Today we’d like to introduce you to Tiffany Burling
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
My name is Tiffany Burling and I am a self taught Toronto based Artist, Creative Director and Entrepreneur. Together with my husband, mother and brother I run several businesses. TCE on Sterling is our West End Events Venue specializing in weddings and creative event curation. This is the home of our second business, Toronto Micro Weddings…an affordable, luxury, all inclusive micro wedding service. We also run a Toronto based Micro Coffee Roastery called Baby Sweet Coffee that not only services our own venue’s coffee service/wedding favour needs but also has an online store open to the public. Baby Sweet Coffee will have it’s first brick and mortar cafe opening this spring in the new Mirvish Village Project.
I have lived many lives and have never been afraid to change career paths that were no longer fulfilling me. From fundraising for not for profits, to hospitality management, to running my own emerging art gallery, each previous career path paved the way for my current projects. I draw on skills and lessons from each one in my day to day work now.
What has always remained the common thread however, is my need to incorporate creativity into everything I do! Also to provide a platform for other creators to not only find paid work but also have an outlet to express themselves…and if we can do that while serving our community – even better!
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
My path has not always been smooth!
As a creative I struggled in my early adulthood with how to strike a balance between doing something that fueled my passions and something that paid my bills. I didn’t want to conform to societal pressures to “get a real job” that I didn’t feel allowed me to think out of the box. But I also knew that what ever I ended up doing needed to be a viable business not just a creative project. As much as we artists like to say “it’s not about the money”, it often is!
As a self taught artist and business person I also struggled with the validity of my own ideas and worried about how they would be perceived. I started taking small steps towards my goals and with each step forward I gained more confidence. With each step forward I learned that the only person standing in my way was myself. I started to lean into the things that were once obstacles, as a means to find new pathways to success. For instance, when I first started to exhibit my paintings in art galleries back in 2013, there were very few spaces that would give a voice to emerging artists. I also found the high commissions taken on work sold to be a barrier to making becoming a professional painter a viable option.
Rather than being deterred by these barriers I decided to focus on the problems themselves. If I was frustrated with the industry other emerging artists were too. I found a house that was zoned commercial/residential and leased it with a few friends. I lived upstairs and turned the first floor into an art studio/ creative workshop space with a small gallery hallway…this grew over the years into a West Queen West No Commission Gallery for emerging and marginalized artists that I ran for many years.
Toronto Micro Weddings was born out of a similar thought process. You have the wedding industry that has turned into such a wildly exploitive market, making it impossible for couples today to afford to get married and not go into debt. Why not offer a service that breaks down those barriers while also getting to provide local creatives like DJs, Visual Artists, Bakers and Chefs, Photographers, Content Creators paid opportunities? Say hello to Toronto Micro Weddings!
Entrepreneurship is really just about problem solving! If you are struggling with something, someone else probably is too.
I also used to struggle with self motivation and follow through. If an idea was not successful right away I thought it wasn’t a good idea. But growing a successful business or building a brand/ name for yourself takes time, AND HARD WORK. You have to really hustle and give things 100%, make sacrifices and keep going even when it’s hard. You also have to know when to pivot and reassess based on feedback…because some ideas really aren’t the one.
I eventually overcame the imposter syndrome and I now confidently own my ideas and opinions. But I balance that out by not being so married to my vision that I lose sight of opportunities to improve.
I learned that money is a tool. The more money our business makes the more room there is to play and be creative and bigger the platform we can provide.
Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your business?
Toronto Micro Weddings offers an affordable, all inclusive luxury Miro Wedding Package!
Every element of your wedding in one easy One Stop Shop for $7999!
Our package includes everything from planning and day of coordination to the venue, officiant, florals and decor, photography, entertainment, and more!
What makes us different is that we are challenging everything we have been taught about what a wedding needs to be and disrupting the industry. We believe that couples should invest in their marriage not their wedding. That you should be able to have the wedding of your dreams without going into debt. And that wedding planning should be fun and stress free!
Being able to celebrate love everyday and offer it to couples at a price point they can afford makes us so proud to do what we do.
What does success mean to you?
I believe that success is something that will look different for everyone. For myself however, when I stopped fearing failure or being unsuccessful, I started to achieve what I perceived to be personal and professional success.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.torontomicroweddings.com
- Instagram: @torontomicroweddings
Image Credits
Michael Gozum
Danielle Sum
Gizelle Griarte