Vintagey

Sylvia Rigakis — Vintage Curator

I don’t just love vintage, I live it. I’ve surround myself with well-loved pieces from my Nana’s basement, forever connected to my roots. My style blends items from the 1920s to the 1960s to create spaces with warmth and character.

While friends were busy shape-shifting transformer action figures and applying decals to Barbie Star Traveler Motorhomes, I was enchanted with Nana’s basement full of goodness. It was a room-sized treasure chest of tanning lamps, radios and record players circa 1940; restaurant dishes from my Grandpa’s cafe in North Battleford; and—my favourite—a Philco Predicta television set from the fifties. I would appear from the basement clutching old cameras and cocktail glasses. Nana was charmed with my fascination and became my first vintage dealer.

Everything in her basement had a story and Nana spent hours passing those stories on to a spellbound little-girl me. Stories about the dozens of Greek doilies she made for her Prika (dowry) in anticipation of marriage. Stories of the coal oil lamp and chamber pot from her cottage in Saskatchewan. And stories of cooking traditional meals on her wood stove.

I have 20 years experience as a communication designer helping teams tell their brand’s unique story with documents that packed a visual punch. When I’m not vintage hunting or designing, I’m busy with food. Talking about it, reading about it, making it, and consuming it. I love to experiment with my Nana’s Greek recipes and explore the many culinary joys of Vancouver. With a full and happy belly, you can find me snuggling Maxwell, my pug. Or your dog. Any dog will do!