Jeremy Vandermeij chose is career path to align his values with his actions, something reflected by the two postions he currently holds at the Gladstone Hotel and Toronto Design Offsite Festival. What’s his advice for other young professionals? Find out in today’s YPDaily…
Elevator Pitch: Describe your job in a nutshell.
At the Gladstone Hotel I’m responsible for telling the phenomenal story of the hotel and engaging the end users in an ongoing discussion about our brand and its values.
At the Toronto Design Offsite Festival I’m part of a group of people who founded the festival that showcases the best in Canadian design. Currently, I’m responsible for making major business decisions to guide the festival’s vast growth.
Why did you start working at your company? What was the inspiration for this career route?
Deciding to work at both the Gladstone Hotel and the Toronto Design Offsite Festival was about aligning my values with my actions. Both businesses share my values of supporting and engaging with local artists and designers to create resilient communities, pushing the boundaries of culture and commerce, and most importantly, being authentic.
What is the best part of what you do on a day-to-day basis? The most challenging part?
The best part of my jobs is that I get to create and produce some of the most exciting art and design projects that the city of Toronto has to offer, like TIFF and Come Up To My Room, and I get to work with creative, fun and exciting people every day.
The most challenging part of my jobs is answering over 150 emails a day.
Where do you see yourself in 5 years?
In five years I see myself running one of the best art hotels in the world and the most exciting design festival in the country.
What does success look like to you?
For me success is a holistic integration of my professional and personal lives.
What is the most memorable milestone in your career?
When the owner of the Gladstone Hotel, Christina Zeidler, first chose me to co-curate their largest and most successful exhibition, Come Up To My Room, the Gladstone’s alternative design event. Curating Come Up To My Room for three years changed my life. It showed me that with hard work I could align my values with my actions and live a fulfilled life.
Do you have any advice for other young professionals?
Spend more time doing things you love and less time working for someone else’s dream.
Do you support any charities? If so, which one(s) and why is that important to you?
I support a local social enterprise called Public Displays of Affection that helps communities in need by engaging them in producing furnishings and design objects for their homes.
What to you is notable?
Observing and making bridges across seemingly unassociated parts in order to understand and live as part of an interconnected whole.
Blackberry, iPhone, Android, or Other?
iPhone