Blake was the kid who always got into trouble at school for doodling. Fortunately, he found design as a course of study – the beginning of a long journey that saw Blake graduate from three different design schools in two countries.

10 years of racking up experience as a consulting Industrial Designer and Retail Designer landed Blake in a perfect position to start specializing in the custom design build merchandising display business. Five more years of refining his skills in this area brought Blake to the point in his career where he knew if he was going to continue to strive to “be the best” in the industry that it was going to have to be in a new company, one he would start, Blake Jarrett & Company.

Almost two decades later Blake Jarrett and Company continues it’s passion for excellence and Blake, still doodling, but instead of getting into trouble, he’s sharing these ideas with many of the world’s largest corporations, helping them “optimize the moment their customers are considering buying their products”.

Born in Bosnia, Kornelija has had life experiences that have made her the tough cookie she is today. Executive Assistant to Blake Jarrett, Kornelija manages the entire office in a detailed, organized manor. She is precise, professional, extremely organized and humorous…in a drill sergeant sort of way.

But don’t let that tough exterior fool you, she is also a very caring person, kind of like the “mama bear” who protects her cubs, Kornelija will do just about anything for those close to her. Which is why she excels at her job. Kornelija has taken the company in her arms and treated it as one of her cubs. She has a pulse on every aspect of the company and is always looking for ways to help out. And just like a mama bear…don’t mess with her cubs!

Born and raised in the wilds of Scarborough, even as a kid Greg knew making it in the big city would be his objective. By the tender age of four, Greg was already networking the neighbourhood, finding friends for himself and all four of his siblings in the new family home. This experience quickly taught him the art of cold-calling, warm introductions, and detailed needs assessments. Knocking on doors came naturally.

In College he focused on retail marketing as a business specialty. With time, his work experience grew, working in such places as Woolworth and Canadian Tire Retail stores. He found his stride, and the fun of a quick paced merchandising and display side of retailing was his calling. Dovetailing his customer service training, and his knowledge of retailing from the floor up, he got into the business of Point of Sale more than 20 years ago.

Greg has been a partner in Blake Jarrett & Company for the past 17 years. His position as Vice President of Client Service allows him to fulfill his lifelong ambition of taking care of clients’ needs. Always on-call and ready to provide assistance and direction, Greg works with a team of young Sales Professionals who are totally oriented to providing an enriched, high-value results focused experience to every client. Feel free to contact Greg with questions, challenges and opportunities. He can’t wait to line you up with the right solution!

Every since Laura was a little girl she aspired to walk in some pretty big shoes. As a child playing Monopoly she was always the one looking after the money while helping her fellow players make decisions on their next move. Years later after finishing her Bachelors of Commerce and pursuing a career in finance, Laura has achieved her high expectations and walks in some pretty big shoes as the Chief Financial Officer for Blake Jarrett & Company.

Laura’s love for shoes has only elevated in the years. But although she has a great love for red sole shoes, there is no love for the bottom line to be in the red at all. Her ability to stand firm on her decisions even when the message is unpopular is what makes her dominant in her industry. She is no nonsense; detail oriented but as the financial spokesperson for the organization has the ability to build strong relationships with those around her. So while the game may be a little different now, Laura still enjoys looking after the money…all in a great pair of red soled shoes.

While not actually born in a barn (as he often claims) Kurt was raised in a small town in Saskatchewan. From a young age he yearned for big city life, despite having sheep and chickens to play with. Luckily those formative years prepared him to be a good listener and honed his nurturing skills – talents which have served him well helping clients achieve their merchandising goals.

Kurt dreamed of being an architect and spent many years drawing buildings and landscapes, only to realize that his industrious skill sets were better suited for business. Actually, it was after he nearly set his high school on fire during a welding class that he changed his focus from creative sciences to business, where he flourished in such subjects as consumer behavior, marketing, and merchandising. During his studies he juggled three jobs in client services and still managed to take time out to travel through Europe. It was there that he learned to appreciate the art of people-watching, foreign film, and slick design.

Always driven and energetic, Kurt spent 5 months working in Hungary on an international marketing exchange program, where he learned to pronounce the names of all the subway stops in Budapest. Graduating with honors, Kurt came to Toronto to work in marketing and territory-management for Petro-Canada. Whetting his appetite for real-world business, Kurt turned his sights on merchandising, and hasn’t looked back in 19 years. Merchandising has allowed Kurt to merge his love of design and business. Throw in a strong work ethic, high energy, and his mother’s people-pleasing attitude, and he has the perfect skills to give clients the best service possible. Kurt has recently brought his dream full-circle, building a new home across the street from an honest-to-goodness farm – complete with barn. There are days he looks out his window and swears he hears his childhood friends calling. And in his kitchen you will find a colorful collection of chickens. It’s like he never left home.

Rebecca (or Becky as her friends and family call her), is the youngest of three girls born and raised in Toronto. From an early age, her unique brand of humor was quite evident. She loved anyone and anything that could make her laugh so you would often find her sitting in front of the movie Airplane, reading The Stinky Cheese Man, or creating homemade birthday cards that always created a buzz.

A neighbour on Becky’s street worked in advertising and would often show her the amazing new designs that he had worked on so it became a hobby for Becky to doodle her own ads for her favourite things such as New Kids On The Block, Ketchup, Coke, and Barbie. As she went through school she started to find her own stride in the arts. From photography to painting, she fell in love with all things creative. This led her to Centennial College where she studied advertising and became a summer student at Blake Jarrett & Company in 2006. One thing led to another and Becky never really left! She feels fortunate to be working with such amazing colleagues in a place that she was designed for.

Kathleen’s middle name should have been “Driven”. A go-getter, with a zest of life, you’ll rarely catch her sitting still. When she’s not at her desk or in her client’s boardroom, you’ll find her globe-trotting on a sailboat, dabbling in the print studio, having a pint with friends, or on the golf course. No need to worry about “pace of play” here! Her fun attitude and wide smile are contagious, and her passion for “high-performance” excellence is infectious. And yes, while she still dreams of life as a golf-pro on the LPGA (most likely as a Senior citizen), her love of art and design make her involvement in this industry, a perfect “par.” After all, Kathleen’s a natural Account Team Leader and she’s got a great “bag of drivers” – she loves to work with people, her strength is management, and her commitment to client service and merchandising excellence ensures she gets the job done right…no “duffs.” That’s the perfectionism in her, and working with the best team in the Retail Marketing Industry, ensures a great round day after day. With a background Retail Business Management, a Western HBA, a Branksome kilt (still hanging in the closet for that round at St. Andrew’s), and the launch of a small business enterprise to her credit, Kathleen’s had a successful “tour.” She acquired her merchandising “clubs” at a competitor, and wears her “green jacket” working with the best of the best, Blake Jarrett & Team.

So with over 12 years of great play, here she is, service “caddy” to the wise Brand Managers who know where to shop, and colleague to a talented team she has the immense pleasure of working with every day.

“Now that’s a hole in one!”

It’s been 23 years since she first laid her rather large fingers on a Mac. From that moment on, it was love at first touch, and she knew her life would never be the same. It was at her first job at a newspaper, creating ads and typing press releases, that she earned the nickname “Flying Fingers.” Since then, she has gone on to earn such names as “Laura the Freight Train” and “The Relentless Spelling Tyrant.”

Forever embracing and searching for greater challenges, she sought out companies that could teach her something new. In a serendipitous moment in 2000, she landed at Blake Jarrett and Company, where she has honed her skills as a designer and manager under the direction of Blake himself. It is here that she feels at home, in an ever-changing environment where exciting challenges are presented almost daily.

In addition to managing the graphics department, Laura has also taken on the daunting challenge of Internal IT Administrator, sort of by accident. It was when she would constantly say to anyone who was having a computer problem, “Oh, you just go here, do this and click that” that Blake recognized he had a tech geek in the house. Admittedly, PCs are not her favourite things, but she has enjoyed the bittersweet learning curve a predominantly PC network brings and welcomes all the new challenges of evolving technology.

(to be sung to your favorite rap tune)

When Mike was seventeen,
His father said,
Hey son, Here’s the keys to the new car.
Go out and have some fun.

Well, Mike drove that Chevy
And he wrapped it round a tree,
His father said, Say son,
You’d better listen to me.

Straighten up and fly right,
A job in design is smart,
So Mike went to take graphics
At the Ontario College of Art.

He started designing exhibits
And then fabricating them too,
He worked in plastics and printing,
His contacts and experience grew.

But project managing POP
Became his specialty,
His slogan is “Best price and on time,
That’s the way it’s got to be!”

Now Mike’s director of project management,
Part of the Blake Jarrett team,
His people are the experts
in Making reality out of a dream.

For fun Mike rides his motorcycle,
And he likes to sail the sea,
But don’t ever make the mistake of handing him,
Your brand-new Chevy’s key!

Chris has always liked to create things. He and his brothers were constantly playing with LEGO growing up. The three boys were always trying to build better, bigger, stronger, taller structures. In high school, Chris followed his interests in art, wood working, drafting, architecture and construction. An invitation to an Industrial Design thesis show put all the building blocks in place. Chris set his compass for a journey that spans 16 years in the field of point of purchase.

You are as likely to find Chris modeling on his computer as you are to find him working on the shop floor. He has gained his experience by working closely with both clients and manufacturing. This ability to understand everyone’s needs is the key to developing quality products. He believes in following a project through from napkin sketch, concept, pricing, engineering, prototyping, testing to production.

Chris joined the Blake Jarrett team in 2004 and enjoys solving the creative challenges that this industry poses.

When Lee realized his love of sports was not going to result in him becoming a professional athlete, he focused on his second love, building things. After a successful 9 year run with a leading electronics manufacturer and 4 years as a Supervisor here at Blake Jarrett and Company, Lee has taken the reins as the Operations Manager. Teamed with an experienced, hardworking group, Lee’s primary goals are delivering the highest possible quality, safely and on time.