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Pinstagram | P.S. I love you

The Anthology’s Pinstagram column marries the dream (Pinterest) and the reality (Kelsey Dundon’s Instagram feed).

If you look at it through the eyes of a preschooler, spilled nail polish counts as abstract art.

Until I go back there I’m going to keep singing the praises of the unsung hero of the Hawaiian islands: Honolulu, which I’m guessing would be a great spot for biking. (By the way, I wrote a PSA in an attempt to convince you to visit the city.)

P.S. I love you might my favourite tourism slogan, and I can’t wait to fly back to Palm Springs in a few months.

Two years ago some friends and I started a book club and it’s been going strong ever since. Right now we’re reading the Handmaid’s Tale (thank you, Chapters, for sending it my way!) and I just realized we’ve never actually read any poetry. Maybe that’ll be next?

Making waves and surfing the waves: two of the very best ways to spend a summer afternoon.

P.S. There are more photos where these came from so follow @KelseyDundon on Instagram.

Parallelograms | Make it a pARTy!

 As soon as I launched Parallelograms, I got a ton of questions asking about art parties — or pARTies — for a group of friends. Which might just be the most fun idea ever.

So with the help of my PR-y sister Larissa I’m going to be throwing our first Parallelograms pARTy. I’ll let you know how it goes!

Expect some Parallelograms pARTies in your future, is what I’m saying.

Workspace | Publicist Carine Redmond’s Office Version 2.0

The Anthology’s Workspace column takes us inside the creative spaces of some very creative people.

Carine Redmond deserves full credit for bringing back The Anthology’s Workspace column. The Vancouver-based publicist’s gummy worm-covered desk was one of my favourite features back in the day. And when that Facebook memory popped up in my feed, I remembered how much I love creeping on people’s creative spaces.

So here we are! In Carine’s stunning new light-filled office. Shot by Vancouver-based photographer Whitney Krutzfeldt, the candy’s much fancier, the Kardashians are much more prominent, plus now there’s a puppy!

The Anthology: Wait. I recognize that globe.

Carine Redmond: It’s the same one! Jillian Harris used it for a shoot (I can’t remember what for) I was working on years ago and afterwards I went to Country Furniture and immediately purchased it like a little copycat. It’s my favourite item on my desk and has made it through many moves.

Working with Etsy, I spend a lot of days perusing product online. The ‘relationship status Avocado’ mug is so funny to me and all of my notebooks, cards, and most of my office accessories are from Etsy.

I still get my photos printed and like to keep recent ones on my desk – I switch them out periodically. I LOVE my white desk chair. An ex boyfriend bought it for me but I can’t part with it so I just tell myself it was a gift from my puppy.

TA: Do you seriously have that candy on your desk all day?

CR: I usually do, mostly because the Sugarfina stuff is so cute. I try to force it on visitors so that I don’t eat it. Often the girls who work for me.

TA: You read good ol’ fashioned printed magazines!

CR: I read books and magazines online like everybody else but still like to have hard copies – so if I really want to read something I buy a non digital version. I peruse magazines for pitch ideas and inspiration and tear sheets out for my vision boards (seriously).

TA: When are you most productive?

CR: I’m most productive work wise in the AM (7am-12pm). I try to do any real writing, editing and creative work before logging onto email. If I do that then I am able to spend the rest of the day in meetings and on calls and answering the flood of emails.

TA: How do you stay organized when you’re juggling a million clients and projects?

CR: By keeping a clean email inbox. I live and die by this rule. Keep what you need to tackle in your inbox and file everything else away. Clutter makes me crazy and that includes digital clutter.

TA: KKW! (I guess that’s more of a statement than a question!)

CR: Kim Kardashian has always done the best nude lip and I spent years trying to copy it and recreate it. Naturally, I had to get her KKW x Kylie Cosmetics nude lip kit. I love the Kardashians and still watch the show, not in an ironic way. Sorry guys!

TA: What’s the hardest thing about working for yourself?

CR: Managing other people, and all the accounting – my least favourite part of running a business.

TA: What are you most excited about right now work-wise?

CR: So much! Summer is fun for us because we have a lot of events. We’re helping Grey Goose with their Sunset Soiree events in Western Canada this August and as you can imagine, those are big and extravagant and include vodka so fun is had by all.

TA: Tell us about Tim Riggins: the man, the myth, the beagle!

CR: Tim Riggins spends his days trying to climb up on my desk and look out the window. Truth be told, it’s hard to get much work done with him around so I keep his social calendar packed during the week!

Carine Redmond handles the Western Canada PR for national and global lifestyle brands like Etsy, Parallel 49 Brewing Company, The Dailey Method, the Bentall Kennedy Group, India Rose Cosmeticary and the Chatters Style Happy tour. When she’s not at work, Carine’s usually watching reruns of Friday Night Lights, catching up on all things Kardashian or photographing her beagle pup Tim Riggins.

[Photos by Whitney Krutzfeldt]

P.S. Know someone (like, say…you!) who needs an excuse to tidy up their super stylish desk? Send a note to KDundon@TheAnthology.ca — we’d love to see your workspace!

Pinstagram | Life’s a beach

The Anthology’s Pinstagram column marries the dream (Pinterest) and the reality (Kelsey Dundon’s Instagram photos of places and faces in and around Vancouver).

Bedding by The Cross (one of the comfier projects I’ve worked on in my capacity as a copywriter lately) would look beautiful in any space.

I’ll take a West Coast summer day over a private palm-treed island, but that’s just me.

Art makes the space (and the not-so-candid photo at a special viewing at Rennie Collection).

An evening out at Kissa Tanto/stepping out.

Peonies: so basic, so beautiful.

P.S. There are more photos where these came from so follow @KelseyDundon on Instagram.

Meet Parallelograms

I don’t even know where to begin with this one. Because I actually began a year and a half ago and have been toiling away on this ever since (in between my work with my Northill clients and wrangling two little redheads). But here we are (FINALLY!). And I could not be more excited.

Meet Parallelograms, themed art kits designed for you and yours to do alongside each other (in parallel!), delivered straight to your door (like telegrams!). Each series is available in two versions: one with artist-quality supplies, the other with kid-friendly supplies (ages 3+).

Our first series? Colourful cacti and fancy flamingos. Summer in a nutshell!

The concept behind Parallelograms was inspired by a table we have that’s devoted to art (in the sense that it’s covered in more art supplies than a Michael’s). I noticed whenever our friends came over — our friends, not our kids’ — they would plunk themselves down and start doodling and scribbling and painting and whatnot. And these weren’t our artsy fartsy friends either. In fact, they would probably tell you they don’t have a creative bone in their bodies.

Yet, they’d sit and make art while we hung out. My hunch is that it has something to do with how easily everything is laid out, how low the stakes are (the kid sitting beside you sure isn’t going to judge your work!) and how relaxing it can be to create something with your hands.

Then, when I was on the verge of serious burnout after I had my second baby (such exhausting times, those!), I bought myself some artist-quality supplies. I’d fill a sketchbook while my older daughter filled a colouring book right beside me. It’s as close as I ever get to meditating. And I swear it’s just as restorative. (It’s actually something I touched on in this post about creativity and burnout.)

I’m a writer and somehow creating visual art restored my ability to write. I figure if my friends and I were finding some magic in this, then hopefully others would too.

So here we are!

I would love, love, love your feedback on all things Parallelograms so please share. And thank you to every single one of you who helped me bring this to life. I am forever indebted to you!

[First and third photo by Hayley Hudson, second and fourth photo by Kelsey Dundon for @Parallelograms.co on Instagram]

P.S. I’ve been getting a lot of questions about the concept and branding so I’m going to write a series of posts that will take you through exactly that: the naming, the branding, the logo (which was done by my frequent Northill collaborator Sonja Keserich — I love it more than I could tell you!), and all the other pieces it took to launch this thing.

Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ve got to go ship the first batch of Parallelograms orders. (Yay! THANK YOU!!!)

Food and Drink | Mothers’ Day in support of BC Women’s Hospital

Where are you taking your mom on Mothers’ Day? Haven’t quite decided yet? No worries: here are a few suggestions for you and your siblings to debate and discuss until the most enterprising one of you makes a reservation. On Sunday, May 14th, these Vancouver restaurants will donate 5% of their sales to fund the most urgent needs of BC Women’s Hospital:

Ask for Luigi
Bauhaus Restaurant (pictured)
Bella Gelateria
Go Fish
Juice Truck
La Mezcaleria
La Taqueria
Les Faux Bourgeois
Los Cuervos
Maenam
Merchants Oyster Bar
Pizzeria Bufala
Pizzeria Farina
Pourhouse
Sorella
The Sardine Can
H2 Rotisserie + Bar

So eat! Drink! Order dessert! It’ll be great for your mom, and a whole lot of other moms too.

Diary | Boobyball Mini Vancouver 2017

I’ve been to my fair share of fundraising events. Heck, I’ve thrown my fair share of fundraising events. But I’d never been to one geared specifically for kids. And I think the idea is genius.

Rethink Breast Cancer threw an enchanted forest-themed event for the Boobyball Mini, which is, as you guessed, geared to the minis. It had a magic wand-making station, a face painting station, a silent auction (whre I won a session with All City Athletics!) a dance floor that was packed with preschoolers bouncing around to Bruno Mars…

…and a reading corner that my baby bookworms got a real kick out of. It was quite the memorable way to spend a rainy Saturday afternoon.

And it raised more than $17,000, a huge amount for mini people.

Get Involved | Variety BC’s One Night in Monte Carlo Gala

When I was backpacking through Europe during undergrad, I tried to get into a very swanky casino in Monte Carlo. And was denied. The security guard looked my friend and I up and down, zeroed in on our flip flops (which had trod more hostel floors than he could have known) and gave us the boot.

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The folks at Variety BC’s One Night in Monte Carlo gala were much more welcoming.

The inaugural event — which featured dinner, dancing, and a casino of sorts — took place at the Pinnacle Harbourfront Hotel and raised $200,000 for the foundation’s mobility program.

And, to follow up on the Global Television segment I did to help promote the event, I wore this Halston Heritage gown. With Rebecca Minkoff heels instead of flip flops.

Style | Moderating a Q&A at the Museum of Vancouver

So here’s something I didn’t want to focus on before I moderated a Q&A at the Museum of Vancouver this past weekend: I’ve never moderated a discussion like that before. I’ve presented on live television a trillion times. I lectured at one of Canada’s biggest universities for years. I’ve been on panels. I’ve spoken at events. I’ve given wedding speeches.

I’ve done many things you’d think would prepare me for something like this, but let me tell you: moderating a Q&A is a very different beast.

See, when you’re the one answering the questions, you’re already the subject matter expert (you’d hope). When you’re the one giving a presentation, you already have an idea of where you want to take things. When you’re giving a wedding speech, you just have to heckle the heck out of the bride.

But when you’re moderating a Q&A, chances are, you’re interviewing someone you just met a few minutes before you hit the stage. You don’t know what they’re going to want to talk about, you don’t know what they’d rather not delve into, you don’t know, frankly, how comfortable they’re going to be speaking in front of a live audience.

Since you don’t know where the discussion is going to go, you have to be prepared for it to go anywhere. Which means doing a lot of prep work. So, so much prep work; researching every public component of the interviewee’s life and career (and in my case, showing up with three pages of typed notes).

Thankfully, designer Evan Biddell and stylist Ellen Balsevich are both great interviews. Their collection, created for the 81lb. Challenge for Eco Fashion Week, is fascinating. And the message behind it — the average North American discards 81lb. of clothing and textiles in a year, making fashion the second-most polluting industry after oil — is powerful.

We talked about Evan launching his career on the first season of Project Runway Canada. We discussed the challenging parts of working in a creative field, we talked about Evan’s home/studio in Toronto’s Darling Mansion, and, because the event was part of Eco Fashion Week, we talked about the beauty — and significance — of upcycled clothing (while wearing coordinating upcycled outfits, no less).

It was fun. I learned a ton. And maybe at the next Q&A I moderate, I’ll only need to show up with two pages of notes.

Thanks for having me, Museum of Vancouver and Eco Fashion Week!

[Photos by Larissa Dundon — thanks for your help!]

Style | Upcycling Q&A at the Museum of Vancouver

I love a good upcycle. In fact, the early days of The Anthology were all about reinventing vintage pieces like this dress, this formerly comical piece, and even the odd piece of furniture, like these stools from Habitat for Humanity for the Vancouver Home and Design Show.

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But designer Evan Biddell (of Project Runway Canada fame) has taken upcycling to a whole new level. For Eco Fashion Week’s 81lbs. Challenge, he has created an entire line using the volume of textiles the average person discards in a year. (I covered last year’s event for Vancouver is Awesome — read up on it here.)

On Sunday, April 2nd, I’ll be moderating a Q&A at the Museum of Vancouver with Evan and stylist Ellen Balsevich. It starts at 2:00; you’ll find all the details here.

Want to come? We’re giving away a few tickets. Email me at KDundon@TheAnthology.ca with subject line: Museum of Vancouver for your chance to win.