Rebecca Minkoff x Travel Write Draw "Love is in the Air"

Happy Tuesday Lovelies, 

I hope you are having a great start to your week!! I'm continuing to catch up with the backlog of posts here on Travel Write Draw from the crazy month of February. Next up is the amazing Valentine's Day Event I hosted with Rebecca Minkoff at her flagship Soho store. I illustrated nearly 30 portraits in 3 hrs for the hundreds of customers who came in that afternoon. It was such a joy to see how many people responded to the event, collection, and my drawings. I also adore meeting people who follow Travel Write Draw and seeing faces that I've already had the opportunity to meet, so special!!

The great news is I'll be doing something very similar to this soon so stay tuned!!

Much love,
Meag xx

Alekka x Travel Write Draw Custom Print Collab

Many of you may have caught glimpses of my illustration collaboration with the beautiful fashion travel accessories e-commerce site Alekka through instagram this past month. But for those who didn't, I present you with these 3 custom travel illustrations inspired by Rome, Barcelona, and Mykonos. To find out more details on the collab, and shop the prints, head over to Alekka.com!!

Much love,

Meag xx

Postcard from Austin

Hi Lovelies,

I can't believe how long I've been away from my blog!! SO much has happened since January (including this very quick jaunt to Austin, Texas before New York Fashion Week) and I just wanted to share some of these colorful musings I snapped along the way. I was hosted by the beautiful and super talented Lexicon of Style who grew up in this awesome city. I got to meet her whole family and dive into some incredible local dishes, just feast your eyes!! I have such fond memories of this warm and relaxed Southern city. Check it out and be prepared for many more posts to come!!

Much love,
Meag xx

"Drawn to Bermuda" with Conde Nast Traveler LIVE NOW!!

Good Morning My Loves!!

Remember when I took a little excursion to Bermuda back in December?! Well I'm SO thrilled to share that my illustrated adventure to the island with Conde Nast Traveler and Bermuda Tourism is online now at cntraveler.com/drawntobermuda!! I don't want to show too much here because I would rather you see the full story over on CNT. Still more to come in the March 2015 issue!!

Much love,
Meag xx

Join Me at Rebecca Minkoff's Soho Store Saturday Feb 7th

New York Friends!!

I'm inviting you all to join me at Rebecca Minkoff's flagship Soho store this Saturday February 7th from 1-4 PM for bubbly, treats, good tunes & custom illustrations by me. The beautiful Miss Minkoff will also be in attendance at 96 Greene Street New York, New York.

If you would like to join, be sure to RSVP: events@rebeccaminkoff.com!!

Hope to see you all at the Love Is In The Air Event.

Much love,
Meag xx

Menswear Week Fashion Illustrations

Hello Darlings, 

Just a quick post with a couple sketches I worked on inspired by the recent menswear weeks in Florence, Milan, and Paris. Currently working on some very exciting new commissions which I will announce on the blog shortly. Stay tuned!! 

Much love, 

Meag xx

Illustrations for ANN TAYLOR Resort 2015 Campaign

Happy Sunday My Loves,

Hope you are all having a fantastic weekend!! As I mentioned in my last post, the first week of 2015 brought a lot of exciting news, including the launch of my collaboration with Ann Taylor for their Resort 2015 campaign. Just before the winter holidays, I was contacted by their PR team and asked if I would like to participate in bringing the Ann Taylor resort collection to life. Initially I was asked to model their clothing, which eventually led to me painting some travel inspired fashion illustrations, and the results you can see above and below. Naturally, I can't help but be inspired to book my next #TravelWriteDraw adventure!!

In Teen Vogue February 2015 - From Russia With Love

Hello Darlings,

I'm back in the magical Empire State and my first week brought in some very exciting things!! For one, I finally got to see my illustration included in the February issue of Teen Vogue (see above). Style Features Director Andrew Bevan, who I met over breakfast at Hotel Metropol during MBFWRussia in Moscow last October, suggested featuring one of my fashion illustrations in his fashion week recap.

I actually didn't know which image they included until I spotted the February issue on newsstands this past Tuesday...et voila!! Peep the large scale version below. Such an exciting and encouraging way to kick off 2015. I'm also working out other adventures for this month and can't wait to share with you all. How has the start of the new year been for you?! Would love to hear any suggestions you have for helpful posts in the future. Let me know in the comments below.

Much love,
Meag xx

5 Key Lessons I Learned This Year (and taking with me into 2015!!)

We made it darlings!! I hope you all had a spectacular New Years Eve. I couldn't have been anymore low key than I was last night. I spent the evening eating lobster and steak with my Mom and Dad at home and watching reruns of the Kardashians lol (not even a glass of champagne was had). I hope to god that isn't a bad omen for 2015!! I only have 4 more days of holiday in the Canadian countryside, so I'm keeping myself on cruise control deliberately until I land in NYC again this Sunday, and life once again goes full throttle.

Anyway, I really hope you enjoyed my Top 10 of 2014 Recap yesterday. It was a really great exercise to pause and look back for once. What I've come to realize, while parking my tush in the country for two weeks, is just how quickly we get wrapped up in wanting more and not really appreciating what we already have. I have found more happiness in the past 4 months simply by practicing gratitude on a daily basis. Which brings me to this post, the "5 Key Lessons I Learned This Year (and taking with me into 2015!!)". Before we start piling up our 2015 to-do list, take a moment to recalibrate with this list. You might find yourself goal planning in a different way this year after you do: 

5 Key Lessons I Learned This Year: 

1. When In Doubt, Ask Why Not Me? 

Before I quit my job back in August 2014, I found myself sitting at my desk daily starring at my computer screen with a Starbucks coffee, scrolling through Gary Pepper Girl, Tuula Vintage, Song of Style, and Zanita, and thinking Why Not Me??!!!! It didn't take long to realize that I had no good answer to that question. These girls were/are NO different than me...I mean yes we all come from different places, we all look different, probably have different advantages and disadvantages in life, but at the core, they were all just LIKE ME....human.

Travel Write Draw's Top 10 of 2014!!

InStyle Magazine Feature @TravelWriteDraw

Happy Holidays My Loves, 

I have made my way back to Canada to be with my family for the break. I was so pleasantly surprised last night to discover this InStyle Magazine article which features my Instagram @TravelWriteDraw as one of the Top 15 Fashion Meets Art accounts to follow!! I'm so honored to be included alongside some of my favorite accounts out there like @PariDust, @HomeontheRunway, and @Kalen_Hollomon.

So much has happened this year since starting my own company. I feel incredibly blessed but also very nervous about maintaing the momentum with the holidays approaching. It seems that opportunities keep getting bigger and better. How does one keep it all going?! I'm looking forward to writing some more retrospective and helpful content on the blog this break. My hope is to help anyone out there who is also contemplating starting on their own.

Much love,
Meag xx

Postcard from Bermuda

Hello My Loves,

I'm finally back from beautiful Bermuda and slowly adjusting to the New York chill. My trip was an absolute whirlwind. We stayed at the gorgeous Fairmont Southampton for the incredible Fairmont Gold experience. We started shooting bright and early Thursday December 4th and wrapped up 48 hours later on Friday December 5th. It definitely took some getting used to being the camera's subject for an entire photoshoot, especially 13 hour days. Usually I'm on the opposite side, documenting my subject through illustration.

HANRO of Switzerland x Saks Event Illustrating

Good Evening My Loves,

I hope you all had a fantastic weekend!! I'm just returning from a long weekend in Toronto and gearing up for another very exciting travel adventure this Wednesday (more on that shortly)!! Last month I helped HANRO of Switzerland, a super luxe undergarments company, celebrate their 130th Anniversary at Saks illustrating live customer portraits. This was such an intimate (no pun intended) affair. I really felt like I had the opportunity to chat with each one of my recipients that night.

Kim Caldwell, pictured above, just started her very own bra fitting and personal consulting company www.hurraykimmay.com. She had such incredibly positive energy, I really wanted to share a bit more from her here on Travel Write Draw. It's amazing how much living in my own passion attracts people who do the same. It is so inspiring to meet and surround myself with other likeminded entrepreneurs. You can do whatever you put your mind to you just have to believe!!

Can't wait to share the next, and very imminent, Travel Write Draw adventure!! New post coming right up.

Much love,
Meag xx
 

Illustrations for VOGUE Russia

Hello, Hello My Loves!!

How has your week been thus far?! I'm finally back again, much later than I wanted to be, but grateful to find some time to connect with you all here. This post is devoted to all the illustrations I created backstage, from the runway, and at my hotel room during MBFWRussia for VOGUE Russia daily.

The designers featured in order are Alena Akhmadullina (Image 1), Viva Vox (Image 2-4), Laroom (Image 5-6), Galetsky (Image 7), Bella Potemkina (Image 8), and OFERA by Oksana Fedorova (Image 9-11). I absolutely loved these six collections and really felt my perception of Russian fashion expanding after having viewed them in real life. What do you think?

Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Russia

Hello My Darlings, 

I'm back, I'm back, I'm back from Moscow, Russia!! And what an extraordinary adventure it was...I feel so incredibly blessed to have been one of the three selected illustrators to fly to MBFWRussia and cover the shows through live sketching. It was such a dream opportunity and one of the most surreal experiences of my life to date. From the time I landed at SVO airport I felt like Cinderella. The best part is, the spell didn't break for an entire week.

I was picked up in the official Mercedes Benz Fashion Week vehicle and driven to the stunning Hotel Metropol in the centre of Moscow. The hotel was a 3 minute walking distance from Red Square where I finally got to see St. Basil's Cathedral. The moment my eyes landed on the cathedral, tears welled in my eyes. I felt like everything I had ever imagined for my career, for Travel Write Draw, was coming true!! I was quite literally TWD'ing across the globe...

JFK - SVO : Moscow Bound!!

Two posts in one day!! Well only because I'm so thrilled to share that in 24 hrs I will be flying directly from New York to Moscow for Mercedes Benz Fashion Week Russia!! I will be joining street style photographer extraordinaire Craig Arend of ALTAMIRA and several other New York fashion editors to illustrate from the collections at MBFWRussia!! I'm over-the-moon excited for my first fashion week abroad, especially as an official guest of Mercedes Benz. They are hosting me at the Hotel Metropol Moscow in Red Square...in other words, a stone's throw from St. Basil's Cathedral.

Most of you may not remember, but one of the very first illustrations I posted on Travel Write Draw was an image of a Russian girl in a Moscow fur hat, standing in front of St. Basil's. I can't help but feel like I willed my dream into reality. As I've said from the beginning, "we manifest our own destinies. We have the power to live the lives we've always dreamed of. We put our intentions out into the universe by what we say, do, how we act, who we surround ourselves with, and through the law of attraction, we bring it back to us tenfold." Maybe it's a coincidence but either way it is a dream come true.

Can't wait to share all the live illustrations and trip adventures with you!!

Much love,
Meag xx

Tanya Taylor X Saks Event Illustrating

Happy Sunday Lovelies,

I have just one last post to share with you from the end of September (aka the biggest, baddest, fashion month of the year) before revealing a really exciting announcement!! On September 26th, I was brought back to Saks during contemporary week, to illustrate for the incredible Canadian designer, and my former McGill commerce classmate, Tanya Taylor. It was such an honor to work with this powerhouse talent and her amazing team. This was the first time I illustrated customers in full figure, whilst rendering them in their favorite Tanya Taylor pieces, and I loved it. It was definitely more challenging to do a little visual cutting and pasting, but the results were well worth it. So much so, Tanya's team wanted their very own group sketch after the event. Check out all the fun pics and the final TT portrait below!!

Much love,
Meag xx

Postcard from Miami

Illustrations inspired by DSquared2 SS15

Happy Tuesday Chickadees, 

I'm on a roll here catching up on my September posts (there is so much to share this month as well)!! I mentioned not long ago that I took a weekend escape to Miami to celebrate my 29th birthday with my boyfriend. I wanted to share with you a few of the visual treats we captured while we were away. I can't stress just HOW much I L.O.V.E Miami!! This was my first visit there but I can assure you it won't be my last. Miami houses some of the most impressive art in North America. Every hotel in South Beach transports you to old Hollywood with cascading curtained hallways and cathedral ceilings (ok maybe I'm describing the Delano Hotel only but still). I could not have asked for a more incredible way to kick start the last year of my 20's!! Below are pics from Wynwood, Miami Beach, and beyond. Hope you enjoy!! 

Much love, 

Meag xx

M Missoni X Saks Event Illustrating

Happy Columbus Day/Canadian Thanksgiving Everybody,

I hope you all had an amazing weekend! I wrapped up a couple commissions and found a little more time to update Travel Write Draw with the events of September. At the end of New York Fashion Week I was scheduled to illustrate for M Missoni at Saks for their FW14 collection preview. I got to sketch two of their incredible tartan looks for their in-store signage (above) and e-vite (below) plus illustrate custom fashion portraits for M Missoni customers throughout the 4 hour event. I had such an amazing time working with the M Missoni team over at Valentino Group and I can't begin to describe how awesome it was to pull a dress to wear for the event from their fashion closet (hello dream moment!!). Check out more photos from the event below:

New York Fashion Week - Live Illustrations for The Style Line

Hello My Loves,

I hope you are all having a fantastic week so far!! Finally I found a quiet moment to myself to post my illustrations for The Style Line from this September's New York Fashion Week!! I could not have asked for a better way to kickstart my first month working independently as a full-time fashion illustrator. My last day of work was August 29th and by September 3rd I was cracking open my sketchbook to quickly live-render all the delicious looks at the WHIT SS15 presentation shown above and below this passage.

In the end, I illustrated from roughly 14 different runway shows and presentations, from backstage and beyond. I got to meet both Zanita and the Beckerman Sisters after Trina Turk and Jill Stuart. I illustrated Canadian supermodel Coco Rocha backstage at Noon by Noor. But most importantly I gained the confidence in myself to know that there was no turning back for me. I've found my place and I'm on this journey for the long haul. Catch all the NYFW action shots and final rendered pieces below:

WHIT SS15

Gigi Burris SS15

Gigi Burris SS15