Into the North Designs

 In between sips of Jasmine green tea and good conversation, I admired Shannon’s warm and colourful house, learning about where all the magic happens. Topics moved between learning about her business, Into the North Designs, and chatting about her son, a mutual topic in both of our houses, as Bryce plays a significant part in mine and mine and Mike's life as well. Amongst being Mike’s family, Bryce comes snowboarding with us regularly where, as an incredible grade 7 year old snowboarder, he often encourages me to take jumps that I’m not ready for – but that’s a story for another time. Shannon’s house is scattered with tasteful wall hangings, I noted a framed sign in her dining room with the words And so the Adventure Begins are elegantly scrolled across glass as well as the words Love placed against upcyced wood off of something like an old barn. The art displayed throughout her house is not all that surprising as she has become quite the entrepreneur in terms of creating art – or perhaps it more about giving you permission and the ability to create your own. 

A few short months before COVID hit, Shannon started promoting her sign making business. Shannon, a true extrovert, was looking for ways to get beyond her comfort zone and be more social. She came upon a similar idea on Facebook, and as nothing like this was occurring in our home town, she decided to invest in a Cricut, a machine for creating stencils amongst other things, and began designing. She provides you with a large collection of quotes you can choose from otherwise she will happily create a quote of your preference; you have the ability to paint it on a sign, pillow or tote bag (my personal favorite) and can choose an array of paint colours for the letters and stain for the board. 

Shannon was gushing about some of the events she’s been invited to, from a twelve year old’ birthday to an appetiser party in Prince George. She said that her favorite thing about what Into the North Designs has given her is the ability to meet new people and bring people together. With her bubbly personality and laid back attitude, you can tell, she just wants to have fun, and it’s incredibly infectious. Back in August, during snacks and well into beverages, Shannon appeared at a bridal shower that I arranged in my backyard. A handful of forced friends (thanks to the common grounds of career paths and independent women goals) got together to celebrate an upcoming wedding. Shannon’s relaxed personality and good nature only added to the event. She took us through the process of sign creation and provided tips and tricks along the way. She patiently answered questions and helped with tedious process of peeling off the stencil and helping stain the boards. Our laughter increased, as did the beverages for the soon to be bride and her girlfriends. She contributed to conversations with people she didn’t know very well with her incredible personable and had a contagious laugh.

From our conversation, I felt that the definition of success of Shannon’s business wasn’t so much the financial profit, but the idea of bringing people together. I would say that a completed sign is only a small piece of the product that she sells: she’s all about bringing people together.

Everything Happens for a Reason - Shannon favorite quote off of a sign.