This conversation is with Lee Dekel, owner of 100 percent Silk, a shop and gallery space located on Queen st. West in Toronto. Lee also designs their in-house label 100 percent silk. Yes, same name. Same philosophy. The idea is to bring hard to find independent labels that champion the artisanal techniques and craftsmanship, which sadly are dying. Lee has created a universe that is very unique and distinctive. This free-flowing conversation touched upon a wide span of topics, including new motherhood, social media, being a creative during the pandemic, creative collaborations and more.

Dear Seekers is now a bi-weekly newsletter sent out on every other Sunday morning with podcast conversations like this one, column and diary style essays like this one, and sometimes internet rabbit hole finds. As a newsletter subscriber, you have early access to a more raw and less edited episode.

Photography: Vai Yu Law

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Today’s conversation is with Nike Onile, an interior and spatial designer based in Toronto. Back in 2017, we connected through Instagram. During that time, Nike was running her design agency 800 square feet, and The apartment, which allowed customers to shop every single thing in that apartment. From the bed linens to the clothes hanging in the closet. It was a big hit. Nike not only gained tons of press, but also lots of industry recognition. But the thing is the business was running faster than she could keep up with. And behind all the glamour and rainbow, Nike felt incredibly unfulfilled. 

In the end, she decided to let it go and went into a long period of what she called it “creative hibernation”. And Nike is now back on the grid. Just rebranded her business to a brand new concept, ODE studio, which allows her to sink her teeth into multi-disciplinary design. She is a regular design expert on CityLine, and has been featured by House and Home, NUVO magazine and most recently, Refinery 29. In this conversation, we talked about the importance of seeing creative endeavours as seasons. There are winters, and there are summers. Creative wintering is more important than we give it credit for. We talked about identity. We talked about how dancing with our own darkness is just as crucial as embracing our light. We chatted about cancelling the outside noise. We laughed a lot. I even shedded a few tears. Not sure it was because Nike was THAT amazing, or because of the hormone in me as a breastfeeding mother. Or the combination of both. But either way, I enjoyed our conversation so so much.

You can find Nike via Instagram here.

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Hi hi, I'm (sort of) back.

In this episode, I'm sharing some important updates about Dear Seekers and where we are heading.

First and foremost, we're now on Substack! If you're a Dear Seekers subscriber, you should have received two letters from me already. If you missed it, you can still head to our Substack to read the past letters. For those of you who don't want to read the second letter but prefer to listen to it, I've recorded an audio version that you can listen to...in this episode (Starting at 8'30).

Some house keeping things if you're new there:

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Despite of being an award-winning dancer and having worked with some big names like Rihanna, Drake, and Backstreet Boys, when it comes to accepting her own achievements, Esie Mensah has come a long way. Throughout her career years, Esie has been constantly exploring internally as an artist. And by doing that, her voice has been getting stronger and stronger. As the creator of the beautiful theatre show Shades, which re-examines the wound caused by prejudice against a person based on the darkness of their skin colour, Esie hopes to provides a healing opportunity for its audiences while challenging them to confront themselves and to shift their defaults. She recently appeared on Ted Talks  to continually exploring shadeism, not through dance- the art form she is familiar with, but with speaking words instead. By knowing that she has a message to give, Esie delivered it with a standing ovation. 

Photography: Vai Yu Law

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Someone once said, "a rich life experience is what makes a good writer great." As it may not be true for many, it's certainly the case for Harriet Alida Lye. Just at 15 years old, Harriet was diagnosed with a form of Leukaemia called Natural Killer that the average survival time of patients is fifty-eight days. Another chilling fact: Harriet is the only known survivor. It’s almost like a given blessing to have this illness so that she could be the one to tell this uniquely important story. Years later after living in many cities in the world, Harriet is finally settled in Toronto with her partner, their son and two dogs. She currently lives in a "hipster mansion" as she refers to in her memoir Natural Killer. Before this book, Harriet debuted her misty and unsettling novel The Honey Farm, which was praised by a numerous of major publications. The New York Times called it "a buzzworthy debut". Her work has also been published in The Globe and Mail, The National Post, The Happy Reader and many more.

Pre-order her memoir here.

Photography: Vai Yu Law

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Just like the company she co-created, Nicole Campbell is whimsical, humorous, witty, and fun. Through Grape Witches, she intents to make nature wine approachable and available. They have a monthly nature wine delivery service, they host the most desirable and whimsical art parties, they consult at private events, like birthdays and wedding receptions, and they also host educational sessions spreading knowledge about nature wine.  

Having worked in the wine and hospitality industry for years, Nicole has learnt a lot about what she loves, and what she doesn't about this industry. She loves nature wine, obviously, its producers around the world and the makers behind each bottle, but she gets quite turned off by how pretentious, exclusive, and male dominated this industry can be. So, she and her partner Krista Oben are here to change that. 

Photography: Vai Yu Law

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My conversation with Zai Rajkotwala , owner of two of the most beloved shops in Toronto, Easy Tiger and Ease, exchanged in the cutest, tiniest house in the west end. Her home is an extension of her shops- full of quirky, hand-made, colourful objects. The things she has been collecting, the things she adores, and the things that touch the deepest part of her sentimental self. They are everywhere, but all seem to be situated in the right place with the same amount of care and love. 

Photography: Vai Yu Law

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It's quite difficult to define what Deborah Wang actually does.

To introduce her as one, two, or even three professional titles would neglect her ability of spreading her wings further. She completed a Master of Architecture in University of Waterloo and Master of Fine Arts at OCAD; worked as a senior designer at Toronto's Architecture and Design firm Superkül; and beyond that, she has built DesignTO - an annual art and design festival, alongside a group of dedicated friends.

Before interviewing Deborah, I was quite amazed and curious about how she makes all of these projects possible. After our conversation, it has become pretty clear. Her perspective on life and death has liberated her to be someone who takes on projects that interest her at the moment. She doesn't plan very ahead. Instead, she chooses to immerse herself into meaningful projects, one at a time.

Deborah has lived a fulfilled and meaningful life, one that continues to evolve.

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Virginia Johnson is a Toronto-based textile designer, painter, illustrator, and is also the author of Travels Through the French Riviera, a beautiful coffee table book marrying dreamy watercolour illustrations with practical travel guides. Her clothing line has been picked up by major retailers like Barneys, Anthropologie, Holt Renfrew and her illustration has been commissioned by Vogue, New York Magazine, Flare and so on. 

During our conversation, Virginia shares the mistakes she made when starting a fashion label at the age of 23 and the lessons she carried with her; she talks about the advice she took, and the ones she chose to ignore; and she shares how her mom becoming a published writer in her 70s has inspired her to never let herself "age into irrelevance".

Photography: Vai Yu Law

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As soon as you enter Rachel Hale's apartment in Bloordale village, you can immediately sense a mix of slowness and vibrancy, just like herself. Rachel is a multi-faceted creative with an extensively diverse background. Her winding path has led her to where she is now - working as a community manager, creative producer and TV host, however, Rachel isn't putting herself in any category and is always seeking to expand personally, professionally and creatively. We chat about her experience and takes on being by-racial; her new moon and full moon rituals; and the power of trusting the process. 

Photography: Vai Yu Law

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