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Workspace | Lisa Wong of Solo Lisa

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

Lisa Wong is the red lipstick-clad beauty who writes about fashion and beauty for her blog Solo Lisa, and her mother’s closet and virtual BFF breakups — OMG! — for FLARE Magazine.

In her own words she takes us through her workspace, cat prints, tequila glasses and all…

1. I’ve had the flowered Hello Kitty candy tin on my desk since I was little. It used to hold Crayola markers. Now it holds an assortment of pens and a pair of scissors, while the teal box underneath corrals all the random business cards I collect at fashion events.

2. Yup, I’m a PC girl at heart. I bought this Sony VAIO laptop to replace its ancient predecessor shortly after my first FLARE article was published; it was part reward and part incentive to get started on the next one.

3. I loved this Stila Cosmetics <3 Lisa sketch so much, I framed it for the home office.

4. Since buying a condo and moving in with my boyfriend, I’ve been asking my parents for all their recipes so I can replicate their home-cooked Chinese dishes in our new place. I’ve handwritten their recipes for steamed fish, black bean and ginger chicken, and black bean and garlic spare ribs in this doggie notebook is from Lola Home & Apparel.  Considering how my home office is right next to the kitchen, the desk seems like a logical place to keep the recipe book, as well as any jewelry I take off before cooking.

5. A magazine file full of lookbooks and press kits, and a cat print from Wild Rabbit, hide the unsightly wireless router from view.

6. There’s usually a mix of beauty products to be reviewed on my desk. Right now that mix consists of goodies from Estee Lauder, Philosophy, and Make Up For Ever.

7. This tequila shooter set is from a charming colonial town in Mexico called San Miguel de Allende. During my first trip to Mexico, my boyfriend at the time took me everywhere: Guanajuato, Puerta Vallarta, Oaxaca, Taxco. When we weren’t travelling around, we explored his hometown Mexico City. I’ve never had a drink out of it, but I like having it on my desk to remind me of my travels.

P.S. Click your way to Solo Lisa to see the stylish fruits of Lisa Wong’s labour.

P.P.S. Check out the first post in the Workspace column and find out how Niki Blasina of A Haute Mess smells when she blogs. Click through the second post to find out where Anya Georgijevic of I’m the It Girl started her footwear obsession. And find out how Kumiko Ide of Tribal DDB keeps her workspace fresh to death. Jewelry designer Justine Brooks shares her works in progress and her favourite places to work very, very remotely.

August 21, 2012 by

Workspace | Justine Brooks, Jewelry Designer

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

A Torontonian turned Vancouverite turned world traveller, Justine Brooks searches far and wide for inspiration for her jewelry, which she crafts by hand out of gold and silver. In her own words, the award-winning jewelry designer shares her workspace, her works in progress and her favourite places to work very, very remotely…

1. My torch. This is where all the magic happens. I love working with the flame, especially watching the solder (which bonds the silver/ metal together) run. The jeweler’s torch is very precise and  I love how specifically you can focus the heat. [Ed – you’ll find her seahorse necklace on Etsy.]

2. A lot of my favourite things/inspiration actually come from outside the studio. For my Jb Rocks beaded line, I spend a lot of time travelling the globe buying precious stones.

3. The big red tumbler (which polishes jewelry) is also a favorite. I love how shiny things are when they come out. It’s like magic. You put something in with a matte surface and within a few hours it’s as shiny as can be!

4. Fall’s new Dragon Fly necklace in progress and in its finished form.

By the way, the designer, who has a serious case of wanderlust, uses the wunderlist app (fitting!) to keep track of her to-do list on her iPhone.

P.S. I think you’ll like Justine’s nature-themed jewelry. Take a look.

P.P.S. Check out the first post in the Workspace column and find out how Niki Blasina of A Haute Mess smells when she blogs. Click through the second post to find out where Anya Georgijevic of I’m the It Girl started her footwear obsession. And find out how Kumiko Ide of Tribal DDB keeps her workspace fresh to death.

August 8, 2012 by

Workspace | Kumiko Ide of Tribal DDB

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

Kumiko Ide holds two distinguished titles: 1) Digital Strategist at Tribal DDB and 2) My First Virtual Friend. The former means she comes up with webtastic ideas for clients like the Canadian Tourism Commission, the latter means I met her through Twitter.

In her own words, Kumiko takes us through her workspace — sunsets, sentimentality and all…

1. Part of my job is to stay on top of emerging trends in the digital space. I try to do most of my reading electronically, but somehow there’s always a stack of new research and reports on my desk at any given time.

2. There’s a great little flower stand on West Pender – they had these beautiful pink peonies the other day, and I couldn’t resist. I also love Queensberry Flower Company, which is located in the Granville Skytrain Station; they make the most charming little arrangements and I never leave empty-handed.


3. Even before I worked at an advertising agency, I enjoyed going through typography and design books. Because DDB’s a full-service agency, I now have access to a large library of creative resources – not just digital. Kid. Candy Store.


4. On those crazy busy days when we don’t get a chance to eat lunch or have to stay late, it helps to have snacks around to tie us over. Also, I’m on a crazy mandarin orange kick right now.


5. I usually have at least one Moleskine on hand for sketching out ideas and jotting down notes in meetings. The red one here is my day planner (I’ve kept a day planner since I was in my early teens – I’m resisting the transition to an electronic calendar because I am an old lady and I am set in my ways).


6. I’m not a hugely sentimental person, but I love having this one framed photo on my desk. My boyfriend’s mum had just given me some waterskiing pointers, and I’d managed to stay up for more than two seconds (hence, my massive grin. Little did I know that my entire body would ache the following day).


7. I am the worst about sunset photos. I need to learn how to better enjoy the moment – instead of whipping out my iPhone. But when that’s my view at the office, can you blame me?

P.S. Whip out your iPhone and follow Kumiko on Twitter, Tumblr and probably some other social network you haven’t heard of yet.

P.P.S. Check out the first post in the Workspace column and find out how Niki Blasina of A Haute Mess smells when she blogs. And click through the second post to find out where Anya Georgijevic of I’m the It Girl started her footwear obsession.

July 11, 2012 by

Workspace | Anya Georgijevic of I’m the It Girl

Workspace takes us inside the creative spaces of some very creative people.

Daphne Guinness quoted her in her book(!). Still, Anya Georgijevic maintains she is not an It Girl. She does, however, maintain the blog I’m the It Girl, plus, she’s western editor of FLARE, a fellow editor at Vitamin Daily, and has a dog with lopsided ears (the best kind).

Here, my favourite It Girl takes us through her workspace in her own words…

1. My glossy cream desk is by a Minneapolis-based design firm, Blu Dot. I love its minimal, crisp design, although most of time, it’s in a state of complete mess. Next to my laptop is whatever I’m working on at the moment. Today it’s FLARE, but often it’s a slew of beauty products waiting to be reviewed.

2. My monogrammed Castelli notebook was a gift from my Vitamin Daily publishers, and I jot down all my notes in it, exclusively with my trusty Muji pen, which I stock up on whenever I go to New York or Hong Kong.

3. I can’t work without music or some type of background noise (sometimes I play stylish films for inspiration — see the “Screen Style” posts on my blog) and sound doesn’t get better or chicer than with Harman Kardon speakers. Whenever I get stressed, I indulge in some aroma therapy. Currently on the menu: Laduree. My dog Bun is my office mate, so he demanded that his picture be included.

4. Above my desk is where I keep my essential literature. Whenever I feel uninspired, books are my place to go.

5. This frame is the girliest thing I own and holds a picture from my wedding.

6. The two ceramic figures are from my two grandmothers. I loved this silly-looking dog as a kid and I always used to play with the little Turkish shoe (sometimes to my grandma’s annoyance). Now I’m a dog person that owns a lot of shoes, so…thanks.

[Photo of Anya by Sherry Lu.]

P.S. Click your way over to Anya’s blog I’m the It Girl, where if you’re lucky she’s writing about Cher’s Clueless style.

P.P.S. Check out the first post in the Workspace column, Niki Blasina of A Haute Mess, and find out how she smells when she works.

June 29, 2012 by

Workspace | Niki Blasina of A Haute Mess

What’s this? A brand spanking new column? Why yes, yes it is! Workspace takes us inside the creative spaces of some very creative people. First up, the coffee table belonging to Niki Blasina, a blogger from Vancouver who writes the always hilarious and ridiculously stylish A Haute Mess (if it’s not one of your favourite blogs already, it will be).

Here, the naughty hautie takes us through her workspace, in her own words…

1. My computer: this is the heart and soul of my workspace because without it, I wouldn’t have work! Or a workspace for that matter, because I would be homeless. So… it’s pretty important.

2. I don’t always have fresh flowers, but I like to as much as I can because I think having something like flowers and/or other plants add something special to your workspace. The small vase is great because you only need to steal a few at a time from your neighbor’s yard, so they’ll never notice. (But these ones are from my mom. Precious!)

3. Day Planner + iPhone: Who needs a smart phone when you have a sweet Mead “Upper Class” day planner? Well, I do. (But just for instagramming, duh.) I still like to write everything down, old skool, so my day planner and my iPhone are the second most important items on my “desk,” because they keep me organized and connected.

4. I usually have a few lookbooks and magazines piled on top of my one and only coffee table book (Vogue Magazine’s People, Parties, and Places). Sometimes they inspire new posts, or serve as a reminder of posts I have planned in my head, and as more come in, they get moved to the unseen (and unsightly) stacks on stacks on stacks on my real desk.


5. Other important items include various pens and highlighters for writing and doodling in my high school style day planner, and a daily urine sample for my probation officer that I keep in my favourite speedo-clad-cartoon-man mug. Just kidding, it’s tea. (My probation officer requires stool.)

6. I almost always have a candle lit, because I like my spaces smelling nice, but moreso, I have a weird paranoia about smells. You know when you walk into someone’s house and it smells weird/has a certain smell to it, but you never think your own house smells weird? Like how people generally don’t smell their own B.O.? This is my fear. And by being OCD about candles, I know my house doesn’t smell like soup, or farts. It smells like an extreme fire hazard.

P.S. While you’re sunning your buns, click your way over to Niki’s blog A Haute Mess.

June 20, 2012 by