I've been realizing the past couple months that no one really knows where in the world I am right now, or what the heck I'm doing there. Due to this -I'm going to give you a bit of a run down of what's up lately.
The past 4.5 years I've been in school. I lived in Fredericton, Montreal, Saint John and Halifax. In August, I graduated from NSCAD University in Halifax. I returned to my hometown in Saint John, New Brunswick. In September I started working as Social Media Coordinator for Handworks Gallery and Exchange on Germain. I run all their social media platforms, blogs, marketing, photography, interviews, fashion writing, content creation & graphic design for both businesses.
Aside from my 9-5, I am running a startup with my best friend and cousin, Katie, called AKA DECOR. AKA stands for Art known as decor. It's a combination of art, photography and interior design. For now, we have started with cushions and will be going up from there. We are part of a startup program called Venture Garage by Enterprise Saint John. We are wholesaling to two stores in Saint John and it's still a little bit on the down-low as we're so close to making so many things official before we announce them all. I'm going to do a whole other post on AKA later on, so stay tuned.
To add to that, I've been painting like crazy. Painting used to be my getaway that I used to explore now and then, but the past year it's been more consistent than I ever imagined. As a photographer, I never expected to have any type of income from painting, but it's happening, fast! I haven't had a break from commissions in over a year. It's a dream!
We've also moved to a new place in uptown and it's another absolute dream. The ceilings are high and the rooms are white. It's like living in a studio. (I'll do an apartment post soon ;) )
I have to say, It's pretty cool to be finished school for ever and ever and ever and to be amerced in the real world. Doing everything I ever wanted to be doing.
I've always lived like I should be living somewhere else, and working really hard towards getting out of wherever I was & on to the next thing. I can honestly say right now it's finally not the case. Saint John really is what everyone's saying it is right now -It's awesome. So many entrepreneurial opportunities, resources, and eager people in the city ready to help you get there. It's a breath of fresh air hearing other people in the city that love living and working here. As comedian James Mullinger said in his recent arena show, "In Saint John -anything goes & everyone knows" haha, but in some cases, this works in your favor. Hard work pays off here, and people notice.
So stay tuned for a lot coming up, from Art Battles, to personal posts, to new fashion and lifestyle brands. I cannot wait to share everything thats been happening in more detail and what's coming up next.
Also, thanks to you guys for reading and following along for all of the fun. It's really cool to interact with everyone, weather it's on Instagram or someone stopping me on the street. It's so cool to have built something that's so personal but exciting, and having a place to put it all. So new friends and old, welcome! and thanks for hanging out <3
x
Allie