We all have a personal version of New York City. Its jumble of cultures, the diversity of its neighbourhoods and its rich history make it a place that is unique to every person who visits or lives there. So inevitably, if you were to ask someone what is THE quintessentially "New York" thing, you'd get an array of answers. For some, the essence of the city can be found at a neighbourhood restaurant on the corner of some back street, while others might choose a boutique, a walk, a park, an...
Saguenay is near Rimouski, right? No, wait, is it in Abitibi? I heard there are [insert any number of your choice over four] girls for every guy! Hey, I know [insert name], you must know her; she’s from the Lac! Your accent is so cute! (aka I didn’t understand a word of what you just said ...)
As soon as the sun meets the clouds, Montreal comes to life and the hustle and bustle doesn't end until the sunlight disappears into the horizon line once again.
The sights and smells of Italy are hard to capture in words, but let me try. I recently came back from a two-week whirlwind holiday in Italy and completely fell in love with Florence
When we tell people that we partnered with a bike touring company, the reaction is generally as follows: ‘That’s really cool. But, what does that have to do with what you guys do?’
We are super pleased to announce that you can now purchase a High Five Poster of your own! Inspired by our unabashed love of mutual congratulation and all ‘round nerdiness, we wanted to share a little of the joy with you.
Twelve years ago, I left my hometown of Ottawa to move to Montreal, the city I now call home. Moving away from friends and family allowed me to keep close ties to the city I grew up in and, moreover, to experience it as a weekend visitor would. I always look forward to the short train/car ride to Ottawa – you’re about 2 episodes of Mad Men away from a completely different pace of life and scenery. Those who have accompanied me on these weekend getaways have also commented on how charmed they...
Manhattan is a million places in one. You can spend an afternoon on the Upper East Side, hitting up swank shops, doing the museum circuit, lunching amongst the ladies who, well, lunch and dreaming about what all those park-facing apartments look like on the inside. In that same day, you can find yourself trend spotting on the Lower East Side, trying to push past baby strollers on the Upper West, or watching fashion shoots in the streets of the Meatpacking District. When people ask me...
Two weeks ago, the world's premier trade show for computer and video games, the E3 Expo in Los Angeles, closed its doors. This year's event offered a glimpse of how the industry is going to tackle the great challenges it faces due to recent gaming trends.
We’ve noticed that, as of late, city dwellers are getting pretty garden savvy. You might say it’s a “growing trend” (get it? Haha). Sure, gardening can be daunting if you live in the middle of the city and only have a small balcony to call your own but this doesn’t mean you should feel left out. Even if you can’t squeeze a BBQ out there, you can certainly fit a tomato plant! In fact, tomatoes are a great place for amateur green thumbs to start.
I cannot hide my shock at seeing the lineup of creative directors
assembled for Portfolio Night this year hosted by Bos in Montreal. To be clear, I know a
great many of the CDs and have worked with a number of them and I most
sincerely hold them all in very high regard. What concerns me is that of the
twenty (twenty!) industry professionals, not one is a woman. While I am certain these talented CDs will give fair and
constructive feedback to all the young hopefuls whether male or female, I...
I believe that I have an interesting – yet not uncommon – perspective on Hong Kong. Having been born there but moving to Canada when I was 6, visiting gives me simultaneous feelings of nostalgia and discovery. This was never more apparent than with my last visit. Being an independent "adult adult" now, I am truly able to appreciate the things that I once took for granted, most notably the availability of unbelievable food, fashion and the interesting mix of British influence with Chinese...
What started as a playful game fueled by the digital age quickly became a lesson in relative value and ended with a gesture of generosity and a man filled with insights. Kyle MacDonald...
This winter we were chatting casually with Bruno about how gorgeous Montreal looks under heavy snowfall. While this conversation may seem mundane to people who grew up here, it was enchanting to listen to a Parisian’s take on the phenomenon. So Bruno set out one morning, camera in hand, to capture the magic of our city being blanketed in the white stuff. What he came back with took our breath away, it wasn’t the snow he was watching, it was us.
As you surely know by now we have the great fortune of working with RBC on the RBC Blue Water Project. Through our partnership, we have grown as an agency and, dare we say it, as people. The work we have produced, with our collaborators at EyeSteel film, has taken us around the world and introduced us to some of the most interesting and dedicated people and exposed us to the single most pressing environmental challenge of our time: water.
When we look back at this era three themes will most certainly dominate our collective memory: the environment, the digital revolution and the global recession. Three issues so clear and omnipresent that one can't help but feel they are fundamentally connected and meant to teach us lessons about how we can be better.
We’re happy to announce we have a snazzy new feature on The Rake, The General Store. We will be filling it up with free downloadable goodies like our ‘desktop desktop’ series inspired by some of the folks we love around the office and custom Google map guides to cities we dig that you can send to your phone or copy into your travel itinerary. We will also be creating original pieces that you can purchase like...