L’Atelier Member Feature: Marissa Cristina

There's no coworking without coworkers! Meet the lively personalities who work out of our coworking space. 

Marissa is one of our first 5 members at L'Atelier! She's a kickass entrepreneur with a great sense of style. 

Get to know Marissa a bit more through the quick interview below:

Where are you from/ where did you grow up? Any stories from your past that you'd like to share?

I’m half-swiss and half-dutch and I became Canadian in 2014. I moved to Vancouver in 2004 and started my own business in February 2013.

I had an incredibly hard time moving to Canada and adjusting to the culture here. I barely spoke a word of English and for the first 2 years I failed pretty much every class I took. It was an incredibly hard time and I almost let it destroy me. Looking back, the experience has made me who I am today and I don’t think I would be half the entrepreneur I am today without it.

What do you do/ what are you passionate about and why did you choose to do what you do? Any exciting projects to share or maybe an unknown facts about your line of work?

I didn’t choose to do what I do now - it chose me. I am a designer and photographer and the founder of STIL Classics. I am passionate about minimalism, living a functional life and good design. Paper and print makes my world go round. I know that sounds insane in a digital world like ours but I am most definitely not alone in this. There is absolutely nothing more blissful than writing something down in a journal or a planner or opening up a freshly printed magazine.

Is this your first time coworking? What made you choose to work at L'Atelier, what's your favorite thing about the space/ environment?

Check out my blog post here about my experience with co-working: http://www.marissacristina.com/coworking-in-an-atelier/

A quote you live by

Be willing to fly a little blind.

Your favorite lunch spot or thing to eat on work days

Finch’s Tea House

Favorite snack

I don’t actually snack but when I do it’s almost always a chocolate chip cookie

Fruit! Especially strawberries and blueberries.