Unfashionably Lesbian Focussed
This map shows some BC-based businesses with at least one self-identified lesbian owner and is part of Lesbian Quarterly’s plan for world domination, I mean, lesbian visibility. Please click on one of the markers below to see information about one of the lesbian-owned businesses. Contact to list your business (free).
The first Lesbian Quarterly came out of a lesbian entrepreneur’s group in 2004, and was the brainchild of Sophia Kelly. The magazine profiled members of that group and was intended as a way to make women in the community aware of the lesbian-owned businesses they Read more
Well, here we are at the 19th edition of Lesbian Quarterly. Fall, well yes, it does feel like fall, now. We’ve got elections coming up here in Canada, and I can’t be the only one waiting to see if the US claws itself out of Read more
Vancouver plays this wonderful trick on Vancouverites every February. For a short while, it seems like spring is fully sprung and summer is a whisper away. The snow drops and crocuses pop up from the ground, and buds on trees start to swell. Alas, the Read more
Welcome to the winter edition of Lesbian Quarterly.
Winter holidays. As someone who celebrates the secular version of Christmas, it’s a time of figuring out what to buy people and when to mail it so they get it on time. It’s also a time to focus on the things I like about the various winter holidays, and leave the rest.
My spiritual holiday is Winter Solstice, which is a nice thing to celebrate, since you can make it whatever you want to be. Lesbians are like that, taking what we like about popular culture and hopefully leaving the rest. Yule evergreens decorated with blessings, decking the halls, candles and blessing people with gifts belong to Solstice/Yule as much as Christmas, and that makes me happy.
About 20 years ago, young, broke and unwilling to go to my parents place for Christmas, I chose to gather my chosen family around me and start some new traditions. That year, my Solstice / birthday candlemaking celebration was born. Each year since then, the people I’m closest to, and some others that just seem nice, are invited to my home to sit around, drink mulled apple juice and dip candle wicks in tall jars of hot coloured wax. It’s nice, homey and peaceful, the kind of thing I’d want my children to remember fondly, if I was going to have children.
This quarter in LQ we have some resources for making lesbian and gay friendly purchases from companies with positive practices towards people like us. We also have a book review by guest contributor Jeanette Nelson, about a first novel written by a Canadian lesbian, published by a Canadian publishing company. As well, a new opportunity to recommend your favourite lesbian-owned businesses and artisans.
In This Issue
The Skin Beneath I was recently at one of my favourite holiday events, the Women’s Winter Craft Faire hosted by Pat Hogan of Sounds and Furies Productions. This yearly fair, held at the Heritage Hall on Main Street brings a great assortment of quality women artisans together in Read more
This quarter we’re talking about favourite lesbian owned and women-owned businesses in BC. Also see our usual features the Lesbian Agenda, and Ongoing Lesbian Events. I’ve also catalogued all the lesbian-owned and women-owned businesses mentioned on the site, and you can see all of them by clicking Read more
I was sitting in one of my favourite restaurants, a little diner within walking distance of my house called Docker’s Diner. Joanne Agreometros, the owner, came by as usual to chat with my wife Jeanette and I and we got talking about how she started Read more
It’s Tuesday night and the Rhizome Cafe at 317 E Broadway near Main is bustling with activity. The glassed-in meeting room has a group of people clustered around a table, meeting. Lisa Moore is in the kitchen preparing food, while Vinetta Lenavat greets their guests. Read more
Planning a wedding? Wondering where to go that will treat you like the blushing bride you are? After a year and a half long engagement, my partner Jeanette and I are getting married this fall and we’re in the midst of planning everything. Here’s my Read more
New lesbian-owned café at 317 East Broadway in Vancouver. After two years of planning, consultation and looking for just the right space, Lisa and Vinetta of Rhizome Café are set to open their doors mid June. The couple plans to open the café to progressive Read more