CAITLIN BEST
ELLIS CHOE
KARA CHOMISTEK
ELIZABETH CHORNEY-BOOTH
CHAD GIBSON
JESSICA PECHET
DON TSE
LEAH VAN LOON
COLIN WAY
NEIL ZELLER
Caitlin works as a local writer, editor, and
creative. With a background in restaurant,
wine, travel, entrepreneurism, and lifestyle, she
enjoys collaborating with a diverse range of
local clients and cohorts. You’ll find her work in
Avenue Calgary, City Palate, Where Calgary, and
Notable.ca.
Kara Chomistek is a stylist, creative director, and
producer. Kara’s unique creative perspective
stems from a background in both engineering
and the arts. As president and co-founder of
PARK, a non-profit organization for emerging
fashion designers and artists, Kara has gained
a unique industry perspective. To learn more
please visit www.karachomistek.com.
Chad Gibson is a freelance journalist and
photographer who went back to school to
learn how to fix broken cars. He often dreams
wistfully of road trips, spends way too much
time following Formula 1, and can often be
found in the mountains snowboarding. Follow
him on Twitter at @GibsonNation.
Don Tse is a certified beer judge and a freelance
beer and drinks writer. He has sampled almost
14,000 different beers, but considers himself an
equal opportunity drinker. He writes regularly
for All About Beer, City Palate, and other
publications. www.dontse.beer
Colin Way has been commercially shooting in
Calgary for over ten years. Since graduating
from ACAD, he has shot for a varied client
list including The New York Times, Chatelaine,
SportsNet, and Canadian House & Home to
name a few. Way and his wife are currently
chasing their 8 month-old son around the
house. See more of his work at colinway.com
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THE ESSENTIAL CALGARY 2015/16
Calgary-based writer and former CBC producer
Ellis Choe loves to learn and tell a good story.
Her writing has appeared in The Calgary Herald,
Avenue Calgary, Culinaire, U Magazine, and
yp.ca. When she’s not researching, interviewing,
writing, and volunteering, she’s running around
town with her three kids, and learning with and
from them.
Elizabeth Chorney-Booth is a Calgarybased freelance writer. A former rock ‘n’ roll
journalist, Elizabeth writes about food, travel,
entertainment, and other lifestyle topics for
a number of print and online publications. A
lifelong Calgarian, she loves spreading the word
about everything that makes Calgary such an
exciting city and is also an avid collector of
vintage recipe books, Pyrex dishware, and jelly
salad molds.
Jessica is a professional photographer who
has worked in NYC, London, Paris, Sydney, and
Los Angeles. When she isn’t snapping photos
she’s busy working with NIIMD and One Beauty
Academy as co-owner and creative director, or
with her husband on their new venture Play
Wineries in Penticton, BC.
Leah Van loon is an international wardrobe
stylist with over 20 years experience in the
industry. While Leah does book private clients
and companies for image consulting, her
work is primarily focused on advertising
and fashion editorial. Her client list includes
Gap, Crest, and Disney, and her work has
appeared in magazines around the world.
She loves Instagram and you can follow her
@leahvanloon
Neil Zeller is one of Calgary’s most well known
photographers. Capturing the best people,
places and companies in and around Calgary,
he is always challenged with showing the best
sides of everything he shoots. Neil practices
what he calls ‘pure positiveness’ in his social
media streams as well as his everyday life.
PHOTOGRAPHS: (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP RIGHT) BY MONICA J. HWANG; BY AARON BOOTH; BY CAROLINE MURRAY; BY JASON ENG; BY SEAN PHILLIPS OF RIVERWOOD PHOTOGRAPHY; BY LISA TURNER WAY; BY MICHELE TSE; BY CHAD GIBSON; NA; BY CODY WILLIS
contributors