Inside a Local’s World: Aubrey Medina of Golden Bones
James Bay, Victoria BC
A conversation about slow fashion, creative exploration, community, and the local places that make a city feel like home.
Meet Aubrey
In James Bay, Victoria BC, creativity is woven into everyday life — from neighborhood walks along the coast to handmade pieces created slowly and intentionally.
Aubrey Medina, founder of Golden Bones, embodies that spirit. Through her work, she explores personal style, vintage treasures, and the beauty of making something with your own hands.
For Aubrey, creativity isn’t about having everything figured out. It’s about following curiosity, staying open to inspiration, and allowing life to unfold naturally.
Whether she’s wandering into a fabric store, discovering a vintage piece that feels meant for her, or gathering with friends to dream about the future, Aubrey sees the world through a lens of wonder.
We asked Aubrey about the places she loves, the rituals that ground her, and the local businesses that make Victoria feel like home.
A Conversation with Aubrey
What three words best describe your world?
Unknown, stunning, hilarious.
What are you known for among your friends?
My friends say I'm known for being “the worst texter,” “the best parallel parker,” and “the queen of the Irish exit.”
What do people often come to you for advice about?
I find that with my friends and I, we don't ask each other for advice, because we know we won't listen. Instead, we share our stories and our experience.
People often come to me more for giggles than guidance, and somewhere in the giggles... there’s guidance.
Who are you when no one is asking what you do for work?
Whenever I try to define myself I think about this poem by Rumi:
“If you label me and define me then you starve yourself of yourself. Nail me down in a box with a cold word and that box will be your coffin because I do not know who I am, I'm your own voice echoing off the walls of God.”
What comes naturally to you?
Walking into a fabric store and immediately falling in love with the most expensive bolt.
Creativity, Craft & Building a Brand
What gift do you bring to your community?
The community I've been welcomed into since starting GB has been a huge gift in my life. I try to give back through my work by offering sliding scale pricing at my pop-ups around town!! <3
Next one will be at For Good Measure in James Bay, August 30th!!!
What are you currently learning or getting better at?
I'm currently learning how to sew, and it's been teaching me a lot about myself too, mainly how important it is to be kind and patient with myself.
I'm also getting better at not being such a perfectionist.
I've noticed that when I demand perfection, my inner child kind of shuts down. If the goal is perfection then it stops feeling like creation and starts feeling like pressure. I don't want to live my life like that anymore ya know!!
What object, possession, or keepsake best tells your story?
I went for a walk with my friend back in Feb, we ended up at the neighbourhood thrift store and a vintage fur coat caught my eye so I asked if I could try it on, mostly for fun.
I put it on and it fit so perfectly, everyone at the store was telling me it was made for me, so I got it.
It was 100% an impulse purchase because everyone was gassing me up. The lady at the till told me “now the spirit of this animal will protect you every time you wear it.”
I wore it all winter, and felt chic and protected.
My story is about wandering aimlessly, seeing something I like, getting feedback, wisdom, guidance, from whoever and whatever is around me, making a decision and just gunning for it, knowing that I'm always protected by the Divine.
Aubrey’s World
Where do you go when you’re searching for a bit of peace?
The beach, Quantum Yoga Studio, and my bedroom ;)
What local business do you return to again and again?
Quantum Yoga, For Good Measure, Russell Books, Nourish Kitchen and Cafe, and Humble Vanity!!
Where do you gather with people you love?
I live with my best friends so we usually gather in the kitchen, but when we want to leave the house we'll go for a walk along Dallas Road, find a bench, talk and talk till the wind picks up and gets too cold.
If we want to keep the vibes going we'll head over to the neighbourhood pub, The James Bay Inn Pub aka JBI, or The Bent Mast.
What recipe, dish, or food tradition feels most like home?
Chicken Adobo and Bulalo, my favourite Filipino food my mom made me growing up!
Is there a local restaurant that captures the spirit of your community?
Nourish Kitchen for sure, a farm-to-table restaurant. The food is incredible, but what I love most about Nourish is that it's a 1888 heritage home turned restaurant!
It feels like home in there, because it quite literally was one.
Style & Discovery
A look into the Locals Closet
Style & Discovery
What local boutiques or makers do you wish more people knew about?
Golden Bones haha ;)
My favourite local designer is Alexandra Christie, she owns a slow fashion/vintage/homedecor store in Cook Street.
I have lots of vintage pieces from Luna Collective, Cheers Vintage, Dirtyfox Vintage, thrift stores, and Facebook Marketplace.
For jewelry: Flux and Stones, LLume, and I recently just found Solder & Salt!
What’s the last local business you fell in love with?
Luna Collective on Fort Street!
What brand, maker, or designer feels aligned with your values?
Seaberry Garden and Flower on Cook Street! They make the most beautiful bouquets.
What does your wardrobe say about you?
That I'm obsessed with linen.
Rituals, Inspiration & Community
What daily or weekly ritual helps you feel most like yourself?
I've been craving ritual in my life recently. There's been a lot of transition lately, which is when it's hardest to keep routine but also when they're needed most.
In a perfect world I'd get back to my daily yoga and morning pages. That's when I feel most grounded.
Who has shaped the way you see the world?
Clarissa Pinkola Estés and her wolves.
What book, podcast, or piece of art changed your perspective?
Sitting By the Well by Marion Woodman.
What are your favorite forms of movement?
Yoga, Pilates, and taking my bicycle down Dallas Road.
Who do you gather with? What are you helping grow?
I have a dream club with my creative friends. We share and analyze the dreams we've had and then we dream together about the future.
Looking Ahead
What are you currently building?
My brand! My self esteem!
What are you cultivating right now?
More grace, and a peaceful home.
What does a perfect Saturday in your world look like?
I wake up. It's 9am. I'm ovulating. Everything feels like sunshine.
I walk to the corner store and get a coffee before heading to the beach. I come home and sew a pair of linen pants. The house is clean.
My boyfriend calls me and asks what I want for dinner. He washes the dishes while I read Jitterbug Perfume.
I fall asleep and I don't even need melatonin.
What kind of people are you hoping to meet more of?
Genuine, creative, and uplifting, cool people who are belly-laugh hilarious.
What makes a place feel like home?
The things I love and the people I love.
What does living locally mean to you?
It means supporting local beauty and creativity and always being on the lookout for food grown on the island.
Remembering that the tallest grass has the strongest roots.
Aubrey’s World
Aubrey’s perspective captures what makes a place truly special: the people who notice the details, support the makers around them, and create beauty through everyday choices.
Through Golden Bones, her creative practice, and the community she continues to build, Aubrey reminds us that living locally is about more than where you live — it’s about how deeply you pay attention.
Discover more of Aubrey’s world: @shopgoldenbones
