Custom Creative

Laura Lanktree branches out with a dynamic, one-woman company.

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In a chic loft-style apartment in the heart of Queen Street West, Laura Lanktree sits casually in a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. She’s laid-back and down-to-earth, but this go-getter has a loaded professional portfolio. With over six years of experience at Rogers Media as the online editor of Flare.com, Teenflare.com and Hellomagazine.ca, as well as several on-camera stints as a regular fashion correspondent for MuchMusic and co-host of a reality series for CityTV, this fashion-forward Torontonian is taking the skills she learned on- and off-camera to start an exciting new business – LLchemy – focused on producing content of all kinds for its clients. While specializing in full service documentary-style web video, Lanktree’s company is able to provide a range of services including writing, on-air hosting and editorial packaging – all developed with the client in mind.

Meagan Kashty: To begin, can you talk a bit about LLchemy – why did you decide to start the business and what services does it provide?
Laura Lanktree: We…actually it’s me…I always say “we” because I think it sounds more legit,

but in the end it’s a one-woman thing. It’s pretty new – going on eight months now. Basically, I wanted to continue doing all the things I loved in my previous career, but I wanted to be doing it on my own and for a variety of people.

MK: It seems like you’ve been able to combine a lot of things you genuinely enjoy doing for your career – is this something you’ve consciously strived for, or do you think it was just serendipity?
LL: It’s funny because I feel like everything has really fallen into place for me. At the end of the day, I’m completely self-taught in writing and video. The writing came naturally and then [when launching teenflare.com] I convinced the publisher to buy me a Handi-cam. She was really reluctant at the time, but I told her I’d just start bringing it to interviews and see what happened. Once I tried it, I was hooked. I found after a while that when I was asking people to edit stuff [at Rogers], it was getting backlogged and I knew I needed to get things done faster, so I started editing myself, too. Those video skills have now provided me with a whole new dimension in storytelling.

MK: And I’m sure once you’ve mastered the basics you can put your own creative spin on the products you produce.
LL: For sure – doing the shooting, directing, and editing myself gives me complete creative control, while obviously keeping the clients’ needs in mind. And really I haven’t mastered it. I still have a lot to learn; that’s why I feel so lucky when I look at my list of clients ¬– Holt Renfrew, The Kit, Sweetspot, and Flare, to name a few. They’ve all put their faith in me and luckily everything is coming together. I’m doing it, and I’m successful, but it’s all just fallen into place. If you believe in yourself, others will follow suit.

MK: What kind of platform does Toronto provide for you?
LL: Toronto’s definitely home for me now, and I love it here. There are a lot of valuable services here that can help you have a successful career, but it’s more about the community – the people. I’ve somehow come into the most incredible friend base and I’m so lucky to have them, not just personally and socially, but also as a creative base. Visual artists, musicians, filmmakers, designers – sometimes I’m just in awe of the talented people around me.

But I think Toronto has a home for creative types. The city has a way of enabling you to do what you want to do. There are a lot of determined individuals in this city and it’s very inspiring.

MK: What do you hope to do in the future?
LL: I try to stay open to every possibility. I’m at the point where I could maybe use some help, but I don’t know if I’m ready for it. Taking on an intern would be ideal, but it makes me a bit nervous, and I’m always telling younger people to make sure they get paid for their work and know their value. I think if you can do your work well, are dependable, and submit your work on time, that’s huge. Meeting my deadlines and making sure my clients are happy – that’s the most important thing for me right now. So if I have to take on more help to meet that goal, then that’s what I’ll do.

MK: They say that once you find something you love to do, you never work a day in your life.
LL: I think that’s true. This doesn’t feel like work to me.

If it’s midnight and I’m editing a video, I’m not bitter about it. When you’re working for yourself, it’s very satisfying.

MK: Anything you’d like to add?
LL: I try not to think too far ahead. I’m really trying to live in the moment. I’m loving every day right now. I feel happy and lucky, and I know that’s really sacred.