Company overview
Information providing the context for your project. Describe your business. What is your area of expertise? Describe what you do, where you do it, how and why. What are your objectives and the company's values?
My Area of Expertise
Sectors: Non-Profit, Education, Creative Industry, Technology, Hospitality/Travel & Tourism
Roles: Coordinator, Instructor, Entrepreneur, Software Process Manager
In 2012 I began BoutiqueQuarters, a small, luxury vacation rental company that grew from a single vacation home to a a 5-home suite in 3 cities in The United States and The Netherlands. Prior to working in the travel accommodation sector, I worked and lived internationally. I started my career as an ESL Instructor at the University of Winnipeg, and eventually relocated and taught in Asia and the Middle East. While living in Abu Dhabi, I changed careers to follow my dream of being a photographer. This is where I met my life and business partner, Jennifer Jaffe. I started a company focussed on corporate documentary photography. I gained notable clients such as NYU (New York University) and some of Abu Dhabi's top Development companies, like ALDAR, responsible for the construction of the Louvre. When my partner and I relocated to the United States (her home country) I took another career shift studying Woodworking and Furniture Design. A few years later, I used my experience as a teacher, artist, entrepreneur and woodworker and went to build a STEM Makerspace for the Portland Community College from the ground up. I created and implemented a strategic vision that aimed to increase STEM education in underrepresented sectors of the population, and established a cross-departmental curriculum. Mid-2018 Jennifer and I relocated to the Netherlands, where she became the head of the EMEA headquarters for her Portland, Oregon-based software company, while retaining her position as VP Product and Strategy. I spent the next year learning Dutch and began working on my next business idea for a sustainable nature-based accommodation. In November 2019, Jennifer was diagnosed with an aggressive form of breast cancer and everything
Context
I met my wife, Jennifer in Abu Dhabi in 2008. I was an Instructor at the University of Abu Dhabi, starting my own photography company and she was the Vice President of Market Segmentation at ADCB (Abu Dhabi Commercial Bank). We are incredibly different. I am from a small, remote town of 700 in North Western Ontario and she is from Los Angeles, California. She is a hard charging executive and I am a pretty laid-back creative who enjoys teaching. In certain ways, we couldn’t be more different. In other ways, we are and always have been exactly the same. We share a love of design, architecture and design. We love travel, new experiences, experiencing different cultures. Before we met, we had each been to 40+ countries with only a few that overlapped. Together, we have been to even more.
It is where we are aligned that makes us strong, but it is where we are different that makes us unique. She is strategic and I am creative. She loves boutique hotels and I love camping. She loves the beach and I love the forest. She loves to cook, and I love to bake. I love to create, and she loves to perfect.
From the first year we met in Abu Dhabi, we have been talking about Nova Scotia. Neither of us had been there, but I had a few friends that lived there and it looked gorgeous. Jennifer and I used to look at properties for sale. We dreamt of leaving the corporate world behind for a simpler life. By the time that I had met Jennifer, I had been living abroad for 8 years. I missed Canada, but no longer had a home there. In the first year of university, I came out. My parents couldn’t accept it, and the town rejected me. Visiting my family became increasingly difficult and hurtful. I missed Canada and I missed Canadians, but I didn’t feel like I had a home there. Somehow, I began to think of Lunenburg, a little town that I had never even been to, as my Canadian home. After 4 years we left Abu Dhabi and moved to Colorado, then Portland, Oregon all the while, we continued to dream about Nova Scotia. When President Trump was elected and the LGBTQ2 rights and freedoms that drew us out of the Middle East and into the US were at risk. I found myself drawn more and more to Nova Scotia. In February 2018, Jennifer and I decided that we needed to visit this place that really only existed in our imaginations. The thought was that if I could visit Nova Scotia in one of the coldest months, then it was meant to be. Jennifer’s company was in the midst of a software release, and as the Vice President of Product and Strategy she was not able to take the time off, so we decided that I should go alone.
I was nervous to go to Nova Scotia. I had held it up so high on a pedestal for so many years that it was going to be impossible to live up to that. There was literally no way that it could be all that I had built it up to be in my mind. But as I drove from the airport to Peggy’s cove in the blistering snow storm- the snow blowing across the icy roads, I felt alive again. I missed the winter. On my way to Peggy’s Cove I drove through community after community, each were amongst the most beautiful places I had ever seen. From there I went to Chester and then Lunenburg. We had looked at so many properties in Lunenburg over the years that when I drove into the town for the very first time, if felt familiar. It truly felt like I was coming home. I was greeted by the stunning architecture and harbour that I had dreamed about, and then I saw the LGBTQ2 flag waving. I wanted to cry.
On November 15th, 2019 Jennifer was diagnosed with TNBC, a rare aggressive form of breast cancer. The 8 months that would follow were physically, emotionally and psychologically the most difficult months of our lives. This experience caused us to reexamine our entire lives and rethink how we wanted to live in the future.
BQWild was born out of our similarities and differences, honed by our individual and shared experiences, set in motion by our commitment to live a healthier lifestyle, and reinforced by the desire to make a positive impact in the world. BQWild is the place where our worlds meet. Urban meets rural. Luxury meets rustic. Design meets nature. Indulgence meets wellness. Global meets local. Work and life meet balance.
Describe your business.
BQWild is
Boutique hotel meets glamping
Experiential travel- nature, wellness, local culture, history,
Mission
Sustainable, responsible tourism
The desire to make a positive impact, whenever possible- though sustainable building practices, training and hiring a diverse staff, being positive role models as individuals, a business and community members.
We worked hard to get where we are, and we are eager to give back. We have intentionally chose to start our business in Canada, because we believe our values and mission are fully aligned with those of Canada. Our reasons for choosing Nova Scotia are both personal and integral to our our business goals. Nova Scotia has a unique collection of rich and diverse culture and unrivalled natural beauty. BQWild is not just a unique approach tourist accommodation. We see it as a venue to make a positive impact. We aim to be advocates of sustainable tourism by promoting and celebrating local cultures, history and community. BQWild is inspired by Nova Scotia, and as a result has influenced every part of the guest experience from the structure design and materials to the furnishings and decor and of course, the culinary experience.
Each element of the guest’s experience provides us with an opportunity to promote and celebrate Nova Scotia’s unique, rich and diverse culture. The design of the guest cottage was inspired by the fishing shacks and boat houses that line the Nova Scotia Shores. Like the unpretentious homes of the early Acadian settlers, the interior is elegant in its simplicity. Its modest decor is of the highest quality, inspired by traditional craft and made by local artisans. The white-washed exposed beams and framing act as a backdrop for the furniture and decor that subtly and intentionally communicates a sense of place.
In the Bistro, guests will enjoy meals inspired by traditional Nova Scotia cuisine and made with local, fresh-grown and caught ingredients. by immersing our guests in Nova Scotia’s unique landscape, and allowing . and a way to give back through training, mentoring and employing Nova Scotia’s diverse, underrepresented communities.
guests with a subtle and intentional sense of place.
promotes sustainable tourism