Colette knows something is up. She’s unsettled, chattier than usual, and vacillating between limpet devotion and crazed Tasmanian Devil mania.
Cats are not stupid. They know when you aren’t paying attention. This week, mine has whacked my phone out of my hand, sending it careening across the room midcall; headbutted a mug of tea (intercepting it just at the moment I had tipped it toward my mouth), causing a hot mess; and thudded hard enough across my laptop keyboard to send a half-written, and even less thought-through, email. And yet, any moment I have sat for a quick rest, she has climbed high up onto my chest, purring heavily next to my heart.
If she is discombobulated, then I can’t blame her. She knows changes are afoot. There are boxes everywhere, and for some reason she can’t fathom, half the furniture has disappeared. Little does she know she’s about to have her first vacation—to a friend kind enough to look after her while I finish up here. Hopefully, it will be more calming than confusing.
Winter is the season when we like to hunker down and cozy up. But it’s also a time to take stock and ready ourselves for the closing of the past year and the opportunities of the next. The dark early nights and colder temperatures offer us not just the anticipation of holiday celebrations and traditions but also the time to reflect on where we are, how we got here, and what we hope is still to come. It’s a bit like moving house—without the never-ending lists, ludicrous stress, and bone-tired exhaustion.
New beginnings feature prominently in this issue. In France, Châteauneuf-du-Pape has been reborn as the new guard of winemakers, restaurateurs, and hoteliers build on its reputation with fresh eyes and enthusiasm. Closer to home, the realization of the Marianne and Edward Gibson Art Museum at SFU has offered its architects and curators the opportunity to reimagine how a museum can work as a cultural hub.
Changing times bring challenges. Lamborghini, under the leadership of CEO Stephan Winkelmann, is adapting to world economic uncertainties with confidence and belief in the automotive company’s plans for the future. Meanwhile, design wunderkinds NUOVA Group play with the notion of time travel, evoking nostalgia for past eras that both comforts and unsettles, asking us to consider where we are at now.
The exponential growth of artificial intelligence over the recent past is affecting all our lives in ways we could not have imagined even a year or two ago. We find that for some, AI has become a means of connection that is otherwise hard to achieve in our increasingly fragmented times.
Staying connected—to friends, family, and her fans—is important to Sophia Stel. It keeps her grounded and focused on what matters to her most: her music. Born on Vancouver Island, now living in Vancouver, Stel is a talented young artist who has built her creative career the old-fashioned way, working multiple jobs to pay the rent while using every spare moment to hone her craft. She always believed the hard work would pay off. Now 27, she is right on the bubble of success. We are delighted to feature her in these pages and on the cover.
Read more from our Winter 2025 issue.
