Browsing “The Proof”

Mature beyond her years. Thoughtful and meticulous, fanatical about health and fitness, will kill you at trivia, or slam you at tennis. A kindred spirit to my own passion for modern typography, food and fine wine. Her obsessive mad love for Dave Matthews is endearing yet somewhat disturbing. She’ll fly anywhere to see him again, and again. And again.

I’ve known Angela for about eight years. She interned with us after graduating from the University of Washington. We were struck by her ability to problem solve and develop sophisticated design solutions at such an early stage of her career. So we hired her.

She has a life plan and is executing it methodically – similar to her approach to design. Angela was honoured recently by Design Edge Canada Magazine as one of the Top Ten Young Designers in Canada To Watch. You’ll know why the minute you meet her.
- David Coates, CGD, FGDC  |  Partner  |  Ion Branding + Design

The Proof

01 My view of beautiful Vancouver on my walk to the office every morning. My morning walk is one of my favourite times of the day – i don’t listen to music, I listen to the sounds on the street and do some of my best thinking.

02 The gym at my tennis club has the best view.

03 My husband, Damir and I playing mixed doubles tennis. Tennis is such a wonderful sport – you must be equally fit physically and mentally to win.

04 Some promotional materials that we designed at Ion for our 20 year anniversary. I always get roped into modeling.

05 This is a scanned photo (you can even see that I ran out of film – film!) from high school when my husband and I started dating. Happily married for almost 3 years now.

06 Yo-yos have been a part of my life since high school and this is a particularly artistic shot. Recently a client at Ion came to us asking if we could shoot a video with yo-yo tricks – well they certainly picked the right firm for the job!

07 My computer at work. The camel and elephant were souvenirs given to me by my first employer when she left the company in my inexperienced hands for 3 months. I keep them to remind me to be confident in my decisions. The deer on the left was a prop from Ion’s 2011 Christmas promo project; he fits quite nicely with the other two.

08 “Wild Pacific” by BC Artist Jutta Kaiser. This hangs in my living room, and the photo doesn’t do it justice, but it is powerful daily inspiration.

The Questions

What neighborhood do you live in?
Fairview – near VGH

What do you do and where?
I’m Senior Designer at Ion Branding + Design

What are you working on?
New packaging for a local food distributor, financial reports for BC Assessment, copywriting for the Society of Graphic Designers of Canada

Where can we find your work?
www.iondesign.ca or http://www.gdc.net/business/find_a_designer/designer102447

It is hardly fair that someone could be so wonderfully adept at finding joy in the details of everyday life. Fortunately, Dani Kreeft has taken it upon herself to share the fruits of her inquisitiveness with the rest of us in her work, not to mention her everyday life.

In a blogosphere rife with senseless babble and ever worse ways to waste time, Ms. Kreeft has created a blog aimed at helping us stay focused on the important things in life. More than this, with Danipress.com and her inspiring line of greeting cards, she has created a wonderful way of helping us pass it on to the people in our life as well as give a hand to those in need.

She once asked me if I thought I was a “glass half-full” guy.  “No” was my reply.  She then asked why.  It may seem like this question comes from a place of innocence but in fact to ask it is to wisely lay bare a path to happiness. We can seek out and build on the good in this world – and we should. For her part, Dani finds the glasses and fills them up.
- Chris Hesje

The Proof

01 If i’m walking somewhere, I like to take the alleyways. I find them oddly inspiring and they’re always much more interesting.

02 My desk. This obviously explains why i am using the island in my kitchen as a desk right now. I need to clean this up.

03 Some of my stationery. Taken from my travels all over the world, I pair them with old typewriter text and recycled brown envelopes. They’re awesome.

04 I like swinging through Revolver for an americano. It’s usually packed, so I often find myself standing at the back flipping through their photo books.

05 Cartems Donuterie has the best donuts. Triple chocolate threat, earl grey, maple bourbon bacon, O my.

06 Mount Pleasant in spring is a beautiful thing.

07 One of my best friends in Grenada, Nicaragua. We grabbed our backpacks and flew the coop this past January, romping around Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama.

08 I grew up in Edmonton, but also wanted to live by the sea. It was one of the biggest reasons I moved west, that ability to stand by the sea and feel better about, well, everything.

The Questions

What neighborhood do you live in?
On St. George Street in Mount Pleasant. Pretty close to Le Marché St. George, which is my favorite oasis in this neck of the woods.

What do you do and where?
I make stationery! I have a kickin’ little office at the back of my apartment that works as the humming brain of this operation. I also work at the Waldorf Hotel in east Vancouver.

What are you working on?
Some new designs, learning how to market myself, staying on top of my to-do list, getting the word out to stores across Canada, using my time effectively, getting enough vegetables, the usual.

Where can we find your work?
Here in Vancouver, you can find dani press at Bird On A Wire on Main Street, The Cross Decor & Design in Yaletown or Walrus up on Cambie. I also sell at local markets and online through my shop, www.danipress.com.

A strangely-shaped rock, an abandoned memento, a tattered boot, a lonely stump…these are not the things ordinary people seek to find, but then Soizick Meister is no ordinary person. Always on the lookout for natural or discarded oddities, these objects become the backbone behind the latest whimsy in Soizick’s paintings.
Having known Soizick for several years now, I can say with certainty that she has more kick in her step than my friends in their mid-twenties. No doubt it is the 60 years of sunshine, long seaside walks and the steady diet of raw carrots and broccoli that accounts for this!
Though her curious paintings tell a dreamy story, set in the most tranquil beautiful of places, Soizick herself is far from fluffy and timid.  It is perhaps this wonderful and fiery tenacity that I enjoy most about her. Never kowtowing to the dotted-line, Soizick certainly marches to the beat of her own drum; a beat that has lead her across the world time and time again – seeking out the extraordinary.
Nothing is ever unoriginal and no moment is ever dull.
- Pennylane Shen

The Proof

01  V for Vancouver, the city, my family and I moved to 12 years ago from Switzerland. We are now a part of the Vancouver community and happy to live here. I shot this picture from Burrard Bridge.

02 I am an early bird and I usually have my breakfast at 7AM in a coffeshop downtown. I always have my camera in y pocket giving me the opportunity to shoot morning sceneries like this beautiful one

03 This is Albert, my husband, walking on Long Beach, Tofino. He is always ready to play my model as Mr. M and to pose for a picture even if the situation is tricky!  No worries the bear was okay after the shooting. Thank you Photoshop.

04 I collect “things” I find anywhere: rusty metal caps, driftwood, stones, used books aso…. They are all over my house telling me their stories.  I made the little paper house with written messages on the walls to use it as a model for one of my paintings.

05 I love buying sketchbooks in a variety of sizes and shapes with different covers which I usually personalize. They are important in my creative process and I always have one by my side, wherever I go. It is like a secret garden full of little notes, thoughts, pictures and drawings.

06 This is one of my paintings with Mr. M sitting on a log at English Bay Beach. I have been painting this Character for many years and when I moved from Switzerland to Vancouver, Mr. M became a transplant from somewhere else a traveller in both mind and space, pursuing the sometimes conflicting pleasures of exploration and the wish to put down roots.

07 Here I am in my studio/home where I spend most of my time, surrounded by my books, brushes, paints, laptop and music. I feel so lucky to live and work in this beautiful place with a view on Burrard Inlet and the mountains.

08 For the painting exhibition: “The red Thread” I made this big red rope ball used in the gallery window to symbolize the show. The meaning of the red thread idiom is a Chinese belief about the connection linking human beings to one another.  I really believe without true relationships, friendships and love we are nothing.

The Questions

What neighborhood do you live in?
I live on 13th Avenue and Alma, a very nice street lined with cherry trees.

What do you do and where?
I am an artist/illustrator. I work as self-employed from my studio/house.

What are you working on?
I am working on a new series of paintings for my next exhibition.

Where can we find your work?
You can follow my work on www.soizimage.com  and on Facebook.

It is hard to pin point exactly what Kenny does for a living. Although he is the creative director of eighteen karat, his passion for art, nature and love extend into everything he does. After attending Emily Carr University, a year in London, UK we left the city to re-connect with nature. We wanted to raise our kids with their hands in the dirt and attempt to be as sustainable as we could on the West coast. His photos kind of look like he has the life of an eight year old and that’s because his energy for life and all things he creates is just as infectious as a kid’s. I don’t think his mind ever stops dreaming up things he can create or experience and I feel pretty lucky to be around that kind of passion. He puts just as much energy and attention into his garden as he does his paintings and when he’s giving that much love out to the earth, you can’t help kinda love him back. Being married to Kenny is being married to a way of life, a creative ball of energy and we’re working hard at instilling that into our kids and the nature around us.

- Katie Sweeting

The Proof
01 An existing tree fort on our property, which of course Kenny and Uncle Erik spend more time in than our son.

02 Painting room in the studio, which is a good hundred year old original home on the property that we turned into a studio/wine drinking cabin.

03 Our eldest, Ewan, painting with daddy, clearly in daddy’s shirt.

04 A painting from the series ” The Journey,” showing April 12th at 18KARAT on South Granville.

05 The wife, pregnant at the time with our daughter, Mable, in front of our chicken coop that grandpa built for us. He gets a lot of free eggs as payment.

06 Another shot of the studio and the fireplace that warms our feet and gladdens our hearts.

07 Walking in the forest by the salmon baring creek, behind the studio with Ewan, who loves being outside rain or shine (or snow, and more rain).

08 Year one of canning, growing, pickling and gathering all things homemade.

The Questions

What neighborhood do you live in?
I live in and around Fort Langley. A little bit country, a whole lot of nature as I am surrounded by a green belt of trees and creeks.

What do you do and where?
I am the Creative Director of 18KARAT. I am a Graphic Designer, Artist and Product Designer. I love making things!

What are you working on?
Right now I am working on the seeds of 2013 spring/summer line for Eighteen Karat and a new series of paintings initially inspired by a beet. Beets are good!

Where can we find your work?
You can hit up 18KARAT on South Granville or online or come for a visit in the studio. Maybe call first. We have a big gate for times we feel like being hermits.

Tif works and plays hard, she’s up at the crack of dawn and stays up late into the evening provided you keep her hooked into a steady line of coffee.  I’ve been with her for nearly eight years and I’m still constantly surprised by her spontaneous initiatives. Furthermore her smile is infectious and I’ve yet to meet anyone who hasn’t gravitated to her and her energy immediately.

A complete risk taker and adventurous to the bone both professionally and in her personal life, being around Tif is quite simply a lot of fun.  If I had to put a label to her personality I’d call her a Weekend Explorer rather than Weekend Warrior – she’s always seeking out new things to try out or see with a devotion bordering on mania.  Since graduating as a Botanist she’s travelled extensively worldwide and held a seemingly eclectic array of professional designations.

All that aside though, clothing is clearly her passion and it shows with her latest label, Bangers and Mash.  I’ve been waiting for years for a mens line from her as her women’s lines have been made with such care and consideration for her client’s comfort that I was candidly jealous (not so far as to try anything on mind you!) but enough to be very happy to see her open up to us guys.  It was worth the wait as she’s put together what I would call her crowning achievement to date.  The new line is not only trendy and fun, but she’s spent nearly a year refining it into a sophisticated blend of fashion, comfort, and performance that is meeting with rave reviews.  Quite simply – she’s got game, I can’t wait to see what comes next!
- Owen Lambert

The Proof

01 This is the view from my eastside studio.

02 First day in our 2200sqft studio. Didn’t quite know what to do with the space at first as it was 4x the size of my condo.

03 Tyson is a rescue from the Animal Protection Society in Richmond.  He is a terror.

04 Bob is a rescue from the Vancouver Animal Shelter on Raymur.  He loves food.  My suspicion is that Bob and Tyson are tight but I’ve never been privy to this.  However, I did catch them spooning once…

05 I have a weird obsession to take pics of food everywhere I go.  This is a pic of the namesake of Bangers & Mash.  It was the first meal I had after the first day of our tradeshow launch in Vegas.

06 This pic was taken by a good friend of mine on a chilly day in Vancouver. This guy definitely lives by our philosophy of work hard, play harder!

07 I love this picture of my god-daughter – it just makes me laugh everytime

08 This is my favorite picture of Owen when he was five living in Africa.  I still get this look – some things never change.

The Questions

What neighborhood do you live in?
I live in Coal Harbour and its just awesome for a dog owner – the seawall is just steps away and there are plenty of green parks close by.  I watched all the buildings around me go up, pretty amazing how this neighborhood has changed in a short 10 years.

What do you do and where?
I am a clothing designer and I just recently turned my focus on my guys line, Bangers & Mash.  I commute back and forth from my home office and my Strathcona studio.

What are you working on?
I think to be a indie designer you have to have a little A.D.D.  I’m doing sales, adjusting prototypes, finalizing and grading patterns, organizing production (made here in Vancouver), and starting to think about Spring/Summer 2013.

Where can we find your work?
Bangers & Mash is in its infancy so our distribution is still growing.  You can find us in boutiques in the US and in Japan or online at www.bangersandmashgear.com

Sara is the only person on the face of the planet who can make me laugh so hard that I pee my pants. She is chilled out and down to earth, and even a little bit shy at first, so if you only met her once, you’d never believe that she regularly dances around her house singing in nonsensical dialects and made up accents.
Language is truly her gift. She has never been afraid to say anything to anyone. When she was young enough to be wearing pink onesies with feet in them our dad complimented her jumpsuit. Without a trace of fear she responded, “It’s not a jumpsuit you jerk.”
Imagination, conversation and an intuitive cultural sense continue to be some of her finest traits. It is no wonder that she has become a fantastic freelance writer. She has been dedicated to developing her craft for more than a decade. Her English degree from UBC and her fluency in several languages seem only natural given her early and prolific ability to communicate with the world around her. I am truly in awe and a little jealous of my sister.
–Benjamin Tollestrup

The Proof

01 I love that Vancouver is only 90 minutes away from one of the most beautiful places in the world –Halfmoon Bay. I’m fortunate that my grandpa had the foresight to buy land there in the 1940′s.

02 Almost every day I have veggie juice for breakfast:
2 red beets
2 carrots
2 celery stalks
1 apple
4 kale leaves
a loonie-sized chunk of ginger

03 I’ve had nine months of pregnancy and one month of raising a newborn to realize that I’m a mom, but it’s still a bit surreal. Now toys like this knit RCMP doll are all over my house.

04 No matter how old I get, I still feel like a 4 year old when I cross the suspension bridge at Lynn Canyon. I love the massive cedar trees that line the trail to 30 Foot pool too. (Chris Owen photo)

05 Finch’s on Pender has the best sandwiches in the city. My two favourite menu items are the Pear, Brie and Prosciutto baguette and the Gypsy Salami baguette. It’s also a great place for people watching because everyone from grannies and hipsters to suits and bike couriers eat lunch there.

06 My husband Chris says the answer to every question is six. I laugh and roll my eyes when he says stuff like that, but truthfully I love even the most ridiculous things he says and does.

07 This is the most recent addition to our art collection and the best Christmas gift I’ve ever been given. Ben Tour is so talented. It’s also pretty rad that he lives and works in Gibsons not far from Halfmoon Bay.

08 The chairlift at Mt. Seymour doubles as an office and a place of refuge for me. Some days I use the time to answer emails on my phone. Other days I just stare at the snow-covered trees and breathe in the mountain air. (Chris Owen photo)

The Questions
What neighborhood do you live in?
Lynn Valley – born and raised, and I have watched it change in many ways. It blows my mind that the ugly pastel homes I grew up around are now million dollar fixer-uppers, but I love that the woods I played in as a little girl still surround the area.

What do you do and where?
I am a freelance writer and copy editor. I  also do some social media and marketing.  My workspace is wherever my laptop is whether that is my kitchen table, a cabin in the mountains or the Langdale ferry.

What are you working on?
My husband and I had a son just over a month ago, so these days most of my time is dedicated to raising Julien. With a baby in one arm and one hand free to type, I’m working on stories for the 2012-13 issues of Snowboard Magazine, Snowboard Canada Women’s Annual and whatever Lifetime Collective throws my way. For fun I’m contemplating/dismissing the idea of starting my own blog and learning to shoot various film cameras in my husband’s collection.

Where can we find your work?
www.snowboardmag.com and the print editions of the aforementioned publications. Lifetime Collective’s zine #2 is coming out next month along with their Spring ’12 line and  www.lifetimecollective.com.