The Thursday Q&A with Stephen Bleeker
Stephen Bleeker is a serial pop culture entrepreneur. With his wife Janice, he is the co-owner of CD Warehouse. Earlier this month, he launched MyMusic.com with two partners and that’s where he is now spending most of his time. Their store-front operation, CD Warehouse, has a new store opening in Kanata at the end of this month. And their clothing retailer, iStyle Originals, has recently signed a few licensing deals in Europe. It will be launching new lines in the next few months in the bed-and-bath and back-to-school categories.
OCS: Who are your style icons?
SB: Tom Ford
OCS: What’s on your bedside table?
SB: My iPad. and Architectural digest
OCS: Best home accessory?
SB: My turntable and fresh flowers from my wife, Janice’s, garden.
OCS: Best recent fashion find?
SB: It’s a vintage T-shirt with a CBC logo on it. I love wearing it when I am out of the country. It’s like a magnet for finding other Canadians.
OCS: Who would you invite for dinner if you could choose anyone in the world?
SB: Richard Branson (preferably at his place on Necker Island).
OCS: You can see the debut of any piece of music in history. What would it be?
SB: Well, the repertoire is a little older but I would have loved to have seen the three tenors’ (Domingo, Pavarotti, Carreras) debut in Rome in 1990 at the Baths of Caracalla. If you don’t own this recording — buy it!
OCS: What’s your earliest memory?
SB: Playing with my brothers on the driveway with my Big Jim Sports Camper!
OCS: Your biggest fashion faux-pas, when, where and how?
SB: Channeling Bjorn Borg circa 1980.
OCS: Proudest moment?
SB: Any accomplishment of one of my three kids. My daughter, Veronica, graduates from high school this week. That’s my proudest moment… this week anyway.
OCS: Favourite piece of furniture?
SB: My kitchen table, because it’s a gathering point for the family.
OCS: Qualities you most admire in a person?
SB: Kindness, loyalty, sense of humour, graciousness and passion.
OCS: Describe a perfect day off (it can be anywhere in the world).
SB: Simple: On a beach, good book and great tunes, with Janice.
OCS: Favourite artist, living or dead?
SB: Emily Carr.
OCS: Favourite local artist?
SB: My mother-in-law, Betty McDonald. I have about five of her pieces in my house.
OCS: Best book you read in the past year?
SB: Confederacy of Dunces by John Kennedy Toole
OCS: Favourite food?
SB: Asparagus
OCS: Most-oft-played song on your iPod or MP3 player?
SB: Lately it’s been Fitz and the Tantrums and the new Amos the Transparent…. and anything by Third Eye Blind.
OCS: Wine, beer or both?
SB: Both.
OCS: Mac or PC?
SB: Mac
OCS: Fine dining or plain old diners?
SB: Fine dining is always a treat…especially with good friends.
OCS: Best restaurant in Ottawa?
SB: Fraser Café — man, those guys know how to create. For pizza, my friend Ion’s Zazaza. Oh, and I can’t wait ‘til Stephen Beckta’s new place, Gezellig, opens.
OCS: Person, place or thing that makes you proudest/happiest that you live in Ottawa?
SB: The thing I love about Ottawa is that it feels like a really big small town. I love that I anywhere you go you can bump into a good friend.
OCS: Fave blog or website?
SB: Shameless plug: Our new start-up Mymusic.com
OCS: Twitter, Facebook or both?
SB: Neither. I like to be under the radar. But if I have to pick it’s Twitter over Facebook. @stephenbleeker
OCS: What’s your guilty pleasure?
SB: French fries
OCS: Favourite place to spend time?
SB: Home — when all the kids are in town.
OCS: How would you like the world to remember you? What would your eulogist ideally say?
SB: When he was born, he cried and others rejoiced. When he died, others cried and he rejoiced. (Modified from an old Indian poem.)
Stephen I have some very old 78′s and wondering if there is anyone who would like these with you being in the business perhaps you would know these are to give away no strings attached. Have known you for some time but shocked your daughter is all grown up time flies. Thanks for your time Mae phone number 613 291 5285 or 613 828 5420