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Based in Vancouver, BC, I’ll Know It When I See It is a two-woman business, creating sometimes nostalgic, often funny and occasionally Asian-inspired stationery. Cassie and Christine aren't sisters but have been friends for 18 years, meeting in design school. Their work has always been from the heart, creating what feels most authentic to them in the moment. It's been joyful to reawaken to their Chinese heritage of late, allowing for more of their identity + experiences to come through their designs. The founders both have long standing ties to Vancouver's Chinatown - Christine's great grandparents called Chinatown their home when they immigrated to Canada in 1913 and Cassie's grandmother still lives in Chinatown to this day.

The name "Ilha" comes from founder Michelle Hsu's parents’ native country of Taiwan. When Portuguese sailors came upon the island in the 1500s, they named it “Ilha Formosa” which means “beautiful island”. Michelle wanted to pay homage to her heritage while connecting it to where she lives now, New York City, another beautiful island. The candles are handcrafted and hand-poured in small batches with cotton wicks, natural soy wax and toxin free fragrances.

Jeff Wilson grew up in Edinburgh, Scotland and has lived and worked in the Vancouver's Downtown Eastside for over 15 years. Jeff’s painting collections have exhibited widely in public galleries in BC, Alberta and WA State. Jeff has received a number of awards, including Finalist in the inaugural Saltspring National Art Prize, appeared in the recent “Landscape Artist of the Year Canada” TV show, and received two Downtown Eastside Small Arts Grants from the Vancouver Foundation. Jeff has completed residencies at the Booth in Shetland, Parks Canada’s Art in the Park and the Wallace Stegner House. 

Chinatown forms an integral part of that & it continues to fascinate him.  While part of Vancouver from the beginning, it has managed to retain a distinct cultural & architectural character after all these years, a testament to the commitment and resilience of its longtime residents. Jeff feels lucky to live near Chinatown, and continually draw artistic inspiration from it. He is based out of Portside Studios in Vancouver.

Keith McKellar's main collection of works focuses on the vintage cafes, theatres and street scenes of Vancouver BC. Keith was born in New Westminster in 1947, migrated to the bush town of Prince George with his family in 1952. The boom and bust fifties and sixties of Prince George gave him a keen eye and open heart for the characters of the logging towns, construction camps and the bush-shack families. He worked at sixty-five different jobs in several fields, before becoming the professional artist Laughing Hand. 

Lily Chow, a researcher and writer, immigrated to Canada in 1967. She possesses a master’s degree of Education and has taught high school in Prince George and Mandarin at the University of Northern British Columbia for three years. In her twenty-five years of writing, she has won the Jeanne Clarke Memorial Local History Award (1996), received grants from the Canadian Heritage Branch, Federal Government (1993 & 1998), and certificates of merit from the BC Historical Federation in 2014 and 2019. Her volunteer services have been awarded with two Queen Elizabeth II’s Jubilee Medals (2002 & 2012). Currently, she resides in Victoria, BC.

Lucky Grizz has come home to Vancouver!

Limited-edition Vancouver Grizzlies merchandise featuring a maneki-neko or lucky cat. This capsule collection is a partnership between Canadian Chinese Youth Athletic Association (CCYAA) and Mitchell and Ness.  Designed by Toronto-based artist Ryan Wayne. 

Middle Kingdom started in 1998 with the goal to create exceptional Chinese porcelain for a modern audience. The founders Bo Jia and Alison Alten, have contributed a fresh and invigorating style to the genre, inspired by a long and distinguished history of design and craftsmanship in Chinese porcelain. The porcelain wares are handmade by artisans in the ancient kiln city of Jingdezhen. Middle Kingdom has successfully infused a modern aesthetic into an age-old art form and broadened porcelain traditions for a modern audience.

Nana+Livy was founded by Amelia, a Chinese-Canadian mom, who’s daughters are called Natalia (Nana) and Olivianne (Livy) and is a handmade artisanal bath and body shop based in Vancouver. Her passion for soap making started during her maternity leave and she became fascinated by the idea of feeding skin of all ages and genders with every day nutritious food ingredients to enhance skin wellness.

Ona Chan is a Vancouver jeweler currently based in New York City. Her inspiration comes from the many places she has travelled to and the many cities she has been fortunate to call home: Toronto, Sydney, Hong Kong, New York and Vancouver. She studied at Parsons and designs and carve jewelry using the lost wax process. She also has a special collection of Chinese New Year Zodiac  and lucky charms and pendants to pay homage to her Chinese roots.