This is definitely not something I thought I would ever do!
I have never been good with words. It has been my life-long struggle. I'm terrible at communicating my thoughts, expressing my feelings and making small talk, and I have a knack for putting my foot in my mouth. Communication is something I've always wished I was good at.
I have so much respect and appreciation for people who can communicate an idea or rally together a group of people around a cause through the power of their words, whether written or spoken.
Writing holds more appeal to me than speaking, because it gives you a chance to really put thought into what you want to say before you put it out there. And I am capable of stringing together some words to pull together some thoughts half-decently, but it takes SO long for me to do it! I need to use a thesaurus, read and re-read my writing, and take long thinking breaks. It doesn't come easy. But I'd like to get better, and there's no better way to improve than to practice. So here I am.
Blogging for a purpose
Though I'd like to be a better writer and communicator, it isn't my real motivation for starting this website and blog. I'm not passionate about blogging itself, but about the topic I'm blogging about. My real passion lies in good design. And the further I get in my career, the more my definition of good design is being refined.
I believe that good design is good for not just the home owner, but for all people; not just for the building lot, but for the global environment; and not just project budget, but the welfare of humanity and the planet.
One day, I believe all design will be sustainable design. But right now, we're not there. There are more and more products and companies that are putting the planet first, but there's a huge gap between this industry and the average home owner. Particularly in the area I live in, the Niagara region, there are so few resources for sustainable products and companies. And the information that is out these can be so conflicting, it's difficult to know where to start and what to believe. I'm hoping to bring clarification and understanding to the world of sustainable design and close the gap. And to create this website to be a resource for any and every home owner to help them on a journey to more sustainable design and living in their own home.