What is Fastenal anyway? It’s one of those unassuming businesses often found camped out on service roads. Catching the corner of your eye as you zoom along the Q-E. If you’re a commuter you probably pass four daily. And they’ve been our neighbours for a while now. If you’re in Leslieville you might have caught a glimpse of the familiar logo in our courtyard, by the ReStore. Maybe you even went in to get supplies for your kitchen reno: ball valves for the new faucet. Cupboard door hinges. Or maybe an oxy-acetylene victor style cutting torch. If you’re into that sort of thing.
They’ve been our neighbours for a while now. And what great neighbors they’ve been. Always waving good morning. Always willing to ignore that pesky contractor’s 10-unit minimum when we lose those damn Lost Luggage Portfolio bolts. Always keeping a straight face when Sylvia backs her old Explorer straight over their bright blue parking pylons.
I mean, think about it: how many times have you found yourself standing in a pile of torn cardboard, swearing at your spouse about the Swedes as your new Birch-effect LACK shelf rips yet-another generous chunk of gypsum from your wall? And you were supposed to read the instructions before you started and then you would have known you needed toggle bolts, and now Home Depot is closed, Phillip.
And now imagine it’s as easy to pop next door and grab a cup of toggle bolts, as it is to ask your friends across the way for a cup of sugar? When your team works with any sort of hardware… this is a luxury that we’ve grown very used to.
But Fastenal is moving. We’re sad to see them go, but luckily it’s not far. Just across the street into the old Jones & Morris, to make room for the folks that bought the place. Wondering who they could be? Stay tuned. “Exciting Details to Follow,” would be an understatement.
They’re in the news for a lot of reasons today – and just in time for our team’s alleged evening flight to San Francisco! No matter; the show must go on.
And so, Plexman grudgingly accepts that sometimes you have to change planes in Chicago. And producer Kate learns that for once, she was wrong – there is a legitimate reason for the existence of stretch-limo-Escalades – they get a whole lot of equipment to the Buffalo airport. She’s taking the shock well.
However, looking on the bright side, we hope the happy kids in our Terminal One arrivals installation bring any weary and delayed comrades a smile when they (eventually) get home. Click here to check out our previous post about the project.
Hot on the tail of our blog post about Groupe Germain’s recent award wins comes this fun little post on Gadling – a division of the Huffington Post! That’s a first for Plexman.
Jessica Festa had nothing but nice things to say about Matthew Plexman’s player portraits. She’s hit the essence of the creative challenge right on the head, “combining the elegant and refined ambiance of the hotel with the rougher side of sports.” Executive Producer Sylvia Verkley met the problem head on: she used tightly cropped shots from Plexman’s previous work with pilates instructors as proof-of-concept for brand-boss Christiane Germain. Mme. Germain quickly got MLSE on board, and the rest is history!
“Fluid transitions between transparency and opacity, comfort and natural materials, airy soft hues, warm intimacy.” Okay, we’ll admit they’re talking about the beautiful work of architectural design firm, Lemay Michaud. But it certainly isn’t hard to understand why they chose to feature alluring Plexman portraits in the spaces they designed for Hotel Le Germain Maple Leaf Square. We’re proud the collaboration has brought the hotel a well-deserved Grand Prix Du Design Award.
Alongside a score by our other partner on this project, MLSE, they also won the Hotelier Pinnacle for Regional Company of the Year. It’s been a very successful run for Groupe Germain – and we’re very proud to have such a gracious, Canadian company on our client roster. Félicitations!
Elsewhere: check out a short video about the MLSE/Plexman shoot on vimeo.
What could be better than discovering your shot was used in Wonderful Machine’s lovely holiday greeting? Learning it was sent to 8,000 of their clients! What a great surprise to return to on this cold Tuesday morning (although Amy is calling it an honorary Monday.)
We were also happy to see our own holiday e-card included in their round-up of great mailed messages. Hats off to Maria Luci for her mad mishmash of characters. Happy Honorary Monday, everyone!
Check out this shoutout to Kate from Beakbane Brand Strategies and Communications, featuring production stills by Matt Liteplo! Our producer Kate had a blast organizing the execution with – and for – her Alma Mater, Sheridan College. Lots of changes at the school made it a somewhat peculiar homecoming, but we continue to watch with interest as their new degree program in Photography takes shape.
Thanks to Tom and Drew at Beakbane for the wonderful job, and to the College for their support through the production.
We know it’s just a cell phone snap, but we wanted to alert you all in case your travels away brought you back through Pearson Airport’s Terminal One.
After a long wait, a larger-than-life art installation photographed by Matthew Plexman is finally up in in the arrival’s section. The project was the final piece of Pearson’s recent rebranding, visually directed by OVE’s Peter Baker.
Occupying the arrivals rotunda, the installation will welcome millions of passengers in their native tongue. Pearson and OVE used inbound passenger statistics to generate their ideal cast of kid-ambassadors, and news of the project was blasted through social media channels to find our kids, who are as authentic as they are adorable!
It was vitally important to our exec producer, Sylvia Verkley, that we execute Peter’s vision for the balance of cultures represented, and that we get the styling right by walking the incredibly fine line between a respectful nod to each culture’s tradition, and a calculated costume.
Our stylist, Samantha Allen called each parent and had a conversation about what their kids like to wear, and what sorts of more traditional items they use for special occasions. She shopped where the parents shop, and looked in other mainstream shops for hints of the culture – like a tunic with stitching on it. We paired the Kurta from Gerrard St. with Old Navy jeans and sneakers for a look that was the perfect blend of culturally significant and completely realistic. It’s Indian or it’s Sudanese or it’s European – and Canadian all at the same time.
The scale of the job has really hit home seeing the final prints in the terminal. It’s bright, punchy, and eye-catching – and the perfect welcome to our multi-cultural city.
Click here to check out our previously posted time-lapse of this shoot in progress.
We’re thrilled to be able to show the final product from the shoot we posted about earlier this fall. We think these executions from The Idea Partner are just gorgeous! Thanks to Mad Itch for bringing us to the party for this wonderful project.
client: idea partner/concert properties
photographer: matthew plexman
talent: morgan casting
styling: samantha allen/get fresh style
hair and make-up: sandra yang/judy inc
