Things

We believe in observing things. We love to look, listen, learn, appreciate, debate, share, create, and generally absorb all we can around us. Here are a few of those things:

Search


How many?

2 years ago by Mitch

In May of 2021, when the unmarked graves of 215 children had been discovered at the Tk'emlúps te Secwépemc Residential School in Kamloops, we were in the midst of completing a 6-week Indigenous Allyship workshop (expertly and compassionately designed and facilitated by Pulxaneeks of Heart to Heart to Indigenous Relations Consultation). While there’s certainly no possible way to prepare for such a horrific discovery, the team fully recognized that we needed to put into practice what we had started to learn through our work with Pulxaneeks.

Like so many others across what is called Canada (and a...

Read more

A different end-of-year.

3 years ago by Mitch

This month we mark Ballentine's 8th birthday. And while it's certainly a milestone I'm proud of, and unmistakeably worthy of celebrating, any fleeting thoughts of the latter have seemingly been met with a pandemic-sized smirk.

True to my and Dylan's understated nature, we've never really celebrated our corporate birthday. Each year we've contemplated it for a moment -"Maybe this year?"- and then struggle to justify spending our time on anything other than our clients, and our money on anything other than payroll, operating expenses, and the shapeless demon that is 'overhead costs'.

This year, ...

Read more

We've got so much work to do

3 years ago by Mitch

(This portrait of George Floyd was illustrated by designer Clara Zhou, as a tribute to Mr. Floyd, and as a part of a challenge she issued to the design community to take action. Clara has graciously allowed us to include this personal work of hers with this post. Thank you Clara for your leadership in action.)


This will be a short post.

It's short because I'm still not entirely certain what to say.

But this post exists at all because the events that have transpired since George Floyd was murdered have made it clear that not saying anything because I'm not sure what to say is the hallmark of ...

Read more

Joy Amidst a Pandemic: Domenica Fiore’s Response

3 years ago by Peony

Things are different. These days, it seems impossible to not come across devastating news with every click or conversation. Sometimes, it can be hard to remember what a big bear hug or a carefree laugh feels like.

However, I was recently reminded that gratitude and joy do not mean the complete elimination of sadness, fear, and confusion. Rather, gratitude and joy can and should exist in the same places where we are holding grief. So in the midst of this sadness, our little bit of joy today is found in what one of our oldest clients, Domenica Fiore, is doing to help communities near and far dur...

Read more

Sh*t Ballentine Says

5 years ago by Dol

As a way of saying thanks and showing our clients gratitude, Ballentine’s year-end tradition has been to send a bottle of local beer as a holiday gift. Each year, we create custom labels for our bottles, using this as an opportunity to embrace our creativity and showcase a little bit of our personality. This year we decided to switch things up a bit, and we opted instead for a Pinot Gris from the Vancouver Urban Winery.

“Sh*t Ballentine Says” is the name of our first ever bottle of wine. We communicate with our clients on the daily, and as we look back on the year, we realize there were some t...

Read more