Team

MURTAZA BAKER - Founder, Editor-in-Chief

The vision behind DZine Trip, Murtaza grew up in India where his interest in design began at a young age. An interest that lead him to Mumbai’s Sir Jamshedjee Jeejebhoy School of Art, where he earned a Bachelor in Fine Arts with specialization in Interior Design. Working over nine years on high end residential, hospitality and furniture design, he has collaborated with designers from North America, Asia and Europe. Today, Murtaza lives in Montréal, Canada where he is the principal interior designer at Baker Design Group.

Email: murtaza@dzinetrip.com
LinkedIn: in/murtazabaker

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS

SANDRA VESPA – Contributing Writer

Sandra Vespa was born and raised in Montréal to an Italian household in the historical neighborhood of Villeray. She’s an aspiring architect currently studying Ancient History and Archaeology at Concordia University. She is a rather inspired and creative individual who loves to write reviews about restaurants and events she visits in her spare time. Design and architecture are her real passions and undoubtedly what she enjoys writing about the most. When she’s not out and about in her favorite city in the world – Montréal, she’ll be here ogling at the newest design trends and writing about the ones she hopes you’ll fall in love with.

MELANIE ABERNETHY – Contributing Writer

Melanie Abernethy is a graphic and textile designer from Toronto. After graduating from the Ryerson University Fashion Communications program in 2009, she has worked in the fashion industry as a graphic designer, textile designer and artistic assistant. Her work in textiles and product has been worn by celebrities such as Nicki Minaj, Solange Knowles and Coco Rocha, and has been featured in numerous print and web publications. She has worked in different creative backgrounds from textile design, to web design, typography, layout design, illustration, styling and art direction, and is a passionate designer who is always striving to create something new and innovative. To know more about her, visit her website or blog.

JOHN THOMSON – Contributing Writer

John Thomson is an award-winning filmmaker and journalist with a Bachelor’s degree in Fine Art living in the beautiful city of Vancouver. He can tell you everything you ever wanted to know about post-painterly abstraction but would rather not, preferring to wax poetic about beams, columns and lintels. Trained at the CBC after college, he spent years chasing trends and ideas, from arts to politics, from one end of the country to another. He is currently taking a break from the complex machinations of broadcast journalism to concentrate on writing for print and e-zines.

Linkedin: in/john-thomson

ELENA ATSAIDIS – Contributing Writer

Elena Atsaidis is a designer and blogger living in the multicultural city of Montreal. She has been passionate about interior design from the moment she moved into her tiny rental apartment 20 years ago. Besides being a professional in home staging, she enjoys blogging about art and interiors. Her work has been featured in the Montreal Gazette’s Homefront page, as well as the online Daily Single, Deconome Blog of Quebec and Quebec’s French publication Je Decore magazine. To know more about Elena and her work, visit Idea Interiors Blog & Idea Interiors

Linkedin: in/ideainteriorsmtl

EDITING TEAM

ESTHER YATES ABRAMS – Copy Editor (Architecture & Interior Design)

Esther Yates-Abrams is a graduate of Ryerson School of Interior design with skills in sustainable design, universal design, digital design and making, painting, sculpture, research and writing. She has worked previously in a number of different industries, and brings her wide-ranging experience and unique vision to DZine Trip along with an insatiable curiosity to explore what makes great design great.Linkedin: in/estherabrams

CELEBRITY GUEST WRITER

ARI SIGNES – ARTIST & INTERIOR DESIGNER

Ari Signes, a name synonymous with art & design in Spain, is a celebrity interior designer from the beautiful city of Valencia. Ari dropped out from University of Valencia where she was enrolled in a Psychology program to realize her dream and passion for design. She studied interior design at Peris Torres School of Applied Arts in Valencia and has been practicing for over 12 years now. Her designs are fresh, contemporary & functional with a reflection of her knowledge of the crafts. When not working, Ari loves to go for long walks with friends & family, spend quite moments by the sea, listen to music, enjoy her coffee and of course research about latest design trends, textures, material. “I am constantly searching for something moves me. And of course I love to smile! Even the worst day looks beautiful when you live it up with a smile”

Website: http://www.arisignesdesigns.com

Linkedin: in/arisignes

WORKED WITH US IN THE PAST

BRENT TAYLOR – Director of Website Content

Brent has lived all over Canada, but now resides in the pulsating city of Montréal. A graduate from Concordia University (Montreal), he holds a Double Major B.A. in Political Science and Sociology, and is currently studying Journalism at the same institution. A strong believer in giving back to the community, he organizes and DJs fundraising events as a member of Music For The Massive. Brent has worked as a writer and editor for a popular travel website, and is currently the website content coordinator for an international organization.

LinkedIn: in/brenttaylormontreal

AVELINE SODJI – Technical Director

Born and raised in Montréal, Canada, and of Beninese African roots, Aveline is a talented designer of websites and mobile applications. Since earning a Bachelor of Computer Engineering from École Polytechnique de Montréal, she has worked over five years in the fields of mobile application development and IT project management. Aveline also likes to use her creative energy painting with acrylics and learning new languages.

LinkedIn: in/aveline-sodji
Website: www.avelinesodji.com