This Month I've Been: the Very Best October, Vancouver, Toronto, Canada Edition

Picking berries and frolicking on lush carpets of grass at my old neighbour's backyard in my B.C. hometown. Oh Canada, I've missed you so much. It's already been three years since I graduated and moved back to Hong Kong, I can't believe just how fast time flies.

Next I stopped by Vancouver fashion designer Jason Matlo's studio in Gastown, he took a chance on me when I was just a super green first year student at Ryerson and I interned there for the summer. I'm still super grateful for the experience. He also makes amazing chicken salads. I made this sketch of his White Cashmere collection as a little present when I went to visit.

And what is a day in Vancouver without the VAG? That's right, the VAG, the Vancouver Art Gallery. And also the gay village on Davie St. where this rainbow sidewalk was.

Speaking of stripes, my lovely friend Phoebe in Taiwan just ordered the Stripes in Shibuya iPhone case? Doesn't it look so cute? Get yours at my Society6 store.

My family and I did a 5 day trip to Banff, it was ah-mazing, I forget how beautiful Canada is sometimes. Every second was a perfect photo opportunity and the clear mountain air was better for my skin than any facial.

Then it was off to the land of cool cafes and wonderful friends, Toronto, my very first love. Having a delicious yogurt parfait at the beautifully restored Dineen Coffee.

But this vacay isn't all lounging and lattes, my friend Markus and I organized an exhibition of my illustration work that opened while I was there. We did tons of preparing and promoting after I landed. Even walked all around Queen St. West and Kensington posting up flyers and chatting with stores in the area. The show is on until November 10th at Cafe Pamenar, so feel free to drop by!

After all that hustlin' we needed some R'andR', so it was off to the country to my friend Markus's childhood home where his lovely mom made us delicious food and 4 kinds of pies and we spent the weekend lazily watching House Hunters with his awesome family and various pets.

Toronto is so lovely and full of friends, I stayed in Harbord Village near the Annex and kept bumping into friends on the street. Hong Kong can be so lonely sometimes and maybe because Toronto is my alma mater city but it just feels so cozy, I didn't want to leave. 

Postcards I printed for the exhibition opening, I'm all sold out except one last pack of the Shoes I Never Wear series (Email me if you would like that last one - $20CAD for 5 postcards). I'll be doing another print run soon to sell at the Tangram Gift Shop pop-up coming this Christmas. Keep your ears peeled for that.

On my last day in Toronto, we walked down to the Drake hotel on West Queen West and did the chemical photobooth there. Only $2! So worth it. I try to do a photobooth in every city I visit, so far I have Taipei, Korea and now Toronto too.

Toronto is such a creative city, passed by this beautifully illustrated poster for the Fringe play Fort Isabel by Anna Standish.

And lastly, for some super exciting end of the month news! I've been working hard on an illustrated Halloween story for Dazed & Confused magazine! It's so cool to work with such creative people. The piece comes out online tomorrow morning, I can't wait!

Come to My Toronto Art Exhibition! Shoes / Off: Drawings by Kitty N. Wong

The date's been set and the art's been printing! It's all happening!
If you follow me on Instagram you've probably noticed I've been dropping hints about my upcoming art exhibition. Well everything's been confirmed and I can finally share!

Shoes / Off: Drawings by Kitty N. Wong is taking place from October 20 - November 10 at Cafe Pamenar in Kensington Market in Toronto.
Opening Night: Oct 22, 2013 from 7:30 - 11:00pm and you're all invited!

If you have any friends that will be in town too, please please please tell them! It's gonna be an awesome time. I'm going to be at the opening night doing live sketches of the guests and asking them the stories behind the shoes they're wearing, just like the Shoes I Never Wear series. All the archival art prints at the show are all for sale and I'll be selling some very limited postcards/mini-prints as well. SO COME!

I've been so busy these last two weeks, with printing, finishing up freelance projects and setting up the show before I leave for Canada. I'm jokingly referring to it as my "sabbatical" since I'm celebrating my first year of being a freelance illustrator! I'll be heading back to my hometown Abbotsford (a small suburb outside of Vancouver) and then to Toronto where I'll be doing the show!
It feels so good to know that I've put in 100% and soon will be kicking it in Canada eating at the ABC Country Restaurant and buying old fashion sweets at the Clayburn Village Store (lemon bon bons please!) like nobody's business.

A huge huge huge thank you goes to my dear dear friend Markus Doerr for helping me make this exhibition happen, he found the venue and has been dealing with all the Toronto things and for putting up with my bossy text messages at 2 in the morning. Thank you so much Markus!

Please help me share the event by using the social media buttons below and RSVP'ing to the Facebook event! Thank you so much and I hope I'll get to meet some of you lovely readers there!

Free Shipping on Society 6 on Prints and Phone Cases

FREE SHIPPING in my Society6 Print Shop this weekend! From now until Sunday (PST), get it gurrrrl (or boyzz).

Use this link right here for the discount: http://society6.com/kittynwong?promo=7151d3

Recent Work / Burberry SS14 Predictions for Bagaholic Boy

Just a quick update on my most recent project for the Singapore fashion blog Bagaholic Boy, he's going to London for the Spring-Summer 2014 Womens Burberry Prorsum show and to celebrate he invited three illustrators: Olga the Cat creator Ridhwan Sesapar, HsulynnPang and yours truly to predict what might be shown on the runways this season.

Bagaholic Boy asked us to predict the show using the men's collection so I wanted to create an ideal Burberry girl and have her wardrobe match her boyfriend's SS14 look. And being the ideal Burberry couple they would even own a dog named Prossy (adopted of course, named after Burberry Prossum), a collie just like the one from the ad campaigns.

Thanks so much for the fun project Alvin!

To read more about it and to see the other wonderful illustrations from the projects check out BagaholicBoy's post.