In today’s episode of Glo Says Let's Talk Local Podcast - Season 6 - Special Shorts (a weekly Business, Entrepreneur and Arts Podcast) host Gloria Chong is joined by Kevin Tholenaars, Plantrepeneur and CEO of Plantsome North America. Plantsome is an ingenious solution that helps you buy plants online and more importantly care for your plants using their helpful app!Resources:Use code TENOFF for 10% off of any products on plantsome.caGlo Says Lets Talk Local Podcast: Apple | Spotify | Instagram | Facebook

In today’s episode of Glo Says Let's Talk Local Podcast - Season 6 - Special Shorts (a weekly Business, Entrepreneur and Arts Podcast) host Gloria Chong is joined by Robinson Smith the best-selling author of “The Smith Manoeuvre - Master Your Mortgage”. This could be a smart investment strategy technique that converts your non-tax-deductible mortgage into a tax-deductible mortgage. Check out what Rob has to say about how this financial strategy can help Canadian homeowners.Resources:Use code TENOFF for 10% off of any products on smithmanoeuvre.comGlo Says Lets Talk Local Podcast: Apple | Spotify | Instagram | Facebook

In today’s episode of Glo Says Let's Talk Local Podcast - Season 6 - Special Shorts (a weekly Business, Entrepreneur and Arts Podcast) host Gloria Chong talks to guest Charmaine Hammond, professional speaker, author and now Executive Producer of the award-winning short film Back Home Again. “Back Home Again” is an animated short film about the devastating Fort McMurray wildfire featuring a star-studded cast that includes Tom Green, Michael J. Fox, Kim Basinger, Bill Burr, and Marlon Waynes. Listen now to how this movie came to be and get to know Charmaine’s story as well.Resources:www.backhomeagainmovie.comGlo Says Lets Talk Local Podcast: Apple | Spotify | Instagram | Facebook

In today’s episode of Glo Says Let's Talk Local Podcast - Season 6 - Special Shorts (a weekly Business, Entrepreneur and Arts Podcast) host Gloria Chong talk to guest Mickey McLeod (co-founder of Salt Spring Coffee) about his 25 years of coffee roasting in the Vancouver area. Mickey joins Glo to share his humble beginnings, explain Salt Springs life long commitment to sustainability and community, plus learn where he sees the future of coffee roasting for his business.Key Quotes:The Way to Do Business"But to me, that's the only way to do business, you know, you have to care about it, and care about people and the process, and, you know, the planet and all of that, we just have done that forever.  So it's what we do."Coffee Is Like Art"The thing about coffee, which is kind of interesting is that it's kind of like art, you know, I mean, you can interpret in a different way.  So you could give 10 coffee roasters, the same coffee and you'll probably get a different taste of 10 different coffees because they're gonna do it their own way."Sustainability is Broad, Care is Specific and More Precise"That's why I don't really like using the word sustainability, because it can be overused, and not really understood. That's why we talk more about caring.  If you start from the first part of the process, and care about the person, the family that grew the coffee, and give them the attention they need, and then they care about they're doing and then you care about the cooperative that's helping them and then you know, you care about the trader that we're working with, you know, got good relations, you just care each step of the way and then you can kind of drill down from there."Resources:www.saltspringcoffee.comGlo Says Lets Talk Local Podcast: Apple | Spotify | Instagram | Facebook

Happy New Year and a brief message about what's on for Seasons 6, 7 and 8.www.instagram.com/glosays

In today’s episode of ‘Glo Says Let's Talk Local’ podcast - Season 5 - What ART thou? Where ART thou? (A weekly Business, Entrepreneur and Arts Podcast) Gloria speaks to some Docents (Esther, Fides and Ginley) today who lead guided tours on a voluntary basis in a Museum or an Art Gallery. If you ever find yourself staring quizzically at something in a museum and wondering, ‘What Art Thou?!' Go ask a Docent.  They will be happy to help you.Episode Highlights02:40 – Esther says she worked as a Docent in a Creative Art Gallery in Singapore where they specialized in Printmaking and Fine Art Prints and it was quite helpful to learn how they created that art.04:40 – Gloria asks all the three guests about why they wanted to be a Docent.06:50 – Ginley says that in Denver they have a preschool program, early elementary program and then a middle and high school program.17:00 – Esther describes her favourite artists or artworks in an Art Gallery.19:15 – Fides says that she loves ‘Van Gogh’ and ‘Matisse’ and would love them on her wall.21:00 – All the speakers give their opinion about the firing of Docents in Chicago.24:00 – Gloria asks about any current art shows they would recommend to the public to see.Some Key Points Fides shares that at the Vancouver Art Gallery, it’s not only about giving kids information but also engaging them so they would think critically by using the Visual Thinking Strategy, which is student centred.Esther says that she had an idea but had no understanding of how much preparation goes into being a Docent in addition to the training, which is extensive, especially if you have no art background.Quotes:“I appreciate that you guys have a lot of training and passion for this position.” – Gloria“I would recommend coming to Denver to see the new Martin Building.” – GinleyResources:Glo Says Lets Talk Local Podcast:AppleSpotifyInstagramFacebook

In today’s episode of ‘Glo Says Let's Talk Local’ podcast - Season 5 - What ART thou? Where ART thou? (A weekly Business, Entrepreneur and Arts Podcast) host Gloria Chong and her co-host Kristin Lim talk about what more art there is to visit and explore in the last few weeks of this year. Kristin has curated this list of places for you!Episode Highlights02:11 – Gloria asks Kristin, if she ever got to imagine Van Gogh? 05:10 – ‘Polygon Gallery Shop’ is a good place to go right downstairs below the Polygon Gallery.  The gallery is showcasing a solo artist named Steven Shearer, he'd be worth going to see and there's a ‘Nemesis Coffee’ right next door.06:02 – Kristin shares that the ‘Toque Craft Fair’ is an annual craft fair organized by the Western Front which takes place from December 1st to December 5th. 08:10 – ‘Combine Art Fair’ is a mini art fair which is collaboration between some galleries including ‘Franc Gallery’ and ‘Monica Reyes Gallery’. and will have all the art projects taking place at Griffin Art Projects from December 1st to December 5th, says Kristin.09:36 – A strange Christmas market takes place during December 3rd to 5th. 11:08 – Gloria mentions that ‘Got Craft’ is a big one and is around for much longer. They're running right now, virtually till November 28th and then they will be in person from December 18th to 19th at the ‘Croatian Cultural Centre’.12:05 – ‘August Studios’ will be hosting this Pop-up Market during the first three weekends in December 4th – 5th, 11th – 12th and 18th – 19th.14:38 – Gloria shares a little more information from their (Combine Art Fair) social platforms. Interesting PointThe unique thing about ‘Toque Craft Fair’ is that it is the annual holiday fundraiser for the Western Front and vendors who participate very generously donate 30% of sales to support Western Fronts Artistic Programs.Host Quotes“Really, there's something for everybody.” – Kristin Lim“Western Front does programs in Exhibitions, Media, Arts and Music.” – Kristin Lim“The first week of December is a hotspot, I would say for checking things out.” – Gloria ChongResources/ LinksGlo Says Lets Talk Local Podcast: AppleSpotifyGlo Says:InstagramKristin Lim: Instagram

In today’s episode of of Season 5 - What ART thou? Where ART thou?  host Gloria Chong and her co-host Kristin Lim talk to guest, Ken Lum the creator of the iconic East Van Cross and his connection with Vancouver. He shares generously and genuinely about his background and about his journey to becoming an Artist Extraordinaire. Episode Highlights• 3:20 – Gloria says, Ken is a world famous artist with roots in Vancouver. He is currently the Chair of Fine Arts at the University of Pennsylvania.• 4:35 – Ken states that he went to SFU as he just needed to get a new start.• 7:33 – Ken didn’t know anything about Contemporary Art but then he discovered at SFU, there was a Center for Contemporary Arts and they were just starting at that point. • 11:29 – Art wasn't a dream for Ken; it was more of like an escape from lab life or escape from factory life. • 19:21- Kristin asks Ken, when he started to pick-up his camera and go around photographing.• 22:29 – Ken’s career started before he started doing a MFA at UBC.• 28:15 – Ken went the academic route because having a salary gives you some breathing space in the marketplace.• 30:52 – Ken is working towards the show in New York and in January, one of his screenplays is under discussion right now. Interesting Points1. He thought being a graphic illustrator, and that sort of stuff was basically the extent of being an artist. He didn't know anything beyond that. He didn't know anything about the world of Museums and Galleries but then he accidentally discovered this course at SFU.2. Some artists have no problem with the market, but he always had a problem with it because it's always compromising of one's ideals of what art should do and how art should perform and that's one of the reasons he took the academic route. Interesting Quotes• “My mother was really upset with me especially when she found out I was interested in being an artist.” – Ken Lum• “I didn't want to be in a lab coat in lab, for my life. I mean, that's fine for other people but for me, I wanted something more.” - Ken LumResources/ Links• Glo Says Let’s Talk Local Podcast: Apple​​Spotify• Kristin Lim: Instagram• Gloria Chong: Email• Ken Lum: Website 

In today’s episode of ‘Glo Says Let's Talk Local’ podcast - Season 5 - What ART thou? Where ART thou? (A weekly Business, Entrepreneur and Arts Podcast) host Gloria Chong and her co-host Kristin Lim talk to guest - Adrian Sinclair (Director of Engagement and Co-founder of the Vancouver Mural Festival). Adrian shares everything about Vancouver Mural Festival including how it all started, the goals and how it supports Vancouver's many artists.Episode Highlights2:28 – Gloria asks Adrian, how it all started. She further asks, “Do you have to call everything a mural because you're a Co-founder of the Mural Festival?”3:52 – Adrian says that the festival is really about creating a much more open, accessible and a public art event.4:44 - Adrian highlights that their background was doing events with transformation projects; they do large scale events for social & community benefit-based organizations.8:41 – A lot of the money that came in early for the Mural Fest was through engineering and not through public art, states Adrian.10:00 - They spent a year working like a lot more than full time to get the first year off the ground, says Adrian.11:23 – Drew was both a Convener and practicing artist. He created events for their artists to show work. 14:14 – Kristin inquires, now that the Mural Festival is fairly established if there is an application process or how does that whole art selection process work.16:06 – Their mission is to create visibility for communities that did not have the chance to participate.18:55 – Gloria states that they are providing all the pillars that an artist needs.23:45 – Artists are amazing at creating story and mural is about accessing a public that didn't pay to be there and didn't decide to be there.27:23 – We tried to honour lots of Graffiti Artists in the first year, says Adrian.Key PointsAdrian says that their goal is to develop curatorial as well as artistic capacity in Vancouver, so they can measure their success on how many curators will be given either their first or biggest opportunity that they've gotten.It's been amazing to watch once artists have murals-up how much work they get.The actual reason why they're doing all this work is to basically create a society or to influence everyone as a society that deeply values art and culture. Show Quotes“We have to like hustle for every dollar to pay ourselves and do the actual work” Adrian Sinclair  “We've always heard the statistic like most artists’ per capita, and all this sort of stuff is true.” Adrian Sinclair“Everyone gets paid right from the beginning and we really pride ourselves”. Adrian Sinclair“We have a ton of artists who are almost annoyed at us how much work they get now” Adrian Sinclair“You've devoted a lot to art and the support of art and the future of art.” – Gloria ChongFind Us: Glo Says Let’s Talk Local Podcast: AppleSpotifyKristin Lim: InstagramVancouver Mural Festival: Website

In today’s episode of ‘Glo Says Let's Talk Local’ podcast - Season 5 - What ART thou? Where ART thou? (A weekly Business, Entrepreneur and Arts Podcast) host Gloria Chong and her co-host Kristin Lim discuss the East Side Culture Crawl, a perfect example of a very local event. It's an annual event where Professional Artists participate in the East Side Cultural Crawl and open-up their studios for the public. It's spread over four days and this year it is extended over two weekends.Episode Highlights7:00 - Gloria says Randy Steifel is an amazing and a talented Wood Maker. ‘Renegade Wood Works’ offers Laser Cutting, CAD Design, Wood Carving Signs Fabrication, etc.9:00 – Kristin thinks having the opportunity to visit artists in their studio is fantastic. She really feels it’s for everybody going through the culture crawl.11:20 - The ‘Culture Crawl’ has expanded beyond Parker Street Studios, there's so many other studio buildings/ artists who work out of their homes, and they change year-to-year.19:23 – “Some of the artists Kristin enjoys seeing are Fiona Ackerman, she is an established artist and she shows in galleries across Canada. She also has a few murals around the city.22:06 – Kristin mentions that another artist she always enjoy visiting is Carla Tak. She's just a really fascinating artist.24:15 – Another artist at Franklin Street Studios is Kate Metten; she makes things like mugs and plates and functional things for your home.26:12 – Gloria enquires that location wise, can you do all that one afternoon or do you need to go there a couple of times?28:14 - The Wilder Snail is always really kind of lovely during the Culture Crawl, says Kristin.30:21 - The Mergatroid has a lot of ceramics and worth checking out too.Three Key PointsKristin thinks that what's super interesting to see during the East Side Culture Crawl is how these professional artists work. Besides, what's great about the Culture Crawl it's a time where you can discover artists, meet them, talk to them about their work and see their work either by their work on the spot or see something in their studio that you like.Besides artists and their friends, the East Side Culture Crawl event is organized for the general public. If you live in Vancouver, artists are so important to the community, they contribute so much to the community. Kristin feels like there's often a bit of mystery.  To be a professional artist takes a lot of dedication and hard work.Kristin talks about the many places to see at the Culture Crawl and discusses her strategy or what she does at the event. She suggests that if you like something at the event then just buy it.Tweetable Quotes“I can't imagine opening-up my workspace to the public.” – Gloria Chong“I really think there's something for everybody in the East Side Culture Crawl event.” - Kristin LimResources/ Links:Glo Says Lets Talk Local Podcast:AppleSpotifyKristin Lim: Instagram