I’m definitely a country girl. I didn’t grow up in an actual town, village or hamlet. It was more like the middle of somewhere along Highway 28, surrounded by trees. Many thanks goes to my high school art teacher, Mr. Edwards, for inspiring me to choose this career path. With the realization that I actually could create art for a living, college lured me away from country life to the big city. Kitchener, to be exact, to study Graphic Design & Advertising at Conestoga College. Talk about beginning an adventure and a culture shock! Not staring at people with purple, green or some other wildly coloured hair was a bit of a challenge. City buses (lol thinking back), who knew they only stopped on the same side of the street as the bus stop sign!? Lesson learnt.
You never know unless you try, in my opinion, is a theory to live by. I love learning new things. I love finding solutions. I don’t like to say I can’t do something. I’d rather spend time figuring it out than giving up.
When asked what I do for a living some people just don’t understand when I say I’m a graphic designer. I think I may start telling them I take an idea, combine some letters, some pictures, undos, redos, move it left, right, up down, make it bigger, smaller, a different colour, centre it, no right justify it, make a few more tweaks and adjust it until it’s perfect! The pride and reward of seeing your idea come to life in this career are fascinating. Working in various industries has put my design skills to the test. Barbecue manufactures, storage solutions, beverages and snack foods all have their unique challenges. I even had my own little sign business for a while.
How did I end up here? Well, one day I happened to be searching the internet for my next graphic design adventure destination and up popped Palmer Marketing. Strangely enough the small town that was close by where I grew up was called Palmer Rapids. Hmm, coincidence or fate? I clicked the link and discovered a fun looking, talented, friendly bunch of people. The best part, these people do what I love to do in yet another industry providing a new set of unique challenges. I think it might have been fate or maybe it was applying my, you never know unless you try theory. I contacted PM and here I am taking an idea, moving it left, right, up down, making it, bigger, smaller, different colours, combining it with letters and pictures until it’s perfect and loving every minute.
Life’s adventures are all around us, you just have to grab onto them. While my city life certainly has it’s advantages, adventures and opportunities I’ll always be a country girl. There’s nothing quite like getting out on the four wheeler to travel some back country trails only to find yourself ripping through a glorious mud bog. Who can resist the quiet calm of a summer night by the bon fire that’s only interrupted periodically by the addition of More Gas causing massive flames! Or the delightful bragging rights when I catch a bigger bass than my husband. Oh don’t laugh too hard, he’s one up on me now with a bigger deer. Maybe next year I’ll settle the score or raise the bar a little higher. When snowmobile season is just around the corner, you can bet I keep an eye to the sky for those heavenly flakes of snow to come pelting down.