In September 1995 I started Northern Light Publishing Inc., a bi-weekly community style newspaper (9,500 copies) in a 6 column 11.5″ x 17.5″ tabloid format. The paper was distributed through the mail to all residents of the Northern Sunshine Coast, from Powell River to Lund and Texada Island. Copies were also in stores and on the BC Ferries. Three months after starting my paper, The Powell River Peak, with Joyce Carlson (a former Powell River News editor) as publisher, backed by the Lower Mainland Newspaper Group moved in, and immediately got into a price war with the “Powell River News”, the other establish paper. Northern Light was caught in the cross fire and had to close.
From 1997 to 1999 I worked in production for the Castlegar Sun, a weekly broadsheet newspaper in Castlegar BC where I won their first page design award.
Being new to Grand Forks there was a need to advertise and market my talents and establish myself there. So, in April of 1999, I used my publishing experience, started and ran a booklet style, local news publication called the OpenMinder. I solicited and designed the ads, did publication layout, interviewed for stories, typeset, published, folded and delivered 1000 copies every 2 weeks for 29 issues. Check out the archives of the stories and pictures here
From June of 2002 till May 2004 I took on the title of Art Director/Production Manager for CANNABIS HEALTH JOURNAL which allowed me to bring together my graphic and publishing experience to produce a top quality magazine with the design of the Anniversary Issue #7, winning a Silver Award at the 2004 Summit Creative Awards. SummitAwards
check them out here
In the fall, of 2004, in cooperation with the Grand Forks Chamber of Commerce I started production on the 2005 edition of “Welcome to Boundary Country & the Beautiful Kettle River Valley. This was a 48 page glossy vistor information magazine with a 4 page centre fold out map of the Trans Canada Trail with a topographical background and many other features.
Beyond Graphix redesigned the guide and published it again in 2006.
In the fall of 2006 Renna Hoolsema added her photographic and design eye-deas and skills to Beyond Graphix and during the production of the 2007 visitor guide also took on advertising sales. The magazine went up to 56 pages in the 3rd year. check them out here.
In the summer of 2008 I was hired to produce the Grand Forks International Baseball Tournament program and web site.
In 2013 The Kettle Valley Express was launched