The Beginning

Ever since I was a little girl, I knew I wanted to be my own boss (I do not always “play well” with others…haha). As professional singer/dancer was already taken, I went through the natural phases of growing into myself, and considered many careers along the way; all the colors of the rainbow: from Lawyer, to Journalist/Novelist, Veterinarian…and finally as I discovered and settled into who I am: Entrepreneur!

Once this concept began to marinate, I dreamed about it constantly. I began to assess storefronts that were for lease, I started to pay extra attention to artwork that inspired me, and the hunger grew stronger. While the idea of being a store owner was exciting, it was also very frustrating, as I had no idea where to start, and felt rather “trapped” financially…how did all of these successful people that I admired GET STARTED?!

I felt utterly suffocated in my ‘9-5 job’; things seemed pretty bleak. Money was tight, my dreams felt like they were decades away, and I was creeping closer and closer to the big 30. I was angry all the time, I felt completely directionless and had no idea what to do.

Luckily for me, my saving grace came in the form of a very authentic, compassionate soul named Myriam. We knew each other from the yoga community, and I had always felt a kinship with her. Myriam is a life coach, and for the first time, I thought “Okay, I need some help with life…lets do it!”

There was a lot of raw, painful “stuff” that surfaced during our time together, but wow was it powerful! I began to recognize my cynicism, and general distrust of myself and the possibility of my dreams becoming reality. Once I was able to actually identify these habitual thought patterns and OWN them, they began to recede and there was room for hope and trust. I’m not saying they have vanished (we always have work to do), but the recognition of them has made a huge difference.

As our work together progressed, I began to put myself and my innermost desires out there for the world to see (and help with). I had just made the decision to leave college (best decision I EVER made) and even though money was tight (c’est la vie), I expressed my interest in finding gallery/storefront space on social media.

The saying “when one door closes, another one opens” could not have been more true here…almost instantly, I received a message from a lovely local artist named Beverly, whom I had never met nor heard of before; she appeared almost magically. She had just leased a space on Cannery Lane, and was looking for like-minded artists to share it with her.

Everything flowed rapidly forward from there and before I had time to doubt it, I was signing papers and planning to open my very first Gallery/Treasure Shop!

My husband/’partner in crime’ and I opened our doors in February of this year. It’s a slower retail time, but we’re excited to get our processes in place and continue refining the space itself. There is SO much talent within our artist collective building (Vibrandt Art Gallery Studios & Karmyc Bazaar)!

Our little gallery features 12 artists from British Columbia, and the Vibrandt Arts building (that we are a part of) has 6 extremely talented, beautiful artists renting work space to create their amazing paintings. The feeling of creativity and inspiration is palpable as the door opens and you step into the building.

I encourage you to come in and visit us! It’s a casual, friendly, and unique experience that you won’t want to miss.

Reconnect ~ Get inspired. And stay tuned for my next post!