Indyish Interviews Headquarters’ Owners Angie and Tyson-August 2006

so i, risa, wrote some questions and shot them off to Headquarters’ owners, Angie and Tyson, and then they shot back. and i sent the answers to Tessa to readyify. and she did! she also made all my questions sound jazzy and witty. thanks tessa.

Indyish: Um, what is Headquarters?

Angie: HQ is a boutique/gallery all under one roof, showcasing local
and international indie designers of clothing, accessories and homewares and artists of many different mediums. The gallery hosts monthly solo and group exhibitions, while the stock in the boutique is constantly changing. We also have books/zines in the gallery space, as well as select vintage accessories and homewares in the boutique. We’re trying to make this kind of non-mass produced stuff accessible to a more mass audience, and not just an elite crowd of “in-the-know” people. One of our main focuses is educating people on what indie design is, why the prices are so different than mass production (being based on real costs) and the benefits of buying locally.

Ind: So besides being headmasters at your school for intelligent independent production, what other jobs do you do?

Tyson: H.Q. is my full-time job. I run the day to day business, do the
accounting (with help from our friend Spencer) and organise and curate
exhibitions.
Angie: I work as the head designer for MX Jeans full time (Canadian
made denim, yay!), and for the store part-time in buying, research, and
promotion, and of course working in the store Thursday and Friday nights and
Saturday & Sunday days.

Ind: Wow, no rest for the indie. So, what’s been the hardest thing so far about owning a store?

A: Trying to get artists to understand what a deadline is. Taking two blasts of pepperspray to the face.
T: Applying for grants, doing presentations for grants and making the crazy business plan that is required of said grants. And paperwork of every way, shape and form.

Ind: And the best thing?

T: Meeting artists and designers I respect and admire.
A: Bringing a different level of fashion to a city that is craving
it. Oh, and having something legitimate to blog about, of course!

Ind: Read any good books lately or seen any good shows?

T: I’ve been preparing for the zombie apocalypse, so I read a lot
of cheesy horror novels. I am going to see the Gorilla Biscuits
reunion show tonight. It’s going to kick some ass!
A: “The Tipping Point” by Malcolm Gladwell. Every business owner
should read this book! I’m actually going to start re-reading it
tonight. And “Weaveworld” by Clive Barker, dark fantasy for
daydreamers.

Ind: I love your combination of sci-fi nerdiness and business nerdiness. Were you always so cool?

T: I was born and raised by a family of wolverines who happened to live
in Winnipeg. From my younger years through to my teens my interests included (in no particular order): sugary cereal, saturday cartoons, Jim Henson, Maurice Sendak, finding our friends’ Dads’ Playboys, Fangoria, D&D, Star Wars, comic books, skateboarding, He-Man, Transformers, Mad Max, horror films, heavy metal and punk rock, slurpees mixed with nerds candies and Indiana Jones. Holy shit! I just realized…I was a fucking NERD, man!!! And I still am.

Ind: Which is amazing. How about you, Angie?

A: I was born and raised in rural Manitoba, just outside of Winnipeg. Actually just outside of a town of 350 people called Starbuck (har-de-har, I’ve heard it all). Not on an actual farm but literally in a field across the highway from my grandparents. Childhood life consisted of a lot of running around naked in the yard (4 acres, so it was pretty private), going to grandma’s to pick raspberries in the garden and play with barn kittens, and making mudpies. Teenage years
consisted of bush parties, nerdy high school activities (band & yearbook anyone?), and starting my first clothing line. Next stop: University of Manitoba for a degree in Clothing and Textiles, working for a few years for Silver Jeans, then moving to Montreal 3 years ago. And the rest is history I guess.

Ind: When you fantasize about HQ in the future, what do your dreams involve?
T: More amazing shows, workshops, and community nights. Oh, and we
hope to do well enough to stay open. Oh, and Time Travel!
A: Evening workshops in the immediate future, larger space in our dream future.

Ind: Aside from the time travel, it sounds like you both have pretty realistic dreams. And I bet you even have a crazy plot as to how time travel would help headquarters. Now THAT would be vintage shopping. But until then, where can people find your designs in Canada?

A: Tyson’s art can be found at the Yves Laroche Gallery at #4 St. Paul East in Old Montreal, at Junkstar in Calgary, as well as here at HQ of course. And his F.S.U. line of shoes, bags, and ties can only be found at HQ. BLUEprint can be found at HQ and at Junkstar in Calgary.

Ind: Thanks a lot, guys.

A: No, thank you guys.

Ind: No. Thank you.

Tessa: Ok, I think we can agree to thank each other.

(We wanna just say how awesome it’s been working together with these lovely folks from HQ. When they first opened in July 2006, we got to talking of ways to collaborate and bring HQ to Indyish and Indyish to HQ while increasing the potential for amazing work on both sides. We like what Angie said about making independent art available to the masses, and “not just an elite crowd of ‘in-the-know’ people” because that’s really what we’re all about here at Indyish. We wanna stress the importance of handmade, local, non-mass produced work (like that of Angie and Tyson and the artists they work with) without holding it above the heads of “the public” because we believe that connections are vital and enriching, not enfeebling or a part of selling out. As of today, HQ has become an Indyish artist, allowing them to sell stuff on the site and to blog post about upcoming events. And they’ve been posting on their site about Indyish events (www.HQgalerieboutique.blogspot.com). Also, this Tuesday night, they’re hosting the 5 a 7 (from six to eight) for the winning designs from our 24 Hour CVP. And we’re looking forward to the many many upcoming collaborations with the very very talented and busy folks at HQ. So watch out.)