Roots Studio
The Roots Studio initiative was built on a specific strategic provocation: how do you visually articulate the value of a handcrafted, limited-run garment for a discerning global audience? The answer was to move away from conventional product imagery entirely — toward an "Atelier" study that prioritized tactile storytelling and artisanal heritage, positioning this exclusive tier as something genuinely worth coveting.
As Creative Director, I led this brand expansion from concept through execution — introducing a premium product category through a lens of tactile realism. A documentary-style approach elevated the intricate processes of the Toronto workshop to high-aesthetic status, ensuring that the craft behind each piece became as compelling as the piece itself.
Brand: Roots Canada.
Role: Creative leadership, omni-channel strategy, on-set direction, creative concept and brief.
Seen: Roots.com, social channels, emails and in-store.
Credits: Atelier photography by Cole Janeteas and on figure photography by Zachary Hertzman.
"True heritage is felt in the hands. By bridging the distance between the atelier and the street, we transformed a technical process into a human narrative — celebrating the raw, imperfect beauty of artisanal craft through a lens of elevated, cinematic realism."
— Campaign Thesis
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Roots Studio— Lunar New Year
The second instalment brought a new cultural dimension to the series: the Year of the Tiger. The creative challenge was to honour the significance of Lunar New Year while staying true to the "Industrial Craft" aesthetic established in the first chapter — celebrating heritage on two fronts simultaneously.
I developed a dual-lens concept that held both worlds in tension: monochrome macros of the Toronto atelier's raw technical mastery set against intimate portraits on a bold red backdrop. The factory and the festive. The industrial and the ceremonial. The juxtaposition was deliberate — two kinds of craft, one coherent vision.
Brand: Roots Canada
Role: Creative leadership, omni-channel strategy, on-set direction, creative concept and brief.
Seen: Roots.com, social channels, emails, in-store.
Credits: Photographer: Cole Janeteas.
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Roots Studio—RCA
The fourth instalment of Roots Studio returned to the factory floor — this time, to celebrate the rhythmic precision of the embroidery machines themselves. Where earlier chapters had used the atelier as backdrop, this one made it the subject.
The "Industrial Craft" aesthetic deepened here: monochrome macros captured the mechanical detail of production in motion, while intimate portraits against textured backdrops brought the human element back into frame. The result was a study in contrast — the factory as both workplace and work of art — bridging production and the modern comfort that emerges from it.
Brand: Roots Canada.
Role: Creative leadership, omni-channel strategy, on-set direction, creative concept and brief.
Seen: Roots.com, social channels, emails, in-store and window.
Credits: Photographer: Cole Janeteas.
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