Michael grew up in Toronto in the Forest Hill neighbourhood, a well-known area to the Jewish Community. One of my favourite stories he told me about his childhood is how he started to draw pretty girls in dresses as a kid, not knowing why or where it would lead him later in life. It was very clear that he always had a knack for putting looks together and creating a wearable and contemporary piece of art.

Fast forward a few years, we decided to move back to Toronto to start a new life together, and that’s when a lot of Michael’s visions started to come to life. With the unprecedented pandemic in 2020, Michael was forced to create his own avenue of creative expression and thus followed the conception of his own label JAFINE. During a time where a lot of us were locked and creatively stunted, JAFINE helped a lot of our pent of creative energy to be released. Michael created the designs and I helped photograph them. We became a power duo, and new faces to the fashion industry in Toronto. It wasn’t long before he caught the attention of AHIRI.

From the inception of the brand, to which he is now head designer for, Ahiri has been an incredible opportunity for Michael to share his Creative DNA. From the “Butterfly“ Dress to the “Genevieve” Dress, Watching him unfold his creative potential has been incredible, and it goes without saying this man is truly inspiring and a testament to what hard work, passion, and tenacity can do.

-Written by Jampol Taborda Ahiri 

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Which ‘hood are you in?

Central Downtown Toronto

What do you do?

I am a Fashion Designer, Photographer, Stylist, and Artist. My designs have been published in Elle Canada, Fashion Canada, The Kit, Globe & Mail. My personal focus is on luxury womenswear, creating unique well-crafted pieces that transcend trends and make strong fashion statements. At Ahiri, I design accessible womenswear which is sold online. I like to incorporate all of my art and design skills into all of my projects, whether it’s designing a collection, photographing a campaign, or styling celebrities/talent for film & tv.

What are you currently working on?

I’m always working, whether it is on my new collection as Head Designer for Ahiri, completing custom couture creations for my personal clientele, producing fashion editorial campaigns, even photographing them as well, it’s never a dull moment and always busy!

Where can we find your work?

You can find my work on my website or my Instagram. You can also find my designs for Ahiri available for purchase here or on Amazon CA.

The post “A Day in the Life” with Multi-Faceted Fashion Designer Michael Jafine appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Born and raised in Georgetown, Ontario, Manhire moved to Toronto in 2003 to attend the Toronto Film School for acting. After graduation, he worked in the city as a photo assistant on commercial, TV and film shoots to hone his photography skills. He became known for creating striking images that heighten senses and has had his photographs published in global advertising campaigns. In 2012 he made the move to the advertising industry to direct commercials. Matthew gained an interest in new filming technologies and a love for creative directing. In 2022 Matthew launched Manhire Media, an independent creative company that focuses on virtual production for commercial, film and TV use. Matthew has directed commercials for brands including Sport Chek, Facebook, McDonald’s, Nike, Ford, Bell Media, Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment, ALS Society and Big Brothers & Big Sisters of Canada, to name a few.

Manhire also directed the short film FLAMES that currently touring the global festival circuit and will be available to watch later this year. Manhire has already won multiple awards for the short film including Best Director at the Berlin Indie Film Festival, Best Short at the Toronto CIFT Fest and Best Director at the Dubai Film Festival.

-Written by Michelle Easton, publicist

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Which ’hood are you in?

I’ve been in and around Parkdale for about 15 years now. The neighbourhood and I have really grown and blossomed together. Recently my wife and I bought a cabin in the Kawartha’s that we’ve been redesigning together. As my desire to find a better balance of city and nature evolves, the lines of my “hood” are becoming a bit grey for the first time in a while.

What do you do?

I’m an independent director, mostly in the commercial world. I currently have a short film (Flames) touring globally on the festival circuit. I think the message of the film resonates a lot with the current accelerating dialogue around masculinity and conflict. It’s been so rewarding to see the film blossom and create conversation! Lately, I’ve been predominately focused on the virtual medium and shooting projects on a volume wall with 3D digital environments. After three years of research and development, I’m feeling confident about the possibilities of integrating this field more and more into filmmaking.

What are you currently working on?

Myself and the amazing creative team over at Life Long Crush just wrapped a really fun Air Miles commercial that was fully shot with virtual production. This tech allowed us to set the ad in Old Montreal, downtown Toronto and driving around Vancouver, all at sunrise (while it was snowing and howling wind outside the studio), all in one day. Using 3D environments built up in Unreal Engine software gave the project exactly the look and feel we wanted.

Where can we find your work?

Flames was recently screed at The Toronto Short Film Festival, and my new Air Miles virtual production project hit the market in mid-March. All my work can be found on my website, and you can follow me on Instagram.

The post “A Day in the Life” with Director and Photographer Matthew Manhire appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

-Written by Kaitlin Johnston

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Which ’hood are you in?

Nowhere in particular, but Toronto & the GTA. It depends on what I’m hired for, or where I need to be to create a specific body of work.

What do you do?

Commercial portrait, product and event photographer, and multidisciplinary artist. My artistic practice informs my commercial work and the means by which I create.

What are you currently working on?

I am always working on multiple personal creative bodies of work while developing my freelance practice. This includes self-portraits, creative collaborations with other local artists or working on slow-paced bodies of work with multiple installments, with no limit of time to create. As I grow, my work grows too. (Artistic Practice) I am also in the process of developing the Cos Studios 2.0 location!

Where can we find your work?

Website | Instagram | Cos Studio

The post “A Day in the Life” with Toronto-based Multidisciplinary Artist, Candace Cosentino appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

She is a published author of creative nonfiction, fiction and poetry for young people and adults. Yannis’s work is exemplary of the unique skills of a multilingual writer. She speaks more than 4 languages.

Yannis is passionate about literary citizenship, in her creative writing workshops she brings an inclusive and intersectional approach to the programs, she is an avid lecturer, always sharing and recommending her eclectic reading lists with her audience in her Goodreads and bookshop. Yannis Lobaina is driven by a genuine need to create, connect and inspire, that is the reason she leads a Facebook group called AlbArt Collective.

She volunteers in programs and projects that resonate with her heart like Reading with Newcomer Children with IBBY Canada, David Suzuki Foundation, and TIFF.

Yannis is committed to herself to actively nurture, develop and pursue her innate creativity daily as a ritual. She is instilling this passion in her 9-year-old daughter.

Yannis is a visionary artist, change-maker and multidimensional creative being.

Written by Valentina Brown

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Which ’hood are you in?

Since 2016 I’ve been in the vibrant community of Ward 8: Eglinton-Lawrence.

What do you do?

I’m a multilingual writer. Emerging Filmmaker, photographer and Podcaster. A dreamer and global community builder.

What are you currently working on?

As a writer, I’m currently working on my forthcoming bilingual collection of creative non-fiction stories and photographs. Inspired by my process as an immigrant between Cuba, Halifax, and Toronto. I recently published one of the 12 stories in Finding The Way anthology by the Immigrant Writers Association.

As a photographer, I am currently working on my ongoing photography series Alive, Upside Down. focusing on minimalist landscapes, capturing fleeting moments, patterns, pareidolias, patterns and spirals in Mother Nature. I will have a solo exhibition in July 2023 at Remote Gallery.

I acknowledge that all this achievement has been possible because I had been recognized as an award finalist for Toronto Arts Foundation’s 2022 Space Award Recipients – Neighbourhood Arts Network and in 2021 I received the Ontario Arts Council’s “Skills and Career Development: Arts Professionals of Colour” Grant for my Hybrid short stories collections.

Where can we find your work?

You can find me almost everywhere on social media! My favourite one is my website: is my sanctuary where I muse about life, motherhood and art.

You can also follow me on Instagram, Twitter and Youtube

The post “A Day in The Life” with Writer, Filmmaker, Photographer and Podcaster, Yannis Lobaina appeared first on Toronto Guardian.

Scott’s artistic talents have taken him from photographing race cars, models, and food (yum, yum) to practically everything in between, but ultimately he ended up drawing the characters of Lulu and Maxwell as his first attempt at a children’s book. Whatever the medium, he thinks like an artist, he acts like an artist (he can be a little dramatic at times), and he sees the world as an artist.

For years, I’ve called him up, saying “Scott, I need you to draw this for me to go along with something I’m writing,” and within a few hours, he’s fulfilled my request. To this day, he still comes through with these fantastic creations for our promos, fan shout-outs, etc.

The craziest thing about Scott’s illustrations is that he draws solely using his computer mouse. His process is amazing to watch and extremely time-consuming. Other artists are in awe of his technique. Unfortunately, during the creation of our MONDAY book his program crashed, and because his work wasn’t backed up, he had to redraw half of the book from memory. He ended up redrawing it in half the time it took to create the original. He’s just that good!

I hope you appreciate all of the time, effort, love, and attention to detail (as seen in the many creatures of the aquarium) that Scott has put into our series to make it the best Canadian children’s book series out there. Check out some of his earlier artwork by going to the “Cookie crumbs” tab on our website.

Written by L.S. Miller – writer

Which hood are you in?

I live and work in Toronto, Avenue Rd. and Eglinton.

What do you do?

I’m an illustrator, graphic artist and photographer.

What are you currently working on?

I’m working on the storyboard for a new children’s book series that focuses on a new attraction in Toronto, Little Canada.

Where can we find your work?

The complete series of books is available at Little Canada, 10 Dundas St. E in the Little Things Gift Shop or by going to the website.

The post “A Day in the Life” with illustrator, graphic artist and photographer, Scott Allen Hill appeared first on Toronto Guardian.