I’m thrilled to share that a multi-faceted project I’ve developed over the years has been named a finalist for a national Digital Publishing Award!
Called the Mini Reno Guide, this piece of work began as a stage presentation several years ago for the Ottawa Home Show. To prepare for it, I canvassed several area renovators for their advice on how to have a successful renovation and — since I was already interviewing him for an article setting up the show — was able to ask several questions of TV’s Bryan Baeumler, who was the home show headliner.
The talk was organized into seven keys to success and called How to Keep Your Reno from Going Off the Rails. Following the show, I turned the presentation into an article for my homes-related website, All Things Home. Periodically, I would dust off the presentation and give it again at another home show.
Last year, the All Things Home team decided it would make a great giveaway for the RenoTour Parade of Homes, an annual house tour of renovation projects in the Ottawa area that gives homeowners who are considering a renovation an excellent way to check out the work of several top renovators. To make this giveaway work, we updated the content where needed and turned it into a short book that tourgoers could pick up at each home on the tour. We also created a downloadable pdf version that lives on the All Things Home website.
The Mini Reno Guide is one of 10 finalists for Best Service Feature. The competition is stiff, including CBC News Labs, Radio-Canada and The Conversation, but even being named a finalist is an honour. Winners will be announced June 5.