Coffee and Town Hall Brands

By Kathleen Beveridge Today is National Coffee Day or as Howard Schultz would say, "I can't imagine a day without coffee."

That being said I am not a coffee drinker, my choice of hot beverage has always been tea BUT there is something to be said about the smell of coffee brewing, the sounds of a coffee shop and the time spent with a warm mug in hand with friends, family and co-workers.

What I've noticed since joining Town Hall Brands last year is that our team loves coffee and that coffee is integral to our creative process to ensure we provide the best work for our clients. Whether creative design or communications you can bet each team member has a cup of coffee on their desk bringing focus and creative stimulation.

Now there has been studies that say coffee does not increase creativity however, for the team here I'll respectfully disagree. Coffee keeps us fueled up and when we need those mental breaks the walk to the coffee shop usually clears the mind enough that productivity is when returning to our desks.

In case you were wondering here's how the each team member enjoys their coffee!

Leeann

I like my coffee with just a little bit of milk and I like it to be strong. When I have a latte I like four shots of espresso and soy milk. No sugar. I'm sweet enough.

Andrew

Depends on whether it’s good coffee or not. If it’s good coffee it’s black.

Felicia

Often. With lots of cream.

Sujinder

With two (almost) vegans and one with dairy allergies in the house, we rarely have regular (cow’s) milk in the fridge, even though that’s my personal preference. That, and half a teaspoon of brown sugar. Always brown. I rarely get a hot cup of coffee at the home office, but my Stanley mega-thermos keeps it hot enough for the commute to Town Hall HQ. Other than that, I have a Nespresso ‘pixie’ which has served me well for years. My favourite pod is the Arpeggio. It’s intensity is 9/10. Just like me. And for the record, being environmentally-conscious, we scoop the grinds in the compost and recycle the aluminum. Love you, mother nature!

Laurisha

COFFEE IS MY EVERYTHING. IT DESERVES ALL THE ALL CAPS. I need it to be piping hot, fresh ground, and something like Kickinghorse, Ethical Bean or Salt-Spring. I like cream and sugar in it (not too much of either).

Amy

Americano black.

Kathleen

Tea please! Any and all kinds. Or if I have to choose a coffee make it sickly sweet-Pumpkin Spice Lattes, Mocha's, Carmel Machiattos. I may love the smell but the taste not so much.

Grace

Office coffee with 2 creams every morning. Sometimes with sugar if I’m feeling lazy and go to a café.

Genevieve

I like plain Jane drip coffee with almond milk and HONEY.

Cheers to National Coffee Day! May your day be filled with your favourite brew.

Hot Photographer of Today Uses Wet Plate Collodion Technique of Yesterday

By Leeann Froese In today's digital age, it's easy to forget the roots of photography, when we can whip out our IPhones and take a photo with the tap of a screen in less than a couple seconds.

One renowned Vancouver photographer, Phillip Chin, is taking a step into the past and connecting with a pioneering method of photography called the Tintype Process, also known as Wet Plate Collodion Photography, which was introduced in the 1850s and thrived until the 1880s. Town Hall Brands' team had the privilege of getting their photos taken by him.

The process is not quick. Chin brought with him a light-tight tent as his portable dark room. To begin the photo process, a chemical called Collodion is poured over a plate of glass or aluminium. After this, the plate goes into a Silver Nitrate bath for three minutes, which makes the plate sensitive to light. The plate is then taken (in a plate holder to protect it from light) to a wet plate camera. The shutter is kept open for 6-10 seconds while the person being photographed sits very still.

Back in the 'darkroom', the plate is covered with developer. And then placed in a chemical (Chin used silver thiosulfate) which takes the negative image and turns it into an enchanting black and white photo.

Chin fell in love with photography all over again with the help of Wet Plate Collodion Photography because of the process and the hands-on nature of the craft. Unlike digital photography, a photo is taken every 15 minutes, and he remarks "you really have to put thought into each image to make it count. It also takes a great understanding your camera, chemistry and lighting," a challenge he was willing to immerse himself in.

With the help of Wet Plate Photography, Chin hopes to "capture the true essence of each subject [he] photographs" and "help people appreciate what a great photo really is".

Phillip Chin is a commercial photographer who has been shooting campaigns and images for clients across Canada for more than 25 years. He specializes in capturing images of people, and has had the pleasure of working with families, corporations, chefs, athletes and musicians in action. He shoots on film, digital, and now wet plate formats.

To learn more about Chin and his work, contact him in Vancouver (604) 874 2444, or by email at phillip2446@gmail.com

It's OK to have opinions - and 4 other things I have learned in business

By Leeann Froese

5 Things I have learned on our 2nd Anniversary

I am not sure how that happened so fast, but our little agency is two years old this month.

Andrew and I want to thank our amazing team and our clients for allowing us to us create brands and get the word out on things that celebrate living well: wine, food, hospitality, financial planning, film, and sport.

I have been learning new lessons everyday, and wanted to share a few things that rank at the top of my mind as we celebrate the start of year three #withTownHall.

I'd love to know, if you own a business, what are you learning? Maybe we can learn from each other? Listed as a countdown, but not in strict order:

5. It's OK to have opinions - even if they are unpopular

For much of my career I only cared about being a people pleaser. I still possess this trait, and our team also shares this trait, but not at the expense of giving bad advice or being untruthful.

My mentor, Christine Coletta, instilled in me the saying 'we're not here for a haircut', meaning that people don't look to my expertise so I can blow smoke, or not make things happen. As such, people can count on our team for good content and to get things done.

I have also realized since opening Town Hall that after almost 20 years in the industry I have knowledge to share and I should provide not only expertise, but also the truth and my own opinions, especially if they defend clients, and even if these opinions or truths are unpopular or are not what people had hoped to hear.

So now, I give my complete opinion when asked, or call out situations when I need to. An example of this is my recent post about those who ask for wine donations. Sorry, everyone who wants free wine.

4. The right team is everything

There is no way that Andrew and I could deliver strong programming to our clients without the contributions of a strong design and communication team. I'm so proud of the work that our team does to create identities and raise profiles.

It has taken the full two years, with some personalities coming and going (and this may continue as the business evolves) but when the fit is right, as it currently is, the culture and work output can be magic.

Thank you Sujinder, Felicia, Amy, Laurisha, Ali, Lindsey, Kathleen, Lindsey, our newest member, Carole, and our consultants Alana and Irene, for being so key in the team's success. We would be nowhere without you all!

3. A home office can only hold so much

We are seeking a new space, and ideally, by our 3rd birthday we will be in a different office. We are working with a realtor but the Vancouver market is hot. Wish us luck!

2. We need to tell people what else we do

Many people don't realize we are a full service agency and think that we only offer publicity services, or that I am singularly a PR person.

So can you please help it be known: we offer packaging, media relations, social media outreach, logo and graphic design, advertising campaigns, events and marketing strategy.

Also, we are not the popular Joseph Richards Group owned Townhall Public House.

We named our company “Town Hall” based on collaboration, which we feel is so important, especially in this era of crowd-sourced information and real-time customer feedback.

It is our constant goal to be a lifestyle destination, and deliver projects that inspire and celebrate the good life.

1. We are just getting started

In the scheme of a growing business we are really just getting started. The learning curve for sure is super steep.

I was looking after a lot of the agency work at Coletta and Associates before we closed the doors there, but there's nothing quite like being the one who's the air traffic controller and holding the bag and making sure that everybody's rent gets paid.

We are super thankful to our clients who believe in what we're doing at our little agency. We truly love you!

Life is too short to work with people you don't like and products you don't fall in love with.

We thank everybody for coming along for our ride #withTownHall

We are very social with what we do - so converse with us on your favourite social network @townhallbrands.

Keep up with what we do and talk to us on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter.

We look forward to what the next year brings!

Town Hall takes the #ALSIceBucketChallenge

We were nominated by Robert Stelmachuk and his team at Cibo Trattoria to take the #alsicebucketchallenge and we accepted! Here we have our Town Hall team: Sujinder Juneja, Amy Chen, Leeann Froese, Laurisha Bardall and Andrew von Rosen and we are at Scotiabank Field.

We have made a $100 donation on behalf of our team, and we pass the ALS Ice Bucket challenge along to Darnelle Moore at Eastside Fitness, Eric von Krosigk of Summerhill Pyramid Winery and Megan Moyle of Constellation Brands.

ALS (also known as Lou Gehrig's Disease) is a progressive neuromuscular disease in which nerve cells die and leave voluntary muscles paralyzed. Kind of like how it feels to be doused in ice water? Every day two or three Canadians die of the disease.

Why is it called Lou Gehrig's Disease?

Lou Gehrig was an American baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Yankees. He set several major league records during his career, including the most career grand slams (23) (until this record was broken in 2013) Gehrig's streak ended in 1939 after he was stricken with ALS, a disorder now commonly referred to as Lou Gehrig's Disease in North America, which forced him to retire at age 36 and claimed his life two years later.

Thank you to Rob Fai for editing this video for us and to our own Felicia Fraser for filming us.

Please share this, and remember to make a donation. Learn more here on the ALS Canada site.

#gogetit #wettshirt #donate #alsicebucketchallenge #stopALS

Happy New Year! Wishing you the best for 2014 and hope to see you #withTownHall

Happy New Year from Town Hall By Leeann Froese

At this time on behalf of our entire team I want to wish everybody the best of the holiday season as we turn the corner into 2014.

2013 has been a pretty challenging, yet amazing year. The easiest way to say it, is that it has just been incredible, full of change, positivity, amazing people, and hope for what lies ahead.

After spending 16 years with an agency that we did a vast body of work with, and that taught us so much, to go out on our own was a bigger move than I anticipated. It is our blessing that our clients have come with us, and new ones have joined us too, and we have a team of 7 professionals that step up to do their best every time they are on the job, yet, can celebrate life and have fun on the flipside.

As I write this all I can say is that I am filled with gratitude. I'm so thankful to everyone around me: my family, friends, coworkers, clients and the media who support us. Plus, everyone has just spread so much goodwill and been supportive over this year - this year that has been so big and so full of change as we launched Town Hall.

I would love to personally reach out and say to every single person how meaningful my relationship with you is, but I'm going to do this in a mass way right here on this blog and say very best of the season to you all.

I wish you a Happy New Year as we welcome 2014, and I can't wait to see you in person, talk to you on the phone, or swap an email with you and strengthen our relationship as time unfolds.

And so I don't leave you with a totally mushy ending - here is a fun how-to that we did just in time for the holiday season.

Cheers!

If you are on mobile and cannot see the You Tube embedded - here is the click through.

Why Not All Vegan Wines are Vegan

By Leeann Froese Recently we came across a question the question posed was whether a wine is also vegan. And so we thought this provided a great chance to discuss...

Most people might assume that all wine is vegan because, well, wine is made from grapes along with yeast to convert the sugars into alcohol. However, many wines are exposed to animal-derived products during production. It’s in the process called fining where the wine is clarified, by introducing a very small amount of protein to extract tiny bits of grape skin or stems, naturally occurring yeasts and various other particles. Typical fining agents are isinglass (fish bladder protein), albumen (egg white) and gelatin (animal protein). As the agent sinks down, the unwanted particles adhere to the agent.

Fining makes wine clear and gives it a smooth texture. While none of the fining agents end up in the finished product sold in the bottle, some vegans deem wine that has undergone this process unfit to drink because the animal products have been used. On the flip side, some winemakers skip the fining process entirely or use alternative fining agents and allow nature to take its course. Bentonite clay, limestone and vegetable plaques are among some of the natural agents.

Now no one on our team is a winemaker, so if you, dear reader, have more knowledge than we do on the winemaking process, that would be no surprise. However another topic of vegan interest that our team has been discussing with clients and other wine lovers is the packaging.

We asked our own Andrew von Rosen, if a wine is vegan, can the package also be vegan? Andrew shares "even if a wine is vegan, it’s difficult to guarantee that a label aligns with veganism. First off," he says, "recycled paper can’t be considered vegan because it is unknown what the paper has touched (a harsh reality that stuns many tree-loving vegans – it's only vegan if you chop down a tree). Secondly," he continues, "on the back side of that label is glue – possibly an animal–based gelatin glue. Lastly," he adds, "while many inks are vegetable based – opposed to the petroleum based inks of a decades past – pigments that colour those inks may be made from insect or animal products."

So how would someone know if their wine is actually 'fully vegan'? There are a few resources online that list wineries and their wines that have been deemed vegan. See www.vegans.frommars.org/wine/ and www.barnivore.com for some examples.

Regrettably, most wine labels in Canada typically do not identify whether the wine is suitable for vegans or what fining products were used. Contacting a winery directly is a way to know if animal products were used in the winemaking, but it is very challenging to know if all aspects of the wine you’re buying including the label align with the vegan lifestyle.