AN INFORMALLY FORMAL INTRODUCTION

Okay, whew, this is my first ever post. Thanks for checking it out!

I once took a blogging class in my undergrad. You know, the kind of class to balance your workload; as we called them then, a “bird course”. It ended up being one of my favourite classes. Likely because it was easy. Or maybe because it was foreshadowing that this would become part of my path.

If you have been following me on Instagram, @welcometothe_dl, then you know that I quit my job last fall, bought the Barclay House, completely flipped it, sold it, and then fell off the face of the earth. Well, during that time I have been working behind a screen on what you now know as Willow Root Collective.

To my surprise, one of my most frequently asked questions during the Barclay House remodel was if I was going to live there to avoid a capital gains expense. In Canada (I cannot speak to other countries), you pay a lot of money when you sell a non-owner-occupied house. The answer was always, no. I have a home that I am happily living in (The DL House), leaving the Barclay House as just that, a non-owner-occupied house.

To be financially efficient, we opted to create a numbered corporation. Cue: Willow Root Collective Corp. (WRC for short). So, the Barclay House was in fact owned by WRC on paper. This way we only had to pay corporate tax on our profit — which is much less than what the capital gains expense would have been. Not to mention it then doesn’t affect our personal income tax, etc. There are a handful of benefits to having a corporation, but that is not what this post is about.

This post is about what exactly Willow Root Collective is. An informally formal introduction, if you will.

It is a collection of creative ideas turned into (eventual) businesses. I have a list with about a dozen ideas that I hope to bring to life over the course of my career. While they are all centered around design, they all are individually unique. You’ll have to follow along to see what is in store!!

The first of many endeavours is Design Services. You can check them out here. I am looking SO forward to creating more spaces and expanding our portfolio. Let’s be real, a good before and after never gets old.

So what exactly can you expect from this site? Simply put, this is the WRC headquarters. The site is home to all our endeavours. You will find the details about our Design Services, how to book, and view our work. As we take on new endeavours, the site will expand and evolve to include it all.

And what can you expect from this blog? The blog is where you can follow along as it all unfolds over the years to come. Moving forward, I will be blogging my way through projects, both big and small. I will be sharing all the goodies including moodboards, progress updates, reveals, etc. In addition to DIY recipes, favourites round ups, sources, new ventures, plans, etc. Really, I will be sharing as much as I can. And, as new endeavours come to life, the blog will know first. Nothing is off the table…!

Whew, who knew I had so much to say. If you are still reading this, thank you! Oh and side note: This is the longest post there will ever be. You can expect short and sweet moving forward.