About – OkGoods on Instagram

There’s no doubt that sharing on social media is easier than creating a blog post, so if you want more frequent updates on random things from OkGoods (aka me) then you can follow along on Instagram for fashion sketches, plant portraits, and random pictures with good light. ; )

Follow me here at OkGoods.

Here’s a bit of my life lately:

Trying out a new ink pen

Celebrating spring weather practising watercolours and drawing a cocoon coat.

A vibrant denim rainbow sketch

Hoping to do a clay class later this year and painting textural pots while I wait

Finally hanging a beautiful planter we bought in San Francisco

Our apartment is covered with plant babies, and we can’t help but keep buying more.

Sunny weekend views on a chilly Sunday #NeverGoOutside

Some of the gang, including a stubborn Spider Plant I’m trying to rescue

Thanks for reading!

The Office Gift Guide – For your awesome intern

 

 

You’ve spent months mentoring and working with a young talent, and sadly you don’t have the best gift they could ask for, a job. So in lieu of a full-time contract, here is a list of things they can use to help them land their dream gig, or just to say thank you and GO GET EM.

1. A real and amazing reference letter or even a LinkedIn recommendation will be useful for years to come, and even better, it will boost their confidence for interviews and they’ll remember your supportive words at all the awkward networking events when they are building up the guts to talk to someone. (And before they leave, please look over their resume and portfolio to make sure they’ve put all the hard work they’ve done with your company into use and the world can see it)!

2. Holding a physical printed magazine in your hands is a pleasing in a way that digital can never top, and it’s also one of those things that most people can’t justify for themselves when on a tight budget. Give them a year (or two!) of industry inspiration and aspirational articles to read through and pile on their shelves.

3. Some say gift cards are a “no no”, but there’s a catch with this one… Load up a coffee shop gift card and present it with a suggestion to only buy coffee for others. You never know where a coffee meeting will lead them! If they really just want a card for the mall or amazon, I’m not against that either! This gift is meant to say ‘thank you’ after all, so don’t feel pressured to put rules on it.

4. Getting started in your career can be a tricky and expensive time. You need decent interview clothes, have student loans about to come due, and probably financing a laptop to help you with freelance work on the side! Even though there are free networking sites and social media channels for self-promotion there are some classic ‘work things’ that will help them feel more like a young professional and less ‘imposter‘. Try funding an industry membership, website hosting, or some fancy business cards (or stickers!) that they create with a template.

5. Celebrate the end of the internship by growing their liquor cabinet with a bottle of something dressed in a witty label. Add a book of cocktail recipes or a decorative bottle opener just for fun.

See all Gift Guides here.

The Office Gift Guide – For your boss

 

This person might be the trickiest one on your holiday gifting list. You can’t buy a gift card, jewelry is too personal, and something generic is worse than nothing at all. Pro tip, avoid buy anything that involves choosing a size, or something that would be difficult to hide if they don’t like it. The idea here is to show appreciation and thought. Your gift should be personal or not at all. So here’s a list ways to be thoughtful and affordable (because honestly… they know how much you make).

1. A kind and sincere holiday card is the most meaningful thing on this list. Adding a message of your support, gratitude, or a fun memory will go a long way for holiday cheer. Simple.

2. Another affordable but heart-warming gesture is baking up some homemade treats. You and your boss spend long meetings together, order take-out some days, and snack on the same things — so you know the kind of treats that they run to during that 4 o-clock wall (and you probably know if their allergies). Classic chocolate chip cookies or some really good banana bread are safe bets. If they aren’t fond of sweets, try a bag of fancy coffee beans instead.

3. If we learned anything from Master of None, it’s that a fancy candle can go a long way in a small space like an office. Plus it’s fun to smell all the candles while you’re shopping.

4. Most people, no matter the pay-grade, appreciate indulging in fancy versions of everyday items. Switch up their kitchen routine with a small splurge on a shelf stable item like seasonal jam or olive oil. For bonus points attach a simple recipe that showcases the ingredient.

5. Use some of that personal knowledge you have from years of working together and get them a classic record for their underused record player, or pull from an inside joke and get them something weird to make them smile.

If none of these ideas fit the bill, look for something local and support a small business in your neighborhood. If you’re in Toronto, check out some of my favourites; Lost & Found, Easy Tiger, and Good Egg.

See all Gift Guides here.

The Office Gift Guide – For your work bestie

 

This year I am celebrating the art of office gifting! If you are shopping for your boss, your intern, or a job-searching new grad, stay tuned for my 2015 Office Gift Guide. And to start us off… Your work bestie is there for your big wins, and your toughest days in the office. You can count on them for impromptu sushi lunches, and use them as a sounding board for your ideas in and out of the office. Your friendship is loyal, and your gift game is on point this year… say thank you to your friendship with this easy list of present wins.

1. Get a plant to cheer up his desk. Or send her some beautiful flowers, sign the note with an inside joke and let everyone else in the office wonder who the secret admirer is.

2. Stock her drawer with simple pleasures. My personal favourites are the subtle rosebud salve; the tin feels very vintage and separates it from your common lip balm tube that gets lost in all your coat pockets and the bottom of your bag. And Burt’s Bees Cuticle Cream which is the perfect thing to massage into your hands during a conference call or during your commute.

3. You’re always sharing snacks anyway so indulge in something extra special like well-packaged chocolate, or a set of french macarons to share at their desk.

4. You know their work style better than anyone, so buy some fun affordable accessories they would never choose on their own but are always complimenting on other people. Ring here, and earrings here.

5. Change up your lunch routine and splash out for a long lunch at a Japanese Izakaya restaurant. It’s loud, it’s dark, and it’s perfect for bonding over Tinder Dates gone wrong and the inevitable office gossip. If you’re in Toronto, check out Ryoji. I used to live in that building, and the interior like a luxurious Japanese cabin.

And if all else fails, a bottle of wine is rarely turned down.

See all Gift Guides here.

All the Fun: Dumb Ways to Die

This sweet animated video shows you dumb ways to die and featurs the cutest cartoon dancing since Charlie Brown. The way this is animated is also so perfect, and charming, and cute. They’re all loveable dumb dumbs!

Happy Monday!

(Video: Dumb ways to die)

Daily Colours

Wishing everyone a colourful weekend!

Art by britt bass via designlovefest, Jewelery by Kim Dulaney via Oh Joy!, and wedding stationary by Rifle Paper Co via Once Wed.

Kohsin Hong

Images by Toronto artist Kohsin Hong. I love the last one, it makes me think of my office and then I laugh out loud at the cubicle politics. Look at that guy who dropped into the laptop with work frustration! We’ve all been there. I want a print of this to frame for my cubicle, and then if the politics get to be too much I can look at that picture and laugh it off.

Working from home today.

Found via BldgWlf.

All Fall Down

‘Bear Face’ by Ben Phe, via Art Sponge. An unbelievably gorgeous Kristen Dunst on the cover of UK Elle. Alexandra Spencer for Stylestalker, via Knight Cat.

An Artful Dirty Dozen

Process art and final poster design for a modern take on the 1960’s classic film ‘The Dirty Dozen’. Collaborative project found via Behance.

I really love seeing process work and sketches. I’ve been thinking about that space often… the space between idea and conception. It’s that ‘limbo’ of time when you mark a few lines onto paper and through the eyes of the artist a few scratches of lead can be translated into a complete design.

Have you found any beautiful process work recently? Sometimes I find myself wanting to request a print of process work instead of a finished work. I’m entranced by it. That gorgeous unknown next stage… every time you walk by the unfinished work at home it holds so many possibilities for the next version of itself.

It is potential, and possibilities, and magic.

Takahiro Kimura

Portraits from a series named ‘LD-Women’ created by Takahiro Kimura. Found via Behance.