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In just a few short years, Kelsey Merkeley has built a jewellery brand with a distinct identity, much like the wearer of the collections. We caught up with the local designer to chat about her inspiration behind the brand, what’s next, and why YYC has been the perfect place to launch her business!

As the remnants of winter begin to thaw, we’re warming up to a bold new wardrobe in this creative editorial shoot from Brendan Klem.

If you’ve been around the PARK circuit for a while, you’re likely already familiar with Anneke Forbes. The Calgary-based designer has appeared at numerous PARK fashion shows and events through the years, marking her official PARK debut at PARKSHOW 2015.

If you’ve visited the town of Crossfield lately, you may have noticed a bit of extra vibrance lining the streets of downtown. That’s because PARK teamed up with Crossfield as part of the town’s downtown revitalization project for a series of lively new banners featuring the artwork of Cree artist and former Crossfield resident, Delree Dumont, to hang on light posts along mainstreet.

Canadian mural artist Michelle Hoogveld has certainly kept herself busy in between previous collaborations with PARK in recent years (Chroma YYC, Chroma YEG, VibranceYYC, #KensingtonBRIGHT, #OURPARK2020) - and she’s just getting started. In just a few short years the native Calgarian has travelled around the world to create show-stopping murals across Canada and the United States, England, Peru, and Portugal, to name a few…

If you’ve visited The Food Lodge at #YYCBlockParty, you’ve probably taken a seat at one of the quirky and playful picnic tables decked out in mouthwatering food favourites. You have Calgary-based illustrator, Cory Bugden, to thank for these!

If you visited #YYCBlockParty last year, you would have likely snapped a selfie at the art-adorned picnic tables courtesy Sydonne Warren - aka Syd The Artiste. Since then, the AU Arts student has taken on locally renowned projects such as Kensington’s Black Lives Matter mural, the 480ft Magic Walk in Crescent Heights, and even turning Good Trade Coffee Company into her canvas for Kensington Bright.

With Deerfoot City’s #YYCBlockParty officially open to the public for the summer, we couldn’t not take some time over the next few weeks to introduce you to the local artists who put their talents to work to bring #YYCBlockParty to life. First up: Kiran Rai (aka KRAI), the multidisciplinary artist behind the play-inspired window murals at The Food Lodge.

After the scorching temperatures (by Alberta standards at least) we’ve been experiencing as of late, it’s hard not to imagine ourselves lounging poolside in a cute new swimsuit. So where do we get this cute new swimsuit, you ask? With a saturated swimsuit market, it can be overwhelming to find that perfect new suit, but Canadian brands are here to make the process a little easier.

We’re not sure about you, but we love a beauty refresh when a new season rolls around. And while we restock our beauty cabinets this spring, we’re skipping the big box retailers and turning to local beauty and body businesses instead. To help you with your spring beauty revitalization efforts, we’ve rounded up just a few of the local stops we’ll be hitting up. Although let’s be clear, there are so many more amazing local and Canadian businesses out there. Be sure to check out our Instagram where we’ll continue to feature local businesses in beauty, home, fashion and food all month long!

This month, we’ve shared some of our must-shop local and Canadian businesses in fashion and dining. This week's theme: everything home! Calgary has so many great places to shop when it comes to home goods - from ceramics, apothecary, textiles, plants, and more. Whether you’re looking to revamp your home for the new season ahead, or you want to pick up a few finishing touches for your home office, here are three of our picks for local stops when it comes to your home.

With so many large fast fashion companies and big time retailers like Amazon at our fingertips, sometimes we overlook the incredible smaller businesses making a splash right here in Canada. This is especially true when it comes to the fashion industry which seems to have an endless stream of factory produced garments coming from all ends of the world. But as we’ve said before, supporting our local and Canadian creators is more important than ever.

As we’ve learned throughout the past year, supporting our local businesses is more important than ever - which isn’t all that hard to do when it comes to enjoying delicious food and beverages in welcoming spaces! Calgary is loaded with unique, locally owned restaurants and cafes, with even more having opened their doors recently. Although in-person dining will be shut down for the next few weeks due to the new COVID-19 restrictions, many restaurants will still be serving takeout and deserve every bit of support we can give them. Here are just a few new food and drink stops that you need to check out ASAP!

We are just 2 weeks away from Mother's Day - aka the day to celebrate the powerful boss women we know as our mothers. In reality, we should be celebrating the mothers in our lives every day for everything they've done and continue to do. These are the women who raised us and showed the world the true meaning of a masterful juggling act after all. So when Mother's Day comes, it's our turn to spoil them! To give you a head start, we've gathered a few gift ideas from Calgary businesses and artisans that she'll be sure to love - from subscription boxes to pampering essentials. Happy shopping!

If you missed out on our previous floral pop-up in Kensington (or perhaps you loved it so much you want to experience it again), now is your chance to check it out! For this weekend only, the old phone booth along Kensington Road will be decked out in vibrant springtime florals thanks to our talented friends at Foxglove Studio. No strangers to bringing the flower power to YYC, Tasha and Lauren of Foxglove Studio also happened to be the artists behind our popular floral pop-up during Chinook Blast.

Spring has (technically) arrived! And despite the chance of possible snow that's yet to come in YYC, we're looking forward to warmer days and, perhaps, the most exciting part of it all - Spring fashion.

It was the fall of 2019 and PARKLUXE was bustling backstage with models, designers and the PARK team preparing for the whirlwind annual night of Canadian fashion. Awar Odhiang of Mode Models was one of the stunning models making her way down the runway that night. Little did everyone know that just months later she'd be making her Milan Fashion Week debut in Jil Sander's FW 2020 show, and has since gone on to walk countless more runways for major designers in Milan and Paris.

In case you missed it, we recently celebrated all of the incredible women across the world on International Women's Day - which got us thinking about the powerhouse women killing the game right here in YYC. Being a female-founded company ourselves, we have an immense appreciation for our fellow local women out there helping to make the city the unique place that it is. And there are plenty of them, so read on as we round up just a few of the many amazing female-run businesses in our own backyard!

#ChinookBlast has officially come to a close and we'd like to thank everyone who has come out - even braving a serious cold snap - and shown love to our installs and our talented local artists! We also have to send a huge thank you to everyone involved in making these art installations happen, from the builders and painters, to the artists whose vision lit up the city's downtown core. Read on to meet the incredible artists and creators behind all of our Chinook Blast installs and pop-ups over the last month!

Looking to get some fresh air in the city? PARK has partnered with Chinook Blast Winter Festival to brighten Calgary’s weekend winter nights with a series of outdoor light-up art installations for you to enjoy starting this weekend until February 28th!

Recently, we’ve been rounding up some of our favourite local and Canadian businesses to help you reach your new year wellness goals. For our final installment of our wellness guide, we’re bringing you our picks for stylish Canadian activewear and loungewear. After all, if we’re going to be stuck at home, we may as well be comfortable and cute while we're at it. Plus, who doesn't love a cozy matching set for a night of Netflix or a killer new outfit to crush an at-home workout.

Last post we kicked off our New Year wellness guide with some of our favourite fitness studios in the city. Now, we’re continuing our quest in all things wellness with a mixed bag of products for your home, skincare/beauty and delicious healthy snacks to fuel your body. Think: self-care evenings filled with at-home facials, soothing scents and tasty treats. Intrigued? Here are some of our favourite YYC businesses that are here to bring your self-care to new heights.

If you still haven’t satisfied your sweet tooth by checking out Sweet Street (#YYSweet) at New Horizon Mall, you still have a chance! And as we approach Valentine’s Day (aka the day for love, chocolate and candy), there is truly no better time to immerse yourself in a life-size board game amongst giant gummy bears and larger than life chocolate bars, where you can finally put your childhood Candy Land skills to the test.