Favourite Things: Laura Falconer of Life & Soles
Originally from Scotland, Laura Falconer made her way to Vancouver in 2003 in pursuit of snowboarding and better summers (yes, really). Laura’s lifelong passion for shoes became a passion for little shoes after the birth of her daughter Thea in June, 2009. As Thea began to walk Laura began hunting for quality, unique, attractive footwear for her. With an 11 year career in interactive design, setting up an online store of desirable mini kicks seemed like the simple solution – Life & Soles was born. We recently caught up with Laura to hear about some of her favourite things.
What’s your favourite thing for your kids?
My daughter and I are spending a lot of time at the newly-renovated Grandview Park on Commercial Drive. It’s fantastic what the city has done with the park and Thea always has a blast when we go there.
What’s your favourite thing for you?
Right now it’s BC McIntosh apples!
What’s your favourite thing for work?
I love all of the brands we carry because I’m passionate about good shoes and good design so I make sure only to stock brands that I would be happy for my own daughter to wear. Native and Keep shoes have been very successful in the store which I think is due to their quality and unique design. They’re also both companies that care about the ethics of how their footwear is made. I have a particular fondness for Native Shoes because they’re a Vancouver based brand.
What’s your favourite place in Vancouver?
This is a tough one, there are so many great places. Anywhere by the sea or in the mountains always makes me happy and I find Deep Cove a really nice place to spend time. We had fun there this summer playing on the beach and swimming in the sea.
What are your favourite things to give as birthday gifts?
I struggle to think of good ideas for the adults in my life, we all seem to have everything we need and more. So I’ve taken to focusing on experiences as gifts. For my husband’s birthday this year I bought him a four-hour kiteboarding lesson in Squamish. It’s something he had never tried before and he loved it.
What’s your favourite Vancouver restaurant?
Burgoo, awesome comfort food.
What’s your favourite kids’ book?
We’re all loving ‘The Gruffalo’ and ‘Room on the Broom’ by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler. They’re funny and clever and the rhyming makes them a lot of fun both to read and to listen to.
Life & Soles
Tried to get into Burgoo this evening. No joy. But I do love that place for comfort food. Excellent with the kids too. Portions are big enough to share – no extra meal for the kidlets required.