For several years, I created all of the retail posters and promotional materials for Helly Hansen's Western Canadian locations and Quebec as well. Sadly, the photography was always supplied by Helly Hansen International and I was cruelly robbed of the opportunity to hang out of helicopters, shooting pro skiers, boarders, bikers and runners, high up in the mountains. I am still quite bitter about this and am always looking for an opportunity to do helicopter shoots. I’m not kidding, if you’re an creative director looking for a photographer to hang outside a helicopter, I'm your guy.

Luckily for me, Helly Hansen also makes a lot of active gear for seasons other than winter which kept me busy on a fairly regular basis for several years.

Internal promotions were also a large part of the job, the image below was done in conjunction with Canadian sporting goods retailer, Sport Mart. Yes, the prize for the best sales person was that sweet, super old-school iPod. A monochrome LCD screen, no apps, no games and definitely no phone calls. I miss mine.

In case you are curious, those white lines in the image are there on purpose. That was a part of Helly Hansen’s CI at the time. Now, I can appreciate the look for what it is: a simple little design element. Back then though, you have no idea how many times someone would stop one of the print runs because they noticed “flaws in the prints”.

Near the end of our time working together, Helly Hansen was making a push into some pretty intense sailing shoes. I designed some in–store display racks and, of course, huge posters. This one happens to be a french version for Quebec.