Courtney is a lover. She loves her family. She loves her friends. She loves VANCOUVER! She loves her Canucks (even though she grew up in the land of white and blue.) She loves writing letters for various causes - in fact, she believes that one of her letter writing campaigns single-handedly got Swiss Chalet to put the lemon back in the cup of warm water to clean your hands after a chicken dinner. Courtney is a lover and she's wacky and fun in all the right ways to boot. Loyal. Dependable. The one you want in your corner. She's Courtney and part of what makes Vancouver awesome.
- Scott Weisbrod
The Proof
o1 This is where I love to spend my time and get inspired; in the workroom at Craftworks, surrounded by craft supplies, miles of fabric and great people.
02 My fridge. It's messy & I love it. My friend Nick says it's because I'm an emotional eater, I say it's because blank fridges are just begging to become something more than they are (and all the good stuff is in the pantry anyway) These are all of my favourite photos of my favourite people.
03 Walking on the beach on a tremendously sunny January Sunday, we're lucky enough that we can do that everyday.
04 These are the crazy bunnies of Craftworks, handmade with love here in Vancouver, they crack me up every time I look at them.
05 My very messy workspace, a friend snagged my initials from an old greenhouse here in Vancouver and the art is a mix of nephew doodles and prints from local artists. This is the desk of possibility. I've made many many things sitting here, and the desk is one of my best alleyway finds in Vancouver yet.
06 Something I made sitting at my very messy desk for my little jewelry line called telly designs.
07 My mantra. This is at my other very messy desk at work on my wall, staring at me, begging me to make something.
08 Food! I love cooking, I love eating, I love sharing food with friends, there is truly no better place than at a table with friends and family telling stories and stuffing your face with deliciousness.
The Questions
What neighborhood do you live in?
I live in the beachy, ocean-smelling Kitsilano where I can walk everywhere and my car gets super dusty. I love it there because I recognize the faces of my neighbours, and it's got a small-ish town feel not far from the big city. Plus I can whirl down to the beach in about 1 second flat on my bike and lie in the sunshine. Boom!
What do you do and where?
By day I am an account manager at an advertising agency in Gastown, I work with great peeps and we work hard and have a lot of fun, and my evenings and weekends I spend as a board member at a little Kitsilano not-for-profit called Craftworks Society. It's a small retail store on 4th ave and everything that we sell is handmade by people with disabilities in our Vancouver communities. It's amazing. I also have a small jewelry line called telly designs which sometimes gets neglected, but I love making pretty things. I also quilt and am an enthusiastic and nerdy member of the Vancouver Modern Quilt Guild.
What are you working on?
My main focus right now is my work at Craftworks Society, they've been around in Kitsilano since 1966 and no one really knows who we are, so we've recently finished a new logo and we're working on new product development, brainstorming ideas for craft classes and about one thousand other things. We are looking for new faces to join our board (crafty, enthusiastic, smart, looking to make a change in their communities) if you're interested ping me at cj (at) tellydesigns.com
Where can we find your work?
Swing by Craftworks Society on 4th in the next few months and let me know what you think of our new products that I'm helping design, you can also find a smattering of my jewelery at U-Life at 4th and Vine. And hopefully a few new places around town in the summer of 2011.
