Huddle, It’s Been Good

Huddle, It’s Been Good

On a sunny May afternoon in 2015, I went to Second Cup in uptown Saint John to meet my new boss, Allan Gates.

After working as a casual at CBC New Brunswick for a year fresh out of university, I decided I was going to make a leap “to the dark side,” as journalists like to call it, and go work in communications. Twenty-fifteen wasn’t an easy time to be a CBC employee and there were layoffs across

Saint John Artist Finds Meaning And Value In Furniture Making

Saint John Artist Finds Meaning And Value In Furniture Making

SAINT JOHN – Even when he was in the British Army serving in Northern Ireland, Iraq and Cyprus, Tony Klipin was making furniture.

“Even though I served probably half my career in Northern Ireland and I was in the first Gulf War, I was still building things,” he says. “When we had range days, all the ammunition came in huge pine crates. I used to save them and knock them to pieces and make a piece of furniture out of them. I’ve always been creative that way.”

How Skinfix Is Taking The Skincare World By Storm From Halifax

How Skinfix Is Taking The Skincare World By Storm From Halifax

HALIFAX — In 1870, Thomas Dixon, a pharmacist in Yorkshire, England, created a skin balm that aimed to treat a variety of skin issues his patients were dealing with.

He formulated the balm with high concentrations of natural active ingredients he knew would help to tackle skin redness, itching, inflammation, cracking and dryness. His formula needed to actually work, he thought. Otherwise, his customers would take their business elsewhere.

Over 150 years later, Dixon’s philosophy still runs deep in Skinfix, a Halifax-headquartered company that’s taking the beauty and skincare world by storm in the United States and Canada through beauty retail giant Sephora.

5 Things I’ve Learned From Working In New Media (In New Brunswick)

Published on Huddle Today on Sep 12, 2016

Over a year ago, I thought was I making a drastic shift.

I decided to leave my job as a casual reporter at CBC New Brunswick to join the team at Bonfire, a marketing and communications firm in Saint John. I was prepared to jump ship and embrace my inner Peggy Olsen as I took my storytelling abilities in a different direction. At least, that’s what I thought.  

Why Creativity Is Key To Boosting NB’s Economy

There are a lot of skills you need to have to thrive into today’s growing knowledge and tech-based economy.

You need to be diverse, flexible and of course have the education crucial for the jobs that will need to be filled today and for years to come.

Yet, with all the talk about how we need to teach kids to code and build robots in Grade 2, one important skill is getting left behind in the conversation: creativity.

New Brunswick’s Low Literacy: Bad for Business

It’s no secret that New Brunswick has a lot of challenges to overcome if it’s ever going to boost its economy, grow business and play on the global stage.

Yet, one of these challenges is the lack of a skill so essential, it’s no wonder the province has been struggling economically for the past few decades:

Half of New Brunswick’s adults are functionally illiterate. And looking at the recent numbers from the school system, progress is slow coming.

The Power (and Challenges) of Atlantic Canada’s Women Tech Founders

Melani Flanagan and her cofounder Matt Pitchette have been spending a lot of time in San Francisco. Their Moncton-based startup Itavio has been accepted into the prestigious Matter Ventures accelerator.

It’s been a wonderful experience so far, with ample networking and access to potential clients to build their product. They’re totally in their element; they’re where they’re meant to be. However, running a tech startup isn’t a walk in the park, especially if you’re a woman.

“I’ve honestly gone home a couple nights and just asked my co-founder if he wants to switch titles,” says Flanagan, who’s also Itavio’s CEO.