An East Van Shop with Sewing Machines, a Library, and a Climbing Wall
Cole and Dallas Chreptyk’s Alterior is part clothing studio, part gathering place, and a convincing argument that a small shop can make room for a whole creative scene.
August 24, 2026 · By Justin Plosz · Vancouver, British Columbia · Business · 7 min read read
The Door Is the First Part of the Design
There are stores you enter because you need a thing. Then there are stores that make you wonder what else might happen once you are inside.
Alterior belongs firmly to the second category. At 1705 Venables Street in East Vancouver, the independent studio run by brothers Cole and Dallas Chreptyk makes garments, leather accessories, and objects for everyday life. But its A Living Taste shop is built to be more than a retail counter. The official description calls it a creative hub that contributes resources, education, and space through community-building initiatives and activations.
That language can sound polished until you picture the room. A recent profile in [The Globe and Mail](https://www.theglobeandmail.com/life/style/fashion-and-beauty/article-inside-alterior-a-hub-of-craft-creativity-and-community-in-east/) described clothing and accessories alongside a hairdresser, a library, an atelier with roughly 15 sewing machines, and a small climbing wall. It is an unusually literal version of the idea that a shop can give people something to do besides buy.
Made In-House Means You Can Feel the Choices
Alterior was introduced in 2014, and the brothers’ approach has stayed resolutely tactile. The studio describes its collection as thoughtful, well-constructed garments, leather accessories, and objects made in-house with attention to material and construction methods. That is not a slogan you have to take on faith. The work makes a point of showing its seams, textiles, shapes, and process.
The clothing is not trying to win a race against the trend cycle. Its appeal is quieter and more durable: a pair of wide trousers with enough presence to change the posture of a whole outfit; a shirt whose fabric feels chosen rather than simply sourced; leather goods that look like they may become better after being used for a while.
For people who care about clothes without wanting to cosplay an algorithm’s version of “personal style,” that difference matters. Alterior’s pieces make an argument for buying less impulsively and looking more closely at the thing in front of you.
A Small Shop Can Carry a Big Creative Ecosystem
The best part of Alterior may be the refusal to isolate the product from the people around it. The shop’s community-minded model has room for collaborators, makers, local projects, and the kinds of conversations that do not fit neatly into an ecommerce checkout. A hair appointment, a sewing session, a book pulled from a shelf, or a launch for someone else’s work can all become reasons to return.
That is a more generous kind of business model than the usual experience economy. It does not need every event to be a spectacle. It needs the space to remain useful enough that people form their own reasons to care about it.
For young creatives facing rent, isolation, and the strange pressure to turn every hobby into personal branding, a room where tools and people are simply available can be radical. It lowers the barrier between “I wish I could make that” and “I am going to try.”
The New Luxury Is Access
Alterior does sell beautiful things, and it should. Design work needs customers who recognize that materials, time, and skilled hands cost money. But the more compelling story is the access being built around those things.
Cole and Dallas Chreptyk have made a case for a shop that does not treat its community as a demographic. It treats people as potential collaborators, neighbours, and future makers. The clothes are a real reason to pay attention; the atmosphere is the reason the space can mean more than a purchase.
Vancouver has no shortage of places that are good at looking like culture. Alterior is more interesting because it appears to be giving culture some practical infrastructure: a place to work, a place to learn, a place to meet, and a place where a well-made garment might be the beginning of the conversation rather than the end of it.
Key takeaways
- Alterior is an independent Vancouver studio run by Cole and Dallas Chreptyk.
- The studio has made garments, leather accessories, and everyday objects in-house since 2014.
- Its East Vancouver shop, A Living Taste, doubles as a creative community space.
- Alterior’s stated mission includes contributing resources, education, and space through community-building activity.
- The space has been profiled as a home to apparel, a library, sewing machines, a hairdresser, and a climbing wall.
- The business offers a model of retail that makes room for collaborators and makers, not just customers.
Frequently asked questions
- What is Alterior in Vancouver?
- Alterior is a Vancouver-based studio run by brothers Cole and Dallas Chreptyk. It creates garments, leather accessories, and everyday objects in-house.
- What is A Living Taste?
- A Living Taste is Alterior’s East Vancouver shop and creative community space. The business says it supports community-building through resources, education, space, and activations.
- Who runs Alterior?
- Alterior is run by Vancouver brothers Cole and Dallas Chreptyk.
- When was Alterior started?
- Alterior says it was introduced in 2014.
- Where is Alterior located?
- Alterior / A Living Taste is located at 1705 Venables Street in East Vancouver.
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