating is fantastic… from soft fireside chairs, to working tables, to bar top, outdoor and sunny patio allows for a huge [range of] inspiring spots to work [from] if you commit to that location for the day. There is a range of healthy food items for those longer work days too.
However, I do try to adhere to the unspoken ‘coffee shop’ workers code of buying a new item every two hours so I’m not a complete wifi / table mooch, making sure to visibly tip and above all say thank you SO much to the staff. It’s a pet peeve of mine, the new breed of solo "laptopper" workers monopolizing tables for 4 with their stuff sprawled out. Sit at a bar top, contain your crap to one space to keep good public space etiquette. Don’t monopolize the only plug also. Come with your devices charged (since you might not get a spot right away) and once you are charged, unplug again as a symbol to others that if they need the spot they could share the plug. I think most Vancouverites maintain this code well, and those who break the code cause others to shoots glances of understanding and disdain from the ‘regulars’ at that establishment. Rant over.
That said, there are benefits to working out of a co-working space. For myself, I dabble occasionally - using co-working spaces on days when I need to marathon, [have access to] outlets, consistent wifi and don’t want to by something every 2 hours.
2. What's your favourite music to listen to whilst working?
Usually full, optimistic sounds, lots of creative instrumentals, something I have visceral reactions to – I find it fosters focus for active minds and shows up in my creativity. Mostly things that have no lyrics, or lyrics I can’t understand. I listen to classical musical, peppy Bollywood soundtracks, distorted electronica, here’s a few links to all of the the above:
- Snarky Puppy and Corry Henry
- Leo Kottke – One man, One guitar, no vocals.
BUT If I could only give ONE suggestion today that would be: Metavari.
Metavari is the stage name of Indiana-based electronic musician and graphic artist, Nathaniel David Utesch. They’ve painstakingly samples 80’s synthesizers and have made new modern sounds with warm Saxophones and digital voices. Saw him live in Memphis Tennessee on a trip - amazing. Check them out!
I also love where they get he gets his inspiration from, so I listen to their “likes list” sometimes good for hours of listening. You’re welcome 😉
Right now, to concentrate on writing in this coffee shop, I’m listening to “Classical Thunder” playlist on Spotify. A song by F.J Hayden just played, and now the Carmina Burana: O Fortuna movement by the London Symphony Orchestra is blaring. It’s intense. But I can’t understand the lyrics so I’m not distracted and rich layered orchestral music drowns out the chatter around me. And you’ll be surprised how much you feel like you're in a movie about your own life, with an amazing soundtrack :).
I also don’t trust myself to stumble on the cool new stuff, so I ask people who live and breath music to keep me up to date. I go with my roommate to live shows in the Eastside for weird stuff I’d never like, and ask my friend Kenzie Peters who works professionally in the music industry for constant ideas for new artists.
3. What's your favourite thing about summer in Vancouver?
I probably should say hiking or biking… but really: the patio season! The first sunny days, even if it’s still a bit cold every establishment makes a patio spot. I love when you can work in the fresh air, and in the evenings sharing sweet potato friends shared with friends. Four Winds Nectarous (award winning beer) a dry-hopped sour ale comes out for seasonal purchase. Also, seeing the tattoos come out. I’ve known our neighbour for some months now, but she came over in the summer with shorts on and only then I saw this amazing tugboat tattoo on her upper thigh. I have to be careful not too stare at people haha.
4. What's one thing you can't live without?
A quality Americano Misto, some dark chocolate, singing in the car, a blank note book and a thin colourful felt tip pen.
5. What's the best advice you've ever been given as freelancer/ self employed designer?
Odd stuff input = Creative output.
First year in college, I was mentored by Jeremy Penner, told me once early in my career that what you listen to and what you exposure mind as inspirational influences affect you so much in your ability to output creatively. “How do you expect to create new stuff, if your input is the same old mainstream stuff. Seek out ” While he was behind a desk a desk at the time, he exposed me to artists like Basquiat and creative audio like Kid Koala. This was nearly 15 years ago now, I was listening to Backstreet Boys. Well he knew what he was talking about, now he’s a People and Culture Specialist of Domain7.
Do it decisively.
My Art Director John Belisle at while I was at Vancouver Agency Signals saw my work and recognized my design solutions, but I was cautious trying so hard to be just competent. But he would challenge me to push the direction I was going further and further. He saw my trajectory.. but it was almost fence-sitting safe in it’s final form. He say, if you’re doing big type do BIG type. Be colourful or be dark – but be decisive. That is what a designer is paid for, you’re the pro, you can pull it off, being more daring than the client can be on their own is why you’re being asked to do the work. That’s helped me a lot to shake of the creative doubt sometimes.
For weekly advice for creatives check out The Creative Peptalk by Illustrator and Instructor Andy J. Miller.
(Gosh I sound way cooler on paper than I am in real life. HA. HA. I’m a chubby nerd; say hi at Chelsea@McKenzieDesign.ca)
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