Vancouver is an amazing city, chock full of creative talent. WE ARE VANCVR is a simple, elegant way to showcase all that talent in one place. Every Tuesday we profile one individual from the VANCVR community.VANCVR.com is a Domain7 Labs project.

Melanie Kwan is a born & raised Vancouverite, a designer, illustrator and stylist. She studied literature at UBC before moving on to a design program through BCIT and Emily Carr. And since literature + design = publications, in 2008 she founded collaborative lifestyle zine space | time. When she’s not curating “seasonal and DIY” content for her zine or experimenting with new creative media like bead looming, Japanese gift-wrapping, food packaging, or textile design, she’s surrounding herself with beautiful things working at our favourite design shop, Vancouver Special.

Read on to find out why Melanie likes being a creative in Vancouver and how she’d like to collaborate.

 [styled by Melanie, photographed by Cathlin Gulewitsch Broadley]

What do you do?
I’m an arts-and-crafter, designer and illustrator; basically, I like to make stuff. I’m currently playing around with photo styling, particularly food-based work.

Why do you love being a creative in Vancouver?
It can be difficult finding a job as a creative in Vancouver, but that’s because there are so many creative people in this city consistently making cool things. It pushes you to do more.

How would you like to collaborate with other local creatives?
Making the zine allowed me to connect with amazing artists and writers from all over the world, but it’s always nice to meet people closer to home. I’m interested in the idea of skill-swapping and would love to start some casual craft workshops with other local makers.

How can people reach you?
Email: mkwan.at.work@gmail.com
Website: www.melaniekwan.com