In Focus is our gift to the community. A way for us to help show our recognition for the people, businesses, and organizations that help make our city great. The team at KelownaNow.com is passionate about this community and the people that make it amazing. We want to show our friends, neighbours, family, and colleagues that we notice them and the fabulous things that they do.
What is your name?
Alex Haines.
Where are you from and how long have you lived in Kelowna?
Born and raised in the beautiful mountains of Kelowna.
Who is your favourite person to spend time with and why?
My grandfather. We’ve been hanging out and attending the Kelowna Rockets games together for 13 years now! Here's to many more!
What is your favourite local store in Kelowna and why?
Do restaurants count? I enjoy heading over to O-zeki Japanese restaurant and getting my regular order. They're so cute in there, they don’t even bring me a menu anymore. Just a cup of green tea and the regular order, I appreciate what they're doing over there.
Describe yourself in one word.
Original.
If you could go anywhere in the world right at this moment where would you go and why?
Probably Italy, my second home. I have roots down there that mean a lot to me and visiting them is often on my mind.
What is your favourite activity in Kelowna?
I enjoy rollerblading to the beach in the summer and in the winter months I enjoy going up to the hill. I learned how to ski not too long ago, so that’s also become a passion of mine in the past couple years.
What is the most embarrassing thing that has happened to you?
Probably in band class in high school. We had a performance in front of a couple hundred but I was playing the completely wrong song and when it came to my solo part I think everyone in the building aliased on the fact.
What is the most inspiring thing that has happened to you?
I think I felt inspired when I saw more people from Kelowna pursuing their dreams. They no longer made the excuse that 'Kelowna is too small of a place to grow something organically.' You’re seeing so many more passionate creativity and that inspires me.
Tell us your favourite childhood memory.
My favourite childhood memory must have been seeing the Eiffel Tower for the first time. I've seen it in movies but the moment I saw that tower peering over the city, that was pretty special to me. Especially because I was able to adore it with a few of my family members.
Where do you volunteer or give back to in the community?
I’m in the midst of actually designing t-shirts for a friend of mines charity program called 'The Maddie Project', which is a program directed towards mental health. A lot of people I know struggle with mental health so it only made sense that I provide something for the cause. It's a very special movement that she’s created, shine bright.
If you could change one thing in the world what would it be?
I’d love to change the world in a sense of bringing back old school human connections. Whatever happened to the good old, 'handshake hello?' A lot of connections nowadays are made through different social media platforms which I mean, that’s natural, the evolution of technology is a beautiful thing. With that being said, you look back at the days of our parents, everything was a lot more personable. No one knew one another just based on following each other on Instagram. I wish there was a way to know you were in the good old days before you've actually left them.
Where would you sneak away to in Kelowna to spend some time alone?
The Bear Creek Waterfall. The sound of that natural water flow, there's something beautiful about it. It's a great place to just trace your thoughts and relax.
Where would you like to see positive change in Kelowna and why?
There are some different personalities in this place and I think that makes it truly unique. With that being said, when those personalities clash it can become a bit of a darker place. I think some people just need to sit back and enjoy the view.
What do you think makes Kelowna great?
This place is made of gold! The lake, the hikes, the friendships, and the Vino isn't so bad either right? There's a place for everyone here.
What are 3 things on your bucket list?
1. Visit every continent in the world and camp at a volcano of some sort
2. I want to turn my future home into a rainforest jungle. I want plants, trees and even a couple live animals to catch you off guard. No walls, just forest!
3. Find true love.
Tell us something that not everyone may know about you.
I have two gold teeth.
How do people connect with you, personally, through social media? (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.)
All of the above! Come find me.
What is the name of your business/organization?
Harrison Haines.
Why did you get into/start this business?
When I was younger I'd walk amongst the streets of Florence, Italy and see all the Gucci products and The Saint Laurents. It created this idea for me to take back to Canada. You know people who write music or draw to express themselves, I just do so through my cotton.
What is the goal of your business?
Create content that moves people. I want people to look at my clothing and say 'wow, I can to relate that.' I think I'm trying to write a story for people to buy into rather than just a product. My end goal is to scale towards Europe.
What has been your biggest struggle either in work or life?
When you start something like a clothing label there’s always a lot of people with different opinions, good and bad. I think it's important to believe in yourself and trust the process. I think the hardest part for me was dealing with doubt.
If you could start all over again would you do things the same or would things be different?
I try not live in the past too much. The amount I've learned from when I started to now is crazy talk. I think everything in life falls into place for a reason and I think that’s important to keep in mind. So I think I’d keep things the exact same way.
What do you always find yourself saying?
'Control, alt, DELETE!'
Tell us your best piece of life advice.
Follow your dreams and be yourself. If you have that idea that you're on the fence about pursuing, just go for it because you might miss that chance forever. Stick to your roots and dream your life away.
If you could spend one whole day with anyone in the world who is currently alive, who would you select?
That’s a tough question, there's a lot of people in this world that I'd love to spend a couple hours with but I think that I could sit down with Jim Carrey for a while and pick his brain. I think our conversation would contain quite a bit of comic relief but at the same time, that has a unique perspective on life. I think he’d have some pretty interesting things to say.
Why do you think it is important to shop locally?
When you live in such a unique place like Kelowna where you have so many people pursuing their passions, I think it's really important to fuel the growth of the local economy. We live where people vacation and I feel pretty blessed to be able to say that.
What has been your proudest accomplishment?
I think pursuing something that was driven out of my own passion is a huge accomplishment for me. When I'm driving around town and see people you don't even know wearing your clothing, that's pretty special to me.
Give someone you think that deserves it a shout out and explain why!
I have two people. First being my Aunt Sharie who spends countless hours sewing with me, working on shirts. Second would be Adam Gibson who does all my photo and video content. It’s pretty rare to find someone you can collaborate in a visionary sense.
My choice for the KelownaNow In Focus spotlight is:
Brandi and Chelsea from Gypsy Soul.
Some general comments I would like to share are:
Thanks for taking a minute to learn a little bit about my life. Be proud of where you came from! You guys are always welcome to visit my online marketplace and you can also follow me on Instagram. I often post discount codes for all of you to enjoy. Be bold, set goals and conquer them and always remember to believe in yourself. Thank you!
We encourage you to leave your comments and words of support below and submit your own nomination by clicking HERE. You are also welcome to submit a form of your own by clicking HERE. Thank you, Kelowna.
