For today’s edition of The Globe and Mail I was hired to illustrate an article in the special section for Earth Day!  The article is about Fashion Takes Action, a membership based social enterprise created to support environmentally conscientious designers.  You can read the article online here, though the illustrations are only in the print edition, so I of course I scanned it for internet consumption.  I think it looks great.  Click the scans for higher resolution.

The illustration is a bit of a riff on the old fash-mag feature “the look for less”.  I styled two similar outfits using real items of clothing.  I’ll let you guess who the “eco-bad” items are by, but the good items are all available to buy online in Canada.  If that’s not enough to get you clicking, almost all of them are on sale.

6. Recycled Material – the Caninja.  This is a cozy scarf-hood combination created out of recycled sweaters and lined with fleece made from recycled pop bottles.

7. Hemp – this is a shirt by Eco-Couture, available at Rawganique.

8. Bamboo – this is a bamboo/organic cotton blend extra-long tank by Nixxi.

9. Organic Cotton – the classic skinny jean by Good Society available at Not Just Pretty.

10. Vegan or Eco-Shoes – this sexy pump is by vegan designer Stella McCartney, available at Yoox.

It gives me so much joy to participate in the Buy Design for Windfall fundraiser event this year.  I get to work with the lovely ladies at Faulhaber, Creative Committee leader Andrew Sardone and so many talented volunteers.  Best of all, I got to create the imagery that will be shown on the poster and the website!

Buybarella is the official muse of Buy Design this year.  If you follow her on twitter, you could win a free pair of tickets to Toronto’s most stylish outer space party!

Check out the press release below the fold.

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Remember how I submitted two pieces to the OCAD Whodunit? fundraiser?  Well, now that it is over, I think I can post them, even though anyone who knows my style would find it pretty obvious Whodunit.

I was really pleased to discover that this one was sold.  I am pretty sure this is the first piece of original art I’ve ever sold.  I would love to know who bought it – if it is you please let me know!

This one was returned to me, but it is still for sale for $75 CDN (same as the other one).  It’s a 7.5″ x 5.5″ original watercolour, if you’re interested please drop me a line.

This is the first book cover I have ever done an illustration for, created in collaboration with the author and publisher of Aleph Bravo Tango.  It is a novel about dance and love.  I received a copy in the mail last week and it is so cool to see the project realized in a physical book.

Pam Chorley’s Fashion Crimes is having a terrific sale for the next month – and I had the great pleasure of creating an illustration for the poster.  Fashion Crimes is the ultimate party dress store and it is packed to the roof with sparkly treasures.  Take some girlfriends and have fun dressing up for the season!

photo by Raymund Galsim

I had such an amazing time at Over The Rainbow on Saturday night.  So many people came by to visit and chat about Indigo Planet – that is right, it is a planet created out of old jeans – smocked, bleached, sanded and otherwise destroyed to create detail and texture.

I was also sketching with watercolour pencils all night – drawings of shoppers and staff on postcards.  Every sketch turned out great – it is such a rush when that happens.  Every subject loved their mini portraits.

Friends and family came by too, even readers like Andrea.  It was so nice to see everyone.  I am so grateful and happy to have had such an unusual, fun job.  Thanks again to Joel, Tatiana, and everyone else who helped make this project come together so beautifully!

Photographer Raymund Galsim dropped by and took some great pictures.   Here I am with some of the terrific Over The Rainbow team – Veronica, Daniel, (me) and Genia.

photo by Raymund Galsim

It was a bonne nuit!

BONUS:  Lots of close-up photos and more at the Over The Rainbow blog.

Thanks to the great people at Over the Rainbow and Faulhaber, I get to present a very special art project for Nuit Blanche.  Please drop by 101 Yorkville Avenue between 8pm and midnight on Saturday, I will be there sketching, chatting about Indigo Planet, and enjoying the ambience of Toronto’s best denim destination.

The project even got featured in today’s Toronto Star.

BONUS:  Want to know more about daily life as a fashion illustrator?  The girls over at She Does the City have included me amongst so many amazing ladies in the terrific Her Career section.

If you have been following the blog you may remember my ongoing petition to get all of you to vote for my entry in the Dr. Martens design competition.  Back in July, my boot got totally stomped all over by those who were able to rally forums support, and I gave up and forgot about the competition for a while.

The good news is that my boot has been picked as the Panel Winner!  It feels incredible to be selected out of over 12000 entries by a panel of very cool UK design and art professionals.  Yes, this means that the boot will be manufactured and sold – watch this space for updates.

Thank you Dr. Martens, and thank you to everyone who supported my boot.  I am very happy.

Long overdue – I am finally constructing a simple, official, portfolio site.

Readers, feel free to take a look at it while I am working on it – I would appreciate any ideas, suggestions, or questions you have.

Thank you!