While the Eastside Culture Crawl is traditionally associated with artists, there are a huge number of artisans, designers, and craft geniuses displaying and selling their product. Here are five studios worth visiting; with items are under $200, you can check a few names off your Christmas list.

Melk Design is a husband and wife team that creates pieces from upcycled and recycled wood. We love the Noon Birds Clock ($95, pictured) made from Landyachtz longboards, and the up-cycled walnut Axe Belt buckle ($60.) Location: D10 - 936 Clark Dr., Vancouver, www.melkmelk.com

Grace Lee, the talent behind Eikcam Ceramics, makes birch bud vases ($52) and lovely barn owl ornaments ($18) but our favourite is the cloud series bowl and spoon ($50 for the set) featuring freehand drawings. So pretty, we can excuse the fact that they aren’t dishwasher safe. Location: Studio #2 - 965 Vernon Dr. at The Mergatroid, http://eikcam.com/

Oona Clothing Company does the cutest handmade boys’ and girls’ underpant sets, featuring matching tees, bright colours, and naïve handrawn graphics. Great incentive for toilet training. Pieces start at $7. Location: Studio #14  at William Clark Studios, www.oonaclothing.com

If you’re looking to complete a very minimal garden, then Espiritu Design Studio’s Dadi Bird House ($200) is a must-have. And for your apartment dwelling friends, they also have beautiful cups and vases, although don’t expect any blue jays to come and say hello. Location: Unit 130, 288 East Georgia St., Vancouver, http://espiritudesignstudio.com

If you are looking for something chic and elegant, check out Su Foster’s jewelry. Featuring delicate silver and gold pieces, we’ve got our eye on the long stick earrings, $85-$95 a pair. Location: 1177 Parker St., Vancouver, http://sufoster.com

—Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

Eastside Culture Crawl, November 16-18, for a full map and more details, check www.eastsideculturecrawl.com

Coco Chanel, Jeanne Lanvin, Elsa Schiaparelli, and Madeleine Vionnet are all in Vancouver and ready for you to take notice.

Well, their couture creations are on display as part of “Museum of Vancouver’s Art Deco: Extravagant Glamour Between the Wars” exhibition. The 66 featured garments transport the viewer to fashion’s most decadent era. Among the glitzy European frocks are a few notable Vancouverites: a silk and silver lame evening gown marked “Donaldson’s,” and charmingly sweet navy polka dot dress from the Aurora Dress Company. It seems that our city was just as roaring as the more fashionably favoured metropolises. —Anya Georgijevic

Museum of Vancouver, 1100 Chestnut Street (Vanier Park), Vancouver, 604-736-4431, www.museumofvancouver.ca

What does the future hold?

Angela Grossmann has a few ideas. It’s been seven years since the Emily Carr grad-turned-instructor held her last solo exhibit in Vancouver. On April 4th, she’ll unveil her latest works in an exhibit entitled The Future is Female at South Granville’s Winsor Gallery.  “It takes being female to articulate what it’s like,” says Grossmann. “As though I’m dealing with glass, but I can still see through it.” Using paint and collage in a manner that has earned Grossmann a place amongst Canada’s greatest artists, the exhibit explores the feminine struggle for empowerment amidst prescribed notions of beauty and behaviour (read: girl power).

We predict it’s going to be a powerhouse of a show. —Kelsey Dundon

Angela Grossmann – The Future is Female runs April 4 to May 6, 2012, Winsor Gallery, 3025 Granville St., Vancouver, 604-681-4870, www.winsorgallery.com

The sounds of spring couldn’t be more varied. Or refreshing.

Saul Williams
Wednesday, March 14th at Fortune Sound Club
Slam poet, musician, actor – there’s little this award-winning artist isn’t. With performances as highly charged as his lyrics, Saul Williams puts on one heckuva show. Tickets $18.00, Fortune Sound Club, 147 East Pender St., Vancouver, 604-569-1758, www.fortunesoundclub.com

Damien Jurado
Saturday, April 21 at the Biltmore
Following last month’s release of his newest album Maraqopa, prolific singer/songwriter Damien Jurado brings his folk rock from one rainy city (Seattle) to another. Tickets $13.00, Biltmore, 2755 Prince Edward, Vancouver, 604-676-0541, www.biltmorecabaret.com

The Drums
Tuesday, May 8th at Venue
Though they’re from Brooklyn, with songs like “Let’s Go Surfing” and “Days” the Drums couldn’t sound more California. Tickets $17, Venue, 881 Granville St. Vancouver, 604-646-0064, www.venuelive.ca

Active Child and Tycho
Friday, May 25th at the Electric Owl
Co-headlined by Tycho,  whose sound is synth-fully sweet, and ActiveChild, whose vocal range is reminiscent of Bon Iver and The Weeknd, this show is an electronica-lover’s dream. Tickets $16, Electric Owl,928 Main St., Vancouver, 604-558-0928, www.electricowl.ca

Coeur de Pirate
Sunday, May 27th at Venue,
This Montreal songstress may have the heart of a buccaneer, but Coeur de Pirate’s  piano-based sound is enchanting. Tickets $20.00, Venue, 881 Granville St. Vancouver, 604-646-0064, www.venuelive.ca —Kelsey Dundon

They’re new but you’d never know it.

No Sinner hasn’t even release their EP yet (it’ll drop in March) and already they seem poised for great things. Led by a husky-voiced powerhouse of a lead singer, their sound is big, blues-y, and Janis Joplin-esque. In fact, you’d never guess No Sinner was from Vancouver, until you watched the video for “Boo Hoo Hoo” which features one of the city’s most famous landmarks: the Waldorf Hotel. And speaking ofVancouver’s iconic landmarks, No Sinner is playing the Biltmore on Friday.

Can’t say no to that. —Kelsey Dundon

No Sinner, Friday, February 3rd at the Biltmore, tickets ($10) at www.ticketweb.ca

Buh-bye rabbit! It's the start of Chinese New Year and 2012 is the year of the Dragon.

We’ll harness its power and wear not one, but two of these fire-breathing creatures around our wrist. Made of woven leather and sterling silver, this Thomas Sabo bracelet is weighty enough to wear on its own, and rock ‘n’ roll enough to pair with a few of our favourite bangles and friendship-style bracelets.

Looks like it’s going to be a good year. —Kelsey Dundon

Sterling silver and leather bracelet $489 at Thomas Sabo, Oakridge Centre, 650 W. 41 Ave., Vancouver, 604-263-722, www.thomassabo.com

Sometimes it is good to be bad, especially as interpreted through the artistic eye of Mandy Stobo.

The Calgary-based painter’s Bad Portrait Project has her busting out her watercolours to whip up a rendering of anyone who is interested. Send a photo of your face to Stobo and she’ll interpret it into a bright and blurry portrait that looks a little like you and a lot like art. She posts the pics on Twitter and Facebook and you can buy your original for $100.

Bad can be beautiful. —Jaelyn Molyneux

www.badportraitproject.com

The only thing we love more than creeping through open houses? Creeping through open studios. During the Eastside Culture Crawl 337 artists open their spaces to peeping toms like us. These aren’t glossy galleries (though we love those too). These are real, rough-around-the-edges working studios. Our picks:

Katherine Neil
The loose lines and pastel colours of Katherine Neil’s works would look as good in our living room as they do in her live/work space. The ARC, 1701 Powell Street, Suite 708

David J. Robinson
We’ll work our way up to the fourth floor studio of sculptor David J. Robinson, whose insanely detailed worksare eerily beautiful. In fact, you might recognize one of them from Yaletown’s Mainland Street. 1000 Parker St., Suite 440

Union Wood Co.
We can’t wait to get a peek at the birthplace of Union Wood Co.’s rugged, industrial pieces. Although it might be tough to continue the crawl with a gigantic solid wood headboard in tow. 503 Railway Street —Kelsey Dundon

Eastside Culture Crawl, November 18-20, www.eastsideculturecrawl.com

Hold on to your black turtlenecks and horn-rimmed glasses, friends. It’s about to get all artsy-fartsy up in here.

If you’ve seen District 9 or the Chronicles of Narnia, you’re already familiar with his work. Now Vancouver-based sculptor James Stewart, whose pieces are so realistic they veer towards the grotesque, will be exhibiting his latest works Sept. 8th - Oct. 2nd at 5 W. Pender St., Vancouver. —Kelsey Dundon

The Contemporary Art Gallery is celebrating 40 years with an exhibition featuring the work of three artists rarely exhibited in Canada. Corita Kent’s '60s pop art silkscreen prints (pictured) and Thomas Bewick’s wood engraved vignettes will fill the downtown space, while Federico Herrero’s Vibrantes is an outside commission featuring sheets of coloured adhesive vinyl on the front of the building.  Contemporary Art Gallery, 555 Nelson St., Vancouver, www.contemporaryartgallery.ca. Sept. 9th - Oct. 30th. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

Dougal Graham’s solo show Only at Night at the Trench Gallery will please the eyes of art and fashion lovers alike. His work, which includes paintings and jewelry, are an investigation into society’s never ending obsession with fashion, the body and the transient material world. Check out our editor’s blog for more images of his paintings and jewelry. Trench Gallery, 102-148 Alexander St., Vancouver, www.trenchgallery.com, Sept 16th - Oct 15th. —Alexandra Suhner Isenberg

We may not be heading to Paris anytime soon, but that doesn’t mean we can immerse ourselves in "La Ville-Lumière," without even leaving the comfort of our couch.

As far as we’re concerned, Midnight in Paris is the movie must-see of the summer. Follow along with Owen Wilson as he meanders through time, partying with F. Scott Fitzgerald and his irrepressible wife, Zelda, pounding back drinks with Ernest Hemmingway, discussing his own literary merit with Gertrude Stein, and savouring the artistic temperament of Salvador Dali, Picasso and Toulouse Lautrec in Woody Allen’s magical tale of self-exploration and discovery.

Having had a taste of Paris in the '20s, turn the pages of The Paris Wife by Paula McLain. Told from the point of view of Ernest Hemmingway’s first wife, Hadley Richardson, this beautiful book takes the reader from the initial spark of meeting, to the eventual ashes of their ruined relationship. $18.77 at Amazon.ca

A sojourn in Paris may be no further than the Internet. We get outfit inspiration from Easy Fashion in Paris, filled with eye-catching photos of fashion fresh from the streets of Paris, turn to Meg Zimbeck’s Eating Paris blog for a feast for the eyes, and soak in the life of La Coquette to imagine our parallel life as an expat in Paris. And sometimes we take a peek into the life of our very own Parisienne à Montréal, editor of Vitamine du Jour, Elsa Vecchi.

—Jennifer Nachshen