Ten Years of June 23rd!

Today is a special day! It's been ten years since my friend Emily and I took our first photobooth pictures together.  Before June 23, 2003 I had only used a photobooth a handful of times. Something about that particular day inspired me to start actively collecting/ art making.

By June 23, 2004, Emily and I realized how fundamental those original pictures were to my collection so we decided to re-enact them and we've been doing it ever since.

After high school, I moved to Calgary and Emily moved to Halifax, so we started taking the photos bi-annually, during our winter breaks in Edmonton. We also took long distance photos, where we took our halves respectively and sent them to each other. In 2011, I moved to Halifax, where Emily still lives, which made the series a little simpler.

This is my half of the collection, Emily's pictures are of us with big smiles and with monster faces. This year we took the photos early when Emily visited Montreal, it was the first time we ever took them twice in a row, because as you can see, the booth was in need of a chemical change in the second last photo.

It's sad to say, but in two years colour photobooths will almost entirely disappear. (The paper hasn't been manufactured since 2007 and it's projected to run out by summer 2015.) But I'm hopeful that Emily and I will find a way to keep our tradition alive.

A Royal Birthday

Last Friday was my birthday and I was happy to celebrate it in Montreal. My sister hosted a really lovely brunch for me and I got spoiled with a few antique gifts that I thought I'd share here.

Firstly, I asked for this Air Mail envelope back in October and was delighted to receive it from my grandma. I haven't done much research on it, but it's the only black striped Air Mail I've ever seen. It's definitely from Austria but has American imagery on it.

For the Winter Solstice, I got this tin from my Aunty Annette, it's a very detailed and rare tin of George V and Queen Mary (Victoria's grandson and Elizabeth's grandparents). At the time it was the oldest in my collection. It spurred my interest a couple weeks ago to look for others from the same period.

After a not-so-subtle hint to my mother, she 'surprised' me with this little delight. It's from the Coronation of Edward VII and  Queen Alexandra in 1902 and originally held chocolates. (Edward was Victoria's son and the father of George V). Perhaps mostly strikingly, teal was a very uncommon colour on British monarch tins and the reds have held up well.

Next, I bought this one of George V and Mary for myself. I hadn't planned on it but an unknowing seller on eBay listed it for only $8 (in antique stores, this would go for about $75.) It's from 1911 and is incredible condition.

And lastly my grandmother got me this little gem (also an eBay steal) of again the Coronation of Edward VII and Alexandra.  It's so tiny and precious and is my favourite of the bunch.

In between Prince William and King Edward VII, I have tins from six generations of the royal family. The only British monarch that I don't have a tin of is Queen Victoria (they're aren't any that pre-date her reign.) I was researching her  and searching for deals online when I decided to take a little break from this collection and save that last piece of the puzzle for next year. It will be something to look forward to.

You can see some of my other tins from this collection here.

Moved and Settled

I'm finally moved and settled! Seven days ago I arrived in Montreal and moved into my sister's place, which seriously reduced the amount of usual moving stress and worry. She already has everything! 

I'm living on a busy street, conveniently very close to a Metro station, which conveniently has a photobooth! YES, I'M LESS THAN A ONE MINUTE WALK FROM A PHOTOBOOTH. This will significantly improve the quality of life.

Here's a photo taken from the balcony, that bump on the horizon is Mont Royal.

My schedule has been quite upside down for two weeks now, so I'm really looking forward to getting back into a routine. It took me a full week to sort, pack and store all my belongings at my parents' house. I thoroughly went through all my possessions, made an inventory list and thoughtfully packed the things that I'm keeping but don't immediately need.

I gave away, threw out and recycled 25 large garbage bags worth of stuff! Who knew I had that much non-essential stuff?

While going through my belongings, I found so many funny, accidental collections. It seems that I've been gathering little things over the years, not knowing how many of them I actually had until taking this big inventory. For example, I apparently really liked wood grain MacTac for collages, as I had about 6 different "wood finishes." I also had a lot of vintage wallpaper samples, here are just the gold coloured ones. I didn't keep these things, but I did keep this accidental collection of vintage Canadian buttons. 

I have seriously slimmed down my life's possessions and feel much lighter and freer. And for the time being, I also feel repelled from amassing too many more things... we'll see how long this lasts for.

Incoming Mail...

About a week ago, I had a meltdown when a Photoshop file malfunctioned and I lost a weekend's worth of work. So what did I do? Well, after I held my head in my palms and rocked back and forth for ten minutes, I scooped myself a heaping bowl of ice cream and logged onto eBay.

These airmail envelopes were the damage I did that night.

Firstly, in honor of the place I'm temporarily calling home, I bought this Chicago envelope from 1986. 

Next, in the spirit of the American election, I bought an original set of these JFK envelopes. My most beloved pen pals may actually receive a letter in one.

Then I went on an international kick and bought these from Brazil, I love the yellow stripes, I don't have any others like them in my collection.

Next is this pair from Israel, I really enjoy the Hebrew text.

And lastly, these four different ones from Poland, I really like the graphic design of the postage stamps.

I have a rule that I don't spend more than $10 on an envelope, including the cost of shipping. Usually they are a lot less (the first one from Chicago was $0.25, for example.) I mention this because I exercised a whole lot of restraint by not buying this black Austrian envelope with beautiful line work and the most fiercesome stamp I've ever seen. If anyone feels like buying it for me, my birthday is only 6 months and ten days away.

You can check out other envelopes in my vintage airmail collection here.

Cameras, Collecting & Chicago

Where to start?

Well, I arrived in Chicago almost two weeks ago and it’s been a whirlwind of activity. Finally things are starting to level out. I’ve got a good sense for the city and I’m starting to carve out a routine. Personally, it's been so nice to see some old friends here and I've had a lot of support, particularly from the improv community with settling in for these few  months. I’ve spent most of my time at A&A Studios, where I’m doing an internship. I’m helping out with a few projects at the studio, while still doing my regular illustration/ design jobs for Canadian clients. The studio is the perfect backdrop to work on my graphic novel, it's filled with inspiration- gems from bygones eras, analogue technology and smatterings of little collections everywhere.

Anthony, the President of A&A has let me loose on a beautiful Model 11 they have in the showroom. He put colour paper and chemicals in the machine for my visit. I’ve used a lot of colour machines that have been converted to B&W but never the other way around before, so it’s been a nice treat. I’ve been experimenting with the exposure, filters, acetates, magnifying plastic, mirrors and backgrounds. You can see a selection of my shots at my flickr.

Originally the plan was that Anthony would teach me how to service a chemical photobooth, the plan has since evolved so that together we'll re-build one. It’ll be the best way for me to learn the ins and outs of these machines. This is the booth we are starting with, there’s not much there and I’m sure I will get very messy figuring this thing out.  I have no doubt that it’ll make interesting content for my book.

Speaking of the book, I’m happy to say that Julia Caron has signed on as my editor. Julia is the journalist who produced the CBC Radio story about photobooths in the spring.  She is an excellent writer and we know from the radio story that we work well together. 

And lastly, I’ve got some fun news to share but I should keep my lips sealed for another few days as the last details are finalized. But for the sake of intrigue I'll tell you that it involves a plane ride, an all-nighter, a couple of photobooths and probably some kissing too.

Cyberspace Acquisitions

Before I left for Newfoundland I did some online shopping. I have practical applications in mind for each of the things I bought, but if I'm really honest with myself, I just plain like collecting. I also love a full mailbox, so knowing that these three parcels were waiting for me upon my return was very exciting.

Firstly I bought these vintage photobooth pictures of the same woman but taken on three different days (you have to look closely at her clothes to tell.) I bought them in order to digitally collage them for some promotional materials for a project... but also because they're great.

Secondly, I finally bought "Photobooth Dogs." I already have almost every other book published on photobooths and was holding out on buying this one because ... (I'm about to become very unlikeable) ... I don't like dogs. In fact I like dogs so little that I haven't actually opened this book yet, though hopefully it holds tidbits of information that will prove insightful while I'm researching my book. 

And lastly, I bought these envelopes (on the left) for my Mail Art recipients. I like them because they have no text and the planes are red and green, instead of red and blue. Both these facts make these envelopes particularly unique. I can't wait to start using them! On the right are some of the envelopes that I've gradually bought, mostly from Etsy and eBay over the year and a half.

Souvenirs from Newfoundland

I've been in Newfoundland for a week now and I'm sure happy I came. The history of this province is sure amazing, and seeing as how they only joined Confederation in 1949, their ties to England and Ireland are stronger here than anywhere else in Canada. I'm a sucker for anything vintage with the British royal family on it and it's no surprise that I love the postal system - so naturally I instantly fell in love with these stamps! They are from 1949 and earlier, when the province was still the Republic of Newfoundland. I bought two packs, one of used stamps and another in mint condition. My heart melts for these things. I'm going antiquing in St. John's today, with any luck my heart will be a soupy mess in the bottom of my chest by the end of the day.

Krista Leger took this photo for me last year when she was helping me document some of my collections for a blog I was contributing to. I didn't buy these in NFLD, they're just evidence of my love for royal family memorabilia. (This photo is of George V, Edward VIII, George VI + Queen Mother and Elizabeth II.)

I also stumbled on this amazing shop, Our Humble Abode. It's filled with mostly goods for the home, some of which are made by local artists. I bought this mug to add to my collection of "cups-I-like-too-much-to-drink-out-of-so-I keep-pens-in-them-instead."

My Feline Valentine

Last week Hank, my beloved cat, asked me if I would be his Valentine. I thought this was pretty romantic of him, considering our relationship is already quite serious (we sleep together every night, you know.) I, of course said yes and started my search for a cat appropriate Valentine. Late that night I woke up to see Hank using my computer, though I couldn’t make out what was on the screen. I pretended to be asleep.

Well, this morning Hank and I exchanged gifts and boy does he know me well! He ordered this beautiful, collectible, embossed, vintage Airmail envelope for me off ebay. (Seriously, click on it to see the details.) I gave Hank this equally beautiful vintage Valentine and a heart-shaped bag of cat treats. Hank's gift will be added to my rare Airmail envelope collection soon, as seen in the bottom right photo.

Positives Attract

About three years ago, on a trip to Vancouver I bought a couple magnets from The Regional Assembly of Text, probably my favourite store ever. I liked them so much that every time I visited Vancouver I made sure to buy a few more. They’re made from vintage papers, rubber stamps and a 1 ½ inch button maker, with a magnet glued to where the pin would be. I eventually bought enough that could spell my first, middle and last name with a few odd letters leftover. I love anagrams and I take an odd pleasure in rearranging these magnets to spell various words.

This fall I found out that the Student Union at NSCAD (the University I’m at) has a 1 ½ inch button maker that students can use for the tiny fee of $0.30 a button! I got so excited at the prospect of making my own lettered magnets that I started to collect alphabet stamps and dead-stock accounting paper, to best mimic my store bought ones. (And no, I don’t want to put The Regional Assembly of Text out of business, it’s just that it might be many years until I visit Vancouver again.)

In the last two months I’ve made about 45 magnets, ensuring I can spell just about any short phrase that comes to mind. I’m going to make more this week of numbers zero to nine and then that’s it, I’m cutting myself off!

For now, it is clear to me that I have gone bananas for magnets and that my collection has far exceeded my little metal white board. But one day I’m sure I’ll be the proud owner of a vintage avocado refrigerator that will undoubtedly double as a playful message board.

Four for the Day

I’m pleased as punch to be this week’s guest artist on Four for the Day. Visit the site daily to see the new collection I’ll post every day this week!

I’m also delighted to have received the help of my friend (and photographer) Krista Leger. Krista gave up her Saturday to help me document the collections that I’ll be showing on Four for the Day. Here’s an “action shot” she snapped while I was arranging today’s collection.


In other news… I was not very attentive to the blog in June because I’ve been knee deep in professional and personal projects. In about a month’s time a fun and frenzied storm of updates should hit this blog as the projects are completed and can be shared. Stay tuned and enjoy the sunny days!

Writing Right: Three Months In!

Well I can’t believe April is over and I’m one year older. Where has the time gone? Sometimes I feel like I get so caught up in all the tiny things that make life beautiful that I forget about the bigger picture. Apparently I was living inside of a bell jar for the last month because I really can’t fathom that it is May already.

Anyhow, one of the projects that I happily get lost in is my ambidextrous training. Here’s this month’s drawing video. I am definitely improving but still have leaps and bounds to go!

And speaking of beautiful little things, at the end of June I’ll be the contributor at Four For The Day. I mention it now so any readers who haven’t heard of the website can check it out sooner rather than later. The site/project is the creation of Winnipeg artist, S. Arden Hill and put simply, each week a new artist presents four of something for every day of the week for one year. The results are pretty fascinating.

April’s Showers Bring May’s Flowers

It’s true that it has been raining quite a bit here in Halifax, but I mean the title of this post a bit more metaphorically. I’ve been investing a lot of time into some endeavours that will hopefully pay off. I’ve also taken a two week vacation from the FOUND Photobooth series as I’ve been applying for grants and planning parties. Here’s what I’ve been up to…

Firstly, I’ve been taking acrobatics classes through the Halifax Circus and just love it to bits. I’m astonished at the muscle mass, flexibility and new friends I’ve gained in such a short period of time! The acrobatics, combined with doing yoga daily have revived a connection that I lost with my body during my student and traveling years. Anyway, I’ve been dedicating a lot of time to working out and soon as I master the perfect backhand-spring, I’ll post video here.

Secondly, it’s my birthday in a few days and I’ve decided to throw myself a Wes Anderson themed birthday! I’ve been sitting at my sewing machine working on my costume and some decorations. Here’s the invite I made to mimic Eric Anderson’s drawing style on the dvd cases. I’ll share some photos of the party here.

Thirdly, this past Wednesday I was running some errands and decided to pop into an intriguing antique shop I’d never been in before. I didn’t really know what I was looking for and generally speaking this is a high risk situation for me and my wallet. I got chatting with the owner about British Royal Family tins (which I collect), and she told me how the CBC had called that morning, looking to do a story on young people’s interest in the Royal Family, which she was convinced, there was none. Lone behold on my out of the shop I bump into said CBC crew and they decide to showcase me in the story. We filmed in the shop and I shared my knowledge of Royal Family memorabilia. (The expression “bull in a china shop” could just as easily be “camera guy in an antique shop”). When we finished they asked if they could come home with me to see the rest of my collection, I said yes of course and thanked a higher power for sending me the impulse to clean my bedroom that morning. Long story short, the bit will air nationally during the dinner hour and all throughout the day on the CBC 24h News Channel on Wednesday the 27th.

Lastly, my friend Becky Johnson, who is incredible in a spectrum of ways does a craft tour across North America every summer but this year her beloved car died. She is raising money so that the trip is still possible and she offers many sweet deals for your dough. The fundraiser only lasts another 5 days, visit here to learn more about it and to donate!

A Glimpse into my Collections

To my knowledge, I own more things than any person I know my age. This is for a few reasons. Firstly, I have moved eleven times in my adult life, and each move has required the purchasing of new furniture and what not. Inevitably things get confused between all the moves and needless to say I have four tea kettles, three cheese graters, fifty dish towels, a humidifier, a dehumidifier... you get the idea. Then there is also the matter that I am an interdisciplinary artist and craftsperson, and have just about every art + craft supply you can imagine. And then there is the art... oh, the woes of storing sculptures. However, I also have a lot of things because, well, I like things. I’m very tactical and garner a lot of pleasure from one-of-a-kind objects, particularly of the vintage assortment. Above is a collection I just started of old Air Mail envelopes.


As far back as I can remember I’ve been interested in collecting and organizing. As a child I collected “cool” cat posters, as a pre-teen I collected porcelain dolls, as a very awkward teenager I collected anything (and everything) Anime, and as an adult I have a few very specific vices. As I am always on the go and haven’t had a home of my own in a year and half to display my collectable goods I thought I would do a show & tell here. (Click on the images to see larger versions.)


I have quite a bit of Canadiana memorabilia from the 50’s to 80’s including many pieces from the Centennial, Expo 67 and the Montreal and Calgary Olympics. Though, currently my most prominent collection would have to be Queen Elizabeth II Coronation tins and other commemorative tins, trays and dishes from her Silver Jubilee and other royal visits to Canada. I do have a small assortment of older tins from other members of the royal family including George V, George VI and the Queen Mother. Next on my wish list is a commemorative tin (but I may have to settle for a chocolate or cigar box) of King Edward VIII, which are very rare because he was only King for eleven months and because most of his items are in more serious collections due to his affiliation with Nazi Germany. I love their colour palettes, design aesthetics and the histories behind them. The photos reflect about half the tins in of my collection. (Note the antique toy sewing machine is named “Little Queen”, adorable!)


When collecting, it’s important to me to have the whole experience. I don’t find it very satisfying to acquire something just because you can, so I don’t buy things online. (For this reason I don’t collect things that are common either, like bookmarks or rocks.) I sometimes shop at antique shops or markets but I prefer to go to flea markets because there’s nothing like the feeling of finding a diamond in the rough and bartering for a deal. Though if anybody wants to give me a Queen Elizabeth II tin, I promise I won’t object.

"Femme Avec Un Chapeau Rouge" Series

This project requires a bit of back tracking to explain it best. In 2002 I was looking through some old magazines in art class, in a French haut-couture magazine from the early 90’s I found a grainy but captivating image. I wasn’t sure what it was but something about this woman dining with this huge red hat really fascinated me. In 2003 I tried to paint the image to the best of my abilities in acrylic paint. In 2005 I found the image again and thought it would be an interesting experiment to paint the photograph again as a measure of my artistic growth, this time in oil paint. In 2006, I had a university painting class where the teacher had asked us to work with repetition. I decided to test my painting skills, but also artistic range once again and painted the “Femme avec un Chapeau Rouge” over twenty times in various mediums and styles. Above is the original magazine image (I drew on the horizontal and vertical lines in 2003 for reference) and the first and second attempts. On the right are a select few of my attempts from 2006.


In the fall of 2009 I spent a month in France. While I was there I was looking for non-digital photobooths (a personal passion of mine, see old post) and was visiting more booths than normal, though I didn’t necessarily have ideas every time I was taking pictures. A week into my trip, in the children’s section of the gift shop for the Musée D’Orsay I found a mask. Being in France and seeing this red had, I was automatically reminded of the magazine photo from years before. For the rest of the trip the mask and signature pose of the woman became a default pose for me while photoboothing. Since returning to Canada I’ve played around with the background in these photos because the background in the original photo is very non-descript and it was always a difficult formal decision to make when painting. The mask is conveniently light and small so it’s been ideal to bring it with me for my other travels this year. I brought the mask on my latest trip to Ontario, Quebec, New York, Massachusetts and Illinois. I’m also going to bring it with me while touring an improv show across Canada in May and when I visit Australia and Japan in July.

Here are some pictures I have taken with the mask during my travels so far.

The next step in the project is to do a stop-motion photobooth animation, done in a similar style to an animation I made with artist Pamela Norrish last year, which you can check out here.

Photobooth Pictures in Art and Abroad

Anyone who knows me knows of my passion/ obsession with photobooths. I’ve been collecting non-digital photobooth pictures for seven years now and have thousands of pictures. Taking and collecting photos is primarily a hobby but I have also used them in my artwork. I store my photos in archival plastic sheets and have divided them into four categories; Found Photos, Donated Photos, Film Stills (more on this later) and Self Portraits. I own almost all the published books on the subject matter and I’m especially interested in their history. This summer when I travelled to Australia I was happy to hunt for the remaining non-digital booths in Sydney for Photobooth.net’s Locator feature on their website. I was curious about what I would be able to find in Europe. At one time the continent’s train stations and streets were rampant with “Photoautomats” but today they have been almost entirely replaced with easier to maintain digital booths. In Paris I visited a few booths that are owned by businesses committed to preserving these iconic machines but it was only in Berlin that I found the occasional classic black & white “dip’n’dunk” booth in the streets.


Nevertheless, Paris was a real photobooth highlight for me because the Centre de Georges Pompidou had a very thoroughly curated exhibition titled “La Subversion des Images” or “The Subversion of Images” which featured Surrealist photography and film. The exhibition had original photobooth pictures by famous Surrealists such as Paul Eluard, André Breton, Louis Aragon, René Magritte, Yves Tanguy, Luis Brunel, Salivador Dali and others, taken for both fun and to use in their artwork.


Top photo is of the Fotoautomat in the Palais de Tokyo in Paris. Bottom picture is of René Magritte's "Je ne vois pas la [femme] cachée dans la forêt", 1929.