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INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY: Empowering women, Courtney Vreeman

“I was only doing it for fun and now it’s turned into something bigger than I expected.”

When Courtney Vreeman of Williams Lake started a home-based business in 2016, she never imagined it would grow to become Still North Design Co.

“I was only doing it for fun and now it’s turned into something bigger than I expected.”

Vreeman creates designs for the company that resonate with people who love spending time outdoors.

She incorporates trees, mountains, animals, even the night sky, and slogans for hoodies, T-shirts, tank tops, sweat pants and more.

With customers world-wide, Vreeman said she is very, very busy.

April 1 will mark the one-year anniversary of taking possession of a bigger building in Williams Lake with a store front and production shop in the back on Barnard Street after outgrowing the location on Broadway Avenue First.

“I love this building. I was so happy when we got it.”

On Tuesday, March 1, a new store opened in downtown Kamloops, where Vreeman had been wanting to expand and had been actively searching for a location.

“It’s a pretty cool spot. It kind of fell into our laps, so we were like, ‘let’s do it.”

Between the two locations she has eight on staff.

Being a woman in business is empowering she said.

“It is great to see other women in business. Anything we carry is all from women and all Canadian.”

The mother of three children - Cache, 8, Charlie, 7, and Rallie-Ray, 9 months - Vreeman said work can be stressful at times but she is motivated to persist.

“I am kind of hard-headed and I never want to quit. Hopefully one day my kids will take it over. That’s why I keep pushing and pushing and working so hard to get the business growing.”

Once a month she will travel to the Kamloops store to bring inventory as all the production is done in Williams Lake.

“If that works well, then we are going to expand to Kelowna.”

READ MORE: Williams Lake businesswoman launches T-shirt fundraiser for fire-ravaged Australia

READ MORE: Williams Lake’s Still North Design Co. strikes a chord with Canadian consumers



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Monica Lamb-Yorski

About the Author: Monica Lamb-Yorski

A B.C. gal, I was born in Alert Bay, raised in Nelson, graduated from the University of Winnipeg, and wrote my first-ever article for the Prince Rupert Daily News.
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