excerpt

Pursuing what you really, really want is no mean feat. Just ask artist Heather Lane, who started working life in Vancouver during the 1980s with a bachelor of commerce in marketing, segueing into advertising and publishing before reaching her goal -- a decade later -- of painting full time.

But the story may have begun before that, when p+a owner Shelley Penner became familiar with the neighbourhood after becoming involved with the heritage Flack Block building during its grand restoration.

Or maybe it started with Penner in her capacity as an interior designer, when she created furniture for display suites for a Richmond condo development in 2007 and realized the potential of the line.

Or maybe this is a lesson in the idea that everything is interconnected, with no real beginning or end.