Shoppers peruse the Fluevog headquarters in Vancouver on March 9. The boutique retailer is among Canada’s most distinctive. It has two dozen stores throughout North America and in late March is set to open its first overseas, in Amsterdam.BEN NELMS
Canadian footwear company Fluevog prepares for life without founder
For John Fluevog, the iconoclast designer of his namesake footwear, shoes have always been about entertainment.
Walk into the Fluevog flagship store on Water Street in Vancouver and the shoes on display feel like a party, a kaleidoscope of colours and styles. They are arrayed on three long beams of brown English oak, the wood from trees two centuries old. The shoes, the company advertises, are "unique soles for unique souls." Fluevog fans include everyone from Beyoncé to Jack White.
On the mezzanine – under a glass atrium in a space between two old brick buildings – stands Mr. Fluevog, a couple months before his 70th birthday. From this perch he oversees what he calls his "little art project." He designs some 75 shoes a year. He's wearing a new pair set for release this fall. They are a mash-up of formal and casual, a black leather dress shoe on a rubber serrated sole of aqua green, white and black. The idea emerged a few months ago as he connected two disparate pieces. Full story
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Early bird tickets available for the Globe and Mail Small Business Summit
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My employer consistently pays us late. Is this legal?
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News hub now, entrepreneur centre soon
The London Free Press building is being reborn as Venture London, a small business and innovation hub that will connect start-ups with the resources they need to succeed Full story