FHM
Official Opening of the FHM
Capturing the warmth and tremendous support from the City of Cambridge and many other visionary community leaders including Waterloo Regional Council during the ribbon cutting ceremony to mark the official opening of the Fashion History Museum in the village of Hespeler, Cambridge, Ontario
“Stepping Out”
A 8 minute (gorilla) video of the proceedings here
Shot during the ribbon cutting ceremony and official opening of the Fashion History Museum on Thursday, March 10th, 2016. Features the (unedited) opening remarks by Kenn Norman, CEO and an inspiring message delivered by City of Cambridge Mayor, Doug Craig. A demonstration of authentic community building in action. Nicely done!
Kathryn McGarry
Shines!
2016 CSC Student Design Competition
cscdesigncompetition.com
Full 13 minute version of the invitation to participate in the 2016 CSC Student Design Competition sponsored by the Grand Valley and Toronto Chapters of Construction Specifications Canada. First a quick 45 second pitch for the 2016 Design Competition followed by a montage recapping highlights of the 2014 and 2015 competition. Features footage of the 2015 Award Ceremony held in May during Connections Cafe at the Pines in Cambridge.
This year’s theme, “High Tech Business Cluster” allows for adaptive re-use of the 2016 site at 8 Queen Street in Kitchener as open office space and/or for businesses and services that support the unique culture of this transformative industry. An impressive high end brick and beam office renovation is underway at the 40,000 sq ft subject building to meet the needs of the growing technology market looking to locate in the downtown core. The former Goudies department store will soon be home to Vidyard, a home grown start-up success story committed to playing an active role in shaping the city centre. Shout out to Voisin Capital & Brick by Brick Developments and Nith Valley Construction!
cscdesigncompetition.com
“whats happening here really really matters”
Each year a site of significant historic, architectural or community interest is chosen as a case study with the potential of inspiring vibrancy in core districts

The former Galt Post Office and National Historic Site at 12 Water Street S in Cambridge was the subject of the 2014 competition, now a significant City Asset undergoing radical change for its debut as Canada’s first completely digital library.
City of Cambridge Press Release: 2016-03-17 Citys Old Post Office project gets international Architectural Review commendationAODA
about the idea exchange post office project
therecord.com/news-story-galt-s-post-office-library-project-breaks-ground

Construction Canada Online
The 2015 site at the old post office in Hespeler Village proved to be another great case study. The Design Competition Committee gratefully acknowledges that the success of the competition was due to tremendous support from The Fashion History Museum, the Hespeler Village BIA, the Idea Exchange and A Company of Neighbours.
Many thanks to all for providing a rewarding experience for students and sharing your invaluable local insight
fashionhistorymuseum.com
cambridgetimes.ca/news-story-fashion-history-museum-settles-into-hespeler-core
facebook.com/HespelerVillage

1st place $2000.00
2nd place $1000.00
3rd place $500.00
Must include 5 of the 10 selected product categories into their design. Must include one specification based on their selected product.
see cscdesignchallenge.ca for complete details
“I wish this was” La Mur
Street Party Celebrations & Urban Art
captured live
Saturday, September 26, 2015
following 4 weeks of public outreach and community engagement
“I wish this was…”
A call for citizens to participate in the expression of a new vision for Hespeler Village, inspired by Neighborland (http://candychang.com/i-wish-this-was/), a forum/rally for collaborative civic art south of the border. Traditional media outlets, a social media campaign and a “chalkboard” have been used by the Village BIA to encourage community engagement and participation. The Chalkboard was mounted to a concrete monument located at the northeast gateway at Queen Street & Guelph Avenue which will soon be demolished to make room for the proposed Public Art. While the original intention was to commission the Work as part of the current streetscape project, the Hespeler BIA proposed to engage the community and get a sense of “I wish this was” at this very prominent corner. City of Cambridge staff are supportive and excited about the idea.
Follow the campaign at:
facebook.com/HespelerVillageSmashup
twitter.com/skitaberry
Curious about Hespeler Village? Visit:
facebook.com/HespelerVillage
facebook.com/thecityofcambridge
The Fashion History Museum
Company of Neighbours
Queen Street Music School
Urban Artist Ean Kools
Galt Strokers Club
O&V Tasting Room
Student Design Awards LIVE at Connections Cafe May 20th, 2015
Construction Canada announcement here
Connections Café is about meeting with our colleagues in the design & construction community to discuss trends in the industry, share stories and make plans for the future. On May 20th at 7pm we will proudly introduce the top five winning teams of the 2015 CSC Student Design Competition
in celebration of the outstanding effort by all contestants & faculty
and the empowering inspiration of community creativity
Segments of the evening will be videotaped to share with friends of CSC across the country in recognition of the contributions of many supporters, especially our sponsors!
join us at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/csc-design-competition
Construction Canada online here
Following Connections Cafe, a display of the top five entries will be available for public viewing
at the Fashion History Museum at 74 Queen Street East in Cambridge
CSC is Tapping the Future
Tune in on May 20th!
join the live stream here at 7pm
View the Connections Cafe 2015 live stream invitation
contest background here
Bringing the Magic to Hespeler Village
The Fashion History Museum is a key player
click on tagline to view my not-so-white paper on the subject
Say what? EXTRA extra
Fashion History Museum Founders
Kenn Norman & Jonathan Walford
Jonathan Walford was born in Vancouver, BC where he attended Simon Fraser University receiving degrees in Canadian History and Museum Studies. He started working in the museum field in 1977 and has held curatorial positions with several institutions including a position as the founding curator of the Bata Shoe Museum in Toronto. He has been a private collector of historic fashion from the 17th century to the present for over thirty years and has amassed a collection of over 8,000 pieces ranging from the major couture houses of Paris to humble frocks from mail-order catalogues. He has authored six books on various subjects of historic dress that have been published in six languages. Jonathan has been the president of the Costume Society of Ontario, a founding member of the Vintage Fashion Guild, and the artistic director for Kickshaw Productions, which promotes the history of fashion through a variety of media and venues. Jonathan Walford’s blog here
2015 CSC Student Design Competition
Construction Specifications Canada
bringing the magic to Hespeler Village
Details and entry documents available here
Is your school or design team interested in visiting the site? Need photos? field measurements?
Site orientation & building access is available
and encouraged!

send your request to susyskita@gmail.com c/o CSC-GV
2014 archive here and here
Hespeler Village ‘tedx’ talk
The Return of the BeeHive
Hespeler Village ‘tedx’ talk
Gorilla recording Jan 16th at the Riverbank Lofts