Michele Stevens - Centre for Women in Business

Advancing
Women
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in Atlantic Canada
www.centreforwomeninbusiness.ca
Michele Stevens
Owner
Michele Stevens
Sailloft Ltd.
Lunenburg | NS
www.tallships.ca/sailloft
Tucked away on Nova Scotia’s scenic south
shore is a bustling sail loft where Michele
Stevens continues a time-honoured
tradition that her great grandfather
Randolph began during the glory days of
wooden ships and iron men.
Michele takes great pride in being the latest
in her family’s long line of sail makers and
the first female to master the craft.
That pride was never more evident than
when her firm, Michele Stevens Sailloft Ltd.,
was asked to build the new main sail for the
“Bluenose II”, Canada’s sailing ambassador
to the world. The mainsail, which measures
4,150 square feet, is recognized as the
largest working mainsail in the world. The
Bluenose II sail will likely always stand as the
Sailloft’s signature piece.
Interestingly, Michele’s great
grandfather crewed as a sail trimmer
on the original “Bluenose” when the
famous schooner earned its undisputed
reputation as the ‘Queen of the North
Atlantic’.
Described as a “dream come true”
for Michele, the fourth generation
sail maker drew on the combined
experience and expertise of her father,
grandfather, and other family members,
to design and construct a foresail,
main sail and fore gaff-topsail for the
magnificent ship’s reincarnation.
Other examples of the company’s
custom work include the sails prepared
for the tall ship Concordia, the backdrop
for the 1999 East Coast Music Awards,
as well as the colourful sail shapes
designed for Alderney Landing in
Dartmouth, Nova Scotia.
To sustain the Sailloft’s year-round
operation, which employs three full-time
sail makers and a part-time bookkeeper,
the company hand crafts and repairs
cruising sails for private and commercial
boats of all sizes, from 12-foot dinghies
to yachts, as well as tarpaulins and boat
covers, cushions and various other sailing
accessories.
The majority of the company’s clients
are based in Atlantic Canada. However,
that could soon change. That’s because
Michele recently hired a marketing
consultant to help broaden the Sailloft’s
export horizons.
Her efforts are complemented by the mentorship she
now enjoys from her former classmates in Advance,
a program that promotes the growth of womenowned businesses in Atlantic Canada. “It was just
fantastic,” Michele says of the professional and business
development program.
Michele is now sold on the impressive caliber of
Advance’s workshops, the thoroughness of the training,
and the maturity of its participants. “I had never taken
part in courses and workshops where the owners had
been in business for such a long time. That was very
exciting and eye-opening for me.”
One of the program’s unexpected
bonuses was the creation of a strong
network of female entrepreneurs. The
Advance participants, whom Michele
now counts among her friends,
continue to meet monthly to provide
each other with valuable advice and
support. “It’s nice to know that other
business women have similar issues. It’s
great to have them as a resource.”
My biggest benefits from the
program are having increased
confidence in my business skills
and the realization that I am
not alone – and that many
challenges just come with the
job,” she says.
That confidence now has her looking at potential markets
for her sails through a global lens. “I am now aiming for a
higher national and international profile,” she adds.
Thank you to our partners.
The Advance Program was made possible with support from the
Government of Canada, through the Atlantic Canada Opportunities Agency.
Copyright © 2011. Centre for Women in Business, Mount Saint Vincent University. All rights reserved.
Thank you
to all of the women who so
generously shared their
time, insight and expertise.
www.centreforwomeninbusiness.ca
Copyright © 2012. Centre for Women in Business, Mount Saint Vincent University. All rights reserved.