I have a long affiliation to Notman House: I joined Real Ventures in 2011 and I moved in to their offices, at Notman; I started building FounderFuel, at Notman; I looked for a place to host FounderFuel, I chose Notman; And today, I’m leaving my mark, on Notman… Here’s how.

When I moved in to Notman, I joined a ~crazy group of people with an idea: to build a community for like-minded individuals who want to change the world. There was true sense of belonging amongst early residents Alan MacIntosh, John Stokes, JS Cournoyer, Mark MacLeod, Gabriel Sundaram, Gregory Whiteside, Heri Rakotomalala, Ildar Khakimov, etc.

In the early days, Notman House was very much an MVP, and the residents did everything collectively for the greater good of the house:

• Paint the house
• Cut the grass
• Trim the trees
• Take the garbage out
• Pickup the garbage around the house, inside and out
• Shovel the snow
• Mop the floor
• etc.

With its full time staff, baristas, cleaners, sponsors, partners, etc. Notman House has come a long way in the last five years.

Since joining PasswordBox in 2014 (which was started at Notman by Daniel Robichaud and Marc-Antoine Ross), I definitely haven’t been as active as I used to be, but today I’m excited to talk to you about how I’m contributing once again, this time through the Notman House Fundraiser.

The Notman House Fundraiser

Working with local artist Nathalie Hazan, the fundraiser is a creative way to contribute to Notman House. The idea consists of collectively creating an artistic display using photos taken from William Notman, the prolific entrepreneur of the 1800s, who pioneered a process of combining several images to create a unique and dynamic photograph with multiple layers. Photoshop anyone?!

The concept is simple and the entire process is fun, creative and fulfilling:

1. You chose a photo originally taken by William Notman in the early 1800s
2. You write a quote or select an existing one
3. You select a location for your photo in Notman House
4. Nathalie layers the photo and the quote into one new image
5. You leave your mark on this historic house!

The photos will be showcased in the staircases of the campus starting in the café and leading up to the event halls on the 3rd floor. Some photos are up already and the result is stunning!
Here’s the photo I chose and the quote I wrote which will be incorporated into it by Nathalie:

Don’t accept things for how they are, how they have been or are expected to be…
You’ll stand proud once you’ve changed the status quo.

While freeskiers are common today, I chose this photo because these people are pushing the barriers of a sport which was very traditional at the time. They are taking risks, doing things differently and forcing the paradigm shift. Entrepreneurs do the same, day in and day out. I thought it was fitting and I’ve been skiing since I was 4 which may have something to do with it too.

If you want to leave your mark on Notman, get in touch with Emma Williams, Maison Notman House’s Campus Director.