Beckwoman’s closing – Online Auction coming

Anyone who ever went into Beckwoman’s Hippie Emporium store on E. Hastings Street in Vancouver, or in earlier years in the heart of Commercial Drive, knew and loved this quirky place of disco balls and fairy bells, macrame, hammocks, Morrocan slippers and musical instruments from around the world – most brought by Bonnie from the 1970s as she made art and slept in her studio to make it possible for her to travel to all the places she collected her wares.

With unpredictable hours despite the sign on the door but accessible by text, Beckwoman would sell you everything from a lapis lazuli ring, craft a sculpture of yourself from a photo, or make alterations on a headband from Guatemala.

Despite a jumble of treasures squeezed into the space, crooked hand-written price tags and signs that would make window designers cringe, the place could give you hours of fascination, looking at pieces big and small in the display cases ranged along the wall.

Bonnie Beckman was an adventurous, creative soul who was committed to bringing messages of peace and love through art and crafts from around the world long before mass marketing, easier travel, and Crate and Salvage came along.

But now Beckwoman’s appears to be gone. I ‘d heard last week that Bonnie Beckman (aka Beckwoman) had recently died or was gravely ill. This afternoon when I walked by, the lights were lit too brightly and people were moving things around inside. Something had happened.

I knocked on the door and someone from Rest Easy Auctions and Removals came to the door. He told me that Bonnie Beckman had died but I have not confirmed that. It looks possible, or imminent.

Beckwoman’s and Bonnie Beckman herself were institutions in the formative years of Commercial Drive as it established itself as a community of political activists, co-operatives, and artists.

Let’s tell her stories and keep her memory alive.

All her myriad wonders will go on sale in an online auction starting mid-December 2025

RIP Bonnie xo