George Brown Con Ed Calendar Girl

I was recently invited to share my story and some of the experiences I had as a graduate of the Interior Decorating Certificate at George Brown College of Continuing Education.

I agreed to an interview and a photoshoot for the calendar because I believe in supporting the institutions who helped you get to where you are today , but it was definitely a surprise that they ended up putting my mug on the cover of the 2015-16 course calendar. Just call me a calendar girl!

The photo shoot for the calendar took place at my home aka my office, and even Edie enjoyed getting in on the action!

You can read the whole shpeel here of how I arrived at the decorating world and more importantly, why I think investing the time and effort into a proper education is a pivotal ingredient to being a success in this industry.

Those who have done night school and weekend courses on top of juggling work and family life know that you really have to be committed and passionate about what you’re studying to get through such a rigorous course load. At the time I was extremely overwhelmed while trying to balance full time work and part time school (going to bed at 3am was not an irregular occurrence) along with any semblance of a personal life, but it was so worth it.

Having the certificate behind me gives me a sense of legitimacy in what is often perceived as a “fluffy” industry, and I regularly use my course knowledge from classes, such as History of Furniture and Design and Fabric Fundamentals that a lot of other programs just skim over.

Thanks to the George Brown team for considering my success story cover-worthy and good luck to all the new students in their studies as they follow their passion!