FALL 2016 • VOLUME 1 • ISSUE 1
welcome to
LAUNCH!
IN THIS ISSUE 10.
LIFESTYLE 4. FALL INTO ORGANIZATION
Top tips for making this the most organized few months of the year.
6. HOME SWEET HOME
Keep your home comfy and avoid repairs this fall.
7. BEHIND THE LENS
The value of cherishing family memories through photos.
BEAUTY 8. FALL BEAUTY TRENDS
Kelly Bouchard gives her top tips for looking flawless this fall.
SHOP LOCAL 10. THE ART OF WELLNESS
Spotlight on local business The Ginger Route.
FOOD & DRINK 13. LUX LIMO TOURS
Brand Ambition goes on a craft beer tour in Durham region with local business Lux Limo Services.
14. PAMPER YOUR KITCHEN
5 tools you need in your kitchen this fall season.
16. COMFORT FOOD
Hawley Crescent has the solution for back to fall & holiday meal planning.
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BUSINESS 18. WHY BEAUTY MATTERS IN BUSINESS Using beauty as a business metric.
IN THIS ISSUE
HELLO SEPTEMBER! EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Beth McCahon @bethmccahon
As east coasters we have been trained to lavish in the glory of the summer months with cottage weekends, camping and concerts. Our day to day routines become relaxed as we do our best to enjoy the sun while we can, because we all know it’s only a matter of time before the cooler air sets in and the jackets come out.
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Lija Karklins @lijatamara PUBLISHER Brand Ambition
Fall however is my favorite time of year. The leaves on the trees start to change colour, the new school year is starting, there is pumpkin spice in everything and stationary is on sale! Fall gives us permission to start fresh, buy that new agenda, get organized and try new things. Its when fashion is at its finest, businesses thrive and inspiration is everywhere.
Direct Advertising Inquiries to: EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Beth McCahon marketing@brandambition.ca CONTRIBUTERS: Ashley Adams Hilary Spencer Lux Limo Services Kelly Bouchard Ella Bates Petra King Melissa Morrison Roger & Sue Searle
So we are making it our mission to inspire you with fashion and beauty trends, tips on how to get organized and advice on how to make the most of this productive time of year. For more great content subscribe to our newsletter and be the first to received our next issue of LAUNCH.
LAUNCH inspires women to discover and celebrate their own potential in all aspects of their lives. With a clever, informative take on business, beauty, lifestyle and pop culture we encourage readers to cultivate not just personal growth but pursue the success that comes with consciously creating a balanced lifestyle. © 2016, LAUNCH, a divison of Brand Ambition.
Happy Fall everyone!
BEHIND THE LENS: PAGE 7
Beth McCahon marketing@brandambition.ca
CEO, BRAND AMBITION Katie Dempsey CFO, BRAND AMBITION Kiki Carr
FALL BEAUTY TRENDS: PAGE 8 ON THE COVER: PHOTOGRAPHY: unsplash.com
LAUNCH • FALL 2016
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fall into
organization Hands up if you are missing the summer already! Don’t panic, because there is a fall phenomenon happening in your community. Here are my top tips for making this the most gratifyingly organized few months of the year. TEXT BY ELLA BATES
LIFESTYLE
1. TACKLE YOUR CLOSET
3. STAY ACTIVE
Now’s the time tackle all the clothes in your closet that you didn’t wear this season and either box them up, donate, ditch them or sell. Make room for the new fabulousness coming your way.
Carve out time to be active in your schedule. Do you remember all the activities you couldn’t do during the hot months? Take advantage of this beautiful cool weather and get your fun on!
4. BE PREPARED
Claim your household again and get the craziness in order. Get yourself a household launch pad for keys, phone, and important documents. Use the night before to prepare the day ahead, breakfast, clothes, bags by the front door, and car full of gas. You will thank yourself!
7. STAY HEALTHY Your poor body goes through a more vulnerable immunity season. Grab yourself a ton of those fabulous fall vegetables and stock up on wonderful nutritious soups and casseroles. Use that big space where the burgers and wings used to be to fill with scrumptious soups!
2. COZY UP WITH FALL DRINKS
Invest in some scrumptious fall style warm drinks: new varieties of tea, clever coffees and hot chocolate. Give yourself that extra incentive to climb out of bed on the cooler darker mornings.
6. CLEAN SMART Make a hyper speed cleaning schedule. Fall is for enjoying the outside and not spending all your time on chores! Get a plan of attack and work smarter with your cleaning plan not harder.
5. STOCK UP ON SOUP Be mindful of the food that you eat. Start thinking about the wonderful soups you can make and get your friends together to do a soup/casserole swap and fill up those freezers!
9. SLEEP
8. START PLANNING
Its easier said than done, but if you want to bounce out of bed in the morning you have to allow the body to rest, recuperate, and recharge. Your battery life doesn’t get any longer by working harder!
Dare I say it... it’s just a few months until the Holidays. Write your list now and start checking things off early, leaving you to enjoy, party and play this Holiday season!
10. EMBRACE THE COOLER WEATHER If you are deeply affected by the season change, start now by writing down all that you love about the cooler months and start to celebrate them early! Pumpkin spice lattes, the beautiful warm colours, hoodies and cozy boots, fluffy pajamas, and snuggling for warmth with your favorite people!
LAUNCH • FALL 2016
ELLA BATES OWNER How To Organize That www.howtoorganizethat.com @how2organize
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home sweet
HOME
As we move into the cooler season it's so important to remember the little things around your home that will keep you comfortable and avoid costly repairs during the fall and winter seasons. TEXT BY ANNA-MARIE WALL
1.
It's important to check your eaves troughs and gutters to make sure they are clear of any debris and have good drainage away from the foundation of your home.
2.
Having a certified HVAC person come and clean and check your furnace now before the cold weather sets in is always very important.
3.
I like to take a candle and walk by my doors and windows to check for any draughts that could easily be fixed with a bit of caulking or weather-stripping and will save money and cold feet in the middle of winter.
4.
One thing that is often forgotten is to make sure your outdoor water is turned off and the line is clear to avoid burst pipes.
5.
Remember that the days are getting shorter and if there are any areas that need some extra lighting, like in front of the garage or walkways, now is the time to put up that extra floodlight or walkway lighting for winter safety.
6.
If you are thinking of putting your house on the market during the winter perhaps take a few pictures while your garden is still green or fall pictures of that beautiful Maple tree that your agent can display for potential buyers to see the beauty of your home all year round.
ANNA-MARIE WALL Sales Person with Coldwell Banker www.ahomewithawall.com @ahomewithawall
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LIFESTYLE
BEHIND THE LENS
Positioned behind the lens, attending to the smallest of details, your baby grins easily. Safe, comfortable and warm. The heartstrings are pulled from doting parents and the composition is perfect. With a few snaps, emotions are evoked effortlessly. Let's face it, life gets busy and parents don't always have a lot of time for themselves especially if they have small children, but capturing memories doesn’t have to slip away as time does. Inviting a photographer into your life, to tap into a moment in time, is a way of making sure the essence of your family is captured. In this digital age, however, we have forgotten the lost art of taking the next step and printing these art pieces, to harness these memories. Photographs should adorn your home so that every time you walk by them you will be flooded with joy and love because they were created for you. Remember when you were young looking through old photographs from your childhood, growing up and family life? Those memories were captured on film or video for a reason. To be looked upon and cherished in the years to come. Wouldn't it be amazing for your children and grandchildren to be able to do the same? From a young age I've known the value in photographs and preserving them. Being in an age where images are all around us, now more than ever do I know how important it is to create and capture memories that can be cherished for the years to come.
PETRA KING OWNER Petra King Photography petrakingphotography.com @petrakingphotography
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y t u a e B Fall s d n Tre
We sit down with makeup artist Kelly Bouchard to get her top tips for looking flawless this fall. TEXT BY KELLY BOUCHARD
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BEAUTY
Q: 1980’s glam seems to be all the rage, what would you recommend to those who want to try it? A: The current 80’s glam style is all about bold red lips. Think tomato red, paired with heavy eyeliner on your top and bottom lash line, and don’t be afraid to add some pops of silver metallics, even a little silver glitter just below the browbone. Q: How is the fall 2016 smokey eye different? A: The current smokey eye is all about multi colours! We’re seeing smokiness and liners is every colour, especially dusty rose, purples, red and neutral browns. Some people are even using liquid lipsticks as their eyeliner to get the perfect neutral liner colour you can’t find in a traditional eye pencil or liquid liner. Q: A bold lip is always a fall favorite, what trends are coming up for the lip this fall/winter and what are some tips for perfecting it? A: Use a liquid lipstick that goes on creamy and dries matte, and leaves you with a foolproof edge and a fuller looking lip. Kat Von D or Too Faced Melted are my Sephora splurge picks, and NYX Lip Lingerie is a great, more affordable choice. Q: “Twiggy lashes” have been mentioned on beauty blogs everywhere, what brands would you recommend to achieve this look? A: My favourite thick and dramatic mascara for building up to those spidery Twiggy-style lashes is Lancome Hypnose, but the much less expensive Covergirl Plumpify and L’oreal Manga Mega Volume come pretty close. Q: Minimalism is incredibly popular in fashion right now, how can I translate that into my day-to-day look without just going nude?
6 Fall Beauty Trends to Try 1. The biggest trend this season is deep, dramatic burgundy lips. For the boldest effect try matte colours in cherry, red wine and black currant (sounds pretty tasty!). 2. A flawless complexion is always in style, but currently a natural, uncomplicated base is hot! Skip the blush and focus on a foundation that has a more dewy finish than matte. 3. Gold eyeshadow is timeless, and especially big this fall...apply all over eyelids, and don’t be afraid to add a little glitter too. 4. Follow that gold lid up with a deep plum or navy eyeshadow on the outer corner to add some smoky drama for evening. 5. Liquid eyeliner is always on trend, but make sure to wing that corner and make it a cat-eye. 6. If a cat eye isn’t your thing then focus on the lashes, another big trend this fall is to pair those dark lips with thick, spidery, heavily mascara-ed lashes, without any eyeshadow or liner to distract from it.
A: 3 products... foundation, mascara, and red lipstick! Q: Bold eyeliner has been seen on the runways this fall with designers such as Kenzo. What products would you recommend to achieve this look? A: NYX has awesome bold coloured liquid eyeliners in great colours like teal, white, light pink, lime green, etc. Sometimes you can even catch the girls at Sephora wearing those affordable drugstore NYX liners on the DL ;)
KELLY BOUCHARD OWNER Kelly Bouchard Makeup www.kellybabcock.com @kbouchmakeup PHOTOGRAPHY: Ashley Adams
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THE ART OF WELLNESS The Ginger Route is an art and design shop promoting wellness through stationery, accessories and hand-painted prints. With kale being one of the shop's most prominent themes, you will find clever and chic designs from greeting cards to tote bags and mugs, as well as a chakra watercolour line designed specifically for the yogi.
Journal: $12
Greeting Cards: $5 each or 3 for $12 larger quantities available upon request
Farmer's Market Tote Bag: $10
KATE CARSON OWNER The Ginger Route - The Art of Wellness etsy.com/shop/thegingerroute @thegingerrout Dawn_BC.pdf
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"Thank god for women with ambition"
"BEAUTY LIES IN THE HAND OF THE BEER HOLDER"
FOOD & DRINK
LUX LIMO TOURS
Craft beer has become such a huge trend, with a focus on well crafted small batch brews, great ingredients and focus to detail. Durham Region has blown up with amazing places to get some amazing beer and being as our office is located right above Bowmanville's Manantler Brewing Co. the ladies and I at Brand Ambition have developed quite the taste for craft beer. So when the opportunity for us to take the Lux Limousine Brewery Tour came along we just couldn’t say no. As the excitement grew for what we knew was going to be an amazing day, we see a swanky stretch limousine pull up to our building. Oh. My. Gosh. This is is going to be too much fun. We immediately bonded with our driver Lori who helped us take pictures along the way. Touring from Manantler Brewing Co., to Brock St., to Port Perry’s Old Flame, and back down to 5 Paddles Brewing Co. in Whitby, the day was packed full of great conversation with the owners and brewmasters. Not to mention of course, great beer! If you have a birthday, bachelor/bachelorette party, guests coming in from out of town or just looking to get the craft beer experience than this is definitely something you need to try. We all certainly enjoyed it! To get details and to customize your own tour or maybe even visit the same breweries we did, go to lux-limo.com.
LUX LIMO The Largest Limo Company in Durham Region and the GTA www.lux-limo.com @luxlimoservices
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PAMPER YOUR KITCHEN Pampered Chef's Melissa Morrison give us her top 5 tools kitchen tools for fall. TEXT BY MELIISSA MORRISON
ROCKCROK DUTCH OVEN XL I love making one-pot dinners for my family, especially on busy weeknights. My go-to meal maker is our NEW Rockcrok Dutch Oven XL. Not only does the extra-large capacity (8 qts) help me make one-pot dinners, with a little extra for lunches or the freezer, it’s versatility to cook on the stovetop, microwave, grill, oven or under the broiler is second to none. Whether your family loves a pot of soup, stew, chilli or pasta dish, the Rockcrok Dutch Oven XL is my mommy-sanity saver when it comes to dinner time - more meals, less prep!
Rockcrok Dutch Oven XL $300
VEGGIE SPIRALIZER I’m always looking for ways to integrate more vegetables and fruit into my family’s diet, as well as making healthier choices. The Pampered Chef Veggie Spiralizer comes with three blade settings - ribbon, fettuccine and spaghetti. Whether you follow a gluten-free diet, or just looking to make some healthier eating choices, the Veggie Spiralizer is the must have tool. Whether you spiralize apples to put into a delicious slaw or use zucchini to replace pasta with your favourite sauce, the Veggie Spiralizer will be sure to get more veggies and fruit into yours and your family’s diet.
Veggie Spiralizer $75
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FOOD & DRINK
ENTERTAINING PLATTER SET Our new collection of glazed stoneware is absolutely stunning, adding a touch of elegance to any table. Whether you are hosting a special occasion or just having friends over for get-together, the entertaining platter makes entertaining easy and beautiful. The set comes with a Large and Medium Entertaining Platter in a beautiful graystone glazed interior and sandstone-glazed exterior. Perfect to serve charcuterie, appetizers, main dishes and sides! With Thanksgiving around the corner, why not dress up your table with pieces that are stylish all year round.
Entertaining Platter Set $87 www.pamperedchef.com
FORGED SANTOKU 7” KNIFE If you haven’t invested in a good quality all purpose kitchen knife, now is the time. The 7” Santoku knife is my most used kitchen knife, and is my go-to for any meal prep. The hollow recesses on these knives prevent food from sticking, and is truly allpurpose. Our entire line of Forged Cutlery is finely crafted of fully forged, high-carbon German steel for a perfect edge and sharpness, stain and corrosion resistance with superior strength and durability. Our knives are perfectly balanced, with ergonomically countered and chip-resistant handles for a comfortable grip.
Forged Cutlery - Santoku 7” Knife $88.25
KIDS PIZZA SET I’m all about getting my kids in the kitchen with me and help with meal prep! Getting kids involved with cooking is a perfect opportunity to teach them about healthy eating and nutrition. This set comes with everything they need to make their own pizza - Personal Size Round Stone, Pizza Cutter, Cutting Mat and Rolling Pin. The kids will love it, and you will love knowing that they are having a healthier alternative to take-out, all while bonding in the kitchen.
Kids Pizza Set $50.00
MELISSA MORRISON Pampered Chef Consultant www.pamperedchef.ca/pws/thefoodiemom @pamperedchef
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COMFORT FOOD TEXT BY ROGER AND SUE SEARLE PHOTOGRAPHY BY HILARY SPENCER
Fall is upon us and the holiday season is right around the corner, it is time for those warm spices and comforting meals that we all love this time of year. Of course with the colder weather comes the busy schedule, and not many of us have the time to make those hearty meals we all crave. For those of us lucky enough to live in the Durham Region/Clarington area our busy schedule is no excuse. Hawley Crescent has come to the rescue and provided all of us with healthy meals to go. “We realize that people lead busy lives and often don’t have time to prepare healthy home cooked meals themselves on a daily basis. Think of us as a healthy and convenient alternative to fast food for those busy times on the run.” With meals starting at $7 you can’t go wrong. Buy fresh or frozen or even call in to order your meal ahead of time, they can make a meal up with a few hours notice! In the meantime Hawley Crescents in house Chef Roger has a foolproof Butternut Squash recipe to try!
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FOOD & DRINK
BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP Recipe source: allrecipes.com
INGREDIENTS 1 h 10 m4 servings 305 cals 2 tablespoons butter 1 small onion, chopped 1 stalk celery, chopped 1 medium carrot, chopped 2 medium potatoes, cubed 1 medium butternut squash - peeled, seeded, and cubed 1 (32 fluid ounce) container chicken stock salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
DIRECTIONS 1. Melt the butter in a large pot, and cook the onion, celery, carrot, potatoes, and squash 5 minutes, or until lightly browned. Pour in enough of the chicken stock to cover vegetables. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover pot, and simmer 40 minutes, or until all vegetables are tender. 2. Transfer the soup to a blender, and blend until smooth. Return to pot, and mix in any remaining stock to attain desired consistency. Season with salt and pepper.
HAWLEY CRESCENT Catering & Culinary Services www.hawleycrescent.ca @hawleycrescentculinary
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BUSINESS
WHY beauty MATTERS TO BUSINESS In the world of blogging, you learn pretty quickly, that no matter how compelling the text, or how exciting the calls to action, the thing that keeps customers reading, is the EYE CANDY. Beautiful images, pops of colour, and inspiring photographs not only draw the eye, but supply the kick of pleasure that busy minds search for. So often in business, we attribute traditionally “masculine” qualities with what it takes to be successful: goal setting, negotiating skills, drive, ambition. But in the world of small business owners – a world dominated largely by entrepreneurial women, softer “feminine traits”, can take you just as far. Beauty. Relationships. Faith. Trust. The business time we spend investing in these characteristics provide just as much financial return. In a realm where a small business is so reliant on its social media beauty is now essential. Captivating photos are needed for click throughs. Gorgeous images grow followings of fans. Your first contact with clients is VISUAL, so we must accept: beauty is no longer a business luxury. Its a business metric. Clients associate beauty with professionalism. They assume that businesses with beautiful logos and glittering typeface are SUCCESSFUL. That they have so many clients they can afford brilliant marketing. It fosters trust, and confidence in the business owner. Delicious branding prepares the client to pay more, and they do! Websites built with gorgeous colour palettes and imagery ignite pleasure centres in the brain, keeping clients on your website longer, giving you more opportunity to sell, and increasing your SEO ranking. The visual appeal of a flyer decides whether it goes into a trash bin or in front of the eyes of a new client. Beauty can be a force in the business world. Do not let this important metric be under-utilized in your business plan. Do not assume that a professional colour scheme or logo is money frittered away. It’s time that business owners recognize the inherent impact that beauty can have on their revenue streams. Let’s honour the fact that an alternative, softer, and gentler approach to business is not only available, but can be effective and strategic. Bring the elements of beauty into your business, and experience its gifts for yourself.
BRAND AMBITION Boutique Creative Agency www.brandambition.ca @brand_ambition
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