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Standing Still Is Not an Option
ON THE
COVER
Tailoring Legacy
SHAWN HEWSON
THE COLLABORATORY
From Backdrop to Collection:
Giving the BDC Magazine Step & Repeat
a Second Life
By Michael Boathaus
FASHION
BDC X MICHELINE WEDDERBURN
At most events, the step and repeat is one of the few things that quietly holds the room together. It is where guests gather, cameras flash, and the energy of the night is captured one frame at a time. It becomes the visual record of an event, the backdrop to the smiles, the outfits, the reunions, and the moments people want to remember.
For the launch of BDC Magazine, that step and repeat carried more than logos. It carried the energy of a milestone. Inside the Toronto Fashion Academy studio, it became a symbol of what the night represented: community, creativity, visibility, and the beginning of a new chapter for Black Designers of Canada.
But once the event ended, I kept thinking about the material itself. So much effort goes into these branded event pieces, only for them to be used once and then disappear. For a magazine and platform built around design, storytelling, and purpose, it felt right to ask a different question. What if the same material that framed the launch could be transformed into something new?
That idea led me to my good friend Micheline Wedderburn, better known as Meesh.
Meesh is a creative force in her own right. She has built a name through recycled fashion, art, and miniature design, bringing a free-spirited approach to everything she touches. Her work feels instinctive, playful, resourceful, and deeply intentional. She does not simply reuse materials. She gives them a new story.
That was exactly what I wanted for the BDC Magazine launch step and repeat.
I commissioned Meesh because I trusted her eye, imagination, and ability to take something that already held meaning and extend its life in an unexpected way. In her hands, the three Rs became more than a sustainability slogan. Reduce, reuse, and recycle became a design philosophy.
The material was not being discarded. It was being reimagined.
When I returned to see what she had created, I already had full confidence that the work would be strong. Still, I was completely blown away. What had once been a backdrop had become a fashion collection. What had once framed the room had now become wearable art. The material
that captured the launch was now carrying the story forward.
There was something powerful about seeing that transformation. The collection felt bold,
unexpected, and alive. It held the memory of the launch while becoming something entirely new. It reminded me that sustainability is not only about reducing waste. It is also about seeing value where others may see an ending.
To bring the story full circle, we returned to the Toronto Fashion Academy studio, the same space where the BDC Magazine launch first unfolded. This time, Meesh arrived with her team of friends and models to shoot the finished collection. The studio that once held the event now held the next chapter.
That return mattered. It connected the beginning to the outcome. The step and repeat had started as part of an event experience, moved through the hands of an artist, and came back as a collection rooted in creativity, memory, sustainability, and community.
The BDC Step and Repeat Collection became more than a fashion project. It became a reminder of what can happen when design is allowed to live beyond its original purpose. It showed how an object tied to one night can become part of a larger conversation about resourcefulness, artistic
trust, and giving meaningful materials a second life.
For BDC Magazine, this was a full-circle moment. For Meesh, it was another example of her ability to turn the overlooked into the unforgettable. And for me, it was a beautiful reminder that great design does not always begin with something new. Sometimes it begins by looking at what is
already in front of us and asking what else it can become.
ESSENTIALS
LIST ÖFUURË
With Denim Daze II, Tehilah Abakasanga continues building a fashion world rooted in culture, womanhood, memory, and movement.
By Hayla Amini
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There is a particular kind of woman Tehilah Abakasanga designs for. She does not wait for permission. She does not soften herself to be understood. She enters a room already knowing who she is, and somehow, the room seems to catch up.
That spirit has become central to ÖFUURË, the bold, expressive, Nigerian-born, Canada-based fashion brand founded by Abakasanga. But before ÖFUURË became a recognizable name with a global customer base, before the prints, the silhouettes, and the community that now surrounds it, there was a young designer already shaping clothes by hand in Nigeria under the name Tehilah Designs. By the time she arrived in Canada in 2012, fashion was not a passing interest. It was already a language she understood.
In early 2013, she launched Thriftee by Tehilah, reworking thrifted garments while learning how to translate her eye within a new country and context. ÖFUURË arrived in 2015, carrying a name that was deeply personal. In Ishan, ÖFUURË means “it is well,” a name given to her by her maternal grandmother. For Abakasanga, it became both a brand and a quiet declaration of faith.
The proof that ÖFUURË could become something larger did not arrive as one dramatic moment. It came through a pattern. Women returned. They bought again. They did not simply connect to the clothing, they connected to the feeling of being seen in it.
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That feeling is not accidental. Abakasanga speaks about clothing with the understanding of someone raised in a culture where fashion is never just fashion. Growing up in Nigeria, she saw how clothing could shift posture, mood, and presence. A good outfit was not surface-level. It was confidence made visible.
Now, after more than a decade in Canada, her work carries both conviction and range. Nigeria gives ÖFUURË its boldness, its instinct, its deep understanding of how clothing can command attention. Canada gives the brand room to absorb different cultures, climates, women, and ways of moving through the world. The result is a design language made for women who contain multitudes and feel no pressure to choose only one part of themselves.
At the centre of that language is fit. Abakasanga is clear that wearability is not something to balance against culture or drama. It is the foundation. Clothes must move, sit properly, and make sense in a woman's real life. As a curvier woman herself, she understands what happens when fit is treated as an afterthought. At ÖFUURË, that is not an option.
That philosophy gives her boldest pieces their power. The print, the structure, the proportion, and the cultural references are not decorative additions. They are built into the bones of the garment. The clothing makes a statement, but it also lets a woman live in it.
That balance is especially clear in Denim Daze II, a collection that marks a fresh evolution for the brand. Denim, for Abakasanga, is not new territory. It was one of her earliest mediums during the Thriftee by Tehilah years. Interestingly, Denim Daze began as a linen collection, but fabric challenges led the team to test the silhouettes in denim. Once they did, the concept clicked.
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Denim Daze I performed strongly, and the response from the ÖFUURË community made a second chapter feel inevitable. But Denim Daze II was not simply a repeat. Abakasanga wanted to push the fabric further, exploring new washes, weights, structures, and silhouettes while keeping the collection distinctly ÖFUURË.
That distinction comes through in the way denim is treated with the same seriousness as suiting or eveningwear. These are not casual pieces made only for ease. They are designed to feel finished, elevated, and intentional. There is corsetry, structure, volume, cinched waists, and the kind of proportion that nods to Nigerian fashion’s love of shape and presence.
One of the most personal details in the collection is the introduction of a new signature logo inspired by Abakasanga’s mother’s signature. Denim Daze II sits within the Omonigho line, making that maternal connection even more meaningful. It is a subtle reminder that legacy often lives in the details.
The collection also speaks to versatility. One pant can be worn four different ways, reflecting a customer who is creative, expressive, and unwilling to be limited by a single styling option.
For Abakasanga, community remains a powerful guide. She listens to her customers, studies the data, and understands that the women who found ÖFUURË years ago are evolving alongside the brand. She started the company at nineteen. Many of her customers have grown with her. Their lives have changed, and so have their wardrobes.
That long relationship is part of ÖFUURË’s strength. The brand has shipped to more than 100 countries, not because global reach was an afterthought, but because Abakasanga treated the global customer as the customer from the beginning.
Before a woman even puts on an ÖFUURË piece, Abakasanga hopes she feels the love in it. The thought, the care, the fabric, the cut, the smallest decisions. The brand’s tagline says it plainly: You Are the Moment.
The clothes do not create the moment.
She does.
WORK REIMAGINED
The Modern Language of Workplace Design
By Malcolm Reid
There is something quietly powerful about a company that understands the importance of where we work, how we gather, and what it means to feel comfortable in a space built for productivity. For more than 40 years, Keilhauer has been part of that conversation, shaping modern workplaces through furniture that
balances design, function, comfort, and sustainability.
Founded in 1981, Keilhauer is a privately owned, design-focused contract furniture manufacturer based in Toronto. What began with a focus on quality seating has evolved into a globally recognized Canadian design company creating seating, tables, lounge pieces, conference
furniture, and collaborative solutions for offices, universities, government buildings, hospitality environments, and public spaces. Their purpose is direct but meaningful: to “make work comfortable for all.”
That statement feels especially relevant now. The modern workplace is no longer just a place to sit at a desk. It has become a reflection of culture, collaboration, wellness, identity, and intention. Companies are rethinking how people move through space, how teams connect, and
how furniture can support a better way of working. In that shift, Keil-
hauer’s role is not simply to manufacture furniture, but to help define
the experience of work itself.
Their pieces often live in the background of important moments. A boardroom conversation. A university meeting. A creative brainstorm. A quiet pause between presentations. In those spaces, furniture has to do more than look good. It has to hold up. It has to serve the body. It has to understand movement, posture, pressure, and the human need for ease. Keilhauer has built its
reputation in that space between beauty and utility, where design is judged not only by appearance, but by how well it supports real
life.
This is where Canadian design enters the conversation in a meaningful way. Canada has long produced designers and companies with a quieter kind of excellence. Not always loud, not
always over-marketed, but deeply considered. Keilhauer reflects that approach. Their work is polished without being excessive, modern without feeling cold, and practical without losing its sense of refinement.
The company’s Toronto presence also says something important about the strength of the local design ecosystem. In 2023, Keilhauer opened its downtown Toronto showroom at 150 King Street East, designed by Figure3. With showrooms also operating in major American design centres such as New York and Chicago,
the Toronto showroom positioned the brand more visibly within its home city while reinforcing its place in the broader North
American design market.
What makes Keilhauer particularly relevant today is its understanding that workplace design cannot be separated from sustainability. Through its Planet Keilhauer program, the company has
committed to a long-term vision of closed-loop manufacturing, where materials are cycled back into use and waste is minimized. The brand also highlights third-party certifications connected to
environmental stewardship, indoor air quality, and sustainable product standards.
In an era where every company wants to speak the language of sustainability, the real test is whether those values are built into the system. For a furniture manufacturer, that means thinking about material sourcing, product life, durability, repair, recycling, emissions, and the environmental cost of production. Keilhauer’s
approach suggests that good design is not only about what a product becomes, but what it leaves behind.
That idea feels central to the future of work. As companies continue to redefine their offices, the furniture they choose becomes part of a larger statement. It tells employees, clients, and visitors
what kind of culture they are stepping into. Is it thoughtful? Is it human? Is it built to last? Is it aware of its impact?
Keilhauer’s answer seems to be yes.
Their work reminds us that the modern workplace is not built by technology alone. It is built by the objects we touch every day, the rooms we return to, and the details that either support us or wear us down. In that sense, Keilhauer is not only shaping furniture. It is helping shape the feeling of work itself.
"We believe that commitment to design is the power that drives creative solutions. Our designers are among the best in the world and you can see their influence in our products, our showrooms, our literature and our facilities."
Mike Keilhauer
CEO - KEILAUER
PRIME
CONVERSION
Why I Renovated My Brand New Build
By Connie Amartey
Brand new home. Fresh drywall. That new-build smell. And me tearing it apart.
Before we unpacked a single box, the conversation had already shifted: what was coming out, what was being moved, what would be completely reimagined. The reactions were predictable. "It's brand new — why would you change anything?"
My answer was simple: because brand new doesn't mean it's mine.
I walked through that model home and saw potential everywhere. Not what it was — but what it could be. That is the design perspective I have spent years cultivating: first as an Event Director, and now as someone deeply invested in how spaces make people feel.
Before a single finish was selected, we asked ourselves an entirely different set of questions. How do we want to feel in this space? What energy do we want to walk into at the end of a long day? How will we move through the kitchen — and how many people do we want gathered around that table? What quality of light serves us in the morning versus the evening? What textures ground us, restore us, elevate us?
We live in a world that relentlessly pushes us towards conformity. The same trends, the same "safe" choices, lack of individuality. This is the
blueprint in a new-build neighbourhood, where every home on the street looks identical. Beige walls. Basic fixtures. Upgrades that carry a premium price tag yet somehow still feel entirely generic.
That is where design truly begins, not on a mood board or Pinterest. It begins with you. Your life. Your energy. Your story. When you lead with feeling, every decision that follows carries purpose. And purpose is precisely what separates a house that looks designed from a home that feels designed.
Personalization does not need to be a huge investment. Small, intentional details carry remarkable weight. Consider your hardware, new
handles and pulls can entirely transform the character of a kitchen without touching a single cabinet door. It remains one of the highest-impact, most visible changes available. Lighting is often overlooked in new builds, where standard fixtures are rarely memorable. A pendant, sculptural sconce, a vintage piece placed with intention — and suddenly, the room has some-
thing to say.
The goal is not to exhaust your budget. The goal is to be deliberate.
If you are standing in a new build and want more, consider this your permission. You are allowed to look at a builder's choices and say, that is not me.
You are allowed to invest in individuality over conformity. You are allowed to design a home that reflects who you actually are.
Follow your instincts. Trust your eye. Embrace what is authentically yours. Design rooted in authenticity never goes out of style.
BENTLEY
POWER
REIMAGINED
12:08: Eight Past Twelve: An Ending
That Signals What’s Next
With Brandon Norris-Lue
There’s something poetic about the timing. Bentley closes the book on one of the most distinctive engines of the modern era and quietly ushers in a future that, while electrified, refuses to dilute the brand’s identity. A more powerful, aggressive, and efficient eight-cylinder engine now outpaces the 12-cylinder engines of the past.
The Hybrid Era Begins, Not with a Whisper, but with a Surge
If you expected a softened replacement for the outgoing W12, Bentley had other ideas. The new performance flagship, as seen in the Bentley Continental GT Speed, introduces a plug-in hybrid V8 that does not merely fill the gap. It redefines it altogether.
At its core is a familiar 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, now paired with an electric motor and a substantial battery pack. The result is a combined output of 771 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque. These figures not only eclipse most previous Bentley powertrains, but also surpass the outgoing W12 at its peak.
More importantly, this is not performance at the expense of usability. With up to 50 kilometres of pure electric driving and a combined efficiency figure of 5.1 L/100 km-e, Bentley has engineered a drivetrain that feels as comfortable gliding silently through urban streets as it does devouring continents.
This hybrid V8 now underpins much of the lineup, from the Bentley Flying Spur to the highly anticipated next-generation Bentley Bentayga, signalling a brand-wide transformation rather than a one-off experiment.
The Final Chapter of the W12
The real story, however, lies in what has been left behind. In April 2024, at Bentley’s carbon-neutral Crewe facility, the final W12 engine was assembled, bringing an end to a 21-year production run that began with the original Bentley Continental GT.
Bentley’s 6.0-litre twin-turbocharged W12 was always an engineering curiosity. Its compact “W” configuration allowed for 12-cylinder performance in a package that did not compromise cabin space or refinement, an essential trait in the grand touring world.
Over two decades, more than 105,000 units were hand-built, powering everything from stately sedans to ultra-luxury SUVs. Its final and most potent expression arrived in the limited-run Bentley Batur, producing 739 horsepower and 738 lb-ft of torque. It was not just powerful. It was symbolic. A final crescendo.
Bentley’s decision to retire the W12 is not isolated. It aligns with the brand’s broader Beyond100 strategy and its commitment to a fully electric lineup by 2030. The message is clear: heritage matters, but the future demands reinvention.
The V12 Holdouts: Tradition Meets Adaptation
Bentley may have stepped away from 12 cylinders, but the configuration itself is not extinct. Across the industry, a handful of manufacturers continue to defend it, each in their own way.
At Ferrari, the V12 remains sacred. The new Ferrari 12Cilindri carries a naturally aspirated 6.5-litre engine producing 819 horsepower, representing a deliberate nod to the brand’s lineage. The brand’s first SUV, the Purosangue, also follows suit.
Lamborghini has taken a different approach with the Revuelto, pairing its V12 with three electric motors for a combined 1,015 horsepower. Special projects like the Fenomeno continue that philosophy. It is electrification not as compromise, but as amplification.
Over at Aston Martin, the reborn Vanquish continues the marque’s tradition with a twin-turbocharged V12 delivering over 800 horsepower, an unapologetic statement of intent.
Meanwhile, Rolls-Royce maintains its long-standing V12 formula in models like the Phantom, Ghost, and Cullinan, even as the all-electric Spectre hints at what lies ahead.
For niche manufacturers like Pagani and Gordon Murray Automotive, the V12 is not just an engine. It is a philosophy. Whether it is the screaming naturally aspirated unit in the Pagani Huayra R or the 12,000-rpm masterpiece in the Gordon Murray T.50, these cars exist as rolling arguments against homogenization.
A Changing Role for Twelve Cylinders
What was once the default pinnacle of automotive engineering is now a rare indulgence. The V12 has shifted from flagship standard to halo centrepiece, reserved for low-volume, high-emotion machines.
Regulation, efficiency, and electrification have forced the industry’s hand. Hybridization offers a temporary bridge, but the trajectory is unmistakable.
Bentley’s pivot captures this moment perfectly. The brand has not abandoned performance. It has reframed it. Instant electric torque, silent cruising capability, and reduced emissions are no longer trade-offs. They are expectations.
The Legacy That Lingers
The W12’s departure is more than a product decision. It is a cultural marker. It represents the end of an era where excess, in its most mechanical form, defined luxury performance.
And yet, its spirit is not gone. It lives on in the effortless thrust of Bentley’s new hybrid systems, in the relentless pursuit of refinement, and in the brands that continue to champion the V12 against the odds.
The soundtrack may be changing.
The heritage and philosophy are not.
Regulation, efficiency, and
electrification have forced the industry’s hand.
Hybridization
offers a temporary bridge, but the trajectory is unmistakable.
WELL SUITED
The Confidence of a Custom Fit
By Taye Omari
In Nigeria, style is not an afterthought. It is a language, a signal, and, in many ways, a calling card. For Richard Adejumo, co-founder and Toronto Head Clothier of Fari Hara, that understanding began early. Growing up watching his father, a lawyer, leave the house in a suit every day, Adejumo learned that tailoring could represent more than clothing. It could represent success, authority, dignity, and presence.
That early impression became something more concrete in 2013, when Adejumo was part of a friend’s wedding party and experienced custom suiting firsthand. From selecting fabrics to choosing the details and seeing the final fit come together, the process left an impression. It was personal, intentional, and powerful. Soon after, he began offering that same experience to his own network. What started as a spark would eventually become Fari Hara.
At its core, Fari Hara is built on the idea of empowerment through clothing. The brand believes that when a man wears something made specifically for him, it changes how he moves through the world. He stands differently. He speaks differently. He enters rooms with a renewed sense of confidence. The suit may be the product, but the true result is transformation.
That philosophy is shared between Fari Hara’s two managing partners, Richard Adejumo and Hakeem Lawal. The pair came together through mutual friends who recognized how naturally their strengths complemented each other. Adejumo brought an existing client base, personal brand, and experience in custom suiting. Lawal brought operational strength, manufacturer relationships, vendor partnerships, and a sharp eye for structure and growth. With Adejumo in Toronto and Lawal in Calgary, what could have been a challenge became a strategic advantage. From the beginning, Fari Hara was positioned to grow across Canada.
In a fashion landscape often dominated by speed, sameness, and disposable trends, custom tailoring remains deeply relevant because it asks the wearer to slow down. Choosing a fabric, discussing fit, being measured, and returning for a fitting all require intention. It is the opposite of mass production. A custom garment is built around the person, not a mannequin. It moves with him, lasts with him, and reminds him that he is worth the care that went into making it.
For Adejumo and Lawal, fit is everything. A suit can be made from the finest fabric, but if it does not fit properly, it loses its power. When a garment fits as it should, the wearer stops adjusting and starts inhabiting it. Fabric communicates quality. Details such as buttons, linings, lapels, and stitching create individuality. As the brand puts it, it is not about classic fit or slim fit. It is about your fit.
The Fari Hara client is not defined by fashion alone. He may be an entrepreneur, a professional, a groom, or someone stepping into a major new chapter. What unites him is the desire to show up well. He comes for a suit, but often leaves with something more meaningful: the feeling that he belongs in the room.
Toronto has played a major role in shaping that identity. Since officially launching in June 2017 and debuting its first collection at African Fashion Week, Fari Hara has grown through culture, community, and word of mouth. Its garments have appeared on Breakfast Television, at TIFF, the Grammys, the JUNOs, the CAFA Awards, and on productions including Top Chef, Wall of Chefs, and The Big Bake.
Still, the most meaningful moments are often personal. A wedding. A major interview. A milestone event. One client even messaged after receiving a job offer to say the suit helped him walk into the interview with confidence.
Looking ahead, Adejumo and Lawal’s vision extends beyond two cities. The brand is building toward a stronger North American presence and developing an online offering that brings its custom experience to a wider market. But growth, for Fari Hara, will never come at the expense of the experience.
Because the experience is the brand. And at Fari Hara, the goal remains clear: to help every man own the style he already has.
DESIGN COOK EAT
The art of living better
By Kevin Pennant
Some ideas begin as business plans. Others begin with instinct, chemistry, and the right people saying yes at the right time. For Design Cook Eat, it started with Micheal’s ritual.
When designing a client’s kitchen, Micheal liked to leavvve them with something
special. Not just a beautiful space, but a meaningful experience connected to it. He
imagined bringing in a chef to teach clients how to truly use and enjoy their new
kitchen. After hiring Howard as a private chef and being impressed by his presence,
skill, and warmth, Micheal hinted that he should “stay ready.”
He also knew that after months of working closely with clients, another voice could
add something fresh. That is when he thought of Ryan, a food culturalist with a natural ability to make stories, spaces, and experiences feel relatable.
The three men knew of one another, but did not truly know each other. A 30-min-
ute Zoom call was arranged. Nearly two hours later, after laughter, ideas, and instant
connection, Micheal pitched the concept. He told Howard and Ryan to take time to
think about it.
They did not need time.
“We’re in.”
And with that, Design Cook Eat was born.
The show brings together three worlds that have always belonged together: design,
food, and travel. A beautiful home, a memorable restaurant, a meaningful meal, and a new destination all shape how people live, gather, and remember. For Micheal, Howard, and Ryan, these are not separate ideas. They are all part of one larger conversation about taste, culture, comfort, and experience.
Each host brings a distinct strength. Micheal brings the eye. His design background and television experience give the show its visual polish and storytelling direction. He understands how to frame a space, how to read a room, and how to help viewers see why design matters.
Howard brings the heart of the kitchen. For him, food is not just preparation. The
kitchen is a place of creativity, learning, connection, and play. His passion gives the
show warmth and curiosity, allowing viewers to discover alongside him.
Ryan is the bridge. With his cultural lens, social media sensibility, and relatable
energy, he connects the dots between design, food, travel, and audience. He makes viewers feel like they are part of the experience, not just watching it from the outside.
At its core, Design Cook Eat is about living better. But living better does not mean
spending more, owning more, or chasing luxury for luxury’s sake. For the three hosts, it means connection, quality, joy, and growth. It is about collecting experiences that enrich who you are. It is about laughter, curiosity, and being open to spaces and stories that change how you see the world.
That idea also challenges old assumptions about who gets to occupy certain spaces and who gets to define them. The show celebrates elevated experiences while expanding the image of who belongs in those rooms, at those tables, and within those conversations.
Toronto is the perfect place to begin. As Ryan often says, if you want to see the world without a plane ticket, spend time in Toronto. The city is filled with cultures, perspectives, and lived stories that show up in the food, the design, and the spaces people create. While Design Cook Eat has global ambitions, Toronto offers the ideal launch pad because no other city carries this kind of cultural mix quite the same way.
What separates the show is its desire to go deeper. Many of the places featured have
been covered before, but Design Cook Eat is not focused on being first. It is focused on telling the story differently. The team goes beyond what is on the plate or what looks good in a room. They want to know why it exists, who created it, and what inspired it.
That curiosity has already led to memorable moments: Micheal and Howard doing a freezing cold plunge, the hosts recording with Grammy-nominated producer August Rigo, touring a stunning Ritz-Carlton residence, and Howard cooking alongside an Iron Chef. But the real power of the show is in uncovering the “why” behind each experience.
Looking ahead, the vision is international. The team sees Design Cook Eat growing across platforms, possibly into streaming, global brand partnerships, travel, hospitality, and lifestyle consulting. Their larger identity is “The Live Better Guys,” and that mission is clear.
If the show helps people eat better, travel better, design better, or simply pay closer
attention to the world around them, then it is doing its job.
Design Cook Eat is not just about beautiful spaces and great meals. It is about friendship, culture, curiosity, and the joy of experiencing life with intention. Sometimes living better is not about having more. It is about noticing more, learning more, laughing more, and staying at the table a little longer.
KANVAS
The art of serving elegance
By Taye Omari
George Sully (GS): What first drew you into the culinary world, and when did you realize food could become more than just a passion for you?
Crystal Powell (CP): Food wasn’t my first passion. My love for art came first, and it came naturally. I grew up with a very talented mother who is an incredible artist in her own right. She exposed my siblings and me to the art world at a very young age.
From freehand drawing, illustration, oil painting, canvas work, and sculpture, to an appreciation for music and fashion, I learned early on the idea of telling a story and creating something that speaks to the artist. I learned
about the use of texture, colour palettes, and viewing subjects and ideas from a different perspective. She had hoped I would follow in her footsteps, but I had other plans for myself.
I was first drawn to the culinary world through my mother’s subscription to Chatelaine magazine. I remember flipping through the pages and being drawn to the way food was presented. There were also stories about women being career-oriented while balancing motherhood. Coming from a very big family, where we came together for special occasions, food was always part of the most meaningful moments.
Those moments around the table were fun and interesting. I loved seeing what everyone brought over, especially hearing and learning about our family’s traditional dishes. Some recipes were considered secret, and learning them felt like a must in order to carry on the family legacy.
Cooking for myself came later, mostly as a way to learn what I enjoyed and what I did not like. The turning point came when I changed my college field of study. I knew I wanted to keep doing art, but I was also having too much fun cooking. So I took the risk, switched my program, and did not say anything to my mother for a year. She thought I was in the graphic arts program, meanwhile I was studying culinary arts instead. That is when it
shifted from being just a fun hobby to a true passion.
GS: KANVAS is such a visual and intentional name. What does it represent, and how does it reflect the way you approach food and hospitality?
CP: I realized the culinary world combined my love for art, creativity, discipline, and culture in a way that felt natural to me, almost as if I was creating a new art canvas. My grandmother once said, “It wasn’t only about making food taste good. It was about storytelling, creating moments, and doing
the unthinkable.” I never knew what she meant until later in my young adulthood.
The name KANVAS represents the idea that every plate and every guest experience is a blank canvas waiting to be shaped with creativity and intention. I approach food like art, but art that still feels warm, approachable,
and deeply human. Just like an artist uses colour, texture, and composition to tell a story, we use ingredients, flavours, presentation, and musical ambience to create something memorable.
I am constantly pushing myself to learn as much as I can and improve. I draw inspiration from my family experiences, reading, studying, and sometimes from childhood memories of sitting with my mother at her drawing table, watching her create something from nothing.
GS: How would you describe your culinary style to someone experiencing your work for the first time?
CP: I would describe my culinary style as modern, with a love for the periodic eras of French and English culture, and a respect for the chefs before me who helped shape the art into what it is today. It is very expressive and
experience-driven, rooted in historical technique, local quality ingredients, and a balance of bold flavours with refinement, creativity with comfort, and visual presentation with genuine substance.
I want dishes to look striking, but more importantly, I want them to leave an impression through flavour and emotion.
For someone experiencing my work for the first time, I think about everything from the composition of the plate to the pacing of the experience. The goal is to create something immersive, where food, atmosphere, and
hospitality all work together to tell a story.
GS: What role does presentation play in your process, especially as someone who understands food styling and the visual side of dining?
The visual experience sets the expectation for what is being presented.
Food styling comes with creative curiosity and communicates the level of care and intention behind the food. Similar to how I see a canvas board or mold ready to be sculpted, I see plating as an extension of the story I am trying to tell through the dish. Colour, texture, height, negative space, and even the choice of plate all contribute to how the dish is perceived. I enjoy taking familiar elements
and presenting them in a different way, while still keeping the experience elevated, unique, and personal.
That said, presentation should never exist just for aesthetics. The visual side has to support the flavour and overall experience. Every garnish, sauce placement, or finishing element should have a purpose beyond simply looking good. I believe the most impactful dishes are the ones where beauty and functionality work together seamlessly.
GS: Looking ahead, what is your bigger vision for KANVAS, and how do you hope your work continues to evolve?
CP: As the brand evolves, the goal is to build something that feels timeless while still pushing boundaries creatively. I want KANVAS to continue evolving visually and artistically.
On a personal level, I hope my work continues to evolve through constant learning and exposure to different cultures, techniques, and forms of creativity. I never want the work to feel repetitive or confined. Growth, for me,
comes from staying curious and continuing to refine both the craft and the vision behind it.
IMAN STEWART
Designing the Dream: Inside EMerald at Roaring River's Phase One Model Suite
By Amara N
In Mammee Bay, St. Ann, Jamaica, a new residential vision is beginning to take shape. Emerald at Roaring River, a six-phase development by China Harbour, is being positioned as more than a place to live. It is a lifestyle destination rooted in beauty, comfort, and the unmistakable spirit of Jamaica.
For Phase One of the project, the design of the model suite was spearheaded by interior designer Iman Stewart, whose creative direction brings warmth, refinement, and a strong sense of place to the development’s first visual offering. A model suite is often the first emotional connection a buyer has with a property. It is where floor plans become real, where square footage becomes lifestyle, and where potential homeowners begin to imagine themselves inside the space. Stewart’s role was to shape that experience with intention.
The design approach for the Phase One model suite balances modern residential elegance with the natural ease of island living. Rather than creating a space that feels overly staged or disconnected from its surroundings, the suite is envisioned as polished, livable, and inviting. Every selection, from furniture and finishes to lighting, artwork, and styling, works together to tell a story of comfort and aspiration.
Located in Mammee Bay, one of Jamaica’s most desirable coastal communities, Emerald at Roaring River carries with it a sense of escape, beauty, and long-term potential. Stewart’s interior direction reflects that setting through a thoughtful blend of texture, tone, and atmosphere. The space is designed to feel elevated without losing its warmth, allowing prospective buyers to experience not only the architecture but the lifestyle attached to it.
The model suite also serves an important sales and storytelling function. As the first phase of a larger six-phase development, it helps establish the visual language for what Emerald at Roaring River can become. It gives buyers, investors, and stakeholders a tangible sense of the project’s quality, personality, and promise. More than a decorated unit, it becomes a strategic presentation tool, one that communicates value through feeling.
At its best, interior design does more than fill a room. It creates memory. It helps people understand how a space can support their daily rituals, their family life, their rest, and their future. Under Iman Stewart’s direction, the Phase One model suite for Emerald at Roaring River is designed to do exactly that.
It invites people to step inside, pause, and picture what life could look like in one of
Jamaica’s most exciting new residential communities. Through thoughtful design and
a clear sense of purpose, the model suite becomes the first chapter in a much larger
story, one of place, possibility, and modern Caribbean living.
PICTURE PERFECT
A Night to Remember, Captured Brilliantly by Teisha Gentles
By Malcolm Reid
On the night of February 24, 2026, we officially launched BDC Magazine and had the pleasure of capturing the evening in a way that
guests could take with them, remember, and smile about long after the night was over.
That’s where Teisha Gentles of Hidden Smirk came in.
Teisha owns and operates Hidden Smirk, one of Toronto’s premier photo booth services, helping turn moments into memories with style, ease, and energy.
Here are just a few of the hundreds of smiles captured that night.
WADE HUDSON
How Wade Hudson uses trust, light, and restraint to capture the person behind the image
By Lily Yange
For photographer Wade Hudson, the camera has never simply been a tool. It has been a way of seeing, listening, and understanding the human being in front of him. His introduction to photography came early, through a high school photography class, where he first became fascinated with composition and the idea of designing through a lens. What pulled him in was not just the mechanics of taking a picture, but the possibility of framing something ordinary in a way that could make people stop and feel.
That early fascination quickly became something more serious. Through mentorship and the people around him, Hudson began to see photography not just as an interest, but as a future. “I decided pretty early that it was going to be my career,” he reflects. There was no single breakthrough moment or dramatic turning point. The decision came from instinct, from the quiet knowing that this was the work he wanted to dedicate himself to.
Today, Hudson’s photography is marked by an intimacy that feels both intentional and restrained. His work, largely rooted in portraiture, carries a sense of emotional
precision. He is drawn to subtle body language, small moments between directions, and the space where a subject stops performing and simply exists. His visual language is, in his own words, “honest and personal.”
That honesty is what gives his images their power. Whether photographing creatives, public figures, or people with layered personal stories, Hudson approaches portraiture as something close to a wordless conversation. He is interested in what sits behind the eyes, the part of a person that may not be immediately visible to the public.
With recognizable figures, that search becomes even more important. People often feel they already know them, but Hudson looks for what lives beneath the surface.
Trust is central to that process. For Hudson, the work does not begin with the camera. It begins with presence, conversation, and attention. He understands that vulnerability cannot be forced, especially in front of a lens. “People can feel when you’re actually paying attention versus when you’re trying to get something from them,” he says. His goal is not to make people perform, but to create enough comfort for them to be themselves.
Hudson has worked across editorial, fashion, beauty, and advertising, but his signature remains consistent. As a commercial photographer, he understands that assignments come with objectives. Still, the strongest work happens when a brand or publication is drawn to the very thing that defines his eye: the honest and personal
way he sees people. Rather than forcing his style onto a project, Hudson looks for the overlap between the client’s vision and his own natural instincts.
Lighting plays a major role in that instinct. For Hudson, light is everything, but feeling comes before technique. He thinks first about how light affects mood, emotion, and presence. The technical side exists to serve that feeling, not overpower it. Over time, that relationship with light has become intuitive, allowing him to read a face or a moment with increasing confidence.
Toronto has also shaped Hudson’s perspective. The city’s creative community, while rich with talent, can be difficult to navigate. It teaches resilience. It forces artists to understand what they stand for and what truly matters to them creatively. At the same time, Toronto’s diversity has deepened Hudson’s sense of empathy and curiosity. Surrounded by different cultures, perspectives, and stories, his work reflects a city that constantly expands the way people are seen.
One of the most defining moments of Hudson’s career came when he shot his first magazine cover in under ten minutes. The subject was also the first billionaire he had ever photographed, adding pressure to an already compressed situation. What stayed with him was not the scale of the opportunity, but the confidence it gave him. It proved he could build connection, trust his instincts, and find the image quickly, even under pressure.
In an image-saturated world, Hudson believes the photographs that last are the honest ones. Not necessarily the most technically perfect, but the ones that feel real. The ones that make someone pause, feel something, or recognize a piece of themselves.
Years from now, when people look back at his body of work, Hudson hopes they feel that his subjects were truly seen. Not idealized. Not reduced. Simply approached with care, honesty, and attention. That may be the quiet force of his photography: the ability to remind us that being seen, deeply and respectfully, is still one of the most powerful things an image can do.
LEX MILLINGTON
Lex Millington: Style in Motion
By George Sully | Photos by: Ocean Durham
For Lexson Millington, better known as Lex, fashion did not begin as a performance. It began quietly, during the stillness of the COVID-19 pandemic, as a personal outlet and a way to understand himself more clearly. In a time when the world felt uncertain, Lex turned inward, using clothing as a language to explore what he liked, how he wanted to show up, and what felt most honest.
At first, it was never about building a public platform. It was about documenting growth. But somewhere along the way, people began to connect with more than just the clothes. They connected with the intention behind them. That was the shift. Lex realized his work was resonating not simply because of style, but because it represented identity in motion.
His aesthetic is rooted in duality. Structured yet free. Nostalgic but present. Tailored and relaxed. Familiar yet unexpected. Drawing inspiration from 1970s western influences and Caribbean culture, Lex is not interested in replication. Instead, he translates those references through his own lens, creating looks that feel thoughtful, personal, and current. There is care in the way he dresses, but never stiffness. His style carries ease, confidence, and quiet precision.
Toronto has played a major role in shaping that perspective. For Lex, the city taught resilience. It is not a place that hands you identity; it forces you to define it for yourself. In a fashion landscape that does not shout as loudly as New York, London, or Paris, Toronto demands that creatives carve their own lanes. That environment helped Lex build confidence from within rather than waiting for outside validation.
“The city taught me how to stand out without asking for permission,” he reflects.
That sense of self-trust runs through his content. There is a visible joy and lightness in the way Lex presents himself, but it is not accidental. For him, joy is a choice, especially in uncertain seasons. Creating with faith, even before the outcome is clear, has become part of his mindset. That energy carries into his work and into the community he has built online.
Still, Lex is clear about what people often misunderstand about being a fashion content creator today. Behind the polished images and thoughtful styling is discipline, self-awareness, consistency, and the courage to evolve publicly. The audience sees the final look, but not always the internal work behind it. For Lex, sharing the process is part of the point. He is not presenting a finished version of himself. He is allowing people to witness the evolution.
That honesty has helped him build a meaningful online community. People are not just following outfits; they are following a journey. His relationship with vintage speaks to that same sense of story. Older garments, for Lex, carry intention. The fabric, construction, and details hold memory. A piece becomes special when it aligns not only with the body, but with the story he is trying to tell.
"The city taught me how to stand out without asking for permission"
That desire to create something tangible also led to Studio Homme, a multipurpose event and production space in the heart of Toronto’s Chinatown. Built with both elevation and community in mind, Studio Homme was created to be more than a studio people simply enter and leave. Lex wanted a space where creatives could connect, experiment, and bring ideas to life in a meaningful way.
Balancing creativity, business, and authenticity comes down to one word for him: alignment. Not every opportunity is the right one, and Lex is careful to build with longevity in mind. Creativity remains the foundation. Everything else must support that, not compete with it.
What Lex hopes people feel when they see his work is simple: that it is real. Built with intention, faith, and consistency over time. His message is not about having everything figured out before you begin. It is about trusting your perspective enough to start, and staying committed long enough for that perspective to become something meaningful.
In Lex’s world, style is not a costume. It is a record of becoming.
NOT YOUR PARENTS REAL ESTATE BROKERAGE
Veronica Harris: Luxury Real Estate with a Personal Touch
By BDC Team
Veronica Harris is proud to be part of The Agency, a global luxury brokerage with over $100B+ in total sales and 50+ offices across Canada, the U.S., Europe, Jamaica, Turks & Caicos, Mexico, and Saudi Arabia. Real estate was never a random career choice for Veronica. It has always been part of her story. From her father encouraging her to enter the industry, to building a life alongside a partner in interior design and development, she was surrounded by real estate long before she stepped into it professionally.
Before becoming a realtor, Veronica worked as a sports writer and reporter covering major league sports, and spent years prior in hospitality. Those experiences shaped how she works today: strong communication, negotiation under pressure, relationship building, adaptability, and a deep understanding of people and their needs. Real estate became the natural next chapter.
Veronica does not believe in outdated approaches. She understands modern
marketing: branding, digital exposure, social media strategy, luxury presentation, and most importantly, how to connect a property with the right buyer. She does not just list a home on MLS and hope for the best. She creates intentional, strategic marketing that gets results. She is professional, connected, creative, and knows how to have fun while doing it.
One of the biggest advantages Veronica brings to her clients is access to a powerful local and global network. Through The Agency and Nexus Sports & Entertainment Relocation Network, she is connected to trusted professionals across North America and around the world, from movers and designers to schools, dentists, trainers, barbers, and industry specialists. Veronica does not just move clients into homes. She helps them integrate into communities.
Outside of real estate, Veronica is a sports enthusiast and loves being outdoors, whether on the beaches of Jamaica or hiking through Indian Wells. Her father is Jamaican, and her mother is Irish, and she is proud of both cultures and everything they represent. Representation, heritage, and community matter deeply to her, both personally and professionally.
At the end of the day, Veronica believes real estate should feel personal. Whether buying, selling, relocating, or investing, her approach is rooted in building something that lasts beyond the transaction, because this is more than a deal.
SAINT HARRIS
Saint Harris: Building Style From The Foundation Up
By George Sully
For Saint Harris, fashion began with inheritance, time, and discovery. The first
pull came through clothes handed down from his father, pieces that carried more than fabric. They carried memory, character, and a quiet introduction to the power of personal presentation. Then came COVID, and with it, an abundance of time. In that stillness, Harris began to explore clothing not only as something to wear, but as something capable of telling a story.
What may have started as personal expression soon began to travel beyond him. When images of Harris started appearing on online fashion forums and blogs, and people began reacting to and connecting with them, he realized that what he was building had grown past himself. His style had entered a larger conversation. It was no longer simply about how he saw himself. It was about how others were beginning to see possibility through him.
Still, Harris does not define himself by one fixed personal style. In fact, he resists the idea altogether. Rather than placing himself inside one visual identity, he sees his strength in being able to create outfits within different style archetypes. This ability allows him to control and dictate the narrative his clothes tell. One look may speak to refinement, another to rebellion, another to nostalgia,
restraint, confidence, or ease. The consistency is not in one uniform aesthetic, but in intention.
That sense of intention is central to his role in the fashion space. Harris does not see his work as a set of instructions for others to follow. He is not interested in telling people exactly how to dress. Instead, his role has been to inspire
people to understand that they can do things differently. That distinction matters. In his world, fashion is not about imitation. It is about permission. Permission to experiment. Permission to shift. Permission to express yourself in a way that feels personal, even if it does not follow a familiar formula.
Toronto has also shaped that mindset. For Harris, the city has taught him the importance of showing up every day without counting the days. Impact, in his view, is not built overnight, and it is not always visible while it is happening. It comes from consistency, presence, and the discipline to keep building before the world fully understands what you
are creating.
That patience is reflected in his content. When people see his work, Harris hopes they take away the storytelling embedded in it. Clothing, for him, is not just about the finished image. It is about the thought, feeling, and narrative behind it. Even the smallest details matter because style often lives in the personal gestures people carry without realizing it. Beyond clothes, style can be found in the way someone pops a collar, tilts a hat, layers a piece, or moves through a room. These unique, personal traits are what make style feel alive.
His approach to brands is equally organic. When deciding who or what feels worthy of alignment, Harris looks at how naturally he uses a product. The connection has to feel real. It has to make sense within his life, his taste, and the world he is building. That authenticity is part of what gives his work weight. Nothing feels forced because the story has to come first.
For Harris, ideas are only as valuable as the action behind them. Visualization matters, but execution gives vision its shape. He understands that creativity requires more than imagination. It requires systems, consistency, and the willingness to bring something from thought into reality.
One of the biggest lessons he has learned is that those who consume fashion are just as important as those who create it. Fashion is not a one-way conversation. It lives through the people who interpret it, wear it, react to it,
and make it their own.
As for the future of Saint Harris, he is focused on foundation. The brand has room to grow and expand, but before imagining its next shape, he knows there are systems that still need to be built.
As he puts it, you cannot build a skyscraper on the foundation of a house. For Saint Harris, the vision is there. Now comes the structure.
SHAWN
HEWSON
Tailoring Legacy, Law, and Canadian Production
By George Sully
Photography by Ocean Durham
There are certain fashion stories in Canada that are not just about clothes. They are about infrastructure, survival, humour, grit, and the people who quietly help build an industry from the inside out. Shawn Hewson’s story sits firmly in that space.
Long before Short Cuts became the next major chapter in his fashion journey, Hewson was already part of the Canadian menswear conversation through Bustle, the brand he co-founded with Ruth Promislow. But Bustle did not begin with a grand runway plan or a polished showroom strategy. It started much more modestly, and perhaps more honestly, as a side-hustle T-shirt line created by two full-time lawyers with a heat press, a point of view, and the kind of after-hours commitment that often separates ideas from actual businesses.
“When we first launched Bustle, Ruth and I were both full-time lawyers, and Bustle was a side-hustle T-shirt line,” Hewson recalls.
The early vision was focused: unique cut-and-sew T-shirts with strong fits, custom graphics, and a sense of design that felt different from what was available in Canadian menswear at the time. The pieces were hand-pressed on a Hotronix heat press, a machine they still have today. After long days practising law, Hewson and Promislow would return home to fill orders, sometimes from retailers like TNT, firing up the press at night and slowly building something that would become far bigger than a side project.
That gradual development became part of Bustle’s DNA. The brand followed a clear creative instinct: the clothes had to be directional, different, and never afraid of personality. In a menswear landscape that, at the time, was often more cautious than expressive, Bustle stood out by refusing to be quiet.
Menswear in the early 2000s was not as adventurous as it is today. The boundaries were narrower, the expectations more restrained, and the appetite for risk was still developing. Bustle entered that space with tailoring, humour, colour, attitude, and a sharp sense of identity. It was not built for the low-key dresser, and that was precisely
the point.
“In a way, I think our commitment to making menswear that stood out was our way of encouraging guys to express themselves with their wardrobe choices, and to be bold and unapologetic about those choices,” Hewson says.
That contribution matters. Bustle gave Canadian menswear permission to be noticed. It offered an alternative to understatement and allowed men to participate in fashion with wit, confidence, and a clear point of view. If you were wearing Bustle in those early years, you were not trying to disappear. You were choosing to be seen.
But behind every brand with a strong public identity is a private infrastructure that holds it together. For Bustle, one of the most important relationships was with Short Cuts, the Toronto clothing production facility that helped bring the collections to life for more than two decades. Hewson’s connection to Short Cuts was not simply transactional. It was educational, formative, and deeply personal.
“Quite honestly, the team at Short Cuts was like an on-the-job mentoring squad,” he says.
As a lawyer entering fashion, Hewson did not arrive with formal training in fabrics,
garment construction, or sewing. Those lessons came through years of sampling,
production, mistakes, corrections, and collaboration with the skilled team at Short Cuts. The facility became a place where ideas were translated into garments, and where Bustle’s commitment to quality fabrics, strong fits, and thoughtful production could be
protected.
That relationship also reveals one of the realities of fashion that outsiders often miss. The runway, the press, and the public-facing moments are only one part of the story.
Much of the real work happens in less glamorous spaces: late nights, button factories,
production floors, pop-ups assembled under impossible deadlines, and the constant
problem-solving required to keep a brand alive.
"In a way, I think our commitment to making menswear that stood out was our way of encouraging guys to express themselves with their wardrobe choices, and to
be bold and unapologetic about those choices"
Hewson knows this reality well. From pressing T-shirts in the middle of the night before heading to practise law in the morning, to climbing shelves in button factories and setting up shops in foreign countries on wildly tight timelines, he has lived the strange and demanding rhythm of building a fashion business.
These experiences shaped his understanding of the industry just as much as his legal background did. As a corporate lawyer, Hewson was trained in law, business, and problem-solving. That training became invaluable in fashion, where the unexpected is not the exception, but the rule.
Supplies fail to arrive. The wrong materials show up. Orders get cancelled. Orders get doubled. Deadlines move. Costs shift. Problems appear constantly. For Hewson, success is often defined not by the absence of challenges, but by how one responds to them.
That perspective also informs the advice he offers to Canadian creatives. Ownership, contracts, intellectual property, and business protection are all important, but Hewson emphasizes a broader reality: designers must understand the relationship between creativity and commercial viability. Fashion is not only about the product itself. It is also about the skills, access, perspective, and cultural value designers bring to the table.
Bustle’s collaborations with brands such as Audi, Four Seasons Hotels, Tennis Canada, and Playboy speak to this larger view. By recognizing fashion as a powerful collaborative language, Hewson and Promislow were able to build relationships
beyond traditional wholesale models, which can often be one-sided. For designers, that kind of thinking can create new revenue, new visibility, and new ways to sustain the creative work.
Now, after more than 20 years of working with Short Cuts, Hewson has stepped into ownership of the very facility that helped shape so much of Bustle’s history. The transition is both meaningful and serious. It is one thing to work with a production partner. It is another to become responsible for the business, its operations, and the well-being of its employees.
“I’ll be honest, it felt a little strange to step into an ownership role at Short Cuts,” he says. “But it also feels right.”
After 25 years in and around the factory, Hewson knows the team, the workflow, and the importance of what Short Cuts represents. At a time when so much garment production has moved overseas, preserving local manufacturing in Canada is not simply sentimental. It is practical, strategic, and necessary.
Local production offers speed, consistency, reliability, smaller minimums, employment, and stronger environmental and social considerations. It also offers something harder to measure but deeply valuable: a safety net. Mistakes made locally can become lessons. Mistakes made overseas can become disasters.
For emerging designers especially, that difference can determine whether an idea survives.
Under Hewson’s leadership, Short Cuts is positioned to serve both established brands and the next generation of Canadian designers. The facility has the equipment, team, and infrastructure to support larger customers with fast turnaround times and high-quality production. But it is also equipped to guide newer designers who may need help with development, small runs, sampling, pattern drafting, fabric sourcing, and turning raw ideas into actual product.
That mentorship component feels full circle. Bustle was once the young, wet-behind-the-ears brand walking into Short Cuts with ideas, ambition, and plenty to learn. Now, as owners, Hewson and Promislow have the opportunity to nurture designers standing at that same beginning point.
The larger vision is clear. Short Cuts can be both a production facility and a pillar of Toronto’s fashion ecosystem. It can support established clients who know exactly what they need, while also helping emerging designers build properly from the ground up. It can contribute to the reshoring of Canadian manufacturing and challenge the flood of generic corporate merchandise being sourced and shipped from overseas.
For Hewson, the argument is simple: support the local economy and make a better product. Well-designed, locally made, customized, thoughtful goods are not only better for designers; they are better for the industry.
In many ways, this next chapter is not a departure from Bustle. It is an expansion of the same values that shaped the brand from the beginning: quality, originality, humour, problem-solving, and the belief that Canadian fashion deserves the infrastructure to stand on its own.
Shawn Hewson’s story is not just about a designer buying a factory. It is about a Canadian fashion veteran stepping deeper into the system that helped build him, and choosing to protect it for whoever comes next.
Oh Canada, indeed.
BRENDA DANSO
Designing for the Life Within: Brenda Danso on Interiors, Identity, and Emotional Well-Being
By George Sully
For Brenda Danso, design has never been only about what the eye can see. It is about what the body feels, what the mind registers, and what a space quietly
does to support the people living inside it.
With a background in mental health and social work, Danso brings a rare emotion-
al intelligence to interior design. Before considering colour palettes, finishes, furniture placement, or styling, she spent years understanding how people respond to stress, transition, trauma, routine, and environment. That foundation continues to shape how she approaches every project.
“As a social worker, I spent years understanding how people respond to stress, transition, trauma, routine, and environment,” she says. “That naturally influenced the way I approach interiors.”
For Danso, a room is never just a room. A home can restore or unsettle. A work-
space can sharpen focus or drain energy. A hospitality space can welcome people in or leave them feeling disconnected. Her work begins with the belief that design has the ability to regulate how people feel, often without them realizing it.
When she first enters a space, she is not simply looking at what should change
visually. She observes energy, flow, light, sound, tension points, and how people move through the environment. She pays attention to where natural light lands, how sound carries, and whether a space feels grounding or overstimulating. Most importantly, she listens to the habits and rhythms of the people who use it.
“Often the real issues in a space are not aesthetic at all,” she explains. “Sometimes people are overwhelmed, disconnected, distracted, or unable to fully rest in their own homes.”
That philosophy turns design into something deeper than decoration. Good design, for Danso, begins with observation and listening long before styling begins. It is about understanding the life already happening inside a space and then shaping an environment that supports it with care, clarity, and intention.
Her own layered sense of home has also shaped her perspective. Born in Ghana,
raised in California, and now based in Toronto, Danso brings a multicultural and
emotionally rich lens to her work. Ghana gave her an appreciation for warmth, hospitality, storytelling, texture, and the emotional role of gathering spaces. California introduced openness, ease, natural light, and indoor-outdoor living. Toronto added refinement, functionality, and a sophisticated multicultural design language.
Together, these influences define her approach: modern, warm, restrained, culturally aware, and deeply livable.
“My work often blends warmth with restraint, modern design with cultural depth, and luxury with comfort,” she says. “I do not believe spaces should feel overdesigned. They should feel lived in, intentional, and connected to the people within them.”
In an era where social media has accelerated trends and made interiors increasingly performative, Danso encourages clients to look inward rather than chase what is popular. Trends, she believes, can be useful when applied thoughtfully, but they should never overpower personal story or longevity.
“Trends are not the same as identity,” she says.
Instead, she asks deeper questions: How do people live? What do they value? What should the space help them feel over time? In a world shaped by visual consumption, Danso sees a growing desire for spaces that feel authentic, grounding, and emotionally connected.
Earlier in her career, Danso was more focused on creating visually impressive spaces. Today, she is more interested in what happens after the photographs are taken. Do people feel supported by the space? Does it make daily life feel more peaceful, functional, and connected?
“I think maturity taught me that good design is not about excess or performance,” she says. “It is about creating environments that support
people’s real lives in meaningful ways.”
For Danso, the true power of interior design is not simply in transformation, but in support. It is in creating rooms that understand people, rooms that hold memory, rhythm, identity, and restoration. Rooms that do not just look beautiful, but quietly improve the quality of
life inside them.
In that sense, Brenda Danso is not just designing interiors. She is designing for the life within them.
The Business of Movement
How Emburse Helped Vivienne Westwood Streamline Global Expense Management
By BDC Team
At Vivienne Westwood, movement is part of the brand’s DNA.
From international fashion shows and supplier visits to retail operations, executive travel, and the constant rhythm of a global fashion house, the business depends on people being in motion. But behind every trip, creative meeting, and cross-border operation sits an often unseen layer of administration: receipts,
approvals, expense reports, finance coordination, and internal systems that need to keep pace.
For a house built on creativity, clarity matters. So does speed. As Vivienne Westwood continued to evolve across regions, the organization recognized the need for a more streamlined approach
to expense management. The challenge was not simply replacing a system. It was about creating a process that could support the scale, pace, and complexity of a global brand while remaining intuitive for the people using it every day.
That responsibility sat in part with Paolo Zucca, Travel & Mobility Manager at Vivienne Westwood, whose role requires a constant balancing act between travel, operations, employees, internal teams, and the realities of a distributed organization.
In a business where travel is essential, what happens after the trip is just as important as the trip itself. Expenses need to be submitted. Approvals need to move. Reporting needs to be accurate. Finance teams need visibility. Employees need a process that does not slow them down.
For Vivienne Westwood, the need was clear: a global expense reporting solution that could bring consistency, simplicity, and coordination across the organization.
"Behind every iconic brand is
an infrastructure that allows
creativity to move."
That is where Emburse came in.
Vivienne Westwood needed a partner who could move with precision and understand the complexity of real-world implementation. The timeline was tight. The rollout required coordination between IT teams, UK operations, regional stakeholders, and employees across the business. Training had to be delivered at scale, and the new system needed to be adopted without disrupting the daily flow of work.
Emburse offered more than software. It brought structure, support, and a practical
approach to change management.
From the beginning, the partnership focused on execution. Clear communication, hands-on guidance, and an understanding of the company’s internal dynamics helped create a smoother transition. Rather than treating implementation as a purely technical exercise, Emburse approached it as an operational shift, one that needed to work for the people inside the business.
“Despite the tight deadlines, we managed to meet them, provide training to all em-
ployees, and roll out the project with very positive results,” says Paolo Zucca, Travel
& Mobility Manager at Vivienne Westwood.
The result was a unified expense reporting process designed to reduce friction across the organization. With Emburse, Vivienne Westwood simplified workflows, improved alignment between IT and business teams, and supported employees through a structured training process that encouraged adoption from the start. For a fashion house, this kind of transformation may not appear on the runway, but its impact is felt in the rhythm of the business. Administrative friction slows momentum. When expense management becomes fragmented or inconsistent, it pulls attention away from the work that matters most.
By modernizing the process, Vivienne Westwood created more room for focus. Employees gained a clearer path for submitting expenses. Approvers gained a more efficient workflow. Finance teams gained better visibility. Travel and mobility operations became easier to coordinate.
The shift was subtle but powerful: fewer obstacles, more control, and a stronger
foundation for global movement.
For Paolo and his team, the change meant moving away from chasing receipts and navigating inconsistent processes, and toward a more coordinated way of managing spend. For the wider organization, it marked an important step in operational simplification as Vivienne Westwood prepared for its next stage of transformation.
In fashion, creativity often gets the spotlight. But behind every iconic brand is an infrastructure that allows creativity to move. Emburse helped Vivienne Westwood strengthen that infrastructure, proving that
when the business side of movement is simplified, the creative side has more
space to lead.
Departure
Signaling a New Era for Toronto Culture
By George Sully
For Kevin Barton, culture has never existed in separate lanes. Music, film, fashion, comedy, technology, storytelling, and live experience have always been part of the same larger ecosystem. After a career that has moved through Universal Music Canada, experiential marketing, film, digital content, mobile strategy, and global entertainment, Barton’s vision for
DEPARTURE feels less like a pivot and more like the natural evolution of
everything he has been building toward.
DEPARTURE is not simply a rebrand of Canadian Music Week. It is a reimagining of what a modern cultural festival and marketplace can be in a city like Toronto. Where the traditional conference model often separated industries, DEPARTURE brings them together. The platform sits at the intersection of creativity, commerce, technology, storytelling, and community, reflecting the way culture is actually experienced today.
“Music influences fashion. Technology shapes storytelling. Comedy drives
social conversation. Film creates fandom,” Barton explains through the spirit of the platform. In that sense, DEPARTURE recognizes a new creative reality: artists are no longer just artists. They are media companies, brand builders, cultural translators, and community leaders.
At the heart of DEPARTURE is Toronto itself. Barton sees a city that has
evolved dramatically over the last decade. It is younger, more diverse, more globally connected, and more creatively ambitious than ever before. Yet Toronto has not always had the infrastructure or international recognition to match its talent. DEPARTURE aims to help change that by creating what Barton calls density: bringing artists, executives, investors, brands, media leaders, policymakers, technologists, and creators into the same environment.
That kind of proximity matters. Access can change the direction of a career.
One conversation, one introduction, or one moment of visibility can shift
everything for an emerging artist, designer, founder, or cultural entrepreneur.
DEPARTURE is designed to be porous rather than closed off, creating rooms
where inspiration is matched with real opportunity.
The name itself speaks to movement. DEPARTURE suggests leaving behind outdated ideas of gatekeeping, siloed industries, and transactional creative systems. It points toward something more collaborative, more interdisciplinary, and more globally connected. It is about creators having proximity to decision-makers, communities shaping culture, and innovation being understood as part of culture rather than something separate from it.
Representation is also central to the platform’s purpose. For Barton, inclusion cannot simply live on stage or inside marketing campaigns. It has to be structural. That means access to funding, bookings, media visibility, leadership conversations, ownership, and long-term economic opportunity.
If DEPARTURE succeeds at its highest level, it becomes more than a festival. It becomes a cultural institution for Canada. A global meeting place for creativity, innovation, ideas, and industry. A platform that helps develop talent, influence policy, support cultural exports, and position Canada not as a participant in global culture, but as a leader in shaping where culture goes next.
For Toronto, DEPARTURE is a statement of confidence. The city no longer needs permission to see itself as influential. It already has the talent. Now it is building the stage.
CREATIVE COUNSEL
Building Your Team for the Big Moment
By Layth Gafoor and Malik Nembhard of Lucentem Sports & Entertainment Law P.C.
Eminem said it best. One shot. One moment.
The point of “Lose Yourself” was never really just about rap. It was about the paralysis that happens when opportunity finally shows up and finds you unprepared. The question was never whether the moment would come. The question was whether you would be ready when it did.
For Black creatives in Canada, that moment is real. Maybe it is a DM from a New York creative agency asking if you are available for a campaign. Maybe it is a brand out of Atlanta that found your work on Instagram and wants to talk numbers. Maybe it is a music sync opportunity, a production deal, or a collaboration with a US platform that has been watching what you build.
The door cracks open. And just like in the song, the question is: will you capture it, or let it slip?
Most of us are built for the creative work. The vision, the execution, the craft. We have been preparing for that our whole lives. What we have not always prepared for is what happens after someone says “yes.”
The W-9 Problem
When the call comes, the first thing a US company may ask you is not “when can you start?” It may be, “can you fill out this W-9?” And that is where things can go sideways fast.
A W-9 is an American form for American people and US-based businesses. It is what the IRS uses to track payments made to US citizens and US entities. If you are a Canadian creative, whether you are a designer, musician, filmmaker, photographer, stylist, or consultant, and you sign a W-9 thinking it is just standard paperwork, you may be telling the American government you are one of theirs.
What you actually need is usually a W-8BEN if you operate as an individual, or a W-8BEN-E if you operate through a company. These forms confirm your foreign status and allow you to claim the benefits of the Canada-US Tax Convention, the treaty that helps protect you from being taxed twice on the same income.
Here is why that matters. Without the right form on file, a US company may be required to withhold 30% of your gross payment and send it to the IRS. On a $50,000 contract, that is $15,000 gone before you see a cent. You can try to recover it later by filing a US tax return, but that can be a slow and expensive process, and many creatives do not know it is even an option.
With a properly completed W-8 form, and because of the longstanding Canada-US tax treaty, the withholding rate on many types of service income earned from Canada can drop to zero. The money comes to you in full. You report it in Canada, pay Canadian tax on it, and keep the process clean.
This is why having an accountant who understands cross-border taxation on your team before the big call comes is not a luxury. It is preparation. Think of them as the person you reach out to the moment a US opportunity hits your inbox, not the person you scramble to find after you have already signed something by mistake.
Your Business Structure
There is a second piece of readiness most creatives overlook, and it has nothing to do with the creative work itself. It has to do with how your business is set up.
Most of us start as sole proprietors. That makes sense. It is simple, low-cost, and gets you moving. But as the work grows, so does the exposure. When a US company wants to put serious money in your hands, when a contract dispute becomes a legal matter, or when you want to hold on to more of what you earn, your structure starts to matter.
"Most of us are built for the creative work. What we have not always prepared for is what happens after someone says yes."
Incorporating, or setting up a corporation, is not as intimidating as it sounds. In Ontario, the government filing fee is $300. Incorporation creates a legal separation between you and your business. If something goes wrong on a contract, the corporation may carry that risk instead of you personally. It can also create tax planning options as your income grows.
It also changes the way you show up. When a US client sends a vendor form, the corporation files a W-8BEN-E, not a W-8BEN. That signals to the American company that they are dealing with an established business entity. In US deal culture, that matters more than most of us realize.
A lawyer helps you get the structure right from the start: the share design, the protection, the contracts, the terms. An accountant keeps it clean and helps make sure you are keeping what you have earned. Together, they are your off-field team. You do not need them every day, but you need them ready.
Your Bank Account
Here is the one that surprises people the most: the bank.
Not a personal account with a business name attached to it. An actual business bank account, set up properly in the name of your business, with a commercial relationship you start building long before you need it.
Why? Because when the big opportunity lands, the one that requires you to front costs, hire people, book equipment, travel, or bridge the gap before a client pays, you may need access to capital. A business line of credit can be the cushion that allows you to say yes to a $200,000 project without having $200,000 sitting in your account.
Banks do not hand that out immediately. They build it over time by watching your account: months of deposits, consistent activity, and a business that looks like a business. When you ask for an operating line, the advisor looks at your history, and your history is either there or it is not.
So, the smart move is to set up the account now. Keep it active. Build the relationship with your banker before you need them. When the moment comes, you will have infrastructure to match the opportunity.
For Black creatives specifically, this matters even more. Programs like the Black Entrepreneurship Loan Fund, administered through the Federation of African Canadian Economics in partnership with BDC, offer loans for Black entrepreneurs. But you need structure to access opportunity. You need an account. You need a corporation. You need the paper trail that signals your business is real and already running.
Being Ready
Being ready does not mean having a full accounting team or a lawyer on retainer. It means doing a few key things before the call comes.
Know what form to send when a US company asks for a W-9. Have a cross-border accountant in your contacts. Get your business structure right, whether that means staying as a sole proprietor for now or incorporating as your income grows. Open a dedicated business bank account and start building that commercial relationship.
Then share what you know. That is what the Black Designers of Canada, BDC, is meant for. When one of us learns how to correctly fill out a W-8, we all get smarter. When one of us navigates incorporation and learns what they wish they had done differently, that knowledge becomes valuable currency for the whole community.
There is one more thing worth raising. If an opportunity ever involves physically working in the United States, such as performing, shooting, producing, installing, or working on-site, there is a separate conversation around immigration and work authorization. The W-8 handles the tax side. The visa handles the border. That is a full piece on its own, and we will get into it. But start thinking about it now. Knowing which category applies to your work, and getting the right advice in advance, is part of the same preparation.
BDC will be hosting complementary legal consultations for members of the community. This is your chance to sit down with a lawyer, ask the questions you have been sitting on, and get real answers about your specific situation. Whether it is understanding what forms you need for a US deal, figuring out whether it is time to incorporate, or making sure your contracts protect you properly, the session is yours. No jargon. No billing clock. Just information you need to move with confidence.
Keep an eye on BDC’s channels for dates and details, and take advantage of it. That is what community looks like in practice.
The opportunity is coming. The talent is already there. The question has always been about readiness
DESIGNER BEAUTY
Caudalie: Clean Beauty with a French Accent
DESIGNER TECH
Highlight must-have tools and gadgets for graphic, fashion, and interior designers, making innovation, efficiency, and creativity effortlessly accessible.
By Clive Deonarine
Oura Ring 5
The Oura Ring 5 is Oura’s newest smart ring, designed to make health tracking feel more seamless and stylish. With a thinner, lighter profile than the Ring 4, it tracks sleep, activity, recovery, heart rate, stress, and other key wellness signals from the finger. Its improved sensors, week-long battery life, and premium titanium finishes position it as both a
wellness tool and everyday accessory for people who want deeper health insights without wearing a smartwatch.
Price $529.99 CAD
