I was a terrible student, like actually, the worst. After about grade 5 all hope was lost. High school was a blast socially, but come exam time…Ummm?
Better luck next time. I went to three different high schools. Humberside Collegiate, Central Tech, and The Student School. Got my final credit doing a month-long trip in the bush with Outward Bound. But then what???…
I worked as a cashier at Loblaws from age 15 to 22. I loved it. To this day, I still have dreams about being a cashier. I took so much pride in being the best, average was never for me. People would actually join my longer line-up just so I could look after them. I was really good at organizing and packing. Everything fit perfectly in the bag, was well balanced, and placed with intention. I was fast. I smiled. I made eye contact. I could make change…
My manager gave me a special “override” code. I was the queen of those 17 lanes at Lakeshore and Jarvis. I got job offers from time to time from customers.“C’mon kid, let’s get you outta here”. But I was studying jewellery arts and little did I know, it was leading me somewhere…
This job was a great place to study jewellery. Everyone has to eat and most people wear jewellery. It was fertile ground for learning about and understanding people. This “study” was integral to the marketing concepts I would later consider for my business. Who wears what? Do people who wear a certain type of jewellery also go for certain types of food? Turns out there’s a lot of connections and this informal analysis informs my business to this day…
My days at Loblaws were numbered. I left with a “bun in the oven”. I had my reservations about the fetus hearing all of that beeping all day long at tummy level and was fortunate enough to be able to leave my cashier job for the duration of my pregnancy…
It was around that same time that I left the Jewellery Arts Program at George Brown College too. I didn’t want the baby to be exposed to all the fumes and chemicals. It was in that space, between pregnant naps, that I began to lay the groundwork for my vision.
(stay tuned)..