When the malls become more crowded, the weather colder, and speakers play nothing but festive music, you can't deny, the Holidays are upon us. Last night, Holt Renfrew launched the season of shopping and giving by closing down Bloor Street from Bay to Yonge for their 5th annual Holiday Window Unveiling or what I like to call "the only time Holts is nice to you".

I first discovered Renata Kaveh last March at LG Fashion Week. Renata was participating in Women X Women, a photography exhibit highlighting emerging female Canadian photographers. I visited the exhibit on a quiet Saturday afternoon with my sister and out of all the photographs that stood in front of me, I fell in love with Renata's Tim Walker inspired print.

My curiosity quickly turned into conversation, which then turned into a friendship. Renata is warm, talented, passionate, creative and ferociously funny. You don't need to look at her pictures to know that, but doing so reassures it. In a short while, she has accomplished what some people never do, including international representation by universKA Kollective, a talent agency based in Paris.

I recently sat down with Renata in her beautifully decorated apartment and admired some of her photos in the Fall issue of Lush Magazine. Here's an excerpt of our Q&A.