Our editor, Kevin Bourne, had the opportunity to catch up with Toronto fashion designer, Dean Ellis, to talk about his style icons and favourite designers, trends for fall and advice for people wanting to get into the fashion business. Kevin Bourne: How did you get your start in fashion? Dean Ellis: The start of Ellis Esq., was birthed out of need as I had just been laid off after eight years with Royal Bank. I simply didn’t want to waste any more time building someone else dreams. I had been giving it thought for some time and after years of…
Author: Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne
Kevin Bourne is the co-founder and editor of SHIFTER magazine. Born and raised in Toronto, Kevin currently resides in Ottawa with his wife Koliah and their three children. He's a big fan of hip-hop, pop culture, and urbanism and spends most of his time keeping up with the Kardashians.
Name: Matt Dyck Home Base: Whitby, ON Past and present creative icons: Most of the artists that I look up to are the ones that have built themselves up to the point where they can illustrate/design/paint what they are personally interested in. Not confined to taking jobs simply because it means getting paid. Jeff Norwell is a great example of that. He loves hot-rods and the culture that goes along with it, and primarily works with companies and individuals that are in need of that type of work. It’s probably safer for me to say that I’m more influenced by…
Columnist John Lincoln recently wrote a rather thorough article for Marketing Land about how to become an influencer in your industry. “Influencers are the people others come to for advice. They have a genuine, loyal following because they add real value to their industries. Influencers have insight and actionable information, and because of that they attract the eye of even major brands. In short: Influencers have power. It’s possible that someday soon you will have an amazing service, product or idea that will change your industry forever — or maybe you already do. Perhaps you already have a startup for…
A series of short films stood out among the numerous masterpieces presented during the Ottawa International Animation Festival (or OIAF). A tremendous amount of directors and film students proved that they understood the potential of animated films and succeeded at giving us some of the most amazing work our team has seen this year. It would be impossible for us to cover every single one of the short films that deserve a mention but we believe it is our duty to give credit where it is due regardless. In order to honor the short film competitions, we put together a…
Directed by Scott Cooper, written by Jez Butterworth, starring Johnny Depp and Joel Edgerton “Black Mass follows the adult life of notorious South Boston gangster James ‘Whitey’ Bulger, his incredible rise to power in the criminal underworld of Boston and his eventual fall from grace.” Black Mass sees a return to form for the Academy Award winning actor, Johnny Depp. After years of mediocre to absolutely abysmal performances, Depp shines as the ruthless and notorious gangster, physically transforming and embodying the character. Supported by an outstanding cast and a chilling soundtrack, Depp carries the lacklustre story of Black Mass and…
North America’s largest animation festival took over Canada’s capital last week in what turned out to be a fantastic gathering of fans and industry professionals. Whether you’re into action, drama, romance or comedy, we can guarantee you that the Ottawa International Animation Festival had something for you. From September 16th to September 20th, the audience was pleased and charmed by the multitude and variety of short films, presentations and feature length films. SHIFT Magazine was lucky to attend a few screenings and talk to a few fans. As expected, the festival delivered. From the short film competitions to the conferences,…
We recently had the opportunity to attend the 20th installment of the Honey Jam concert, a program and annual concert for young Canadian female artists, produced annually by PhemPhat Entertainment Group. In its first 20 years, Honey Jam has gone on to help musicians like Nelly Furtado, Jully Black, Anjulie and Melanie Fiona get their start. The concert, featuring live performances from featured artists from 14 to 24 years old from across Canada, took place at The Mod Club in Toronto. All participants will receive a free music workshop, vocal training, and an A&R consultation from Universal Music Canada. The…
Koliah Bourne recently had the opportunity to chat with actor, rapper, poet, and playwright Anthony McLean about his recent documentary Colour Me, finding his voice, and his non-profit iEngage, a bullying awareness education program. Anthony has appeared as a guest speaker on CityTV’s Breakfast Television, Global Toronto’s Morning Show, 680 News, CTV News and CBC’s Here and Now. He is currently writing a book about bullying entitled Before You Send Your Kids To School. Koliah Bourne: So tell me a bit about iEngage? What is your organization? What is that about? How did that come about? Anthony McLean: So I…
I discovered at a very young age that I loved writing, but that, of course, came after I discovered that I loved reading. Throughout the years, there have been many writers who have influenced my thought life and stretched me to think deeper on certain issues, whether it be racism, religion and spirituality, the environment, global warming, or world economics. And that’s what I love about writing; it is a powerful form of knowledge sharing and, in some cases, a call to action. Let’s look at three of the many steps to becoming an influential writer. Be a Reader Stephen…
Our editor, Kevin Bourne, recently had the opportunity to sit down with former backup dancer to the stars turned politician, Gregory Hines NDP candidate in the Greater Toronto Area, to talk about being a professional dancer, the entertainment industry and his new path as a politician. Kevin: So we’re here with Greg Hines (not with the world famous Gregory Hines), but this is another Greg Hines who is also a dancer. So we’re talking today because he’s not just a dancer, he’s now a political candidate for the NDP party in the Markham-Stouffville riding. Just for full disclosure, he is…
There’s a new brand of influencer in town- the maker. And there’s a whole new culture forming around these entrepreneurial creatives. From the success of e-commerce platform etsy to the growing number of makerspaces popping up all over the world from Berlin to Sydney, an ecosystem is forming that’s allowing craftsmen and craftswomen to create and present their work to consumers in an unprecedented way. One of the key cogs in this ecosystem is the makers market. Although the market place continues to be highly globalized, there’s a growing type of discerning consumer that wants to “buy local”. As a…
It’s a writer’s world. Digital and self-publishing have transformed the ease and speed of which writers can share their message with readers. Amazon quickly proves this fact with the more than 32 million books that it hosts on its global distribution platform. Yet, if you spoke to them, more than half of these authors will tell you that the success they looked forward to experiencing with the release of their books did not pan out the way they expected. That leads me to the five things I’d like to share with you today. There are some key things that all…
