Catherine Vendryes

I’m a marketing and communications professional who helps organizations find their story and bring it to life. In today’s busy world, only two things can cut through the noise: a good story and being your most authentic self.

I’ve worked with businesses in all kinds of industries, including education, finance, high-end retail, transportation, insurance, and payments. Whether it is B2B or B2C, creating fun and useful content which matches each company’s unique voice is my mission.

In my spare time I love to write and read (especially CanCon). You can find more of my work in that space on my blog and by following me on social media.

Brand storytelling

Whether you’re B2B or B2C, differentiating your brand is key to success. I will help you hone your story, figure out what your customers want to hear from you, and help develop a well-rounded marketing and brand strategy that makes sense for you.

Writing

Short stories, personal essays, book reviews, and more! I’ve written for short-run, newspapers, and my own blog for years. I bring the same approach of storytelling to everything I do: brevity, voice, and intrigue.

Zine workshops

Zine-making is a great way to publish your own work. In one of my facilitated workshops, you will learn how to create your own 6-page zine and develop your own story from existing media using collage, blackout art, and various mixed principles.

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Hey there 👋🏼 I finally gathered all my thoughts on Pachinko by Min Jin Lee. It was my first read of the year and fit nicely for the @tbrtacklechallenge January prompts of blue cover AND a book I've been putting off for a long time.

I took a trip to France recently and spent many pleasant train rides reading Invisible Cities by Italo Calvino. ⛲️ The novel examines how large and small life in a city can feel through different tales of imagined cities as told by Marco Polo to Khublai Khan. All the imagined cities are also the same city recounted from the perspectives of different times. Reading it while in the midst of exploring new cities myself really opened up the wonder of city life that Marco Polo's character imparts. A tight little novel, the prose is not too dense while still creating vivid, specific images of markets, ships, and cityfolk that remain universal. A wonderful transporting read for either during a trip or when you wish to take one but can't. You may even fall in love with your own city all over again. 🚃

Finished my second read of the year and probably one of the first books I haven't liked in a while! Really not my cup of tea (or even hot water as per this photo) but I did take a chance on it as something I don't normally read so there is that. 🤷🏻‍♀️

Five days into the new year and I've already kind of cheated on my reading goals. 🤣 Technically, Two Trees Make a Forest was meant to be my final read of last year but I was savouring the beautiful prose by Jessica J. Lee so much that it took me until last night to finish it (that's my story and I'm sticking to it!) so I'm counting it towards #asiancanlitchallenge22 and #tbrtacklechallenge for January.

Happy New Year everyone! 🎉 Looking back on 2021, it was a definitely a challenging year (to put it lightly...) but also one of growth for me. In the midst of this pandemic, I found myself in a reading slump and in moments where I would normally turn to reading for insight, instead I spent much more time outdoors. I read less but focused on what I felt like I needed to read more and ended the year with 12 great books. In past years, such a low number actually would have bothered me and I would have felt guilty about not spending my time "wisely".

I normally don't plan out a TBR far in advance but when I saw there was a #twentybooksfor22 tag (credit due to @scoutandlyra) I thought I would give it a shot. I will likely end up reading according to whatever mood I'm in but with all these books accumulated over the past couple years, I think it really is time to do some catching up. Not to mention some cleaning up of my shelves!

These are my December hopefuls (under a wee tree) 🌲

I finished Kokoro by @christinemaricomics over the weekend. I've always been a fan of her comics but getting to read them in a collection added more nuance. I've always appreciated that she speaks so candidly but hopefully about depression through visials. The black and white illustrations aren't understated at all. They are the story, and the details (or lack thereof in some panels) captures the mood and really brings it all together.