The Fresh Italian Eatery. Food that goes straight to the heart...in a good way!

So, life has a funny way of coming full circle. This project was very dear to me on several levels. Sometimes, when you feel down on your luck, subtle signs are given by the universe and we are reminded that we are exactly where we need to be.

The owners of The Fresh Italian Eatery shared their story of adversity with me during our consultation, which struck many nerves. It is hard enough to manage a business, but without adequate support, it is almost impossible to maintain ones composure and resiliency. WISE Media had the privilege of re-branding the image of this fantastic little gem in the downtown core of Toronto.

For starters, we had to recreate all of the existing artwork into digital format. We had some discussion about perhaps changing the logo, but we were glad to keep the square tomato. Once the logo was completed, we required a new theme and message to the loyal customers during this transitional period without compromising the quality of the product. One of the challenges we faced, was the programming of high resolution images on monitors which needed to be easily changed over the course of a work week. Although we explored several automated options related to digital sign software, we settled on a crash course in photoshop and simple USB input. If you would like to see the end result, drop by to see Mama Kim and her franchise worthy business in The-Village-By-The Grange.

In conclusion, I really wanted to write about my own personal connection to their location. In another lifetime, I lived right above in The-Village-By-The Grange, across from the new OCAD building. I remember looking out of our tiny apartment and seeing the construction site of one of Toronto's landmarks. In those years, there were many little food spots in the food court. My personal favorite was"Island Food's", who have their roots in Parkdale Toronto and knew their customers by name.

In 2007, I had parted from the village and I encountered some of my most challenging years. How ironic that I was reintroduced to this property, because someone else was facing challenging times. The work we put into this project came from the heart and not the mind. It was an opportunity to beat the odds from 10 years back. Working on this project made me realize that we have many supporters all around us. However, we can get consumed in our own challenges and not notice our friends noticing us.

This project allowed me to work with one of Toronto's finest photographers, Isa Miguel Ransom, and it should be real life example of what can happen when we all unite in the face of adversity.

Thank you Mama Kim :*