Saturday, October 23, 2010

Triumphs and Tragedies

This week we are celebrating a Triumph, though not of a gardening variety.  Many of you may know that my partner and I moved from British Columbia, the most western province in Canada, to Prince Edward Island, on the eastern side of Canada last year.  It was a big step for us as we left family, friends, home and jobs behind.  We did it with the hope that we might change some aspects of our lives and better realize our dreams.  The first thing we did was purchase our first home which is something we have both been very excited about and grateful for.  We have a house we love, a welcoming neighbourhood, room to garden and for Jody, space for a workshop.  While I simply exchanged my job in British Columbia for another one here in Prince Edward Island, Jody decided to change careers completely and follow his dream to design and build furniture.  It's a scary proposition to leave behind the only career you've known and start your own business.  To combine that with a cross country move, a new home, and a new community is taking on a lot.  Lesser persons might have thrown in the towel but he has stuck with it and this week his perseverance paid off.  Jody has been accepted into the Interior Design Show in Toronto this January 2011.  Touted as Canada's largest contemporary design fair Jody's furniture will be showcased at Studio North which features independent designers and ateliers from across the country.  It's thrilling to have all his hard work recognized by adjudicators at such a large show and I'm very excited for the world at large to get to see his work.

If you would like to see Jody's work please visit him at Modern Revision.

15 comments:

Bub said...

Well done Jody! What a fantastic achievement and opportunity.

Actually, well done to both of you - relocating is a brave thing to do, especially when a large distance is involved.

Anonymous said...

What a cool story! It's great to hear a success story involving "going the other way".

Casa Mariposa said...

I popped by your blog the other day but didn't have time to comment. Today while planting hostas I was thinking about the green desk with the curved drawers. AMAZING!!! He is a tremendous talent and from now on I'll probably always associate hostas with Jody's work!! :0)

You are both pioneers for starting over. I admire that!!!

Liz said...

Congratulations on the Design Show! That's a big one. Takes a lot of guts to pick up and move like you did. Nice to see when it works out.

Marguerite said...

Bub - Thank you. Relocating has been both a joy and a challenge for both of us.

Toemailer - Welcome! You're absolutely right. It's unfortunate how often we see people from the East coast leaving to go west, not because they want to, but because they feel they must in order to survive.

TS - I'm thrilled you like that desk. It's a bit goofy and not for everyone (I prefer classic wood I'm afraid) so it's great to hear that other people enjoy it.

Welcome Liz and thank you. There's still hurdles to come I'm sure but we're thrilled with this step.

Melanie J Watts said...

Congratulations Jody !

Kate/High Altitude Gardening said...

Oh, I love reading success stories like this! Way to go! :)

The Witch said...

Congratulations!
Your wood designs are very nice looking, along with your choice to use good quality wood. Hubby loves to work with walnut and other exotic woods, but as you know it can become expensive.
Can't wait to hear all the buzz from the show next year.

Jennifer@threedogsinagarden said...

Congratulations to Jody! I am really happy that the huge risk you both took is paying off.
Canadian House and Home often features up and coming designers. You should send them a press release about his acceptance in to the show and add details about his furniture. You never know, they might do a small feature.
Anyway, this is great news. Again, congratulations.

Marguerite said...

Melanie and Kate - Thank you. I'm very proud of him.

The Witch - You're right, the exotic woods are beautiful and expensive. As well as not an environmentally sensitive. Reusing old furniture really hit a note with hubby, as it's really interesting and felt like the right thing to do.

Jennifer - Thanks for the advice. There's lots of work to do before the show and press releases will be one of them. We'll definitely look at Canadian House and Home.

Gail said...

That's wonderful news! I am going to pop over and look at this work~ gail

SeaBlush said...

Congratulations! So nice to hear that your move went well and is helping you create the life you both want.

Anonymous said...

Congratulations to Jody! That is wonderful.

Anonymous said...

I'm just getting caught up with a week's worth of your blog posts. Please pass along my congratulations to Jody and tell him I love his furniture pieces! -Jean

Marguerite said...

Gail, Seablush, Sandra and Jean - Thank you very much for your well wishes. It means a lot that people are enjoying Jody's work.