From East Asian studies to wealth management to landscape design, Betsy Brown’s life has taken many turns.
The principal of breathe DESIGN grew up in Leaside, but an interest in learning another language to complement Canada’s two official languages saw her heading to McGill to major in Japanese. After transferring to the University of Toronto to complete a degree in East Asian Studies, she headed to Japan for two years, an experience she describes as “life changing.”
But after returning home, she wasn’t seeing jobs that matched her background, so she ended up working in the financial industry in wealth management for what she says was “a very, very long time.”
In another turn, about 20 years ago, she decided to take landscape design courses at the former Ryerson University. Around the same time, she also registered her chosen business name – breathe DESIGN – but continued working in finance.
Betsy’s now at a time in her life when she’s made the switch to follow her “greatest passion and long love affair” with landscaping by leaving the financial world for a leap into the entrepreneurial world.
Over the last few years, she has picked up clients in Leaside, Davisville Village, Stoney Lake, Prince Edward County and Leslieville, usually with families looking for her skills to enhance their residential property. Sometimes, she’s asked to “tweak” what’s already there; other times, it is to provide a complete redo.
Her initial consultation is the opportunity for her and the client to explore possibilities. A natural look? Something more structured perhaps? Low maintenance? A particular colour palette? Then, Betsy sets of to work on at least two concepts that she will hand-render in her backyard studio. When she’s working on the concepts, she’s always cognizant of the soil type, sunlight and wind patterns of the property. Her forte is this creative design work, but she can also recommend trusted contractors, or source particular furniture requirements as needed. Her aim is “to build a cohesive, functional space that is aesthetically pleasing.”
Despite her travels and design consultation, Betsy has lived near Bayview for many years and enjoys doing most of her shopping at mom-and-pop stores on the strip. She’s also still in touch with a number of childhood friends in the area.
When she’s not in the city, she can often be found at her 60-acre farm in Douro near Peterborough, although this farm is more of a forest now, as one of her projects has been involvement with the Forests Canada’s 50 Million Tree Program. No, there aren’t 50 million trees on her property (yet), but she’s already had about 4,000 trees planted these past few years. A great start for a blooming business.
To get in contact with Betsy:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breathedesign_org/
