I love all dimensions and aspects of space: how they look and feel, how they function, how they serve us, how we behave and react in different spaces, and how they can inspire and leave lasting impressions to want more and or return again.
After twenty years in the corporate world, focusing on retail space, it was time to explore other spaces. It was time to grow laterally. My first stop was the digital space. I embarked on a digital marketing course in Squared Online, developed by Google. I was a student again, engaging in a world that had grown around me while I had been deep in vertical retail and physical spaces. It was back to school for six months. We followed the teachings and practices of agile tech startups. They were fast to market, analyzed consumer behaviour and created apps and programs that other startups would, in turn, use. During the course curriculum, we had to write and develop a fictitious business plan. As I sat crafting my business plan, I decided I’d map out my own business idea. The concept of space was central to it; listing all the spaces I enjoyed and took away inspiration. They were building blocks of my life experience, how I used them to compare and contrast, what works with space and why. It was at that moment I decided to go for it. In the following months, I started my research; my experience was plentiful, but I needed more in this new arena.
Next was the art space. I’d studied art; I was a follower, an observer. I frequented shows and exhibitions. I didn't know or understand many facets of the art world and still don’t fully. The artists, curators, gallerists, auction houses, art schools, art foundations, art advisors, art critiques—all of them had roles in an ecosystem of art that keeps art space alive and thriving. It was time to try and see behind the curtain—see inside artists’ studios, hear their stories, what inspires them, why and how that inspiration turns into an actual creation, and who decides when and where it shows up in the world. I joined an art group; we travel to art fairs and shows worldwide, attend talks from industry experts, visit artists’ studios, and have the joy of meeting collectors, hearing their inspiration and why. It’s refreshing looking at this new space, art space, and how we, as human beings, react and behave in spaces created for more than function and commerce.
The other space I explored was headspace and wellness spaces. How are the mind and body connected, and how do we keep ourselves in the best space? Where do we go to maintain good health and wellness? What is and where is the space in your mind and body that moves you through life? I love the wellness space and how these spaces are created for people to balance their lives. Living busy and complicated lives, often in densely populated cities, we need this time and space to take care of ourselves so we can perform at our best. The space I discovered here was a balancing space, a yin to the yang of the external spaces, the looking inwards. And then what? This research time had to turn into fuel to drive my business idea forward.
I’m a collector of spaces; I walk into spaces, settle in, and take them for what they are at that moment. I turn this experience into action to make the space more inviting, more productive, and more experiential. I create spaces with you, for you, large or small and across multi-disciplines. Enjoy the journey of shared space. The list of space to explore is infinite:
Retail space
Art Space
Public space
Corporate space
Digital space
Commercial space
Industrial space
Sport space
Wellness space
Headspace
Home space
Sacred space
Personal space
Career space
Learning space