SFU alumna Julia Kreutz and her two business partners have reached the semifinals of the Start Something with Alesse competition with their non-profit startup, the East Side Sock Club.

The East Side Sock Club aims to support local Vancouver artists as well as help the homeless population in the Downtown Eastside by donating socks to its inhabitants. 

The non-profit plans to buy designs for socks from local artists, manufacture the socks, sell them to local retail partners, and, for each pair sold, donate a pair to local organizations. These organizations will then distribute the socks to the homeless population of Vancouver.

Kreutz, who graduated SFU in 2013 with a Bachelor of Education, is a curator at the Gam Gallery, which she started in 2009. Along with Colin Cej, a graphic designer who rents studio space at the Gam Gallery, and Tarah Hogue, her co-curator at the gallery, Kreutz entered the competition. The three entrepreneurs have been best friends since high school.

Kreutz explained that the impetus to enter came from Cej. He “saw [the competition ad] on the side of a bus in Vancouver. They had a billboard on the bus and he was like ‘Oh, that’s awesome,’” Kreutz told The Peak. “He was the one who actually came up with the idea.”

On how the project benefits the community, she said, “I think it speaks to the area of the Downtown Eastside. [The area] holds the largest number of studios and artists, but it’s also the home to many [single room occupancies] and homeless people who find shelter there, find help for their addictions, and find community there.”

Kreutz elaborated on how the project fits the collaborative spirit of the DTES. “It’s kind of a community that thrives off one another because artists have to always find the cheapest rent for their studio spaces and the same with people who are less fortunate,” she said.

The Start Something with Alesse competition is now in its fifth year of fostering both non-profit and for-profit startups across Canada. This year, 1,403 ideas were submitted to compete for the grand prize, which includes $5,000 and a mentorship program to help bring the winner’s idea to fruition.

The project is currently only in the beginning phases as the three try to secure partnerships and look into manufacturing. However, Kreutz intends to use the prize money and mentorship should they win to pay the artists, raise awareness about the project, and to move ahead with manufacturing the first batch of socks.

Kreutz spoke about the future of the organization: “We’re starting with socks and I guess we’re hoping it will grow to different clothing or things. We are just putting one foot in front of the other, trying our best to represent the artists in a positive way and give them a platform to present their art.”

The club has already chosen its first artists to be featured: Sean Karemaker, Tyler Robbins, and Ola Volo. Regarding the role of design in the project, Kreutz explained, “[We’re trying] to have them be funky and cool, but at the same time have it not just be about fashion and the art world but also to have it reach people who need help in our community at a more personal level.”

In anticipation of the Simon Fraser Student Society’s (SFSS) upcoming Spring Jam concert on Friday, March 20, The Peak sat down with two members of the opening band, Derrival. They will be playing alongside DJs Cash Cash and Stafford Brothers at the show, which will take place next month.

The local group recently won second place in The Peak Performance Project, and have been performing together for five years. The band also has an SFU connection; bass guitarist and bass synthesist Deven Azevedo is an environmental science student who also serves as a student representative on the university’s board of governors.

Derrival’s vocalist and rhythm guitarist, Adam Mah, is also a student, currently attending Capilano University for its arts and entertainment management program.

The Peak: How will the Spring Jam be different for you from other shows?

Mah: I don’t think we’ve ever played a university show of this scale. We’ve played Capilano before, but it’s super small. It will be really cool to get into a larger environment. Playing with two bands that are more EDM-based will be interesting.

Azevedo: I think it will be largely a different crowd, if they come early enough to see us [laughs] — a different crowd in terms of their taste for music, which is neat because I think we’re kind of going a bit more [towards] synthesis in our music. It will be interesting to see if they dig some of our stuff.

P: What can people expect from you at the concert?

A: Probably a few new songs. So, in terms of content, that will be something new and different. I guess we haven’t actually seen what the stage setup will look like, so there’s a potential for something different . . .

M: Back-up dancers, confetti cannons [laughs]. I’ve heard that one of [the other performers] dresses up as a kangaroo.

P: I think they actually bring an inflatable kangaroo.

M: So, we might have to get an inflatable animal. [. . .] I could just bring my cat.

A: We got a new instrument — a new bass synthesizer — which with these big subs they have will hopefully shake the ground.

P: What impact, if any, have events like these had on student life at SFU?

A: It seems like over the past two years that I’ve been here, or year and a half, it feels like something has been changed. I think that these concerts have had a role in that in terms of there’s something to do up here, occasionally. [. . .] So, I do think it’s part of a change for the better in terms of more of a community feel.

On the Facebook page, there are a few remarks that were expressed that they said it would be more broad and it’s still very EDM. [. . .] I think there are ways that could definitely improve it, that could help the community be stronger, but I think it’s a step in the right direction.

P: Where does the name Derrival come from?

M: When [Tokyo Police Club] released Champ, I watched an interview where they talked about how they used the dictionary to find the name of the album. I thought would be a cool idea, so we found the words ‘departure’ and ‘arrival’ in the dictionary and we mashed them together.

[Quoting David Bowie] The truth is, of course, is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.

P: On a scale of ‘meh’ to ‘OH MY GOD,’ how excited are you for the concert?

Both: OH MY GOD!

Lake tsunamis are a real and dangerous threat that an SFU professor believes British Columbians need to be more aware of.

According to John Clague, an SFU professor in the department of earth sciences, “The public and other government agencies don’t seem to be aware that this is a hazard that is potentially a deadly one.”

Clague became interested in this research after observing the consequences of the 2007 landslide into Chehalis Lake. The impact of the unstable shoreline hitting the water caused a wave that exceeded 30 metres.

If this event had occurred in the summer months when individuals had been camping along the lake, Clague asserts that it could have resulted in deaths. “If that had happened in July it could have killed 50 people!” he exclaimed.

When landslides cause lake tsunamis, the waves they create spread away from the point source much in the same way as they do when “throwing a pebble into a pond.” However, these waves can be very large, and have the potential to do a lot of damage.

These are distinct from the tsunamis caused by earthquakes that affect large areas and travel far distances. The effects of landslide tsunamis are highly dependent upon location. As Clague explained, “A big enough landslide falling at a high enough speed can produce very, very large waves, but they diminish faster away from the source”.

The 1958 tsunami in Alaska — the largest in modern history — was actually the result of a landslide that was triggered by an earthquake. The landslide drove a wave into Lituya Bay that ran 518 metres up the opposite slope of the inlet, stripping the old growth forest.

British Columbia contains many lakes and extensive fjords along its coastline that put it at a particularly high risk for this type of tsunami. In Norway, where there is a similar coastal geography and a more densely populated coastline, landslide-triggered tsunamis have lead to more than 100 deaths this past century.

With increasing coastal populations in British Columbia, Clague explained, “We need to look at our coastlines and look at our lake shorelines, and identify areas where there might be a hazard. Right now, we just don’t know.”