Photography by Natasha Gerschon | Styling by Jenna Bitove-Naumovich | Hair and Makeup by Jodi Urichuk | Grooming by Victoria De Sousa
“Sometimes people connect because they feel it’s mutually beneficial — it’s basically transactional. But that’s the wrong reason to do it. You have to connect because you have values that are aligned, and you care and respect each other. Then the magic happens.” —Natasha
Natasha Koifman and Peter Tunney are a total riot and an utter delight. We’re sitting on Zoom one morning the first week of July and, while the purpose of our call is to discuss their long history, enviable friendship and what they’ve accomplished together as collaborators and humanitarians, I’m not prepared to be as taken with them as I am. There’s banter and liveliness and grace. And frankly, it’s undeniably uplifting.
Of course, I’m familiar with the pair prior to our call — their respective reputations as innovative, creative visionaries precede them — but this is the first time we’ve met. Natasha —in her trademark #NKAllBlackEverything couture attire — is the founder and president of one of the country’s most illustrious and powerful public relations firms, NKPR. She’s in her Toronto office this morning, while Peter — an acclaimed American visual artist who brilliantly uses language and text to spread much-needed messages like “Grattitude,” “Believe” and “The Time is Always Now” — is in Miami. They haven’t seen each other in person for a while, but their distance hasn’t affected their repartee. After a nearly 20-year relationship, they seamlessly pick up from where they left off, talking about mutual friends, musing over old times, bringing up philanthropic endeavours they’re both tremendously passionate about.
“Let us tell you when we met. We were having breakfast at this restaurant in New York,” Natasha starts.
“Balthazar,” Peter says. “Right, it’s a magical place. We were talking about Haiti and what we could do to support this devastated country. After breakfast, we hopped on your moped and drove down the wrong way on a one-way street to your gallery. Do you remember that, PT?”
Peter nods. “Let me tell it because you’re butchering it,” he says dotingly. “I want to take her on my custom red Vespa — not a moped. She jumps on the back, and I go down Grand Street the wrong way. I’m occasionally driving on the sidewalk, breaking the law, going through stop signs, making left turns on red lights. Then we get pulled over by the police. I ask what I was doing wrong, and the officer looks at me, stunned. ‘What weren’t you doing wrong? You have no helmet, you ran a red, you were on the sidewalk.’ He’s livid. I’d just met Natasha and wanted to impress her, so I take my get-out-of-jail-free card out of my wallet and hand it to the officer. He says, ‘What is this? You’re in trouble. This isn’t going to help you.’ I tell him, ‘There’s a number on the back I think you should call.’ He does, comes back and says, ‘Have a nice day, sorry to bother you.’ And we take off.”
It turns out the business card, with a cellphone number on the back, was given to Peter by a high-ranking member of the New York Police Department. The words “get out of jail free” were written on the front. “It was a one-time-use card. How cool is that?” he says. Natasha and I are both laughing. “But seriously, at that point we decided we should stick together. We didn’t solve anything for Haiti that day, but that’s when our relationship started.”
Which brings us to why we’re on Zoom — and why I shared the story of when they met: Natasha and Peter have mastered the art of cultivating and nurturing relationships, and not just with each other. Natasha is a veteran in the PR industry and started her eponymous firm 21 years ago. She was born in the Ukraine and says immigrating to Canada at a young age gave her perspective — she sees the world around her as an opportunity; she’s glass half-full. She and her team (she speaks respectfully and gratefully about the people who make up NKPR) believe in working with clients who share the same values. They excel in storytelling, advocating for important causes, delivering results for clients and maintaining relationships. There are parallels in Peter’s story. He started as a stockbroker and worked on Wall Street until turning to art full-time in 1987. He’s a creative dynamo who cares profoundly about people and the world around him — in fact, he tells me to feel free to call him when I’m feeling down and need “mojo.” His messages of gratitude (or “grattitude,” — he spells it with two t’s, crediting the concept of “attitude”), hope, freedom, peace, kindness, love and following dreams all tell powerfully important stories, especially today, in a world so fuelled by fear, hate, thoughtlessness and thanklessness. They’re businesspeople, yes, so Peter and Natasha agree delivering meaningful results to clients is important. But to them, it’s really all about the relationships they’ve developed and nurtured over the years. “We’ve never cold-called clients. Our business has grown from word of mouth. I value and cherish the people and relationships I’ve made,” says Natasha. “We’re cut from the same cloth,” Peter jumps in. “It’s relationships and referrals. We’re all in the relationship business, and relationships need constant care and nurturing. My speciality is getting down to the human level with everyone I meet. It’s where I live and where my relationships live.”
For 18 years, Natasha and Peter have nurtured their bond and connection, not only as friends, but as colleagues and philanthropists. One of their first events was what Peter calls a “wild red carpet for TIFF” (NKPR collaborates with the Toronto International Film Festival each year), where celebrities had to walk through paint. “We got so much push-back, but everyone took their shoes off and did it,” he says, calling out a certain movie star who was wearing army boots and spent 10 minutes lacing them back up. “We did so many events for TIFF and Artists for Peace & Justice. Remember the 30-foot banner in Santa Monica, and the breakfast in LA right after the earthquake in Haiti in 2010 where we raised $5 million in two hours?”
Artists for Peace & Justice (APJ) is a cause the two have in common. That earthquake in Haiti left 300,000 dead and 1.5 million homeless. APJ is a non-profit that was established to support access to education to underprivileged kids in the island nation — the organization’s work resulted in a school built in Port-au-Prince, the Academy for Peace & Justice; the first graduating class celebrated their achievements in 2016. Natasha is the president of APJ board of directors and Peter sits on the advisory board, and when they talk about it, they radiate pride. “For us, it’s about showing up. We’ve had APJ dinners at Natasha’s house and she’ll get up in front of the mic. It’s meaningful — she’s a busy person, but she’s involved, and it inspires others to do good work. Anyone can write a cheque — it’s easier to write a cheque than come to the dinner, but showing up is influence.” Natasha agrees. “When you think about all the work we’ve done for APJ over the last 15 years, we’ve collectively helped raise more than $33 million. That wouldn’t have been possible without our relationships. This is a prime example,” she says. “Sometimes people connect because they feel it’s mutually beneficial — it’s basically transactional. But that’s the wrong reason to do it. You have to connect because you have values that are aligned, and you care and respect each other. Then the magic happens. When I think of PT, our relationship is fun. We didn’t become friends because we could do things for each other. We do great things together. I remember the first time I saw his work — words matter to me. I was moved.” Natasha says she was at Peter’s uptown NYC gallery and fell in love with his “Grattitude” piece, “which was in my apartment in New York — you literally carried it over and hung it up for me. Now it hangs in my house in Toronto and as soon as I open my door, that’s what I see every day. It’s a constant reminder to be grateful. Every day is not going to be perfect, but you have to focus on what you’re grateful for. It’s life-changing. That’s what PT does with his work. It’s fuel for the soul.” Natasha has also been devoted to supporting the St. Felix Centre, Lifeline Charitable Foundation, G(IRLS) 20, Black Women in Motion, Best Buddies Canada and several others, while Peter donates time, energy and art to the Innocence Project and other wrongful incarceration groups, the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation and probably dozens (if not more) mental-health-related causes, which he believes to be the biggest subject on the planet. “It goes back to like-minded people finding likeminded people who connect on a deeper level and care about the big picture,” says Natasha. “It’s about finding people in this world who are trying to make it a better place than it was when we came into it. You find your network and your people, and you do amazing things together.”
This is one of the reasons Natasha enlisted Peter’s talents when Lanterra Developments, an award-winning condominium developer that’s mastered urban living with their luxurious Toronto-based condo projects, approached her to build a condo in her name — Natasha the Residences. “I wanted to make sure the art in the space motivated and inspired people, so they feel uplifted and grateful. So, what we’re doing with Lanterra came out of years of my network — my relationship with Lanterra and with PT,” she says. Peter’s work will be displayed throughout the amenities and common spaces (which will include a content studio, pet spa and laundry lounge, another place residents can socialize, even though they have laundry machines in their suites). “Grattitude,” for example, appears in the plans for the sky lounge, and “The Time is Always Now” is one of the first things residents and guests will see when entering the building. The condo (at 263 Adelaide Street West, on the southeast corner at John Street, near NKPR’s offices) is being designed by Alessandro Munge, a long-time friend of Natasha’s. The aesthetic and vibe will be an uncluttered palette featuring shades of black and white. “Giving passion projects my time matters, so it’s an honour to have a 47-storey building named after me. It’s cool,” she says. Occupancy is expected by fall 2026; the building was 75 percent sold in the first few weeks available. “The whole premise of the building is work, live, play, and that aligns with my life.”
This alignment speaks to Natasha, and it’s why she’s keen to work with Living Luxe on the second Living Luxe Design Show, which takes place next April. “I think this event fits in with the idea of work, live, play — it’s how people receive information now and how they want to experience things,” she says. “When we talk about work, live, play and look at the show, it encompasses how people want to exist. It’s a brilliant idea and brings together all my areas of interest — interior design, fashion, builders and developers, the trade industry and cause. I know I’m not alone — Toronto will get behind this in a big way and I’m so excited to be part of it as a collaborator,” she says, adding NKPR is managing the show’s marketing and public relations.
This is a collaboration that speaks to her, reminding her of another endeavour she’s working on, this time with stylish Italian home appliance manufacturer, Smeg. “Actually, this speaks to relationships, partnerships and how we work. Smeg and EllisDon Developments, one of the biggest developers in Canada, are both our clients and we’ve just announced the very first collaboration between Smeg and a developer in North America on a new project called the Arcadia District. This master-planned community in Etobicoke will have 1,300 units completely outfitted with Smeg appliances,” she says. “This is such a symbiotic relationship — both brands are aligned in their values and share long histories of being family-run businesses. We look at bringing something truly meaningful to a project. That’s what we do. That’s how we work.”
“Wait — Smeg is your client?” Peter pipes in. “Do you know I cut the cords on Smeg toasters — Oscar Wilde’s definition of art is ‘all things useless’ — and I put them in plexiglass boxes? They’re in my vault in the Bank of the Future I opened. They’re insanely beautiful art pieces. Wait until I show you. It’s going to blow your mind. We should do a sculpture outside the EllisDon building with Smeg toasters. We must do something together,” he says full of verve and elation.
And there’s no doubt they will. Because, at this point in their relationship and their careers, they’ve earned the luxury of being able to do cool things they care about with like-minded people. “I’ll introduce you to my friends at Smeg and we’ll chat,” Natasha says before ending our call with a piece of advice we should all take to heart: “Say no to things you don’t want to do and make room for the things you do want, that’s the key. Your only commodity is time. That’s all you have. Choose what you want to spend your time doing and the like-minded people who you want to spend it with. Cultivate those relationships and cherish them.”
Our hour-long Zoom ends up being a conversation I’ll cherish. And who knows? Maybe for me it’s the start of a new relationship with a couple of like-minded people who care about the universe. Like I said, undeniably uplifting.
“It’s relationships and referrals. We’re all in the relationship business, and relationships need constant care and nurturing. My speciality is getting down to the human level with everyone I meet. It’s where I live and where my relationships live.” — Pete
