The last big project I contributed to in 2009 was both a pleasure and a privilege. Not only did I get to work with humbly hip agency Cloudraker, but I also got a sneak peak into arguably one of the next decade’s most groundbreaking tourism/resort development: Le Massif de Charlevoix.
The brainchild of Cirque du Soleil [...]

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A couple of months ago the guys at Dynamo called me up about a fun project. Longtime web masters for the Jewish General Hospital Foundation, they were asked to design a site for one man’s 4-month bicycle odyssey to raise money for the JGH Skin Cancer Centre. This was the second site they would design [...]

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The windows are framed in black tile, there’s a rabbit on the stove, bresaola in the cooler and a rack of patés that inspire drooling even at 10 am. Free-range white Cornish hens, Strasbourg terrine, pork and duck rillettes are the specials on a chalkboard. The windowpanes are adorned with depictions of pigs in various [...]

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It’s funny. When I first conducted this study of the new upper class and why they found the world of Intrawest resorts so appealing, the network was at its peak. That was 2004, before Intrawest founders sold the company to Fortress (August 11, 2006) and laughed all the way to the bank. The last chapter [...]

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Try to communicate what makes you you in the span of an elevator ride. Invariably every company has to, which is why it’s referred to as an “elevator speech.” For Tact Publicité, their spiel came to me as naturally as a crush and was  inspired by what I know of their employees: passionate, willing to [...]

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“A muse has the power to set the mind aflame and strip the imagination of all inhibition.”

“Speaking to the many artists who owe the world’s most treasured works to muses of infinite variety, the brand ‘Muse’ immediately positions the drink in the realm of sacred substances. There is mystery inherent to the role and at [...]

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“Hamlet” is an heirloom word, given to the English by the French. A diminutive for hamel, meaning “little village,” a true hamelet is in fact much smaller than any village. In some instances, it can be as small as a nine-hole golf course.
At a time when most real estate developments are on hold, precarious or [...]

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Of all the self-made people I have come across in my life and career, Altitude Concepts founder Jean-François Grenier is by far the most unforgettably enthusiastic. What makes him so unforgettable is how he is able to contain, manage and channel his enthusiasm into meticulously organized, outstandingly creative events for an impressively diverse roster of [...]

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“When the world is your oyster, it is only fitting that your home be a pearl.”
In the hospitality world, few names are shrouded in as much mystery and luxury as Raffles. The original Singapore flagship was a destination for journeyers of royal, noble and notorious background for over a century. Writing for Raffles’ recent acquisition [...]

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The redevelopment of Montreal’s oldest Irish ghetto by Devimco (creators of the Quartier DIX30 on Highway 10) has been a hot topic for front page news, debate and speculation since the project was first leaked. Working closely with architect/master planner Eric Kuhne and his team from Civic Arts in London, I was brought in to [...]

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