Voltage

RIP, Voltage — you’ll be missed.

Voltage is closing their doors forever on September 15^th and they are clearing out all stock:
Their lease is up and they are moving on — unfortunately, I think this is double-​speak for ‘business got too bad for us to continue’. It may just be a nature of the business as the global recession has hit these ‘collector’ stores hard — on my last trip to Las Vegas, about 5 of my favourite streetwear/​sneaker stores had gone under, leaving only 2 stores to serve the clientèle.
Makes me a sad panda to see such a unique store in Vancouver go down. Get some cool gear at cheap prices at Voltage before Urban Outfitters (or something equally as horrid) becomes the only game in town.

Voltage is your one-​stop shop for cool graphic tees (sans text), animé pop trinkets/​toys, collectable minatures and cult plush toys.
They stopped carrying Threadless tees since Threadless started printing on shirts made in Bangladesh however they might pick the label up again as apparently these labor condtions are up to US standards. For now though, I think their major lines remain Gama-​Go, Johnny Cupcake, TokiDoki etc.
It seems though, that Voltage is focusing more on a niche collector clientele, specialising in Japanese toys, graphic art books etc, which is cool. The owner is always really good at bringing in the latest East Asian toy trends and the staff are really helpful and knowledgable. For me, Voltage is my resource for unique gifts (esp. stocking stuffers) for non-​Vancouverites.

This store is like nothing else in Vancouver. I actually found a stuffed bunny-​squid here. Where else could you possibly find something like this? Or a bunny that smokes? What kid wouldn’t want a smoking bunny? Voltage is full of unique and strange Japanese-​inspired collectables, that you aren’t sure if you should put on display as art pieces at home, or give to your children as toys.
Voltage also carries clothing, they have a small amount of men’s and lady’s tshirts. I purchased a TokiDoki one with a flight attendant on it, and some artsy Xmas cards. They also have s small collection of artists’ books, like Camille Rose Garcia, or Tara McPherson. If you like comics, art of anything from Kid Robot, you should definitely stop in and check this place out.

Vancouver is lucky to have one of the best vinyl toy stores on the West Coast. Voltage has a killer selection of toys, clothes and jewelry.
If you are into Kid Robot, tokidoki, Gama-​Go, or Secret Base/​Super 7 — this is your place. They pack an amazing amount into a small space, and they do it beautifully — Voltage is a kick to look around.
They have a large selection of sizes & designs from Kid Robot, Gama-​Go and tokidoki in shirts & hoodies. You can also find the tokidoki Hello Kitty line here. These pieces are pricey wherever you find them — tees can easily run into the $ 35 to $ 50 range, hoodies — $ 75 to $ 100. NOTE: Voltage prices run similar to US prices, so those from the States will get extra bang for the exchange rate!
The toy selection is excellent and Voltage does a great job of displaying full sets in their immaculate cases. For the uninitiated: small vinyl toys are usually sold in blind boxes — you don’t know what you’ll get. At Voltage, you can at least look at a set of toys to see if you want to pursue them — this isn’t always the case. (the sets in the case are mostly display only — you can’t buy a complete set out of the case) These are all in the normal price range, starting at $ 5-​$ 10 and going up. They also have many large pieces which can run $ 50+++.
On my latest visit, I got a close look at the new Tara McPherson toy set and saw the complete Mechtorians up close & personal — very cool! If you collect vinyl toys, you obviously need to go here! I *LOVE* Voltage!

If you like the t-​shirts from
, you’ll probably love Voltage. In fact, they carry some Threadless shirts and plenty of other tees that have the same feel for both men and women. In addition to t-​shirts, they’ve got some great hoodies and bags. Voltage also has toys that carry on the same vibe of the clothing. Worth checking out if you want something fun to wear.