The AI Studio: Pier Five and HP Canada Helped Canadian Small Businesses Harness the Power of AI PIER FIVE COMMUNITY DINNERS LEARN MORE Latest Posts Catch up with our latest conversations and events. Small Business Activation Grant Runner Up: Yueh Tung Restaurant Jun 22 Small Business Activation Grant Runner Up: Stimmie Jun 22 Small Business Activation Grant Winner: Grays Jun 22 Pier Five’s Mental Health Mixer: A Space to Reset, Reflect, and Connect Jun 4 Mental Movement Day with Pier Five and Puma Brings Toronto’s Creative Community Together for Yoga, Wellness, and Open Conversation Jun 3 A Spring Clean-Up Day to Remember Apr 29 5 Essential Tax Strategies for Small Business Owners to Save Money Mar 7 Empowering Women Entrepreneurs: Mastercard x Pier Five's 2024/25 Priceless Experience Mar 2 Pier Five’s 2024 End-of-Year Celebration Dec 17, 2024 Celebrating Creativity and Community at the OOAK Show '24 Dec 5, 2024 5-Tips On Brand Building From Kuwalla Tee's Founder Yaniv Abecassis Nov 26, 2024 Toronto Community Court Day Recap: A Slam Dunk Success Oct 21, 2024 Explore All Posts

The July Roundup Welcome to Pier Five monthly round ups, a look back at some of the people, brands & things that caught our eye this month that we thought you should know about. Dime x Vans Montreal based skate brand Dime has launched another perfect collaboration, dubbed the Wayvee, as part of their ongoing partnership with Vans. This collab is brought to life in two colorways: evening blue and egret. Complemented with luxe suede, embroidered Vans and Dime logo hits throughout and an all-new upper construction with reinforced translucent mesh panels, this model delivers luxury design and performance construction in the perfect shoe. Hopefully you were lucky enough to get a pair on the initial July 17th but if not, make sure to check your local skate shops, which dropped the shoes on July 24, for any remaining sizes. Adidem Astericks* Collabs The month of July has been a busy one for up and coming Toronto based fashion brand Adidem Astericks* who has recently made waves with refined luxury aesthetics similar to brands like Aime Leon Dore and Todd Snyder with a more street twist. This month, Adidem Astericks*partnered with two heavy hitters for some big collaborations. In partnership with Roots, they redefined the Canadian classic Awards Varsity Jacket with elevated multi-patch embroidery work and thoughtful colour blocking in two colourways; piston blue & merlot. The jacket has been seen on the likes of Toronto rappers, Jazz Cartier & Pressa to name a few. The second collab tapped into the hand painted illustrations of fellow Toronto artist Moya “Gang Box'' Garrison-Msingwanaon a collection featuring tees, caps, pins & even a coffee table book! Both collaborations are available on their webstore here . Vandy The Pink Carpenter Mules When it comes to customizing sneakers & clothes, Junghoon Son, the man behind Vandy The Pink, is at the forefront of it all. From hawaiin summer shirt-short sets with Hidden.NY to playful fast food burger inspired sneakers, Vandy doesn’t miss and we’re here for it all! His latest creation gives the Vandy treatment on a pair of mules called the VTP Carpenter Mule, taking design inspiration from the popular Carhartt workwear brand. From the soft suede upper to the gold rivets & zipper detailing, the attention to detail is A1. These dropped July 15 and are unfortunately sold-out but make sure to follow Vandy The Pink on instagram for all of their feature releases! Matty Matheson Summer Merch Collection Canadian chef & internet personality Matty Matheson launched his latest merch line, perfect for the summer, called “Camp Matty’s World”. This full collection has everything from tees to truckers & dad caps, basketball jerseys, shorts & more. As you can tell by the name of the collection, it’s design theme and graphic inspiration comes from throwback summer camp style bringing back the little kid in all of us. The designs are on point and the full collection is available for purchase on Matty’s webstore here . norda™ 001 Our monthly roundup wouldn’t be complete without including the world’s first seamless, lightest, trail running shoe from our friends at norda™. The norda™ 001 comes in two colourways, black or white and is made from Dyneema®: the world’s strongest and lightest fiber™, delivering the lowest carbon footprint per unit strength of any material. The sole of the shoe is a brand new design made in collaboration with Vibram, a leader in shoe design and footwear soles, and was inspired by the Canadian Shield, the largest and strongest pre-Cambrian rock formation on Earth. The technology in this shoe is unlike any other trail running shoe that exists and was made to prove that high performance and sustainability should always run together. The shoe is available for pre-order on norda’s website and will hit local running shops in August. Also check out our latest interview with Nick Martire, founder of norda™ here ! Stay tuned to The Roundup series to discover the coolest new people, brands and releases each month and keep it locked to all of Pier Five for stories and interviews with our favourite designers, entrepreneurs, creators and more.

A Conversation With Photographer Wade Hudson As a creative, there are many avenues that you can take to turn your passion into a career. More often than not, this will require others and understanding how to balance personal efforts and the inclusion of those around you will take you to great heights. Toronto based photographer Wade Hudson understood this early on, partnering with those whom he enjoyed and shared passions with, creating equal value and fostering growth for one another. The secrets of finding great people to work with take time to uncover and we got the chance to catch up with Wade to learn about how he identifies talent around him, capitalizes on opportunities at every moment and produces the best possible outcome within each situation. Take a read through the conversation below to hear from one of Toronto’s best shooters. In 2013 you did a shoot with a wee youngster by the name of Joey Bada$$. How does it feel shooting people at an early age and then watching them blow up into huge superstars? Nearly every person I shoot I am a big fan of so watching them come up is really quite fascinating to me. When I heard [Joey] bada$$, I was like “this guy is going to be a huge star”. It’s obviously hard for me to know at the moment where they’ll be down the line but that doesn’t matter to me when I’m working. When I’m around people like that I try to just be myself and show my interest in them. Joey and so many others are so genuine and great people and that makes it really fun to follow their careers and growth. The best thing is seeing where they are years later and know that their attitudes haven't changed and that they’re still humble. What are some tips you’d give to creatives looking to connect with talent to work with? If you’re seeking out talent to work with, make sure that your skill is at the level that it needs to be to execute your vision with the talent. After that, be ready to move quickly. Opportunities don’t always come with a lot of advanced notice. Be ready to move on things at any moment. I’d also say, from a mental standpoint, know that anyone is accessible if you persevere. This doesn’t mean they are accessible today but if you work hard enough, anyone can be accessible and so you should always shoot your shot. You won’t get anywhere if you never ask. Another way to get buy-in from talent is to remember that someone’s time can be more valuable than money. Don’t overlook experience and the impact that personal connections can make in the long term. Lastly, be patient. Things take time so don’t give up. When you have the time to plan with someone, how long does it take to ideate a shoot? It’s really as long as I have. I usually don’t have a ton of time so I work with the elements in the moment. When I do have time, I’ll just make sure I can complete all the needed - or ideal - steps in that amount of time. Finding references, finding the right people to bring in like stylists, creative directors, etc. is all important. I’ll try to get calls or meetings together beforehand to discuss how we can make the best product possible and how we can cater the shoot to the subject. How involved are the subjects in creating the story for the shoot? For the most part, when I reach out to people I have the concept of what I want them to look like already in mind. If it’s my creative shoot, it has to follow my style and I need you to do what I have envisioned. Obviously I'm open to ideas depending on who you are, like if you’re a creative director you might have good ideas, but if I simply approach you because I like your look, I will have the concept down. This is different though if I’m shooting for a client and their ideated project. In that case, I’m helping execute their vision. Would you say more of your work is client focused or your creative work? It depends on the time of year so that’s hard to say. They go hand in hand though for my career so it’s not too big of a deal to do one more than the other from time to time. My creative work is how I pull clients in and my client work pays for my creative work. I’d always like to do more creative work but client work is needed. Right. That’s a good outlook on the two. Do you think you could ever get to a point where you’re only doing creative work? I think there are photographers that have found a great balance where the work they do on their own and the work they do for clients are very similar but it’s hard to only ever do your own thing, if only due to money. I’m always working to bring my ideas into the client work to make it fun and reduce the space between that and my client work but I don’t think I’d ever stop doing client work. Interesting, and I guess client work also brings new sets of challenges that can make you a better photographer. Changing gears now, what are 5 do’s or don’ts of shooting with someone for the first time? That is true and a great question. I can only give these tips from my perspective but... DON’T have your camera in hand when you first meet someone. This helps to remove the power dynamic of the subject and photographer. DO h ave a conversation with the subject before you shoot. Learn about them and what they are comfortable with. This will make the shoot much better for everyone and deliver the best results. DON’T talk about why you’re qualified or who you’ve worked with in the past. In that moment, nobody cares about who you’ve shot in the past. DON’T show the subject the shots when you’re shooting. It often makes the subjects less comfortable. Instead, talk to them as you shoot. Sometimes you can’t follow this depending on the subject but this is what I find is typically best. DO discuss what the subject should be doing in the photograph before they sit in front of you. You want to make sure everyone knows what they’re going into. You recently became a father (congratulations!). Has that journey with your wife and now your newborn son influenced your work? Thank you! Right now, not too much has changed but I imagine as he grows, it may impact the work, what jobs I take, how I see things, etc. Just a crazy time learning to be a father [laughs]. Although it was published over 7 years ago, your Jamaican Proverb Series still lives as one of the best photography series that we have ever seen. Do you have a proverb that you live by? A lot of these are just kind of always relevant but one that I think back on a lot is “Ebry dawg ave im day, ebry puss im four a clock.” which translates to “Every dog has his day, every cat his 4 o’clock.” This has a few meanings. Some days you win and some days you love. Good fortune comes at different times for everyone. Do not behave as if you are better than others. Oh, love that. Super important as a creative for sure. Do you have a favourite story from your time as a photographer? Yes! About 5 years ago I went to London because I was interested in potentially moving out there and wanted to check out the scene. Some of the modelling agencies out there were having these openings where you can just go and shoot their models. They basically invite you out, introduce you to the models and you shoot for the day. I went out and shot about five or six models that day and got some shots that I really liked. After the shoot I went onto the agency websites to find all of the models I had shot but there was one person I couldn’t find anywhere. It turns out that it was Grace Bol who is a big time model, like she’s been on iPhone backgrounds including my own [laughs] and has modelled for so many major brands. She’s huge! I don’t even know why she was there that day and I had been speaking to her for about twenty minutes without a clue of who she was and it was such a wild moment realizing it after the fact. Honestly, it was probably better that I didn’t know at the time or I likely wouldn’t have had the confidence to ask her to shoot. Wow! That’s insane. I guess sometimes it’s better not knowing all [laughs]. Lastly, now that we are starting to return to some normalcy in the world, what are you most excited for work-wise? I just want to go back home to Jamaica. I have a ton of ideas and people that I want to be with and I just can’t get down right now so that will be the first thing I do when I can. I lived there until I was sixteen and then moved here. Before Covid I was there a few times a year so I really want to get back. Check out more of Wade's work on his website and follow him on Instagram to catch all of his latest work. Keep it locked to Pier Five for more interviews and stories with the coolest entrepreneurs, designers, artists, activists and more.

Slow & Steady with Josh Heares of Porter James Sports Once you get going, it can be hard to slow down but we can't forget the tales of our childhood. You can't rush success. Slow and steady wins the race. Such is true for Josh Heares, founder of New Zealand based clothing brand Porter James Sports, who has spent the last two-and-a-half years carefully crafting his label. With a clear path ahead and a mind that has never been more focused, Josh is on his way to becoming one of the most stand-out menswear street brands in our opinion and we got the chance to chat with him about his journey from advertising to fashion, how he plays the fashion game with an analytical mindset and where he hopes to take the brand in the future. Read the full interview below! Hi Josh, thanks for taking the time to chat with us. For those who aren't familiar, can you tell us a little about yourself and how your brand, Porter James Sports, came to be? Thanks guys! I started Porter James out of my living room in Auckland, NZ about 2.5 years ago, in December 2020. Before that, I spent my career in the advertising and design space so I was new to fashion taking on this project. Today, I would say PJS is the convergence of menswear and streetwear and the values we champion are 'simplicity' and 'timeless design'. We try to be accessible but from day one, I was really keen on ensuring that we didn't look like a 'part-time' fashion brand. I have a high bar for the brands I wear as a consumer and PJS had to match that. With no prior experience in fashion, what was the motivation to pivot from your career in advertising? In my mid-twenties, I got a promotion at my advertising agency and was really excited. At the time, I thought this was my dream job, blending business and creativity together but one day realized that I didn't see a long-term path for this and felt like something was missing for me and wanted to create a change. A mentor told me about this idea of envisioning my dream day instead of my dream job and that changed everything for me. I started thinking about the things I value most like making my own schedule, being able to be creative and work with other passionate people instead of large corporations, and then being able to work from wherever I wanted. Fashion checked a lot of those boxes so I started spending a lot of time looking into how to make that possible. So from there, how did you get started? I threw myself in the deep end. I got an agent out in Guangzhou, China and flew out there to meet him to speak about product development. Luckily he was from New Zealand and spoke perfect English which was a huge help. From there, I just asked a lot of questions. I brushed up on all of the product development information, figured out how much money I would need to start everything. On the other hand, having worked in advertising for so long with brands like Mercedes-Benz, I knew what world-class delivery looked like and had a benchmark for what I wanted to try and hit with my own brand. The reality of leaving your job and starting a brand is that money can get tough. How did you manage there? Absolutely! I knew that I was going to need income from other sources so I started a consulting side-hustle, which allowed me to sustain enough revenue once I left the agency job. I still do it now and it's a great extra job, allowing me to use my past experiences and help others develop their brand plans. I know the brand is strong and will continue growing but it obviously takes time so I didn't want to put all of my eggs in one basket from the beginning. You seem like you're very patient, which doesn't always come so easily to entrepreneurs. I think it's important to look at things like a sliding scale, not a light switch. Success won't come overnight. I heard this great quote that "people overestimate what they can do in a year but underestimate what they can do in ten years". Where you are now, consider it a stepping stone that's planting seeds to where you want to go. I know that if I'm intentional and become comfortable putting in the work, it might take two or three years to start seeing some real return but in ten years I'll be very happy about the work that I put in. Do you have a long term or ten year plan for the brand? I just want to continue to grow the brand bigger, while staying in my lane. I've never been clearer than I am now on what our products look like and what our 'brand filter' is, meaning how I think we should look and what we should be putting out. We're focusing on DTC growth now which I'm really starting to figure out and I think that I'm on the right path which is the most important thing to me. The DTC landscape is ever-changing. What are the most important thing to be thinking about these days when running an online business? This isn't new but the only way to really grow a huge business is by acquiring more customers, so that's where all of my focus is. You need to understand why someone might not buy from you and mitigate all of those barriers. For me, as a brand from New Zealand, it's improving shipping so that new customers can take a chance on the brand. I've worked to ensure I can offer fast-free shipping because I know my quality is good, and that if I can get my products into the hands of the "fashion-guy" of a friend group, they'll influence their ten friends and that's how everything will grow. So I just need to ensure the person landing on my page has no reason not to checkout. Besides the quality being top notch, what's your strategy for the product design and collection building? As you connect with new producers and learn new things around the product, I think it's easy to get overwhelmed. The truth is, you can build a multimillion dollar brand around just five or six styles ( a great shirt, a great pair of trousers, a great hat, etc). I've watched so many brands scale massively by perfecting certain styles and that's what I'm trying to do. That helps me ensure the quality, fit, and look are perfect. Taking inspiration from other trends and brands is ok but apply what works for you and make sure to stay in your lane. I'm also trying to remind myself to slow down and constantly iterate as opposed to pumping out a lot of product quickly. I'm constantly thinking about how I can make the product better, from the stitching to the materials, to the decoration. I'd say taking it slow is what is going to help us win. Love that! Slow and steady wins the race. Make sure to check out Porter James Sports for their newest drop on Monday, July 17th and keep it locked to Pier Five for more conversations with creative entrepreneurs!

2023 Recipient: Colour The Trails Introducing Colour The Trails, one of the ten recipients of the Mastercard x Pier Five Small Business Fund 2023! Who: Judith Kasiama Where: Vancouver, BC Instagram / Website Colour the Trails was launched in 2017 to improve access to outdoor activities for BIPoC (including those who lay within the intersection of BIPoC and 2SLGBTQAI+ community) adventurers after seeing a severe lack of representation of racialized individuals in the outdoors space. With chapters across Canada, CTT has reached over two thousand individuals through various intro clinics and mentorship programs to equip folks with the knowledge and skills to feel confident, safe in the outdoors, while working alongside Indigenous outdoor organizations to stand in solidarity and further ongoing reconciliation. How will you use the $10,000 CAD for your business? The $10,000 will be used to help launch or Wellness in Colour programming across Canada. Wellness in Colour is a Colour the Trails initiative that aims to cultivate and promote wellness for Black Indigenous and racialized folks. Our well-being encompasses not only our physical health but also our mental, emotional, and social well-being. Creating a safe space to amplify and support the community of Colour is essential for healing and promoting well-being. Each event will be tied to a specific healing modality such as meditation, yoga, therapy, art therapy, mindfulness practices, or traditional cultural healing techniques. What is your big goal for the future of the business? Within three to five years, we hope and believe that participation and interest in the programming will have grown to enable us to move from single event programming and into a mentorship program for Wellness in Colour. Mentorship enables us to support community members by offering workshops or training opportunities based on interest and focused on personal growth, professional skills, and community advocacy. We would also then pair individuals in the community with experienced mentors who can provide guidance, support, and encouragement on a more ongoing basis. Ultimately, we would operate this with a “pay it forward” approach and expectation for participants to reinvest in the community using their newfound skills. Learn more about the Mastercard & Pier Five Small Business Fund, and discover the other 2023 recipients here .

Community Court Day MTL: Pier Five x PUMA x Ball Her Way x Double Dribble On September 7, 2024, Pier Five, alongside Double Dribble , Ball Her Way , and PUMA , hosted an unforgettable event celebrating Montreal’s vibrant basketball community – “Community Court Day”. This collaborative event brought together 25 inspiring individuals from Ball Her Way and Double Dribble's ongoing pickup runs "Run & Jump" for an afternoon filled with basketball, networking, and thoughtful discussions. From start to finish, the event perfectly blended the worlds of sports and creativity, making it a day to remember for everyone involved. The event started with a surprise for all attendees; a full new basketball kit generously provided by PUMA. The new gear was an instant hit, setting the tone for an afternoon where everyone felt empowered to perform their best on the court. The basketball action began with a series of drills and warm-ups led by Ball Her Way founder and experienced coach, Heather Alonzo , where participants showed off their skills and got a chance to connect through the love of the game. The intensity picked up with 5v5 games that brought out the competitive spirit, yet fostered a deep sense of camaraderie. As Albert Nguyen , founder of Double Dribble likes to say, it's "the nicest basketball run in Montreal!" Whether seasoned players or newcomers, everyone took to the court with enthusiasm, making the games a true highlight of the day. But the event wasn’t just about basketball. Pier Five, Double Dribble, and Ball Her Way curated meaningful discussions and networking opportunities, allowing participants from diverse backgrounds—business owners, designers, artists, lawyers, social workers, and more—to share their stories and build lasting connections. These connections were full of energy and inspiration, as attendees explored the intersections of sports, entrepreneurship, and community impact. With the support of leading basketball brands and community leaders in Montreal, Community Court Day was a huge success. The collaborative spirit of Pier Five, Double Dribble, Ball Her Way, and PUMA came to life in this dynamic event, leaving everyone excited for future opportunities to engage with the basketball and creative communities. Pier Five was truly honoured to be back in Montreal, continuing its mission of bringing unique, engaging events to cities across Canada. The event captured the essence of what Pier Five stands for—fostering creativity, connection, and collaboration through unforgettable experiences. With so much excitement around “Community Court Day,” it’s safe to say that the future holds even more thrilling events from Pier Five and its partners. If you're interested in getting involved on an event with Pier Five, either as a guest or a partner, follow us on Instagram or email us at community@pier-five.com !

A Conversation With Sean Go Sean Go is a Toronto raised content creator with a passion for sneakers, basketball and photography; a perfect trio for the modern Torontonian. Sean's sneaker photography has been featured on a number of publications and his YouTube channel is one of the go-to's for in depth sneaker reviews. @sgo8 We see new kicks on your channel all the time. What are the top 5 in your rotation right now? If we're talking about what I'm actually wearing these days I'd go with Black Cement 3, New Balance 992 Grey, Nike Air Max 1 Anniversary White/Red, Collegium Destroyer High "Avio" and the Nike Dunk Low "Brazil". Top 5 favourites of all time would be White Cement 3, Concord 11, Chicago 1, Infrared Air Max 90 and White Cement 4 probably. Your known for taking some of the best and most unique sneaker pics on insta. What tips can you give for someone looking to up their sneaker pic game? Lighting is key. Play around with different types of lighting to be comfortable shooting in various conditions (sunny, cloudy, indoors with flash, etc.) Environment plays a huge part in the photo. Learning to utilize backgrounds and props to add to the flavour of the photo really allows your photos to stand out. Develop a "style". Consistency is huge, as it allows people to see your personality and flare through your photos. While a nice camera is great, learning to edit your photos is half the battle. I personally use Adobe Lightroom and finish it up with Photoshop, but whatever program you feel most comfortable with, play around with it and see how it can elevate your shots. Have fun! Do it for the passion and the genuine love of it, and keep shooting for the right reasons. While many know you for your IG posts, you have nearly 3x the following on YouTube. What are 5 things you love or hate about YouTube? YouTube's a great way to express yourself and generate income in a way that photographs on Instagram don't allow. You can find videos on pretty much anything you want to see or learn about. The audience-base is very supportive and shows you a ton of love if they appreciate your work. BUT! It's much more of a challenging and time consuming medium than Instagram. The anonymity of it allows for a lot of troll comments that you have to learn to ignore. So with all that being said, who are your 5 favourite sneaker YouTubers right now? Seth Fowler Hes Kicks Foamer Simpson Rose Anvil WearTesters

A Conversation With Albert Nguyen of Hudson's Bay Photo: @lognamakya The term "busy" floats around a lot as being synonymous with successful. We live in a "rise and grind" culture which puts mental health by the wayside and can turn incredible work into a struggle to hold on. Albert Nguyen, Managing Art Director for Hudson's Bay, one of Canada's longest standing department stores, understands this all to well. Having gone through periods of burnout and overworking through his craft, Albert has become an advocate for mental health and pushing the conversation around the topic forward, especially for men and minority groups in which the stigmas around vocalizing feelings are eminent. We got the chance to chat with Albert about his struggles with burnout, his outlook on the creative industry, what it was like coming up as an Asian designer in Montreal and his advice for new designers looking to establish themselves and build a career through their passions. Read through the conversation below and share with a friend as the information that Albert shares is priceless! Hey Al! Great to be chatting with you. For those who aren’t familiar, can you tell us a little bit about yourself? So my name is Albert Nguyen and for a living and as a hobby, I am an art director and a designer. I come from a fashion, art and design background so I’d say I’m a designer first but I love my work as an art director. My art, my photography style, it all comes from design. I worked in the fashion industry for corporate brands for a long time like Le Chateau and Rudsak and was the art director for Little Burgundy for a while. After a while, I chose to leave the corporate world and design on my own which was great. A couple years later, The Bay called me up for an art direction role and I took that which is where I am today. What led you to the decision of leaving your stable corporate job and going solo? Honestly, I faced some serious burnout. I was working like 12 hour days grinding through. We live in this culture of being busy and I thought 12 hours days were the norm and never thought I’d hit a wall but I did. When that happened to me, I was able to take a month off of work but at the end of the month, I didn’t feel ready to return back to that lifestyle. I had always had this feeling like I could be my own boss. It was tough though to start my own thing. Especially as an Asian designer, it was very tough. The design community is very white and I felt like there were all of these lines I had to stay in [at Little Burgundy] but I was like “Ok, I’m not white. I can do my own thing.” I started really tapping into my Asian roots, which was super scary, but I did that for about three years and got some awesome clients like SSENSE and Raised By Wolves which were really great. And now you’re at The Bay. What was the return like after 3 years of being solo? When The Bay called me, COVID was pretty nuts and things were drying up a bit for my solo work. I had a couple options of what I wanted to do next but I thought The Bay could be a good fit to try out. Now that I’m there, I see a lot of value in what I’m doing there. Although it’s not as wild and crazy, it’s a place that really values new ideas and new perspectives which is needed because it’s been around for so long. Luckily, when I came in, I got the keys to concept out the spring 21 season and made it super fun and different and it’s been great since. They’ve also let me take breaks when I need, which is something most companies wouldn’t be ok with. I really value that with The Bay and we have a really good working relationship. Albert Nguyen on Thinking Out Loud by La Rue Inspire That’s awesome to hear! It’s definitely not always easy for creatives to find that balance in the corporate world so we’re stoked to hear that you have it. Let’s talk about the burnout a bit more because we think it’s super important for people to speak about. Can you tell us what that was like, how you identified it and what helped you through it? Yes! I really like talking about it because you’re right, people definitely don’t speak about it enough. There’s a lot of stigma around this, especially for Asian men too, but it’s super important for everyone to be aware of. Men don’t talk about mental health much and it’s not discussed in Asian communities. I’m glad that the conversation around mental health has really stepped up lately and it makes it easier for people to talk about it. Recognizing burnout So firstly, I felt tired all the time. Like I said before, we think it’s normal to keep pushing until you break but it’s not. I wasn’t focused and my work wasn’t as strong. If you notice this happening for a long time, definitely take a step back and look at your situation. Treating burnout So these are some things that worked for me but it might be different for others. The big takeaway for all of them though is that it’s important to be consistent with them. You can’t just do these things a few times and then it’s over. Consistency is key and even though I’m in a better place now, I still do these all of the time. Therapy : What helped me a lot was therapy. During that time, I started meditating every morning. It doesn’t have to be a really long time. Even 10-20 minutes is great. The future is uncertain and the past is the past, but meditating to focus on the present which is, in that moment, good, can really help start your day off the right way. Now I’m doing it a few times a week and still love it. Improving your diet: Eating bad will make you feel bad and if you’re overworking yourself on the wrong diet, it’s going to be really tough. Mushrooms: I’ve started incorporating micro doses of mushrooms into my day to day a bit. There is an incredible movie called Fantastic Fungi which explains everything around how mushrooms have helped humanity for millions of years. That’s really good advice and we’ll definitely need to check out Fantastic Fungi! Switching gears a bit now. You have this great role as Art Director for Hudson’s Bay which takes up a bunch of time. What are you working on for your freelance now? The Bay takes up a ton of my time now so I really only do t-shirt designs these days as a freelancer. I did some stuff for Raised By Wolves who are good friends for their FW 21 line and have been working on a bunch of charity tees lately. There is one coming for Skateistan which is this awesome organization that provides education and leadership training, along with skateboarding, to children in underprivileged communities around the world. The tee I’ll be dropping is for Skatistan - Cambodia which I’m super pumped about and there’s also another tee I dropped with Lopez MTL to raise funds for Club Sexu, a non-profit group that aims to make discussions around sexuality more fun and inclusive. That one is sold out on Lopez but we’re going to do another drop for it soon! That’s really awesome! What kicked off these charity tees that you’ve been working on? During covid when all the stuff was happening against Black and Asian communities, everyone was sharing posts and talking but I felt like it wasn’t helping much and was thinking like, “ok, so what’s next?” I was thinking about how I could actually take action and use my skills to do some good. In the example of Skateistan, that’s a culture that has always been so close to me since I was younger so being able to create t-shirts that can connect people with that culture and help those in need is so awesome to me. Love that you’ve found an avenue to use your skills to make a difference. Amongst your full time role as Art Director for Hudson’s Bay and all your freelance work, and thinking about your mental health, how do you keep organized and on top of everything? Set priorities. For me, it’s The Bay. So once I plan that out, I assess my time and be really critical about when I can take on other projects and then go down the priority list. Know your limits. We live in this culture where we see all these people saying “hustle hustle hustle”. We look down on “laziness” which is a word I hate because it makes people just work all the time. People value being busy too much and then become way too busy. Know your limits and what you want to do and stick within that. You’ve spoken about facing discrimination as an Asian man throughout your career. What was that like, especially when you were younger, and how did you get through that? I grew up in Montreal and I speak french but even being in that community, it’s not very accepting of Asian creatives. I realized a while back that none of my clients here are french. Clients in other cities and countries seem more stoked to speak to me. I’m not sure why that is but it feels different here. Quebec has a very particular style and is in their own thing. Maybe it’s the French thing, maybe not, but that was tough for me coming up. To be revered in this world as an Asian, you have to be this exceptional version of an Asian man. The ones who have a lot of clout are insanely amazing but you never hear about the good Asian creatives. Same thing if you’re Black or Middle Eastern or Indian or Arab. It sucks but I just kept pushing and knew that I could get to a place to make a difference. I’m luckily in a position today where I can start opening doors for other Asians and all the homies. This season for The Bay I cast all Asians. These people are already really good but just not tapped into enough. It’s amazing to be able to give people a chance with what I’m doing. That’s probably the best part of my job. It took me some time to get to where I am but I’m glad I had the path that I did because it’s forced me to get out of my comfort zone and I’ve built so much character through my work with others. Hudson's Bay Summer 21 Campaign Let’s show Asians some love! Who are 5 Asians doing incredible things that you admire? Tam Vu (artist): He’s doing great things for the vietnamese community Lian Benoit (photographer) She just left an agency to go solo. I just wrapped a job with her and she’s awesome. Yang Shi - She’s a model but also turned photographer with her partner. JG & Shi is their collective. Celia Spenard-Ko (art director): She’s like a sister to me. She lives in Paris and is the Art Director for Goodee which is an e-commerce platform for ethically minded consumers. Christian Chico : A homie in NY that always kills it at whatever he does. Some great names in there and others that we’ll need to check out! Given your many years of experience, what tips would you give to new artists or creatives looking to make a name for themselves in the space? The first thing I’d say is do your research and put in the hours. My work is a little crazy and non-traditional sometimes but I had to learn all the rules before I could start breaking them. A lot of young designers start with “I want to make all the wild stuff” and it can turn out poorly. Study up and pay attention to what’s out there. With that being said, to stand out, your work has to be a little bit jarring. It has to make someone feel like “woah, what’s happening here?”. Once you learn to be thoughtful in your design, you can break the rules and that will help you find your voice. Albert Nguyen for SSENSE x 88Rising Any tips on developing a unique point of view when crafting your voice as an artist? Inspiration comes from everywhere. Put down the phone and get outside and experience things around you. If you only get inspiration from what you see online, that’s what your stuff is going to look like. Get outside and get out of your comfort zone with stuff? Try new things. Don’t stay stagnant. Never stop experimenting. As expected, these are great tips. It seems obvious when you say it but it’s definitely easy to forget these things. Lastly, what’s coming up that you're excited about, whether in work or in life? I’m really excited about this charity work that’s coming out. The designs are awesome and the money is going to a great cause. I always get excited to see my nieces and nephews too. Something about kids sparks a lot of stuff for me. I’m also talking about moving to Ottawa. I need a change in scenery and somewhere quiet to create. I don’t need the big city anymore and I have tons of people in my network in Ottawa that are helping me find a spot. I’ll get out there soon I think! Make sure to follow Albert on Instagram for updates on his work and t-shirt releases and don’t forget to keep it locked to Pier Five for more interviews and stories with the coolest entrepreneurs, designers, artists, activists and more.

A Conversation With Chris Casuga of CNTRBND Chris Casuga is the owner of CNTRBND, one of Canada's premier boutiques for luxury street fashion. CNTRBND has 5 locations in Vancouver and Toronto and carries designer brands such as Raf Simons, Maison Margiela, Dries Van Noten and A-Cold-Wall. Casuga is also the owner of Off-White Toronto. @christphercasuga / @cntrbndofficial What are 5 of your favourite brands in the shop right now? I love the new brands coming for FW20 but my favourites are Dries Van Noten, Raf Simons, Maison Margiela, Readymade, Undercover. Who are 5 artists you're playing a lot in the shop right now? Definitely a lot of PARTYNEXTDOOR, Blood Orange, Young Troy, Aminé and Pusha T. What are 5 of your favourite trends that you're seeing from brands for FW20? Very into wide leg pants, puffer jackets, bold colours, layering and less all over logos. Can you share 5 tips for surviving COVID-19 as a retailer? I think it's very important to minimize fixed expenses and focus more on your online presence while doors are closed. Then, when the shops are open, create a safe and welcoming store atmosphere for customers, motivate sales staff and BE POSITIVE! What's in the rotation these days? Perhaps your 5 favourite pieces? My LV sneakers, Raf Simons cord bootcut pants, ALYX constructed shell jacket, UNDERCOVER wide leg dress pants and of course, a CNTRBND Toronto Hoodie. Any final thoughts on things before we go? Things are definitely tough right now with the amount of stores closing and also not being able to do in store events. It's hard to find excitement in retail right now which were, in the past, created by large crowds/customers but we're hopeful that things can get better. Just need to take it one day at a time!

Doing It His Way With Rae Mendoza of ICYT They say that pressure produces diamonds and this definitely shows through with Rae Mendoza and I'll Call You Tomorrow, his clothing brand and artist collective based out of Edmonton, AB that has been working hard to put their city on the map amongst the heavy hitters of Toronto, Vancouver and Montreal. We got the opportunity to chat with Rae about the growth of his collective, how it opened up new doors with his agency Tomorrow Works and tips he has for creatives looking to get noticed. Read some excerpts from the conversation below! Rae on Building Things His Way Being housed and running everything from our home city of Edmonton, Alberta is really freeing for us. It lets us build our community how we want to do it and not as a reflection of something else. We just love this challenge of building new infrastructure and new opportunities for people that resonate with our platform where they don't typically exist. It also just lets us be a bigger fish in a small pond. Rae on Working With Friends I was very fortunate from the start to just always be around just super talented people, whether it was photography, design, music, now tattooing and illustration. Once I started working with them though, I really quickly realized where now as a business owner working with my best friends, it's up to me to set those boundaries of like, "in this space we're professionals working together and I'm holding you accountable for deliverables, and we have a specific function we need to do, and then we can go back to being friends outside of that space." In terms of finding the right people, a lot of it comes down to that gut feeling of knowing that we see things eye to eye, whether it's like good product, good design, taste levels, community, or you just knowing that this person's honestly just a good person. Rae on Finding New Opportunities Tomorrow Works as an agency has this living portfolio that is always constantly putting out new work in the form of I'll Call You Tomorrow. The bulk of our business just comes from people seeing our brand and then knowing that they can do something similar for their brand and their business. It's such a small circle these days of who is interconnected, putting your work out there and just showing that what you can do and how you deliver it at a very high level is the most important thing. Most of those things will kind of just sort themselves out and come to you. Then as a consultant and on the agency side, it comes down to you being ready for those looks as they come. Rae on Passing The Torch We started noticing it happening now as me and my team, we're getting a little bit older, where young kids will come up to our events and our parties and they'll be like, "I'm 22 or 21 and the first pop up or cool art party that I ever went to was one of your events and now I'm starting my own t-shirt line or I want to do certain things in the streetwear and arts community because of that event" and seeing that grow outside of us is some true 'pass the torch' legacy type shit. That's the stuff that keeps me up at night that I love. Make sure to follow I'll Call You Tomorrow and Tomorrow Works on IG for news on all of their upcoming events, projects and clothing releases and keep it locked to Pier Five for more conversations with entrepreneurs coming soon.

A Conversation With Estudio Niksen Montreal-based fashion studio Estudio Niksen has been making a huge splash lately as curators and importers of some of the best international (mostly Korean & Japanese) fashion out there. Recent success has meant things are moving very quickly and as that continues, founders Andres and Gaby are mindful of moving at a pace that’s right for them and taking time to breathe. In comes Niksen, the “art of doing nothing”, a practice that the two have put at the forefront of their business to avoid burnout and ensure that they are creating a hub that fosters creativity while prioritizing wellness and inclusion. We got the chance to speak with Andres & Gaby about balancing passion and business, being a fashion label without an overt home-base, building international partnerships, how to do “baggy” the right way and of course, the art of doing nothing from their lens. You’ve spoken about the importance of finding a balance between making for yourself and making for them. How do you do this and have you found it difficult to accomplish as you grow? It’s definitely not easy. As you grow the business, it’s hard not to be swayed by the audience feedback and start thinking about what gets the most likes or engagement. A lot of people fall into the trap of creating for likes and not for yourself. We try to be very disciplined about this and try to make a habit of critically thinking about the moves we make. This is not to say that we just disregard how our audience might react to what we do but we just want to make sure that when we look at what the business has become in 5 years we aren’t too far about why we started this whole thing. How do you think about this balance from a financial perspective? Obviously we love everything we put out but we know there are products that will sustain the business and that customers will always come back for, while others that we get a little crazier with might not always sell the most but are fun for us. We obviously have to think about money but we try not to let it impact our decisions too much. Although Estudio Niksen is fairly new, you’ve both been in the design and art scene for quite a while. What made you want to go out and start your own project? Andres: I’ve always been really into Asian design and have spent a long time learning how to source pieces from countries like Korea or Japan. My friends used to start asking me to help them find pieces because they didn’t know how to find good designers out there and there was really nowhere here that you could find good and somewhat affordable stuff like that. Having been in fashion for a while I had often thought about starting my own project, mostly thinking about launching a brand, but I decided instead that my project would be curating these great pieces from around the world and bringing them to North America. I love putting people on stuff that I think is cool so this was the perfect opportunity to do this at a bigger scale. Having Gaby with me has been huge for Estudio Niksen as well. Her background is in art history and museology and she handles all the design and art direction in the homewares part of the business which is super important for the brand. What are the best and worst things about running a fashion business out of Montreal? The best thing is that it’s small so word spreads a bit more easily and everyone is super tight. I guess that can also be a bad thing though sometimes since you can get boxed into a small scene. Since we’re importing and selling domestically and internationally though, we don’t really get labeled as a “Montreal brand” but people do think it’s cool when they learn that we’re based here. We’ll sell to people in Los Angeles and they have no clue that they’re shopping on a Canadian site until they get tracking from Montreal [laughs]. It’s interesting what you say about not necessarily needing to stake your claim as a “Montreal Brand” and we can see this in how diverse all of the work you put out is. Absolutely! We have roots from all over, like I’m from Venezuela and live in Montreal and love Korean fashion. We’ve kind of found our land in this no-man's-land. Gaby is the same way. We’ll try to mix things up as much as possible with different models, different languages and different styles. Estudio Niksen is meant to be a hub for people with shared passions and diverse cultures so it doesn’t really matter where we’re based. Especially with social media and the internet, we can share things with people all over the world, no matter who they are or where they’re from. Can you talk about the process of connecting with small/independent designers around the world to bring in products for Estudio Niksen? For sure. It’s a pretty crazy experience. We’ve probably spoken to over 250 small creators around the world and bought from maybe 40 of them. We’ve learned how to communicate with them and get deals done which took some time. Really a lot of it just boils down to money overseas. If you can pay for an order, that’s what will open doors but then once we’re in, we really try to build and foster relationships with the designers. The brand's name Niksen comes from the “art of doing nothing”. Why was that important to you and the project? Andres: I’ve been an extrovert my entire life. My dad used to always tell me that I had to learn more about being with myself. I do like doing a lot but I’ve also learned to enjoy having my own time and space. A few years ago I discovered the idea of Niksen “doing nothing” and I’ve been following it ever since. I think it’s super relevant along the lines of mental health and entrepreneurship, saying that it’s ok to take time to reset and that you don’t always have to be going at full speed 24/7. Niksen flows into the products we curate as well. The clothes are comfortable and approachable and we lean on the living space designs as well to create comfort in our daily spaces. Can you give us a 5 step guide to “doing nothing”? There isn’t really a guide or one way to “do” Niksen. It’s a mindset that you practice and design for yourself over a long time. That being said, I can share some tips that might help someone looking to start. The first thing is curating an environment that you feel comfortable in alone and without distractions. That space could be your home, the park, the movies or wherever but make sure it’s someone you always feel good in and can relax in. Once you’re in your space, put your phone down, get away from the distractions and just do nothing. I know it sounds weird and it might be strange to do at first but you just need to do nothing without purpose. Niksen isn’t something you achieve. Once you find what works for you, keep at it. Practice makes perfect and overtime it will feel more comfortable and become more effective. We will definitely be trying this! Next question; can pants be too baggy? Haha, that is a great question. We definitely have some big pants on the site which we love but yes, pants can be too baggy. If you’re going to wear baggy, be intentional with it. Understand the environment that these baggy styles come from. Think about what shoes and what tops look good with baggy pants so you can get the outfit right. Overall, we’re super excited that baggy is becoming more accepted. There has always been a stigma around baggy pants, associating it with sloppiness and people always thought tighter was better. We’re glad to see more people wearing baggier clothes. It’s more comfortable and, if done right, can look really cool. So true! Lastly, what are you guys excited about next for Estudio Niksen? With covid restrictions loosening up, we’re very excited to get people together and start doing more events. We often think about how we would be able to connect with people and run the brand if Instagram or the internet didn’t exist. It’d be in person, face to face interactions. That’s what we want more of. We also have some exciting new collaborations coming up with Canadian talent before the end of the year. The first one of the batch just dropped with Wayhome which was some really cool hand sewn patchwork pieces. More stuff at that caliber is coming soon. Oh, and more wide pants [laughs]! For updates on new releases and events coming from Estudio Niksen, follow their Instagram and keep it locked to Pier Five for more interviews and stories with the coolest entrepreneurs, designers, artists, activists and more.

Spice Girl Chai Spice Girl Chai Who: Rebecca Pereira Where: Toronto, ON Instagram Website How would you use the $10,000 CAD fund for your business? See All Winners