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Jun 7, 2017

A Sunny Saturday Wrap-Up


Last Saturday, I organized a little Pop-Up event at Ollie Quinn, a beautiful, bright eyeglasses store on Vancouver's Main St. Scandinazn was joined by Craftedvan, who make cute + clever magnetic bookmarks, greeting cards and fridge magnets, Tessa Lee Designs, a talented local artist whose pattern-kissed cat & matryoshka doll portraits I adore, and Grove Soaps, who make quality vegan soap in beautiful colours and delicious scents.

Ollie Quinn on Main St Vancouver

Thanks to all of you wonderful people who came out!

It was great to have the chance to talk with you face-to-face... I'm looking forward to doing much more if it this summer. In November of last year, Scandinazn became my full-time job (yay!). One of the many challenges of working for myself is getting OUT of my studio and into the world. One can only listen to so many podcasts before you start sounding a little like Ira Glass. So far, Scandinazn is booked for 5 EVENTS this summer, with more to be announced soon!

And now some pictures of the pop-up event, to feast your eyes on...

 

Find information about where to find us around the city, at upcoming events this summer, fall and winter HERE.

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Apr 27, 2017

100 Day Project


As someone who spends long hours working away in the studio, podcasts have become my lifeblood. They have become my way of keeping up with what's going on in the world, and provide endless entertainment. One of my go-to's as a creative business owner comes from Elise Joy, called Elise Gets Crafty. Elise is a creative wonder-woman, and shares her experiences about blogging, running multiple different types of creative small businesses, with tons of great guests from different corners of the industry. In her most recent episode, she talks to Allie Lehman about taking part in the 100 Day Project. The challenge kicked off in early April, and is a global art project that lasts for 100 days. Participants choose something to focus on, and post a picture on that subject every day on their Instagram accounts, using their own unique hashtag. Sounds like fun, right?

Ok, I realize the month is almost over, but that's not going to stop me. I'm gonna do it! Over the last few months, I've been thinking what the next step is for my company, Scandinazn. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure, but I have determined one of the things I like most about creating our pieces is doing the pattern design work. Bright colours, abstract shapes & repetition speak to me, and I want to explore this interest to its full potential. That's why I've decided to do 100 DAYS OF PATTERN!

Starting today, I will be posting one picture a day, exploring the world of pattern. The beauty of picking a broad subject like this is the potential to traverse different mediums. Naturally, I will be doing plenty of pieces using reclaimed leather (the foundation of my entire brand), but I hope to delve into the world of textile, paper, and digital pattern design as well. You'll be able to follow along with this project by searching the hashtag

Check back here every week for a roundup of my daily pattern posts, or follow along on Instagram!

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Mar 19, 2017

Belated travel photos, Part 3. Magical Landscapes.


I cherry-picked this handful of landscape photos out of the dozens and dozens I accumulated from my travels over the course of the year. Looking back at these photos, I feel so fortunate to have witnessed some of the most breathtakingly beautiful places in the world. After returning from a trip, I always feel a renewed sense of appreciation for the part of the world we live in. For what it's worth, the Pacific Northwest is an incredible place, and one of my goals for the coming year is to explore closer to home.

Pictures simply cannot do justice to the majestic Sapa Valley in Northern Vietnam. This is one of those rare places that can bring tears to your eyes just by gazing upon the green of the rolling hills, covered with terraced rice paddies, dotted with wobbly little houses, and shrouded in an eerie mistiness. I went there during their winter, when the rice paddies were brown and muddy, and it was still gorgeous. I imagine going during the spring would be even more spectacular.

Another shot taken in the Sapa Valley. A place to call home.

On our last full day in our last destination in Thailand before heading to Malaysia, we decided to spend most of our remaining baht and hire a car to take us to Mu Ko Lanta National Park. We were rewarded with a beautiful hike, plenty of quality monkey time, and some very photogenic limestone formations. Of course, the day wasn't all puppy dogs and rainbows... I almost s*** a brick when I accidentally wiped my entire memory card worth of trip photos (which were later recovered, phew) and we had a very unique experience at a food market, where we ate curry so spicy it caused to cousin to become ill for the rest of the day, even after ejecting it from her body.

Aptly dubbed "The Grand Canyon" by tourists, this former red mud quarry, now flooded with fresh water, is a prime spot for cliff diving and swimming. I could only bring myself to jump off the baby 10(ish) meter cliff you see the people standing on in the foreground, but the real deal lies at the end of that strip of land. I would say it's closer to 15 meters. Guys, that's insane.

Try to imagine trekking through the jungle in Northern Vietnam, travelling up and up through thick forrest, and finally popping out of the trees to a 360 degree view of this. Cát Bà National Park, North-Eastern Vietnam.

My cousin and I met some locals while staying on the island of Langkawi in Malaysia. One night, we got driven up a long and windy road in pursuit of the best view on the island. When we reached the top, what we saw took our breath away. We got there just in time to witness the most spectacular sunset I've ever seen, with a view of what seemed like the entire island.

Around many of the main attractions around Japan, one can get outfitted in a head-to-toe Kimono rental outfit, for photo-ops such as these. This was taken in the bamboo grove in Arashiyama, Kyoto.

Hitachi Seaside Park, a 2 hour bus ride from Tokyo, is beautiful all year round. I had the pleasure of being there in the spring, an witnessing the Nemophila bloom covering every inch of the rolling hills.

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