About Authors

We are a father-daugther team
living in Toronto, Canada.
Our shop name WHISTLE + WORK
pretty much sums up our
creative philosophy.
Una + Aleks

If you want to know a little more, here is Una's interview with the Toronto Etsy Street team:

Can you tell us about yourselves?
Whistle + Work is a father-daughter team. I’m Una - a freelance art director, artist and travel blogger. Because I work on a wide variety of projects I love the fact that no two days are ever the same. This is great kick-start for the creative process.

My father Aleks has spent his career working in architecture, design, urban analysis and illustration — also wearing many hats throughout his working life (sometimes even a beret).
We came together to form Whistle + Work in order to collaboratively create affordable art. Because who doesn’t need a little more art in their lives?

How did you get the idea to form a father-daughter team?
We’ve definitely always looked at each other’s work and offered help and advice, so it was the natural next step to collaborate. I get this question a lot: “What’s it like to work with your dad?” It’s a rewarding experience with lots of mutual respect and trust. I constantly learn new things, but there is room for role-reversal too!

What types of things can we expect to find when looking at your shop?
We are focused on hand-cut 3D illustrations and paper gift boxes. Each starts out as an original ink drawing that is printed and hand cut. The prints are then framed in shadowboxes allowing the layers to play with light and shadow. The gift boxes are assembled into various shapes and some can double as ornaments. We are also working on hand painted ceramics, coming soon!

When did you start Whistle + Work?
We are very new! We started Whistle + Work in November 2013, though it’s something we’ve talked about for ages.

What's the story behind your
shop name?
Whistle + Work is basically how we’d define our working philosophy: Working hard at what you love = happiness. We also like the fact that it’s a two-part name representing a two-person collaboration.

Do you sell your work outside of Etsy? If so, where?
You can find us at the beautifully curated Likely General Store on Roncesvalles, Artistic Way and some other shops in Toronto.

You can also find our art work printed on various products like Tote bags, Sweatshirts, T-shirts, Coffee Mugs, Phone Cases, Laptop or Computer Skis, Framed Canvas Prints or Framed Art Prints in selection of 19 different frames on Society6 on-line store. They are selling artwork designed by us artists, made by them, just for you.

What's next for Whistle + Work?
We just collaborated with Yen Magazine, a cool-kid Aussie publication on a DIY gift box project with an custom illustration.

Next year we will be adding more prints to the shop and looking to participate in local markets.

You can find more of our work here:

Twitter. @unagotlost
Una's Portfolio:
http://unaart.com
Una' travel blog:
http://lets-get-lost.com
Aleks' illustration portfolio: http://aleksandar.urbansquares.com
Aleks' website: http://urbansquares.com