Mike McCardell from Global BC stopped by our store to find out which flags are best sellers and which are… not. In addition to a star-making turn by Susan, you can also see staff members Saya, Breanna, and Ali.
Canada flags are, of course, our best seller, but the new Diamond Jubilee flags are doing brisk business. I suppose we’ll be holding onto that “No Bozos” flag until people decide that bozos aren’t welcome once again. These things are cyclical.
We are excited to show off the flag we have donated to the One Epic Journey team who are doing the 2012 Ride to Conquer Cancer that goes from Vancouver to Seattle in June. Team captain Bill deGroot got some of the staff to pose with the flag before it left the building.
One Epic Journey will be carrying the flag across the start and finish lines of the event as well as flying it at their campsite between legs. They have just passed the $20k mark in fundraising, and their ultimate goal is $25k which I am sure they will reach. We wish them the best of luck on the ride!
Co-op TV recently put together this Common Thread Co-operative video which does a beautiful job explaining what they do and the difference they make in the lives of the women with whom they work.
Susan has a cameo, and you can see some footage of our production area.
Speaking of Common Thread! Spread the word – we are looking for banner donations on their behalf since they have been so wildly successful that they are beginning to deplete their stash of banners that they recycle into tote bags.
We have already begun reaching out to our customers, but if you or someone you know is in a position to donate, please get in touch with Susan at The Flag Shop at (604) 736 8161 or (800) 663 8681. We will be happy to arrange picking them up.
You can read more about their Banners to Bags program here.
Photo by Jessica Brodeur at BeatRoute
Once upon a time, our amazing production manager, Ron Reyes, was part of the punk scene, most famously as the lead singer for the band Black Flag. Today he’s an unstoppable force of flag and banner production as well as a family man, but he still makes time for his current band PIGGY. Ron was recently interviewed by the music magazine BeatRoute about his day job. You can read the interview here where he talks about his time with us at The Flag Shop, where our head office in Vancouver is in the process of rebranding. (More on the rebranding later!)
The winners of Richmond’s annual street banner design contest will be on display soon across the city. This year had several themes which will correspond to specific zones within Richmond: Parks and Nature, Transportation, Active Living, Arts Culture & Heritage, and City Centre. The city has posted a few sneak peeks of the banners from their unveiling ceremony where they congratulated the winners.
We made the 900 banners here and most of them are printed on Echotex® which is a 100% recycled fabric made specifically for banners. Here are a few of the winners posing with their banners.
We will put up photos of the banners in action once they are up!
All photos are the property of the City of Richmond Parks and Recreation Department.
Last week, we attended the Beyond the Bag Eco-Fashion Showcase out at SFU’s Surrey campus to see what it looks like when a team of excessively creative high school sewing students take old banners and scrap fabric and turn them into wearable art as part of the Banner Bags program. The results were mind-blowingly good. The participants made everything from a dress with a full bustle to an umbrella cover to a messenger bag. Our gallery on Facebook has photos of some of the clothes on display.
Here is a photo of the banner we made for them:
Congratulations to the winners
While we see IYC products every day, they are usually all nestled together in boxes or in stacks on the floor. We look forward to the newsletters sent out by the CCA because they almost always have the action shots!
At the IYC launch in Ottawa, our lanyards were on full display.
Meanwhile in Guelph, the paper flags were a big hit.
Here’s a large vertical banner we did for Your Credit Union in Ottawa. With a name like that, they have no doubt heard every “Who’s on first”-type joke available so I will refrain from making one now. I don’t think anyone is going to miss seeing a banner this size which means great exposure for both YCU and IYC.
The Golden Horseshoe Co-operative Housing Federation in the Hamilton/Niagara region of Ontario had this banner of ours at their AGM as part of the launch of their new scholarship program.
It’s only February! We still have 10.5 months left to keep celebrating the International Year of Co-operatives. See our dedicated IYC site if you’d still like to order.
Photos are from the IYC 2012 Matters newsletters.
As beautiful as our printed textiles are after they merrily roll off of the printing press, they require a little finishing before they are ready to go. The finishing process along with other sewing projects (like appliquéd flags) generates scrap material which then piles up in our production area. Common Thread Cooperative who shares space in our building already takes a part of the stash, but we always have plenty more. Lately, we’ve been donating extra scraps to the Banner Bags program which puts them to good use.
Banner Bags is a program that educates high school students on environmental friendliness by repurposing old street banners and other donated scrap materials into bags in their sewing classes.
Since 2008, their actions have saved 1,100+ pounds of nylon from landfills, prevented 27,000 pounds of CO2 emissions and conserved enough electricity to power an average Vancouver home for 40 months. You can read more about their program at http://www.bannerbags.com
Brenda and Rebecca will be attending the Beyond the Bag Eco-Fashion Showcase in March to see what all our recycled scraps have become. Here’s a sneak peek that their project manager Lauren sent us ahead of time.
If you are interested in supporting Banner Bags, contact Lauren Watkins at bannerbags@sifesimonfraser.com.
Did you know? We now sell Christmas decorations.
This particular tree is on display at the Bergengren Credit Union in Antigonish, Nova Scotia. Who knew our IYC pennant strings were so festive?
The Flag Shop wishes everyone their own festive holidays no matter what you celebrate. A number of our stores, including the head office in Vancouver, will be closed for the last week of the year and re-opening on January 3rd. See our locations page for holiday hours and closings for your local Flag Shop.