Our Story...
The story of CXN Studio begins with the individual stories of Amie and Steven. Their distinct threads of life slowly found their way to each other and ultimately wound tightly together until they became fully intertwined.
Amie is a collector of curiosity and always has been. As a child, Amie recalls experiencing difficulty staying focused on any one thing. Her dynamic traits brought about an internal frustration at the barriers she faced in order to stand above the rest in one particular activity or category. This led to self-comparison with peers who were able to shine at different feats—whether that be singing, sports, or specific art mediums. Despite feeling uneasy in this comparison, Amie still craved creative pursuits and forged ahead to explore a plethora of creative opportunities from dance, to drama, to music, and everything in between. Creativity, connection, and community have always been Amie’s life’s blood.
Steven grew up a very happy-go-lucky kid for a large portion of his life. He remembers being definitively more expressive in his emotions during his early years. There is tangible proof of his silly, carefree disposition within his collection of childhood photos. Over the years, his debonair spirit underwent a number of changes through different life experiences and influences. Steven fondly remembers swim nights at his family home as a child. He loved having friends over and connecting with them, hosting, and the community that comes along with that. This environment from his youth fostered his continued love for connection and community.
These childhood temperaments demonstrate why Amie and Steven work so well together. Steven and Amie met at Western University through the Campus for Christ Leadership Team. Amie handled the social co-ordination for over 200 students. She organized the weekly meetings, social events, sports teams, and retreats. Steven was in charge of discipleship, co-ordinated bible study, prayer, and peer support.
Amie and Steven recall distinct memories from their early interactions. Amie remembers pushing back against Steven who tried to explain she did not need to carry the chairs back. Amie has always been incredibly tenacious in her personhood and her values. She is both physically strong and strong in spirit, and so she put the chairs away exactly as she intended to do.
Amie reflects on Steven’s unwavering dependability during their days on the Leadership Team (and forever after). She knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that he was always a person she could call. He would pick up orders, move equipment, clean—whatever was needed, no questions asked. They bounced off of each other effortlessly long before they ended up together. Steven and Amie have always been intrinsically linked. Whatever they do, they do so together in full respect and trust for the other individual. They would follow each other to the ends of the Earth.
Steven and Amie began dating in 2008 and have been inseparable ever since. In 2009, Steven completed his Bachelor’s of Engineering and in 2010 Amie completed her Bachelor’s of Health Science. Steven then completed his Masters of English in 2010. The following year, Amie completed her Post Graduate Degree in Therapeutic Recreation.
Amie’s constant desire to partake in a multitude of creative mediums led to the recreational focus of her degree and so she completed her Post Graduate Degree in Therapeutic Recreation. A recreational therapist helps individuals learn to enjoy leisure and recreation in all of its different forms. Looking back, as Amie strived for a singular focus, her fearless determination to try a variety of mediums precipitated her ability to help individuals find what sparks joy for them. She sees her success within her gift of helping people venture into their artistic avenues, and the formation of community and connection that comes along with the tangible end result.
Steven sees himself as a rock — the steady foundation of his family, business, and home. He values every relationship and connection he forges in his life, and so, in 2011, Amie and Steven married and tied their threads together. These two individuals make a formidable team. Steven describes Amie as the colour and himself as the solid lines in their partnership. Trust is the foundation upon which they operate. Amie and Steven always have each other’s back and face life head-on, together.
In 2014, Amie and Steven welcomed their first child into the world. Steven highly prioritizes maintaining a strong marriage, a strong parenting relationship, strong family ties, and close friendships. These are the central things he hopes to continue to invest in and benefit from for the rest of his life.
Amie and Steven have prepared themselves to be excellent parents. Amie is eclectic, dynamic, and always active in pursuit of her next project or goal. If there is a job to do, Amie gets it done. Her creative soul thrives in the enjoyment and experience of the current moment. When questioned about creativity, Amie and Steven approach what it means to be creative from different angles.
Steven’s first response is to question how one defines creativity. If that definition encompasses bringing something novel into being that no one has discovered yet, or finding a solution when there are set beginning and end markers then he is all game. Steven takes great satisfaction in creating efficient paths or solutions to make things better. His background in engineering provides the structure needed to make his way from beginning to endpoint within his creative endeavours.
On the other hand Amie, in all of her vibrant colour, seeks to redefine what a creative person is. She laments over the current reality that creativity is valued while curiosity is spurned, given that creativity and curiosity are two sides of the same coin. Creativity, with all of its brainstorming and problem-solving cannot be esteemed while disdaining curiosity’s process of questioning, trial, and error. Amie values exploration and failure. She questions what it means to try and to fail and seeks to reframe failure as simply new and necessary information.
When it comes to careers, rather than deciding on what you want to do, Steven urges individuals to consider the better question of who they want to be and how they want to be. He affirms that there are thousands of different ways and countless career paths that may answer the call of whatever your core values may be. This wizened ideology comes from a man who has endlessly explored a variety of educational paths and hopes his children chase the way they want to live their lives rather than simply a job title.
Steven graduated from his Bachelor’s of Education in Senior Physics and Math in 2013, and then began his Master’s in Divinity in 2014. Amie began her own Master’s in Divinity shortly after in 2015. The year of 2015 was set to be one for another major milestone as Steven and Amie packed up their lives and moved to Toronto. In retrospect, Steven feels as if his roots that had sprouted and established in London were dug out and repotted in Toronto soil. This move was indeed important for Amie and Steven’s personal growth, but felt jarring nevertheless.
In 2016, Amie and Steven welcomed their second child into the world. Shortly after in 2017, Steven and Amie moved back to London to take care of Amie’s mother and be closer to family. Their roots were displaced once again, but this time to a place that has always felt like home. Now back in the same place they began, Steven and Amie saw the world with new perspectives. Their new outlook and experience provided the necessary recalibration that has brought back Steven’s youthful silliness and vigour. He hopes to continue to foster the happy-go-lucky temperament that resides within his younger self. In 2018, Amie and Steven graduated from their Masters in Divinity together.
After the impact of the pandemic and distinct deliberation over career paths, in 2021, Amie self-reportedly dragged Steven to look at a storefront-apartment property in Poplar Hill. This moment sparked Steven’s realization that Amie’s dream was very big. Moreover, he knew she was dreaming big, and that he would also want those dreams for himself and his family. Steven confesses, “She knows a lot about me, that I don’t know about myself or fully realize yet.” They met with Steven’s parents and explained the dream: a place to run the studio and also lay down roots for their home. The Lattas were
willing to sell them the property and help Amie and Steven actualize their dreams. Amie and Steven moved to the property in 2022 and CXN Studio was finally home.
Steven and Amie purchased the gorgeous property on which the studio lives from the Lattas—Steven’s parents. This third-generation property has long fostered community in its many different forms, and Amie and Steven are fully committed to keeping that legacy alive.
As Amie and Steven traversed different paths and destinations throughout their education and career, the core value of community, creativity, and connection has always been at the heart of every endeavour. CXN Studio is the essence of all the best parts of past careers, distilled into one enterprise.
When CXN Studio was in early development, Steven and Amie had a long debate over what the studio was going to be. Amie was adamant that CXN was going to be an art studio. The disagreement momentarily turned into a heated rivalry over the nature of the studio. Amie pushed the main thread that CXN would form around. However, Steven did not want to limit the possibilities that CXN could be, while also highlighting the importance of connection through creation. Steven describes the moment as, “We are both heading forward, both going North. She’s going Northwest, I’m going Northeast and eventually we met up at North.” They went back and forth, questioning: Is it a creative space? Is it a creative studio? Is it an incubator? It is an innovative space, right? It’s an art studio, and art will be made! However, CXN Studio is principally where people connect over creativity.
CXN Studio is a social enterprise which offers products and services that feedback into social impact and community. This studio aims to be a third-space where individuals can work on their shared creative pursuits while being part of a larger collective. CXN Studio is a safe space that enacts no specific pressures or demands. Here, the process is valued more than the end result. Whether you are an experienced professional or a novice, everybody is welcome, and everybody is encouraged to come along to experience something more, together.
In the “ber” of 2022, CXN Studio participated in their first market. Amie believes she has always been a creative individual and moreover that we are all born to be creative individuals. She also credits her mom, who was an Early Childhood Educator with a background in childhood development in fostering her creativity. She recalls being encouraged to make things with her hands. Amie has honed this skill phenomenally throughout her life and continues to flourish with tactile art. These markets allow Amie to share her art with others, and encourage people to tap into their own creativity. CXN Studio markets are also excellent opportunities for Steven and Amie to connect with different local communities on a larger scale. Steven hopes that the environment of CXN Studio provides the desired community and connectivity which in turn feeds back into the individual as well as the collective and results in something more.
In 2025, Amie and Steven were selected to be a part of The Emily Michelle Project television show on HGTV. The renovation of CXN Studio was featured on the new HGTV series produced by Scott Entertainment. This opportunity was an incredibly meaningful milestone. Amie and Steven hope to continue their curation of their third-generation property piece-by-piece alongside the phenomenal work done by The Emily Michelle Project and HGTV. Amie dreams of native plant gardens, natural dye gardens, and butterfly gardens that match her whimsical spirit. Amie and Steven operate with the hopes of regeneration and restoration. Their business model matches their hopes for the property — a cyclical system that feeds back into the world.
In 2026, CXN Studio launched programming in the newly renovated studio. CXN Studio is the perfect place to host creatives who desire a space to facilitate their workshops alongside the support of Amie and CXN Studio.
Amie and Steven are open to whatever opportunities and partnerships the future brings. CXN Studio will continue to grow and evolve as Amie and Steven grow and evolve throughout their lives. CXN Studio possesses the capacity to constantly expand as needed. Amie and Steven look forward to the creation of new art and the role CXN Studio will play in the memory of connection. They hope to see their network grow in size but more importantly grow in quality. They would love to eventually be able to direct and assist others in following the same type of connection-focused business model. Amie is currently also finishing her Masters Spinning Program.
All in all, Amie and Steven love a good story. The good news is their own story is certainly one for the books, and the great news is they are indeed still writing pages.