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jennifer m. designs

Upon entering jennifer m. designs in downtown St. Thomas, you may feel like you have been transported to a big-city gallery. The space is both comfortable and vibrant – you will likely want to stay awhile and return often.

Owner Jennifer Copland has had a life-long passion for sewing, fabric and art. She started a design and sewing business in 1997 based on that passion plus some solid practical experience which included a stint working and learning from the people at Elgin Floor Covering and the Wallpaper Loft. She has brought her creative flare (and hard work) to many successful home transformations, as well as several projects with businesses.

In 2005 Jennifer earned her art diploma, an accomplishment which reflected her dedication to building her potential as a professional artist. It was a long-standing goal that got side-lined many times. Over the years, some friends and family had expressed concern that she would choose art as a profession, despite the fact that she was already selling her work and felt strongly that art was her “voice in life” and a means by which she could make a living. She believed that an arts education would give her greater confidence to say, “This is what I do, and I know I can be successful at it.” She also gained a broader sense of art, an opportunity to train in a variety of media, and a chance to be a good example of perseverance for her children.

Another long-term dream was to create a retail/workspace where she would also be accessible to her kids. Over the years, those plans ran up against many an obstacle. She had actually looked at her present building several years ago. In 2007 she revisited the location, bought it and set out to renovate, doing much of the work herself. Jennifer remembers, “As the jobs of landlord, store-owner and contractor were added to my decorating projects, things got a ‘little’ hectic. Being sore and tired became the normal state.”

Finally, in May of 2008 jennifer m. designs on Talbot opened. It’s a store, gallery, showcase of ideas, and a workspace. Jennifer hopes it demonstrates the possibilities behind the walls of older downtown buildings. Her approach to creating the space, she says, just came naturally. She loves the aesthetic of raw surfaces next to finished ones. Ideas come from travel, books and magazines.

Since the store opened, Jennifer has built her business with a local presence but also with an understanding that cooperative ventures farther afield are necessary to keep it vibrant and growing. She works with a partner gallery in London to promote various artists, bouncing works back and forth between the two studios. She has found this approach has worked well.

Jennifer has about her an aura of creative energy. (She does mention that she is lacking in sleep – no surprise considering all that she has on the go). She believes that people benefit from having original art in their homes. Her own work takes a variety of formats, so it readily appeals to a wide audience. It is often bold and energetic. She experiments with different media, materials, colours, sizes, shapes, and subjects.

Her inspirations, she says, come from anything – people, events, happy memories, experiences. One piece, came from watching a person she had seen occasionally but not spoken with – it became a large piece about looking beneath the surface, looking more closely (see photo, left).

Jennifer is known for creating “wonderful things out of nothing.” Considering the current state of the economy, she offered some tips for Christmas decorating on a budget:

Manon, Jennifer’s assistant (mannequin), appears often in the shop window. Why not stop in and see what the two of them are up to.

Photos (top to bottom): Jennifer in her gallery; "Black Cloud Rain" (mixed media); "In Her Eyes", (mixed media, 3'x7'); Manon in the jennifer m. designs window.

jennifer m. designs is located at 364 Talbot St., St. Thomas (519.633.9806). Visit www.jennifermdesigns.ca.