Blim

I had been wanting to come to this place for a while and saw a Living Social deal for their screenprinting workshop so I immediately bought it. The owner Yuriko is so sweet, chill and really good at explaining everything clearly. With the deal you get a membership to Blim and can go back and screenprint til your hearts content. The prices of all the materials and everything you need to print is completely reasonable and I can’t wait to go back!
The workshop had 5 students in total which was a great size.

I like this place because they have unique one of a kind clothes and accessories. I got some cute ear rings from here and radical cat leggings. If you want some cool, interesting, weird, stand out leggings that you probably won’t see a lot of, this is your place. They also have really neat work shops like screen printing, soap making and the like. Totes cute!

I love Blim’s course offerings and rent-​able equipment. I haven’t been to the new Chinatown location, only the previous place in Mount Pleasant.
But they have various courses on screen printing, ceramic printing, knitting, dyeing, and button-​making. They have a few courses that repeat often, but the course offerings generally change month to month. I loved being able to rent a button-​maker for 24 hours to have a button-​making party with friends. The store also has tons of random crafty things for sale.

This review is re: Moccasin Workshop.
I found this workshop to be unorganized and pretty unprofessional. Considering there was an $ 85 price tag on it, I was expecting more. Upon beginning the workshop, we were told that there was not enough brown leather left, and someone would have to make bright pink moccasins (with blue soles, as there was not enough of the gross pink left). Then there was not enough leather for someone to add fringe to theirs. The workshop leader mentioned at one point that they’d had the leather kicking around for two years and it had been donated in the first place – so what exactly was our money paying for?
There was no embellishments provided, as is suggested on the website, and no hardcopy hand out was given to take home to aid in completing your second moccasin.
I’m happy with my little slippers in the end, but I feel that I could have just ordered something online and gotten the same result. Pretty disappointed and wouldn’t recommend this course to anyone.

I finally got to go into the Blim store this weekend and holy shit this is amazing. It is a small space, however, they pack a bunch of awesomeness in a small store. The lady at the til was super friendly and nice, prices are fair and they hold workshops in the back. If you’re a foodie like me they have some food inspired shirts and socks. I found this place by accident ’cause I took the wrong turn in Chinatown, however, it was a good wrong turn. It’s local and community based which is another star in my book.

I LOVE this store even though I have not yet made a purchase or taken my class yet! Signed up for a Blim Screen printing class through a
deal, I was curious about the process and was told to have to prepare a few things before my first 3 hour workshop.
Tonight I was across the street at «Luke’s general store» grand opening party when I spotted this shop across the street, aha, I shall hop on over to find out more about what I signed up for! =D
Daniel is the girl working the shop until closing tonight (9pm) and she’s extremely informative and friendly. She answered my questions about what I need to prepare prior to my first workshop so I will have a clear idea of what to expect and bring with me when I come for my class. She showed me examples of screen printed and tie-​died pieces she herself designed/​made, really cool! =)
They offer a wide array of «blank» material that you can print on, good soft cotton T-​shirts, baby clothing, bags, etc… I already got an idea of what I want to purchase and print for my class. She also patiently explained to me the examples of good images to print, so I will have a better idea in my design before I show up. I think I will invite a few girl friends to join me on this interesting adventure!
Oh, they also offer tie-​dye and moccasin making classes. Once you know how the lab works, you are welcome to sign up to be members and pay a $ 5 /​visit fee to utilize this space for personal projects… I will be visiting often!

Inappropriate knit knickknacks anyone?
This store appeals to that weird side of me who used to eat play dough and still has a Muppets cover song cd rolling around in her car… so much miscellaneous good stuff to be found!
Tie dyed sweaters, hilarious knit «accessories», funky off kilter books and every neon/​print tunic you could ever want. Plus buttons, novelty socks, weird & giant ceramic lighters shaped like animals and painted in multi-​colors… it’s a good time. On a suggestion from Robin M, I went down here to rent a button maker for the weekend and spent a good half hour combing through the store itself.
Definitely will be a go-​to for my «hard to shop for» future giftees.
And rentals — they offer rentals for everything from the studio space itself to button makers/​screen printing supplies. At reasonable prices too. The button maker I picked up ran $ 35 dollars a day and I was able to leave a deposit via debit instead of a credit card (which I live without). My only complaint? I rented the machine at closing on Friday and returned early afternoon on Sunday and they charged me for 3 full days. In my head, if you’re picking it up at close and returning the machine under 48 hours, you should only get dinged for the two days. But I called last minute and they supplied, so I can’t gripe too much.
Overall good experience. And the button machine worked like a charm! Will definitely be back.

Blim. Is. Fantastic.
I was super confused and really not paying attention to what I needed to achieve in under 5 days. I emailed about six times with different instructions, getting more confused and upset with myself for leaving it so long, but they were great!
I emailed them my image on a Tuesday and was able to pick up the burned screen on a frame on the Wed. It was $ 50 for the frame and screen and while that is a little steep, it saves me all the time of getting the equipment to burn the image myself/​find a printer I can print a transparency on, so I’m generally just really happy with everything I got.
It was the first time I’d gone in there, I’ve biked past a million times but never actually gone in and they’ve got some great funky stuff, neon painted hoodies, shirts, kids onzies etc.
They support local artists and have a great space that can be used by people who have trained properly. All in all Blim rocks.

Somewhere on Pender Street lies a much-​needed addition to Chinatown. I’m talking about Blim, the community-​minded multipurpose art space that offers everything from retail (handmade neon-​splattered or tie-​dyed clothes) to film screenings, to gallery space, to art workshops.
They also do an exceptional job at supporting the Vancouver art /​craft community: every month they organize a craft market for fine folks to sell the labours of their love. Not only is this a great opportunity for people to make a bit of cash, but turns out it’s also a perfect means to meeting new friends. Some of my bests are Blim-​ers.
Huzzah! for Blim for being such an amazingly talented, inspiration-​rich, community-​based space! Vancouver is a better place for it.

Blim makes me desperately wish I was more crafty and had actual talent.
It’s a fantastical little place tucked away in Chinatown filled to the brim with crazy talented people. Take workshops to learn their secrets and make your own creations! Screen printing? They’ve got the tools AND the know-​how! Inspiration lurks in every corner, and if you don’t have the skills (like me), you can drop into their monthly market and buy some locally hand-​crafted goodness. Awesomeness abounds!

Smack in the middle of Chinatown, just a few doors down from Fortune Sound Club, Blim has all of the bedazzlement this street could use. Funky neon sweaters, tights and retail up front, a workshop set in behind complete with lots of tables and supplies (they supply you with the supplies you need to make something), a projector for films, a mezzanine art gallery, and that’s not all. They also rent out space upstairs for artists and are planning on turning the basement into a studio recording space for musicians.
Plus, they host workshops so you can learn to do something crafty yourself. I have a newly bound book, that I made all by myself. Well, I wouldn’t have been able to without the book binding workshop I attended today in Blim’s new space. I would recommend it to anyone who wants to pick up this cool «life skill.» It definitely isn’t a party trick though — book binding takes hours to do!
The online payment system is a little clunky, but I’m sure that will become more distilled as time goes on. You have to pay online or in person before a workshop to attend. And parking can be a little bit of a pain. My workshop was four hours long, parking on the street was only for two, but lucky me, I didn’t get a ticket!
I love that Blim has changed ‘hoods and is growing into such a big space. And hooray for Chinatown — getting another cool store to compel people to hang here.

Even if this place wasn’t owned by a friend, I’d want to hang out here.
I’m not an artist, but I like and admire those who are visually creative. So, the afternoon I stopped in, I had random conversations with drop-​in creative folk that ranged from remote viewing (think the quasi-​scientific term for clairvoyance) to finding my alternate persona in the parallel universe. Considering I’m still re-​inventing the nuances of one I know about, I opted instead to get a pair of super-​cool leg warmers for cheap and am going back to silkscreen my own designed T next week.
I’m no Andy Warhol but this place inspires me to play.