Longweekend Reunion
Absence makes the heart grow fonder. At least that’s what I’m convinced of, considering the amount of bullying that happened yesterday between the Beach Slam Boys and myself - it’s almost like we were never apart.
The boys took a trip back to good ol’ TO, so we decided to hit up the Jay’s game (my first one, ever) since it was such a beautiful day. Little did I know I’d run into Tay as well - so many good things in one day!
Instagram’d the hell out of the day, I couldn’t help it. It really does give the most dull photos a boost: 
Jays vs Mets
Tanning by the fountain. 
Precious. 
Our trip to the St. Lawrence Market. I think I fell in love with the place (cheese = love). I can’t wait to live the life of not having to drive to the grocery store…
Catcity and I reunited!
Great start to the weekend! With all this free time (hah… before work starts again on Tuesday), I’ve finally started to watch Mad Men from the beginning. So far, Don Draper’s a genius.
Travel Post: Paris & Lyon
Upon graduation, I embarked on a 6-day trip to Paris and Lyon with a friend of mine from exchange. Here’s a few snaps from my trip to the land of cheese and wine (and may I add, stinky subway trains): 
Waking up to this on our first morning. Can’t really complain, y’know? 
Cimitiere du Pere Lachaise 
Cemeteries really are serene places.
This was by Jim Morrison’s grave. 
Ah, there it is, the metal asparagus. A 3-hour wait fail.
Sacre Coeur by night.
Moulin Rouge didn’t really live up to my imaginary standards. Always thought it was bigger and less… fake. That’s not even the right word for it. 
What a dream, Montmartre - easily one of my favorite places. 
Olya and I stumbled across Refuge de Fondue when we got lost in Montmartre and decided to come back for a celebratory dinner. Well worth it. It’s a crammed little number (I literally had to climb over the table and shimmy into the seat) but we managed to meet some locals and Germans who were sitting about a hand span’s away from my face. 
Paris by night. We ended up meeting some friends from the hostel and headed off to watch the Eiffel tower sparkle at midnight - an amazing sight to spend with strangers. After polishing off a few bottles of wine in front of the tower, we decided to head back to Montmartre (metro ends at 130am - too early, in my opinion) and settled in for a few more drinks at a local Parisian bar.
Olya and I ended up finally catching a 3-hour free walking tour to all the main sights in Paris. We ended up with a great Aussie tour guide, Jacqueline who was appropriately inappropriate…
And stopping to pose again, wooooooo! 
More monuments.
Lyon was on our agenda and I couldn’t be happier, despite the ridiculously expensive train tickets. Paris is beautiful, but not quite my taste as a city. On the other hand, Lyon really surprised me with its charm and I couldn’t help but make grand comparisons with good ol’ Copenhagen. Regardless, it’s a dainty little place (just kidding, it’s one of the largest cities in France, after Paris I believe) and I really wish I had more time to explore!
By the riverside book market. Old postcards are so precious. Too bad we never send them anymore. E-mails don’t really cut it…
After a 40-minute climb up deathly stairs…
Managed to spend a few hours at Palais de Tokyo, which houses a great contemp/modern art exhibition. Amazing lone adventure!
Finally, Fear Eats The Soul
Sorry for the lack of text and insight in this post. There are a lot of thoughts running through my mind and I better let it fester and sort itself out before engaging in some serious verbal diarrhea here on Tumblr.
People will occasionally try to take advantage of your good nature and you need to be able to say ‘No’ and ‘Fuck you’ when necessary.
Source: richtong
An Analogue Experiment
After getting my LC-A+ in the mail back in September, I have been dying to take the camera out on a spin. With everything going on, I never really found the time to do it until my grad trip in Punta Cana. SO glad I chose to go with the classic classic LC-A+… the vignetting and the colors are just so ridiculous amazing!
Working at Lomography opened my eyes to a whole new world of photography last summer. I love digital photography and I’m constantly trying my hand at it… but this is something new. The thrill and surprise element in analogue photography is something that digital photography just can’t replace.
Here are a few shots that turned out beautifully. The film I used worked really well on the beach but my closeups were a bit of a fail… lesson learnt. Can’t wait to finish shooting my next roll!
While we were out on our scuba dive…
Paradise
Precious
Casual lounging.
Blurry birthday vision. Fitting.
Montreal graffiti: if only this one had been a bit brighter!
Dedicated to all these post grad thoughts swimming in my head:
Currently lounging at the back of the coach, listening to a mix tape that I made for a friend about half a year ago in November.
Things have come a long way since then: a little heartbreak, a little bit of bouncing back, a bit of stress from organizing Synergy, a LOT of joy and pride in Muse, newly founded soul mates, a 180 degree turn in attitude toward academics (aka: senioritis) and now, a ton of changes — good ones, challenging ones to tackle in the upcoming months.
Undergrad is over (and by over, I really mean two finals away from being completely finished) and now we’re all off to tread on another fresh canvas, just like we did four years ago. It’s all so frightening but the only thing I can say is (embarrassingly enough): COME AT ME BRO.
But no, in all seriousness, I’m ready for a change in scene. Never had a problem with change: I get over the “firsts”, the social jitters (my social awkwardness level:800) and then it all settles in. I just hate dwelling too long in one place or on one thing. I love fresh starts and I have this insatiable thirst to create: I like leaving my mark, making my statement and moving on, as long as it’s something I am passionate about.
I was chatting with the broski last night, and I finally figured out the fundamental difference between the two of us (despite the fact that we’re six years, one day apart… so technically, our stars are aligned in the same way…): he was born a risk taker, and I was born a dream chaser — it’s what revs me up for life.
So, dedicated to all the post-grad changes coming my way: I’m ready.
Highlights from Unleashed: A Launch Party
One of the peak moments of my undergrad: Muse Magazine Issue 4: Unleashed Launch Party.
Putting together a creative publication is not an easy task and when it does come together, it’s like an eruption of… bliss, joy, or any other synonym you can find on thesaurus.com.
Instead of throwing a huge party in the Hub, we decided to opt for a more intimate, launch party that showcased creative student talent - something that was much truer to the Muse brand. Zahra, Tamara and I founded this publication on the premise of exposing student talent… and we wanted to bring this concept past words in our Mission Statement.
For Issue 4, we decided to unleash (see what I did there?) student talent at The Mansion Wine Cellar, a great venue on near the Hub on Princess Street. We invited some musicians, photographers, and designers to showcase their work at the Wine Cellar and had several Kingston DJs spinning at the venue all night. 
Kait and Will got the whole crowd singing along to “Because We Got High” (sooo precious), and Adrian had a great rendition of Lupe Fiasco’s Superstar: 
Kinetiq Crew left our jaws hanging with their spoken word piece, and of course, a bboy throwdown…
And then, the closing. Bittersweet moment :( 
And then, the after party slowly got silly…
Krys and Nick gettin’ silly.
Gabriella and her models
Biz team love, minus so many of us…
Yes, those are our exec shirts. Jelly? 
Gabi and Jackie know exactly how to do it. 
Kinetiq Crew & Friends - precious
And another successful launch party hosted by the Muse fam. 
Thanks, Cruel Queen’s (check their Facebook page here for more)!
Brand Love: Photographs for Starbucks
I’m sure many of us out here in the digital realm are Starbucks fans. Admittedly, I am, at least when Christmas and summer rolls around and it’s a brand that I’ve come to admire after countless conversations about their branding and marketing strategy.
Here is a really special series of BBDO commissioned photography from Brian W. Ferry for Starbucks’ 40th anniversary campaign. I actually found this link off of Kinfolk Magazine, a new-found love: http://www.kinfolkmag.com/gallery/volume-one/
What makes this series of photos so successful in tugging at the heart strings for the brand is the fact that I can relate to the spatial atmosphere of each of his shots.
What’s the word? Relevance? No, familiarity? Maybe that’s it. 
How many times have you just gazed and wandered off into space at a Starbucks doing absolutely nothing?
Those heart-to-hearts you have over coffee?
Study session or work conversations that turn into philosophical dialogue?
Taking the dog out to the park?
Attempting to study and get fresh air while you’re at it? (impossible feat)
Revisiting places you used to go when you were a kid and having nostalgia kick in as you sip on a shaken iced tea lemonade?
And this photo is my ultimate favorite from the shoot. To me, the joy in this shot just sums up the love for everything that the brand brings to life. Well done, Mr. Ferry!
Synergy 2012: La Dolce Vita
All photos by Andriana Hnatykiw
Having been involved with the Synergy fashion show since my first year at uni, I’ve seen the group grow both in size and expand in concept. Show attendance has grown from an audience of 70 to 200 in a year’s time, and student designers have been added to the scenes in the past two years.
This year, we wanted to try something different. Working with two really good friends of mine at uni, we decide that we wanted to try something different. Inspired by the movie Pleasantville, we wanted to incorporate the gradual development from black and white to color through the use of music, clothing/styling and the style of runway and dance numbers.
To execute this particular vision, we sought out vintage/second-hand stores in Kingston (there are some great ones on Princess Street: Starling Vintage Lovelies is true vintage, and What I’ll Wear carries a lot of costume-types), along with a few of our more modern-day sponsors. While collaborating with downtown boutiques has always been a great way to connect with the Kingston community, we were yearning for more freedom and involvement in styling. With that in mind, we ended up asking selected students to style various runway numbers, instead of actually designing pieces for the show.
Being inspired by vintage clothing and accessories, we brought this concept over to the promo photo shoot. Equipped with two incredibly talented student photographers at Queen’s, Andriana Hnatykiw and Justin Chin, they directed and shot our 1950’s themed photo shoot. Spending over 12 hours in styling and running between campus and downtown sets, we ended up with some of the most stunning promo shots I’ve ever seen.
It’s amazing to realize that how much 1950’s inspiration you can find hidden away like gems in the city. Tommy’s, the new 24-hour diner downtown, was a perfect set (see the first photo to see what I mean), and there were so many pieces in the vintage stores that worked with pieces in our own closet that created perfect 1950’s outfits with a modern twist. We also had a great student hair stylist that did all the up-dos for the shoot, which transformed our beautiful models into 1950’s beauties. Our choreographers also found some great 1950s tracks that ran seamlessly into the theme.
Emily’s wearing H&M sweater & skirt
More photos coming! Check out Andi’s photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/ahnatykiw/
Project: MUSE X VDAY BLACKOUT
Ever since we wrapped up three consecutive high-strung weeks in preparation for the Synergy: La Dolce Vita fashion show, I’ve launched myself straight into the next event: MUSE x VDAY BLACKOUT.
Here are some promo materials that I designed along with some help with the girls on the Muse business team. I first started out with a very plain - black, as usual - concept to go with the theme, Blackout. That’s always been part of my design aesthetic, I suppose. This time around though, the business team urged for more color and these designs just kind of… happened.
Marketing for this event - a Valentine’s day party at Stages in Kingston, is happening in three phases: comes in three phases:
I. Build-Up: Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, MUSEBLACKOUT, Friday…
Using the Thursday concept from The Weeknd’s album, we altered it to create a calendar-like teaser. 
II. Print Promo:
Urging for more bursts of color, I designed the rave cards with a graffiti-like background which worked out pretty well. Printing these rave cards and seeing the vibrant colors = elation, but seriously. For consistency, text is highlighted with black, similar to the overall design theme in the magazine. 
We wanted to break through the clutter of event advertising at Queen’s (there’s always something going on!), so Mel and I came up with the idea of creating CD-album jackets as a form of non-traditional print advertising. Printed and folded on cardstock and folded, the front of the album sleeve would feature the it-girl on our poster and the back, the event details. We also added a QR code at the back to link people back to our Facebook event page - I’m curious to see the prominence of QR-code use at the uni. 
(sorry, this is a print screen so ignore the side bars)
III. Promo Video
Using sparklers and footage from the Avicii event held at Queen’s earlier this year, we’re creating our own 30-second short to promote the event. This is one of the first official videos that Muse is creating (some of you may have seen the Shit Queen’s Girls Say video), so I’m ecstatic to see how it turns out! Will post when it gets released tomorrow!
We’re really going all out in terms of marketing for this event, so this will be a good practice/trial-and-error case to help us gauge how to go about marketing the brand before the launch of Issue 4: Exposed. We’ve come a long way with marketing, considering we originally came up with ideas that would have catered to only a very specific demographic within the student body.
As a side note, here’s something I learned this week: as a leader, constructive criticism from your team is invaluable. There is nothing more important than being transparent and establishing an environment in which every member of the team isn’t afraid of speaking up. I’m really glad, relieved and appreciative that our team members aren’t afraid to speak to us about their thoughts and opinions.
Like Z said, we’re a young organization and we like to play around with our creativity - it’s pretty much boundless, to be honest. Sometimes, we run over the edge and cross blurry boundaries and we need everyone in the team to keep each other in line. Specifically, in our case, we need to make sure we’re always on brand.
Being willing to listen is one of the traits that I believe are the most important in leading any type of team. You may have the authority and hold the ultimate decision-making wand, but not listening reduces your credibility and respect that your team holds for you. In turn, this induces and/or perpetuates low morale. Now, think about it: without your team, who and what are you leading at the end of the day?
Food for thought. Anyway, sometimes, the most valuable things you learn from uni comes from the most unexpected places.
All graphics designed by Cherie Tsang
Great analogy: advertising ideas as the Trojan Horse
Inspirational analogy and excerpt from The Ugly Duckling by Tham Khai Meng, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy
I’ve always been a fan of JRA and I love that he’s going back to his old, crooning style. Emotional song (story of my life, lol), sure, but his voice makes me melt just a little bit inside.
Check him out at http://JRAquino.Tumblr.com
Tunnel Vision Spring 2012 Lookbook
I hardly post fashion images… but these are some pretty magical shots that called for an exception. Run by two Cali girls, Tunnel Vision focuses on vintage design (www.shoptunnelvision.com), and while I’m not too familiar with the brand, the lookbook got me hooked.
Love the editing!
When a good thing goes bad, it’s not the end of the world. It’s just the end of a world that you had with one girl.
- Drake (Doing It Wrong)
One of my favorite lines from Drake. It’s so true. And when you really think about it, the concept makes sense even if you stretch it past the context of relationships. Accept it when things go wrong, make the necessary changes and stay positive. That’s all you can really do, right?
Source: gabebondoc
Key Lime Cheesecake Minis
Midnight baking with L! These were pretty successful, considering all my other attempts at baking over the holiday went horrendously: undercooked chocolate chip banana bread with rum (at least the name sounds good), panna cotta that was overloaded with vanilla essence and cream, and chewy chocolate chip cookies minus the baking soda.
On the bright side, at least I enjoyed the process! Baking and cooking with friends is probably one of my most favorite things to do, especially when procrastination calls. Whenever the chopping board comes out, the conversation flows.
On Returning to 613
This will be my last time leaving 905 for good, and heading back to Kingston for my last round, last term at university. This is it! Somehow, I am leaving with many more bags than I came home with… how did that happen? Anyway, I am set to conquer my Kingston/Queen’s University Bucket List. So many things to do, and so little time. It’s going to be a good one, I promise!
