A look inside the work and lives of some of the industry's most innovative thinkers

This issue's TRENDSETTERS

A look inside the work and lives of some of the industry’s most innovative thinkers.

Nina Doiron

After a number of years in the corporate world, Nina Doiron made the decision to find a career that excited her. With the support of her close friends, Nina decided to turn her eye for design into a business that would get her excited to jump out of bed each morning. In 2016, iSO Designs was formed with the goal to help homeowners feel happy in their homes at every stage of homeownership. For new homeowners, Nina helps turn a house into a functional, well organized and harmonious home. For homeowners who feel like their home is a bit dated, Nina offers a redesign service to freshen it up and take the home from tired to WOW once again. Finally, for homeowners looking to sell their homes, Nina offers professional staging services to attract buyers and help sell the home successfully. No matter what stage of home ownership you are at, Nina believes everyone deserves to come home to a sanctuary they can be proud of. Nina's passion for ensuring her customers are happy and satisfied has earned iSO Designs the Best of Houzz Service award for 5 consecutive years as well as the Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2017 and most recently, a nomination for the 2021 Business Excellence award.

CHT: If you could have lunch with any one person in the world, who would you pick and why?

NINA: I would love to have high tea with the Queen. Her life is so very interesting to me. Royalties seems to have it all, and yet so little freedom of choice. I want to know, if she could choose to be anyone else, who would it be.

CHT: If you could go back 20 years, what advice would you give your younger self?

NINA: I would encourage myself to go after my dream and not wait. The choices I made then are not ones that I would make now. I would tell myself not to be afraid of failing.

CHT: Name one thing on your bucket list.

NINA: I want to visit Egypt.

CHT: What is your favorite room in your house?

NINA: At this time, it has to be my backyard. Our backyard is a work in progress and I love how everything is coming together. I’m lucky to have a little oasis of my own to escape to.

Logan CROSS

LCC, www.getlcc.com

Having worked in the construction industry since he was a teenager, Logan Cross made the decision to go out on his own and launched his own company in May of 2017. To Logan, it was important to create a company that offered a transparent process and produced projects that went above "standard" in terms of quality and craftsmanship.

Logan is not afraid to tackle even the most challenging projects that others shy away from, which opens the opportunity to create unique and unexpected results. Logan loves having the opportunity to design great looking and effective solutions to construction problems.

LCC offers residential and commercial services in Calgary. Their residential portfolio includes interior renovations, decks, exteriors, envelope systems, fences, yards and stonework. For commercial clients, LCC offers the ROW enclosure system and a variety of "done by others" work. That "small" stuff that really matters when you're trying to turn over a build! Logan's latest addition to his list of expert services is commercial door installations!

CHT: If you could give a potential client just one piece of advice, what would it be?

LOGAN: Good things take time, and quality takes attention to detail.

CHT: If you could have lunch with any one person in the world, who would you pick?

LOGAN: I would pick my son because he is the thing that motivates me the most.

CHT: If you could go back 20 years, what advice would you give your younger self?

LOGAN: Buy the things you need, don’t waste money on things just because you think you want them.

CHT: What is your favorite room in your house?

LOGAN: My favorite room is definitely my bedroom because it’s where I rest and recuperate after a hard day of work.