Dream Teams: How Leah Burnside and Raine Calucag Bring Incredible Energy Everywhere

Within this industry, sometimes, there are partnerships that are just meant to be. Call it what you will – when the stars align, and the universe gives you the ‘go’ signal, it’s very hard to ignore.

Such was the case for The Kitchen’s dynamic duo of Leah Burnside and Raine Calucag. Simply put, the two immediately sensed the potential when both, as Sid Lee employees, attended a yacht party (the theme was to wear white), and Leah was the only person dressed as Betty White. 

“We became friends instantly,” recalls Raine. “I was immediately drawn to her because I was more introverted at that time, and she inspired me to get out of my shell and find my voice.”

Quick to return the praise, Leah remembers her immediate realisation from that night: Raine was awesome. “She may have been quiet at first, but she very quickly became her unfiltered and hilarious self,” Leah notes. “She says what everyone’s too afraid to say out loud!”

Of course, not every power pair can be built overnight. And in Raine and Leah’s case, it would actually take a while, with both initially working on different teams as an art director and copywriter respectively. “We called ourselves star-crossed partners,” Leah says. “However, we continued to seek out proactive opportunities to work together, and after a few projects, and a big activation for Hayu, we knew, ‘Ooooh, this one’s gonna work’.”

Truly, this partnership had been a long time in the making. Even on their first project together – a seemingly simple pitch – the friends had immediately discovered workplace compatibility through the mutual horror of 4am calls, and, more importantly, the realisation that they shared a work process: “ideate apart, build it together, then finesse ‘til dawn”.

So, one leap of faith later, the dream team was alive. And, aside from the obvious excitement of making it LinkedIn-official, both were thrilled to finally overcome the “star-crossed” mantle, and get cracking on some exciting stuff. 

In this regard, when considering their favourite collaboration, it’s not actually a piece of work which comes to mind for Raine or Leah. Rather, it was the opportunity to help build the work culture at Sid Lee. 

“We worked together to design these themed events, massive games, and incredible parties – ask around, they’re legendary,” explains Raine. “So, creating an environment everyone wants to work in is the single thing we’re most proud of. And, we can’t wait to bring that energy to The Kitchen.”

Undoubtedly, these two are the right people for the job. Previous acumen aside, the combination of Raine’s reputation as an AI whiz, night owl and best dressed employee, mixed with Leah’s very serious formal title, “VP of fun” means that their fellow employees are in for some awesome times ahead. 

Equally however, on the more serious side of things, the pair’s hunger to bring impactful, reactive creative with heart to life has been well met… although not without some trickiness here and there. Referencing an upcoming piece of work that’s required the duo to overcome some challenges, but is more than worth looking out for, Leah teases, “Well, a global product launch isn’t the easiest thing to make happen, but we can’t talk about that just yet!”

All this said, great friendships, great culture building, and great work don’t rule out the possibility of the occasional creative disagreement here or there. In fact, according to Raine, there are lots of little things – design choices, copy lines, etc. – that can stir frustration, but that’s just a natural part of the process. “Whoever said hanging out with one person for eight-hour plus days is easy? But, we always work it out!”

Instrumental in this regard is simply their willingness to listen, and the shared understanding that caring about the work is never a bad thing, even if it comes with additional emotions. “We’re a talk-it-out kind of team,” Leah continues. “We both respect each other’s opinion, so hearing the other person defend their case helps us decide what direction to take things.”

Raine adds, “Caring about the work is so important in this job – you have to care to make it happen, so absolutely get emotional if you feel it!”

Nevertheless, more often than not, the two are on the same page. In fact, sometimes, it’s a little bit unintentional – case and point, the fact that the two have spent a lot of time twinning as of late, showing up in the same outfit, almost every day. “It’s getting spooky,” they agree. 

If anything however, all of this is just a testament to the power of combining people who share equally strong similarities and differences. While personality-wise, they have much in common, the reality of the situation is that on the one hand, you’ve got Leah, who is from Ottawa but moved to Toronto to study at Toronto Metropolitan University (and didn’t go to ad school), and then you’ve got Raine, who grew up in the Philippines, graduated with a degree in journalism before studying at Miami Ad School. 

“If you meet us, you’ll think we’re the same person; energetic, fun, and a little weird – but we bring to the table such different lived experiences,” Leah says. “This is a great thing – having two different perspectives, backgrounds, and culture sets gives us a wider view of the world.”

The advantages don’t stop there, however. For Raine, the merit of a partner is having “a built-in best friend, a gut check for your ideas, a confidence booster, and honestly, someone to figure out the espresso machine with you (we struggled through that together).”

And, this is something they intend to continue embracing well into the future, as they hone their craft side by side, and push each other to new heights – although not without a little creative inspiration in the meanwhile. 

In particular, the duo mention a handful of “industry crushes”, including Mo Bofill (fun fact: Leah was actually her assistant at one point), Christina Yu, Judy John, Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, and Alexis Bronstorph. “Wow! A lot of powerful women on this list,” Leah remarks. “Fancy that!”

But, at the end of the day, the present is the present, and that’s where Raine and Leah’s focus lies at the moment. The summer is young, there are dinner parties to be had, bubble teas to be consumed, old pals to hang out with, and naturally, their new positions – all to be elegantly juggled across the course of the coming months.

Thinking about what it’ll take to handle all of this, Leah reflects on the lessons Raine has taught her. “Aside from bringing work snacks, laughing it off, and the correct way to bury a dead body (this was Raine’s fun fact on her first day – it’s a long story, she’s not a murderer, but I think people might be scared of us now), I’ve learned just to trust the process.” 

Agreeing with her friend, Raine pokes fun at Leah’s slight paranoia, but truly, has only optimism for the future of their partnership. “Yes, we love each other,” she finishes. “Truly, we are thrilled to be at The Kitchen and see what comes next. It’s an amazing opportunity made better by being together!”