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Style
Peak performance
Vancouver swim and athleisure brand Left on Friday was chosen to design the uniforms for Canada’s 2024 Olympic women’s beach volleyball team.Coliena Rentmeester/Supplied
What makes for a great swimsuit? If you ask the founders of swim and athleisure brand Left on Friday, they will say “the straps stay put, the seams don’t rub and the suits don’t dig.” And because their swimsuits do all those things, the Vancouver company was chosen to design the uniforms for Canada’s 2024 Olympic women’s beach volleyball team. This summer at the Paris Games, the athletes will sport Left on Friday’s sleek one-shoulder swimsuit that not only looks great but allows for full freedom of movement in their serving arm. The uniforms were unveiled in a campaign featuring volleyball medal hopefuls Melissa Humana-Paredes and Brandie Wilkerson, who worked directly with the brand to make sure the suit moves and feels the way they like. “We had two key priorities with the design of the suit,” says Shannon Savage, co-founder of Left on Friday with Laura Low Ah Kee. “It was important to deliver on the promise of comfort, which would in turn allow the athletes to focus entirely on their performance. Secondly, we want them to stand out in their big moment.” Founded in 2018, the brand is a direct-to-consumer business with plans to open its first stores in Toronto and Muskoka, Ont., in May. For more information, visit leftonfriday.com. – Gayle MacDonald
Travel
Making waves
New Brunswick's Ballet by the Ocean.Supplied
What began as a pandemic project to keep international dancers employed is now one of New Brunswick’s hottest tickets. Ballet by the Ocean is warming up for its fourth summer series as Atlantic Ballet of Canada chief executive and co-founder Susan Chalmers-Gauvin and chef Jordan Holden of award-winning restaurant Atelier Tony team up for another year of open air ballet, fine dining and birdwatching – an all-encompassing spectacle showcasing the best of the region. Starting July 3, twice-weekly performances unfold on an oceanside stage at Chalmers-Gauvin’s private estate overlooking protected wetlands in Grande-Digue. A symphony of birdsong accompanies the cellist as 100 species fly between birdhouses peeking out of the wetland grasses, radiant red fabric flows off the dancers in the salty breeze, striking against the blue sky, and the PEI braised beef served with wood sorrels foraged right on the property melts in your mouth – with a choux pastry swan for dessert. Tickets at balletbytheocean.ca – Gabby Peyton
Home
Good gardening
Waste Not Wool in Lumby, B.C. creates pellets you can add to your soil from wool that would have otherwise been composted, burned or sent to landfill.Leanna Maksymiuk/Supplied
Little lumps of wool might seem an odd thing to add to your garden. But a new soil amendment popping up from producers across the country promises to help retain moisture while slowly adding nutrients, too. These pellets are made with wool that would otherwise be composted, burned or sent to landfill – and nothing else, says Leanna Maksymiuk of Waste Not Wool in Lumby, B.C. They’re another way to support local farmers while supporting your garden, too; add to hanging baskets and containers, raised beds or even houseplants, dug into the soil or as a mulch. “You can put it in at any point in the season and it will start working right away,” Maksymiuk says. “That’s the beautiful part of it.” Can be found at wastenotwool.com (B.C.); longwayhomestead.com (Manitoba); topsyfarms.com (Ontario); brookridgefarm.com (Nova Scotia). – Kat Tancock
Editor’s note: A previous version of this article described Left on Friday as a Toronto-based company. This version has been corrected.