2018 Winner
Wise 50 Over 50 Award™
Lori Clarke – Lori Clarke Interior Design
www.loriclarkeinteriors.com
For 35 years I served the New Brunswick population as a civil servant in the health care sector. As a Medical Laboratory Technologist, I had various roles over my career, the last position before I left the civil service was the Laboratory Medicine Consultant for the Province of New Brunswick.
Lori Clarke Interior Design Inc. (LCID) started out as a simple idea: Could I, at 52, work full-time and go back to school to pursue my passion and get my Interior Design Diploma? I took the leap and graduated in 2013 and, with my diploma in hand.
I was considering my future and retiring at 58 was my goal. I soft launched Lori Clarke Interior Design in late 2014 and went full throttle in the fall of 2016 and decided to leave the civil service 2 years prior to what I had anticipated.
I am delighted to share that 100% growth in sales each year from 2015 to current and on target for 100% growth yet again in 2018.
We have also become an award winning interior design company and are currently short listed for the Fredericton Chamber Start Up Business of the Year Award.
Giving back to the community is extremely important to LCID and we just recently launched our partnership with the Fredericton Boys and Girls Club. “LCID is committing to a yearly donation that will allow the Girls Empowerment Program to meet its full potential. This program is designed to create positive self-image for the girls through various avenues. I can’t express on paper how important this initiative is to me personally. As a resident of Devon, I will be personally involved in this initiative by also committing my time and effort to its success. Self-esteem is a foundation element for young girls, there is so much peer pressure and they are pulled in so many directions. My goal, in collaboration with the Fredericton Boys and Girls Club, is to provide the valuable information and support so that these girls understand the importance of self-esteem because statistics show dis-empowered girls often become dis-empowered women.