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"I have to remind myself to breathe, almost remind my heart to beat" -Emily Bronte

2015 in review

By Bri Vos

December 26^th, 2015

2015 was a year full of surprises and anticipation. It was a year full of so many interesting and exciting things that the broken bones, sicknesses, visits to hospitals, lost loved ones and unexpected needs to adapt are almost overshadowed on this, the tail end of 2015.

I saw new places and experienced things I never imagined. I worked on projects that were interesting, creative and vibrant. And best of all I was surrounded by such a wonderful community of people.

Travel

Patrick and I both turned 30 this year (me in February, him in July) and our birthday gifts to ourselves was a trip across the ocean to spend a few weeks visiting our friend Gena in the country she’s called home for the past 5 years - the Philippines. Originally we had booked a trip to Scandinavia but when Gena told us she didn’t know how much longer she’d be staying in Manila, we quickly adjusted our plans to spend February in the sand and sun rather than bundled up in Copenhagen. It was a good choice. You can read all about our Philippines travels on our 2015 travel blog.

"Bus stop" in San Miguel, Guimaras, Philippines

Crab vendors in Malate, Manila, Philippines

It’s difficult for me to choose which month or season I love best on the prairies. This year’s busy-ness kept us from going to visit my home very often but a quick weekend in March reminded me just how much of me is tied up in all of this epic landscape.

In June we re-did one of our favourite trips: a camping road trip from Edmonton to Stirling, Ontario and back again. Having only done this trip in the autumn previously, June showed us a new side of this gorgeous country we call home. Camping around the country in the shoulder season is not everyone’s cup of tea, but when we have a site at Sleeping Giant Provincial Park with no one else in sight except for the bears and loons, it’s perfection to us.

Late in August, we did something we don’t usually do - we took a summer long weekend off. With our rented canoe strapped to the top of our car, we set out into the Lakeland Provincial Park and Rec Area for some backcountry camping. After a portaging a few kilometres in and then canoeing for a couple hours we settled on a campsite with its own private sandy beach and a place to string up our hammock. It was 48 glorious hours of fishing and book reading and sleeping and canoeing. So beautiful.

You can read more about it here.

Before the weather turned cold we took a quick couple days away to visit Natalie in Vancouver and swing down to Seattle to see a show from a band that we hadn’t yet heard music from. Patrick loves The National and when their lead singer teamed up with another one of his favourites (Menomena) the only obvious choice was to buy tickets to their closest concert (Seattle) and figure out the rest when the time came. Seattle was interesting to explore, the weather was great and the concert ended up being one of the best we’ve seen in a long time.

WOrk

I think 2015 has been one of my favourite years for work in terms of the diversity and scope of projects. From provincial publications to world renown restaurants to small business communication strategies, I’ve been able to do so many of the things I love doing most.

Working with the Alberta Cancer Foundation on their annual report was a moving and beautiful project. While the words “annual report” might seem a little dry, my roll was to meet with current and recovered cancer patients and tell the story about the moments they are able to have in their life now because of the treatments they underwent or the clinical trials they’re a part of. You can see the whole project here.

Early on in the year, I produced a project for Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development aimed at highlighting a few of the province’s direct to consumer producers. This pilot project only showcased 5 southern Alberta producers but being telling the stories (in words and images) of agricultural initiatives is something that just fit so well with so many of the things I care about.

While the aesthetics of the finished project fell victim to government conformity, you can check out what our best intentions for the project were here.

Greenberry Microgreens (Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development)

Broxburn Cafe (Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development)

New Oxley Garlic (Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development)

Just before 2015 came to a close, I was able to work with RGE RD restaurant to build a photo library for them that showcased not only their award winning food, but the culture, space and atmosphere of their restaurant. I love capturing people doing what they love to do and telling the story of RGE RD was exactly that. If you’re ever in Edmonton and you don’t eat at RGE RD, I will be disappointed. Well actually, you will be disappointed.

As you may or may not know, Riverbend Gardens is a big part of our lives. From their customer service and communication strategy to their weekly CSA veggie delivery, from farmers’ markets to friday night fires after field work, our lives are finely tuned to the life of this farm. In 2015 we produced some work for Riverbend that was incredibly effective and engaging and we are extremely proud of it.

If you want to know all the details of what we do for Riverbend Gardens, you can check it out here.

Going over each work project in detail is just too much for one year in review but among my favourites from this year’s roster of work are:

Under 18 International Curling Championship: 5 days, 24 teams, a lot of hurry hard.

Alberta NDP election night: the underdogs see a landslide victory in the provincial election and the crowd goes wild

Jenie paints with Lucy: City of Edmonton artist in residence creates masterpieces with YEG’s favourite elephant

Weddings: Steven Tyler crashes one of our wedding shoots and he’s got the smoothest skin ever for a 67 yr old

YEG SEXY: another year of Edmonton’s food scene stripping down to fundraise for the Food Bank

100 Mile House: behind the scenes in studio for their 2016 album

Steven Tyler jumps in on a wedding shoot

Community

Our community is my lifeline. It’s full of small friends and grown up friends. Friends who were new this year and friends who’ve known us our whole lives. Friends who’s life and love we’ve celebrated and friends who’s hardships we’ve shared. Friends who are human and friends (one in particular) who are furry.

"I'm going to Africa. This is my long distance car."

"I have to remind myself to breathe, almost remind my heart to beat" -Emily Bronte

Write your story here. (Optional)

Thanksgiving walks with Aunt Natalie & Monica

2016

2015 has felt like both a beginning and an ending. With the arrival of a new member of our family expected for early 2016, all we see on the horizon is change. So while remembering to tell our lungs to breathe and our hearts to beat, we will do the only thing we can do on the edge of 2015…“Instructions for living a life. Pay attention. Be astonished. Tell about it.”