Brenna MacNeil was born in Inverness, in Western Cape Breton. Apart from moving for four years to Antigonish while her mother continued her education, MacNeil grew up in Inverness. Despite not feeling like she was creative artistically, she described being a very curious child who was never afraid to ask questions. “I feel like with creativity, you have to have that childlike curiosity about life. And I feel like I still have that,” said MacNeil. At the age of eleven, she gained an interest in photography after being gifted a camera by her grandmother. Growing up on the beautiful island of Cape Breton, she took advantage of the landscape by taking scenic photos. In her twenties, she would print and glue her photos onto cards. MacNeil would then go into a shop on Central Avenue called The Bear Paw to sell the cards. The shop owner, Alice Freeman, sup - ported many local artists in Inverness. “She was very supportive of me whenever I
brought in cards or prints. So that’s where it started for me was with photography and cards and prints” explained MacNeil. On her journey to owning The Corner Store by missbrenna, MacNeil was able to use that curiosity and ability to think of engaging questions within her different career paths. She studied for a Bachelor of Public Relations at Mount Saint Vincent University and landed her first PR job in Halifax with the Sisters of Charity.
While working at Sisters of Charity, she conducted in - terviews and wrote their newsletters. She then taught English as a Second Language for two years in Korea alongside her husband, Brandon. “I was trying to think of interesting ways to engage with my students” says MacNeil, who included thought-provoking questions within her English lessons.
THE CORNER STORE BY MISSBRENNA COMMUNITY CONNECTIONS & CAPE BRETON PRIDE by Gabrielle Gamblin renna MacNeil may not have always been sure about her path to entrepreneurship, but she always knew where she came from. As a proud Cape Bretoner who values community, MacNeil asked a lot of questions and gained a lot of connections throughout her journey to owning her business. With a gracious amount of support, her hard work and curiosity led her back to her roots in the most unexpected way. Brenna is now able to support other local artists while feeding her own creativity and giving her daughter the beautiful Island life, she grew up with. B
“I feel like with creativity, you have to have that childlike curiosity about life. And I feel like I still have that.”
SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE • VOL 23 ISSUE 3
VOL 23 ISSUE 3 • SPOTLIGHT ON BUSINESS MAGAZINE
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