Penchi - A new kind of pencil shop!

Introducing my second online shop - Penchi!

I've always had a love for wooden pencils (and stationery in general) and every now and then I'd be brainstorming new fun pencil ideas for my other brand, Wask. Well my brainstorming session lead me to a lot of weird ideas that got me looking into small-batch custom stamps on pencils.

Once I learned that hot foil stamping machines are quite accessible and easy to use, I decided I can turn this into a whole thing separate from Wask. The best thing about making small-batch pencil sets with custom designs is that I can experiment with shapes, placements, layering, and colours until I find things that work for me, and I don't have to make a thousand of one design (like you often do in mass production of ordering from manufacturers).

Go check out my current pencil sets and feel free to give me ideas for future pencil designs! :)

Cilantro-shaped soap.

I have the "cilantro gene" so cilantro always smelled and tasted like soap to me. It turned out it's more common than I thought! I created a product based on my experiences - turning cilantro into actual soap. It's called "Cilan-troll" and you can buy some here. :)

Matches that look like pencils.

The newest Wask product are little yellow pencil... matches! Check them out here.

A little tree air freshener, except this one's for your desk.

The latest Wask product is a little scented air freshener specially made for your desk! It’s a two-piece pine tree that slots together to form a little standing decor piece that looks beautiful and smells fresh too.
Buy one here!

A compact piggy bank that holds one coin.

Once again, this new product is an old idea I had for years but wasn't sure if I wanted to make it or in which form. But I made a 3D printed prototype and I thought it was super cute so I went for it. :) It's a tiny metal piggy bank and it's designed to snugly fit an American or Canadian quarter!

Check it out here.

New product: "Sticky Fingers" magnetic bookmarks

I've wanted to make some magnetic bookmarks for a while now after seeing so many designs online. But I didn't really know how to "Waskify" it for a long time. And here's what I came up with! You can check out the "Sticky Fingers" bookmarks on my shop.

New product: The bird poo enamel pin

At one point this summer I started thinking about how there are SO many pigeons in Toronto, and despite mostly living here since 2014, I still haven't been pooped on by one. And since people say that it's lucky to get pooped on by a bird, I wondered if this meant I was living my life short of luck? Sooo I decided to create my own luck! And this is how the Lucky Number Two enamel pin was born.

Catch-up 2023!

Hey! It's been a while since I did some writing on here. To start, here are some fall photos taken of me last weekend! I miss summer already.

So in the last couple of years I've moved away from full-time work to freelance work in the world of advertising. But I'm now leaning towards focusing on my business and the world of physical products - which is kind of funny because this is the year I made the #8 Art Director in Canada which is definitely a bucket list achievement for me!

This year has been super good for my online shop, so it's been inspiring me to dig even deeper into creating physical products. It's something I never get tired of (I just don't get tired of working on creative projects in general!).

Since the pandemic hit, I haven't really felt in touch with the creative community around here, so I hope that I can find new things to be a part of. Later this month I get to talk to kids about my "13 Animals" project (it's continuously finding new audiences!) and I realized I really like inspiring younger people to do the projects they're excited about.

I'm also going to be one of the Reviewers at Portfolio Review Night 2023! So once again, I'm looking forward to giving advice to young creatives.

To be honest, I've found it harder to be inspired this past year, possibly because there are so many distractions in the world lately - so much negative news, too much "content" to absorb, too many problems. So in a way, I kind of just want to shrink my world a little bit and get refocused. I've been cutting down on browsing social media, but I've found that I end up just filling that time with other things like video games, which might not really be all that different? Haha. Idk!

TTYL. :•)

Socks that are happy, and sad, and happy, and sad!

The latest addition to Wask are some socks that you can wear happy or sad... or change it around as you go! Buy the "Cotton Eyed Toe" socks here.

blogTeaO - a bubble tea blog!

So ever since I started drinking a lot of bubble tea, I decided to start a blog that reviews various bubble tea locations in Toroto and the GTA. But only locals will understand the funny blog title!
Site: blogteao.com

A little bit of podcast fun!

I recently had the pleasure of chatting to Dan Alan on his super fun podcast, Graphic Design Is Fun! Go check it out!

A ring that's also a real candle. 🔥

The latest Wask product is a ring that has a candle in it! It's called A New Flame. You can read more about it on the Wask Blog!

The mug that cries.

The latest Wask product is a coffee mug that has a smiley face on it, except its eyes are holes. If your pour too much liquid into it, it cries out. 😭 Buy the Flooded With Emotions mug here!

The "Death Wish" Birthday Candles!

The latest Wask product is these cute little cigarette candles that are suited for weird birthdays! Check them out here. :)

Teeny tiny baby push pins!

I've wanted to make these tiny push pins since 2017. There are just certain things in the world that I want to see tiny and these have always been one of them! So they're finally real! You can buy the "Pinsqueaks Push Pins" on the Wask shop here. :)

Hi Michael!

Okay so my friend Michael Stevens (!!!) from Vsauce just made a Youtube Short eating the Wask silica gel candy! It was also posted on other social like TikTok and guess what? It was removed from TikTok for promoting "dangerous acts and challenges" haha - although the video isn't asking anybody to eat silica gel after all. But what's the most funny to me is that when I created this candy, I actually wanted to create some sort of "silica gel challenge" on the internet knowing it would be super controversial! I simply didn't have enough following to get something like that going haha!

Maybe it's not too late...? ;)

The Sinking Feeling Soap!

I finally got around to making this soap! It starts off happy but then gets sadder as it realizes its existence is coming to an end. Buy one here or read a little bit more about it on the Wask Blog.

The 'City to the Key' Keychain.

The latest Wask product features a “key to the city” type keychain. It’s a typical sized house key except on the blade of the key is the cityscape of Toronto! Buy one here. :)

Wask Studio in the news!

Read a little bit about Wask Studio in the Toronto Star newspaper. :)

Hey hey heyy.

Here's the latest photo of me in my space. There's still a little bit of blue left in my bangs and I'm kind of over it now. (: