The Modern Rustic

This week we sit down with Eve Pohl, the founder of Hope for Korah, a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering and improving the lives of vulnerable children and families living near the trash dump in Korah, Ethiopia. We discuss the beginnings of the organization and how it has grown exponentially since its inception and the reasons behind that. We also take a deep dive into the stories and...

This week we are joined by Kayla Brouwer as we discuss all manner of topics including cruises, Canada, and our extensive lack of sports knowledge. We then delve into Kayla's work as a community support worker and the lesser known struggles of those with disabilities. Everything from broken curbs to bus stops we discuss the issues around the Fraser Valley as well as what drove her into this field o...

This week we sit down with Veda McDonald to discuss some hot topics in media lately and enjoy some delicious drinks from our local store Mr. Menchies. As we sip on Hatch Chile and Lime soda we dive into a conversation on MSG, pirates, kids on bikes, and Disney on ice. We then touch on twilight, nostalgia, hot rod, raisin bran, effects of sugars and dyes, and reincarnation. We end the discussion wi...

This week we sit down with Kellyn the creative mind behind The Local Crypt and team member at Common Room Music. We discuss a number of topics including vaporwave music, controversial horror films, the Dahmer series, and where our deep-seated fear of clowns stems from. Kellyn speaks at length about ethical storytelling and the role it plays in modern media as well as the intrinsic value of horror...

This week we sit down with the local band Morse Code Literature to discuss how they got their start and why they love what they do. We delve into a somewhat sketchy Craigslist ad, musical influences, AI Art, and more. We delve into what music means to the band, and how it feels to play live and find their own rhythm on and off stage. You can find the band @morsecodeliteratureband on Instagram and...

This week we sit down with cooking savant and water collection expert Jackie Atwell. We discuss birthday parties and bouncy castles then delve into a conversation on cooking and Jackie's culinary passion and history. We then touch on fasting and cooking fats then dive into the major issue around rainwater harvesting and how this simple and overlooked system can save untold amounts of water every y...

This week we sit down with real estate expert Tim Keis to discuss all things local real estate and business. We start off by chatting about the potential for future transportation in the Fraser Valley, then dive into a discussion on the Agricultural Land Reserve and what we would like to see after 50 years. We then delve into the inner world of the local realtor including finding affordable housin...

This week we sit down with Titus Varga, entrepreneur and owner of Aurora Café and Roastery. We discuss AI and self-driving cars then dive into the business of coffee and roasting. We listen as our guest relives his background growing up in communist Romania and how he eventually made it to Canada and into the coffee industry. We discuss the finer points of coffee bean roasting and some of the scie...

This week we are joined by Danielle from Little Dipper Theatre Co. to discuss her life journey and to promote their upcoming production Wildlight. We begin with discussing the need and presence of theatre in the Fraser Valley, then delve into Danielle's journey through early theatre, to Bangladesh and finally founding Little Dipper Theatre Co. We then chat about the production itself including the...

This week we sit down with Lucas Mckinnon, the owner and manager of Cameron James Menswear in Mission. We take a deep dive into the menswear and suit industry, discussing everything from fabrics and innovation to current styles and market fluctuations. We chat about Lucas's strengths and weaknesses going into starting a local business, and his journey from pizza delivery guy to successful entr...

This week we sit down with Insect expert Greg Welfing to have him dissect some of our biggest topics around bugs, regenerative agriculture, plants, fungi, and a whole lot more. We dive into a discussion on natural biological solutions to our current agricultural issues facing us today as well as Greg's humble beginnings in terms of his love for the natural world. We talk about genetic diversity in...

This week we sit down with Desire, the mind behind @findyouinthevalley on Instagram. We discuss his journey through life to where he is now and his plans for the future. we discuss his time as a loss prevention officer, his various injuries throughout his career, citizens arrests, and finding your meaning in life. We discuss his passion project @findyouinthevalley, how it came to be, his history w...

This week we sit down with Rebecca Senicar, a dairy and beef farmer and ice cream connoisseur. We dive into some heavy discussion on ghosts, the unknown and monster kidneys. We then dig into Rebecca's passion for farming and her love of cows as well as touch on the dairy industry as a whole and the future of farming. We wrap things up with a conversation regarding her flourishing ice cream hobby a...

This week we sit down with Chadd Bauman, the owner of Circular Harvest, a mycelium farm that is striving to reshape agriculture into a circular, wasteless system. We discuss the ways in which we can change the agricultural landscape through regenerative, sustainable approaches as well as diving into all the interesting science behind the mushroom revolution. We discuss psychedelics, body-controlli...

This week we are pleased to welcome trained kinesiologist and health expert Adam Malm to the studio. We break into some interesting topics around Febreeze and space travel but quickly dive into a discussion on exercise, gym life, and motivation. We discuss the importance of cultivating mental strength and discipline, caffeine addiction, diet and fasting, and cold exposure. We tie things off with a...

This week we are joined by queer creative Frankie Fowle. We discuss her work with the Community Health and Safety Innovation Hub at University of the Fraser Valley and the knowledge mobilization team working with food security, Haida Gwaii missing indigenous children and the Fraser valley floods. We delve into graphic design, the need for telling stories, and celebrating each others differences. W...

This week we sit down with Josh Goodman, a professional photographer, musician, soccer enthusiast, and local creative.  We discuss his deep passion that fuels him in his work as well as his journey through his ADHD diagnosis, finding his career, and investing in connection from a business aspect. We end the discussion with our in-depth thoughts on machine learning and AI. We discuss our dependance...

This week we sit down with Andrew Purdy, a hospital porter and member of the popular band "Kids Don't Float".  We begin the conversation with a rousing discussion on metric vs. imperial measurements, then dive into a number of topics including mammoths, Mr. Beast, and seizures. We then delve into Andrew's work as a hospital porter and his harrowing experiences on the job including all manner of in...

This week is a special episode for us at The Modern Rustic. We sit down with Daryl Rolleman and Greg Hessels to have them share their stories and journeys on grief and how it has affected them and changed their perspectives.  We discuss how tragedy changes you, ways to help the healing process, but mostly we just discuss the journey through grief in all its forms and how it manifests in all of us....

This week we sit down with Andrea Sadowski from the Fraser Valley Conservancy, to discuss their new initiative, the Step to It Program. This program was developed to help support nature based solutions to climate change and works to protect native species of plants and animals in our own backyard.   We also discuss Andrea's past #vanlife, her vegan lifestyle, and how she got into the non-prof...

This week we sit down with local artist, musician, playwright, author and poet Alex Rake. We discuss his Abbotsford Arty nomination, childhood trauma, and melted cheese among many other things.  We dive into Alex's creative process and his unique perspective on inspiration, or as he puts it, his "compulsion to create." Our conversation bounces around between musical influences, civics, minimalism,...

This week we are joined by Linden Vanderpol, a photographer, videographer, tech enthusiast, and co-owner of LINK Creative Photo & Video. We discuss Linden's career in videography, his journey with ADHD and where his drive comes from. We also dive into sci-fi film, gut biology and diet, animated movie tech progression, and tips for videographers.  We dive into topics like the devaluation of history...

Braedon Grover Sunnes, Belle Hernberg-Johnson, and Madison McArthur join us this week to discuss the Bard in the Valley winter production "Almost, Maine". Madison, the director, walks us through the trials and tribulations of putting together Bard in the Valley's first winter show and Braedon and Belle fill us in on their experiences performing and learning their roles in this quirky, unique play....

This week its just the three of us in the studio ready to discuss some of our favorite topics from the past year. we delve into the debate around subsidized hygiene products, Daylight savings, our favorite cereals, Halloween timing, AI art, music festivals, and video game movies. We also have an in depth conversation on the new Netflix Dahmer bio-pic and the discussion around mythologizing serial...

Our first episode of Season 2 of The Modern Rustic!  We begin the holiday season with an in-depth discussion with Stefan Karding, a large scale Christmas tree Farmer.  We dive into the Christmas tree industry, finding the perfect type of tree, and we ask what does a Christmas tree farmer do all year?  We also discuss Stefan's passion for cinema, Korean films, and caffeine! If you have any question...