No Barriers
EAST COAST
HOMES
Owner/Operator
Jess MacKinnon
Contact Information
Charlottetown 902.213.3239 www.eastcoasthomes.ca
“I grew up renovating. My mother has the
best design eye—all her
spaces are so beautiful and unique—and my dad made it happen.”
J ess MacKinnon met her East Coast Homes co-founder Louis Horvath while transforming a hundred-year-old barn on her first PEI property into the tiny cottage she’d designed: Georgetown’s Douglas Barn (now a rental operated by Jess). MacKinnon describes that cottage as “my first tiny-home conversion”—an important stepping stone toward East Coast Homes, which specializes in tiny buildings (in addition to construction contracts and consulting). But while the barn conversion was a new type of project, MacKinnon had already applied her design skills a number of times.
“I started as a designer by renovating my own apartments in Toronto and converting a friend’s basement to a retro rental suite,” she explains, adding that she planned interiors for Cape Breton rentals for the same friend. “I had a ton of fun creating unique spaces from scratch to fit each rental’s theme on a budget. Soon, I started getting requests from more friends and family. I’d found my passion.” MacKinnon’s expertise allows East Coast Homes to assist clients with functional interior design, and her experience in marketing and entrepreneurship is equally important
to the business. (She’s owned rental properties—currently in Cape Breton, Toronto, and PEI—since her twenties.) MacKinnon’s tone is upbeat when she reflects on her experiences in professional building and renovation. “I know many women are working in construction,” she says. “I feel that there’s an exceptional amount of room for women to be more involved. I haven’t felt any barriers, being a woman in construction on PEI.”
By Rebecca Spinner Photos Evan Ceretti
WOMEN IN BUSINESS 2021
SPRING 2021 www.pei-living.ca
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