In Good Company: Meet Joel & Grace, tenants at CY33
In Good Company with Joel & Grace
Long-time fans of RNDSQR, it was a dream come true for Joel Lethaby and Grace Wolff to move into CY33 in the heart of Marda Loop. We sat down with them in their “childish minimalist” apartment that overlooks the courtyard to find out what they love about their neighbourhood, and why it was important for them to move from the suburbs to the inner city.
Who: Grace Wolff and Joel Lethaby
Professions: An aspiring graphic designer and receptionist (Grace), and a civil engineering student currently doing an internship at Urban Systems (Joel).
Location: CY33, 6 months.
How does Calgary compare to some other places you’ve lived?
Joel: I lived in Mexico, and I loved how walkable it was with access to public transit. Part of the reason why I wanted to live in Marda Loop or an inner-city neighbourhood was being able to walk everywhere. In Calgary, we typically rely on cars to get anywhere and everywhere. But here, we can walk to get ice cream with our friends, we can walk to friend's houses. Downtown is close by for getting to work.
Grace: I feel like it's a super clean city and my whole family is here, which I love. I haven't really had much to compare it to -- but yeah, it's just home to me, which is really nice.
Why did you decide to move to Marda Loop?
Joel: Since we were kids, there were times when we would come to this area and we both really enjoyed and appreciated it. I started coming to the chiropractor in Marda Loop when I was a kid (we actually both have the same chiropractor) and driving through was really enjoyable.
Grace: I always had a romantic notion of Marda Loop, or communities like Inglewood or Kensington. I spent a lot of my teen years coming to places like that, and I just love it. I feel like it's a really old community and the architecture is cool and the local businesses kind of tend to pop up here and I really appreciate local businesses.
Does it meet your expectations?
Grace: Yeah, it does meet my expectations. We've done a couple walks around the neighborhood and there's always a new place to eat that we're discovering or a fun local shop. We found Urban Dog Market yesterday and we got cute little treats for my puppies. So there's always something cool and spunky around the corner, which we like.
Is it important to you to live in the inner city?
Joel: Living in the inner city was really important to us. We really believe in both the social and environmental impacts of avoiding urban sprawl and using space wisely. We try to live close to the things that we need, plus I love the commute. It’s seven minutes to my job, so we’re not wasting personal time sitting in traffic. It feels a lot more efficient, and that we’re part of a community rather than just going from your front door to your garage to your car, never interacting with anyone else. We really wanted to try to be a part of a community and get to know people that way.
Living in the inner city was really important to us. We really believe in both the social and environmental impacts of avoiding urban sprawl and using space wisely.
What’s your favourite local spot?
Grace: We love Village Ice Cream. It’s kind of an obvious answer, but it's just so beloved, and they've really made a name for themselves and that's super cool. That's kind of our go-to thing with friends. If we have friends over, we just walk over, it’s literally a block away. We also love Blush Lane, a local grocery store, which is a few minutes away from us. It has local and quirky stuff, some cool chocolate and fun cheeses you wouldn’t normally find.
What are your favourite flavors at Village?
Both at the same time: Vegan Creme Brulée!
Is there a new spot you’re really excited about?
We're really excited for the Diner Deluxe to open in our building! The food's always good there.
How would you describe your aesthetic and decor style?
We're going with a new term for the aesthetic of our home: We're calling it childish minimalism. We try to go for pretty simple shapes and try not to have too much clutter in our house, but we also like to have some playful colours.
What’s your favourite feature in the house?
Grace: We really love our clock!
Joel: It may sound funny, but one of the selling points was the backsplash.
Grace: We love the cabinets; they're all kind of discreet. The handles are so nifty. For a 570 sq. foot apartment, we haven't felt short on storage.
We love the cabinets; they're all kind of discreet. The handles are so nifty. For a 570 sq. foot apartment, we haven't felt short on storage.
Is there anything you’re eyeing up for your house right now?
We recently purchased a Blu Dot couch from Kit Interior Objects and we're really excited about that. It's coming at the end of the month, so that's going to be a game-changer.
What, if anything, do people comment on in your home when they visit you?
Grace: I've had a lot of people shout out the windows. I feel like it's so rare to have almost a whole wall of windows. The floors are beautiful as well. Also space efficiency: people have said that it feels like it gets bigger once you furnish it. I feel like people are very comfortable here. Like we have guests over frequently. Another thing is the mural in the courtyard.
Do you have any house rules?
Our house rules are:
Never under any circumstance light our candle. We got it in Vancouver on our honeymoon and we really liked the shape of it. And if we light it, then it's all gone.
Appreciate the RNDSQR exhaust steam. It’s so wintery, it feels like we're on the polar express.
Grace cooks, Joel does the dishes.
Never have more than one pair of shoes by the door.
Always lint roll the futon.
Why did you decide to move into a RNDSQR building?
Joel: I had been following RNDSQR for a few years on Instagram, always admiring the architecture. We decided to move into one of their buildings when an apartment became available and it was in our price range. We just really appreciate how RNDSQR has been so true to their values, even if it means sacrificing profit. Their impact on the environment, having interesting architecture, avoiding the boring, urban sprawl type houses.
We just really appreciate how RNDSQR has been so true to their values, even if it means sacrificing profit.
Any last words?
Grace (to Joel): You could freestyle?
Joel: Yeah, maybe that should be for volume two.
In Good Company is a RNDSQR interview series featuring people from the community. If you live in a RNDSQR building and want to be featured next, let us know!
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