Year 2020 in review!
It’s that time of the year when I try to pause and reflect on what happened in the past 12 months. What went well and worked for me, what did not. What I’ve learned, what I want to keep, what will my focus be for the next year.
One thing is sure, my vision board did not have Covid on it last year! In fact, 2020 was going to be a great year for Petit Architect! My third year as an entrepreneur, things were really picking up! I had classes in a few locations around Vancouver, a couple of teachers working for me, and many school workshops lined up!
And then Covid happened and I hit a wall. A hard stop… It was a BIG shock. Everything was cancelled and I had to stop working to take care of my 2 kids, learn how to homeschool and all the fun stuff! It was HARD. As I bet it was hard for you too. But after the initial shock (which took a few months to settle in), I learned to let go of my expectations, pivot, think outside the box, and try new things.
It wasn’t the successful year I had planned to be, it terms of revenue, but it was a success in learning more about myself as an entrepreneur, a mother, a teacher, and a resilient human being. It was also a year of growing my community of “followers”, AKA you. And I am so thankful for you!
So today I am taking this platform to highlight the things I am proud to have accomplished this year!
Here is my year in review!
IN SCHOOLS…
I started the year strong with a bunch of workshops in different schools in Vancouver (Pear Tree Elementary, David Oppenheimer, Anne Hebert, Carnavon Elementary…). The Eco-Neighbourhood workshop is a popular one and consists of 2 half days where I teach about sustainability in architecture, and how to build better cities for the planet but also for the people living in them.
We build a large model of an eco-neighbourhood together and the students have so much fun and learn a lot! The teachers too:)
Here are photos of a few different classrooms in Vancouver (from Kindergarten to grade 5).
I also taught a longer series of classes at a Magee Secondary high-school in Vancouver, introducing students to the concepts of Passive Houses over 5 lessons. In 2019, I did a similar workshop focusing on hands-on architectural drawings and 3d model making, this year, we learned using the computer with some CAD drawing and Sketchup model making. Our last class took place at BCIT where the students got to visit the amazing BCIT High Performance Building Lab and learn with the best teachers there, that was a highlight for sure, on March 10th, right before everything stopped.
Here are photos of last year’s and this year’s workshops. The students were really interested and we had some intense conversations on climate change! More info for teachers here.
AFTERSCHOOL CLASSES
Meanwhile, after school classes were taking place around Vancouver, with the help of my amazing teacher’s assistant from UBC. Classes were held in community centres, and schools, lasted around 1 hour long and had different subjects each week. The curriculum I created teaches a combination of 2d drawing and 3d building. This term, the students learned about Le Corbusier and villa Savoye, bridges, Herzog and Demeuron and the new Art Gallery, and more!
Here are some photos of the winter 2020 session, which we were lucky to be able to complete before the lockdown at Spring Break. Special thanks to Shasha, the best teacher’s assistant!
MEDIA
The winter ended with this article in Vancouver Mom, I was “mom to watch”. Like I said, 2020 was going to be a great year! Hahaha!!!
ONLINE WEEKLY ACTIVITIES
Ok, this is when things stopped. Covid happened and we all hit a wall…
Spring break was tough, my camps were canceled and so was our trip to San Francisco. I was stuck with 2 kids at home, trying not to go crazy. All my work was on hold. I became a homeschool teacher/stay at home mom. I quickly decided I needed a project to keep my sanity, and not to loose this wonderful momentum Petit Architect was having up to March.
So, I hired my 7 year old assistant (my daughter Olga) and we created weekly activities to send to other kids around the world who were also stuck home. We did it in French and English, via a newsletter. More than 1000 people signed up from countries all over the world! It was very exciting and so great to receive photos of the kid’s projects via social media. It really help me go through this rough period because I was creating a community and felt a little usefull.
We did 8 lessons, from April 1st to May 30th. That’s when schools reopened here and my little assistant was no longer available. We had so much fun sending these weekly activities, and building a world-wide community of families. It felt good to be able to contribute a little and help out a small amount.
Here are some photos you sent us. Thank you all for participating! A special thanks to my assistant Olga, and my Parisian activity tester Lise who tested all the activities before I sent them to everyone else. Also, a big Merci to my friends from Les Gambettes for the first contest they helped me organized!
ONLINE CLASSES
Summer was focused on family time. September came, with schools reopening full time and the prospect of a semi-normal life to come back. However, I wasn’t able to teach in person anymore, and the climate was still really uncertain…
I was very hesitant about teaching online. The technology, the lack of materials, the lack of connection with the children… But I gave it a try, and it was a nice surprise! It’s so different then teaching in person, like it’s SO quiet so I have to talk a lot :)! But I was able to create classes that students really enjoyed and got to connect with them in a different way. I learned a lot of new skills, and was able to offer classes to kids outside of Vancouver which is a huge plus.
Using materials that are easy to find, recycled or part of our day to day life, the students are able to create amazing models and structures and learn about different architects and buildings.
I started with 1 class /week, then 2, and will be offering 3 classes in January! I am very excited that more than half of my students will be continuing the classes, which is a really good sign I think:) Link for next session here.
Here are a few photos of the classes we did this term in Introduction to Architecture and Materiality in Architecture, my intermediate class.
PRO D DAYS
I was thrilled to finally be able to teach in person again when community centres opened. I taught 2 Pro D day camps this fall, both at Hillcrest Community Center : Haunted houses for a Halloween them, and Eco-neighbourhoods in November. This was my first time teaching a full day workshop and it was so great to take our time so the kids could really be in the “creative flow” for hours. They were really deep into it, it was amazing to witness! Being able to safely teach to a small group of children was the highlight of my fall!
Here are some pics of the events! I will be doing another one on January 18th :) Link for more info here.
ONLINE STORE!
I had thought about doing kits for over a year but never had time to focus on the idea. So this summer, I finally created my small online store and my first DIY dollhouse kit: the A frame cabin! It was definitely new territory for me to sell products, not services. And I learned A LOT! I slowly added architecture books, and a few games and accessories to my store, along with my DIY Kits. Having a store has been a real challenge, with ups and downs. I like the idea, but it’s a ton of work and the sales and marketing aspect is definitely not part of my training as an Architect ;) !!!
Thank you to all of you who have supported by little online business this year by choosing to buy small and local!
This winter, I was part of a few Christmas markets (Got Craft and a few small pop up ones) for the first time and that was also a new great experience! I was proud to be listed in Scout Magazine’s list of local gift ideas twice! Read the article here.
NEW BLOG AND ARCHITECTS AS KIDS PROJECT
Finally, I was lucky to have a wonderful student/intern work for me one day a week this fall. She helped me out with social media and marketing. It’s a LOT of work keeping up with all the platforms, and I feel like an old lady most of the time…! With Tayler’s help, we created a blog, updated my Pinterest page, website, and created a new social media project highlighting local architects as kids.
This project has been very fun and has helped me engage with the local community even more, while highlighting super talented people I admire, a lot of them women (because, yes, girl power!) and hopefully inspiring young minds and demystifying the profession a little. I hope you’ve enjoyed following along on Instagram and/or Facebook. I want to deeply thank the architects who agreed to participate to this adventure! They are amazing, talented people, and I loved learning more about them!
Here are Kate Busby, Kirsten Reite, Marianne Amodio and Shiloh Sukkau to name a few. This project is ongoing and I hope to continue doing it through 2021. Follow along here!
Ok, if you’ve read all this, you deserve a medal!
All jokes aside, writing this long blog post about my 2020 has made me realize how much I have actually accomplished in this crazy year! It made me realize that it’s not a year of failure after all, but a year of growth, empowerment, resilience and strength. It’s been a tough ride, but hey! I made it and learned a lot during the process! I love being able to create my own journey as an entrepreneur, even though I feel lost half of the time, I am following my passion, my path, and my own pace.
Thank you all for being here! I encourage you to do a recap too, you might be surprised how much 2020 didn’t actually totally suck:)
I would love to read your comments below… Have a great end of year celebration! I will see you in 2021:)
(BTW, my last newsletter wishing you a happy new year was not meant to be sent before Jan 1st , I totally pressed the wrong button - LOL!)