When I joined Leigh-Ann as a partner in Freckled Nest Design we had a big task ahead of us: to take her freelance business and turn it into something that was ours together, and hopefully bigger than both of us. When we started making that decision we had an amazing opportunity to move into a studio in the heart of our city. Rent here is affordable and the place was too good to pass up (oh hello, hardwood floors & soaring ceilings) so we took over a gorgeous space with our friend Jill from Lune Vintage and set about making it our own.

It was magical and surreal, and made quitting my job even easier than it already was. Though, to be fair, there’s little I find more tempting than a room filled sun and vintage clothes. Something about having a place to go made the big decision I’d made to be full time freelance feel even more real and definite than it had before. It made it feel tangible and less uncertain because I could go there and tackle it in small ways every day.

At the time, Leigh-Ann and I were just starting to figure out what it meant to own a business with someone else, and I was navigating stepping into a brand with a style defined by Leigh-Ann’s personal style and personality. We needed face time (a couple years of it!) to find out what we wanted to grow together, what our working styles and strengths are, and to figure out how the heck this was all going to work! We’d imagined a business with a big handmade component, live workshops in Winnipeg, and planted roots and hired a local assistant to move toward that.

The only thing was that our business? It had other plans.

At every turn, everything that was growing in our business was web design related and our passion for what we were doing just kept growing with it. The plans for live workshops turned into plans for eCourses, online workshops and creating tools for our clients. As we got closer to starting our third year together, I looked around and realized that we were running a 100% online business with the overhead, scheduling conflicts and demands of owning a retail store.

It was obvious that we had a choice to make: re-new our lease and stay until summer or transition to working at home. Our new dreams for Freckled Nest Design made the decision to leave the studio a simple one, and this year I’ve been figuring out a new way of working for 2013. (And new ways to bug Leigh-Ann all day long! Mwhahaha!)

So, welcome to my home office. Please take a look around and make yourself at home!

The change has been incredibly positive and has reaffirmed that we’re paying attention to both what we need and where our business is taking us. I’m so much more productive than I had been at the studio (which also means not having a second place to clean, shovel snow & maintain!), I have my dogs and twitter for company, and while it’s challenging in its own way it’s a challenge that fits into my life really well.

It’s not what I expected when I set out a few years ago, but it’s a wonderful surprise that’s still unfolding. More than anything, I’m grateful to be here discovering what’s in store, day by day.