Fresh Work: Ten Oaks Project

It's a big deal when one of your clients celebrates their tenth anniversary; it becomes that much more significant when you realize that you've been with them right from the start. When my sister Sonja first told me about the Ten Oaks Project, Holly and Julia Wagg weren't married yet and were hatching a dream - a dream that became reality thanks to the hard work, dedication and love of many caring folks.

Girlfriday blog - Fresh Work: Ten Oaks Project

Last Saturday, I hopped on a bus to Ottawa to join them in celebrating ten years of love, diversity and inclusiveness. It was a very touching event, filled with beautiful testimonials and heartfelt appreciation - not to mention glitter, crafts and cake. The Ten Oaks Project has transformed the lives of so many - if you haven't heard of them, do take a look at all the good that they do. Over the past decade, as I shifted between agency and freelance work, I collaborated with them to create their Camp Ten Oaks logo, Bowl-a-Thon posters, their first website, their annual reports; Christian and I visited Camp Ten Oaks and photographed their very first summer. Whenever I could, I donated my services. I've watched them grow, thrive, and develop even further - notably, Project Acorn which my awesome sister Sonja dedicated so many years to.

Girlfriday blog - Fresh Work: Ten Oaks Project

Most recently, I had the pleasure of designing their tenth anniversary logo, badge and invitation. It was my first time designing a badge and I am so hooked - must design more badges. So much fun.

Girlfriday blog - Fresh Work: Ten Oaks Project

Dear Holly, Julia, Sonja, Mark, Lee, Hannah and the entire Ten Oaks team and family - congratulations on your ten years, and here's to many more life-changing decades ahead of you. I'm so pleased and honoured to have been able to contribute in some small way, and I can't wait to see what we come up with next. Happy, happy anniversary :)

(thank-you for the photo, Holly!! xo)

Fresh Work: The NFB's 75th anniversary

When I was very little, I remember my mum bringing home a borrowed projector and a bunch of NFB animation reels for us to watch together, projected on our living room wall. When I was older and studying Illustration & Design, our class had the privilege of being taught a few classes by the talented Ishu Patel. He even took us on a tour of the NFB's offices and we were able to see some animation projects in progress - it was so motivating. I remember being so excited to visit a space where such inspiring work had been dreamed up.

I have friends who work at the NFB, my talented husband has worked on a few of their productions and we live in Hudson, the town that the inimitable Norman McLaren called home. Whether you remember The Hockey Sweater or The Big Snit (a personal favourite), every Canadian has a special connection to the NFB. So when they asked me to illustrate a timeline to help celebrate their 75th anniversary, I couldn't have been more thrilled!

The best part about working on this timeline was becoming totally absorbed by the NFB website - watching movies and discovering even more about the people and work that are such a special part of our heritage. To see the entire timeline and to find out more, please check out their blog post - and if you haven't already, I invite you to spend some time exploring the NFB site - it's a whole lot of fun. Happy anniversary, NFB!!