There’s strength in numbers, it has been said, a sentiment that rings all the more true when it comes to business collaborations. In recent weeks, an especially unique collaboration came to light between Cameron Bennett of Forging Ahead Inc. and Juliette Hagopian of Jette Studios. The hope is that together they can make a bigger impact.
“She’s an amazing lady,” Bennett says. “She’s an artist, too, and we both kind of click on our ideas. We both also like the can-do attitude that Niverville has.”
Hagopian’s dream of creating a film production campus in Niverville is already underway. Earlier this year, she invited the public to join her in the grand opening of her 25,000-square-foot soundstage.
As for Bennett, he’s a veteran of the Canadian military who discovered a love for metal crafting. It’s become an outlet for him to work through symptoms brought on by his post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).
After developing traditional blacksmithing skills under the instruction of a world-class instructor, he created a backyard workshop in which he and other PTSD sufferers can release stress in productive ways. The venture has been so life-changing that he turned Forging Ahead into a charitable organization.
Like Hagopian, he’s a dreamer whose end goal is to see Niverville become the location of a world-class facility. He imagines a local school that offers instruction in many disciplines, including painting, sculpting, woodworking, stone masonry, and blacksmithing. It would also offer a full range of wraparound services, such as psychologists and social workers.
To make this happen, Forging Ahead will require major financial support—and Bennett has been actively working to garner it.
Recently, Bennett says, his social media specialist suggested that a documentary about his non-profit would go a long way towards pitching his idea to a broader audience.
That’s where Hagopian comes in.
Such a documentary could take years of produce, he acknowledges, but he’s in no rush. The biggest dreams take time to come together.
Since meeting, the pair have landed on another idea that could be of mutual benefit. Jette Studios needs a production building in which to create movie props and backdrops. Bennett needs a bigger facility for his learning centre.
“The idea that we are pitching is to [build a] production set studio on the side of the big [soundstage],” Bennett says. “Forging Ahead could do its standard blacksmithing and traditional work here.”
Another mutual aim is community beautification.
“We want to go in together to develop a park, trails, art, and sculptures,” he adds. “That would also be filmed and documented to promote the charity, Niverville, and southeast Manitoba.”
Bennett has long envisioned such a park and believes that Niverville would be the perfect location. Through it, he says, would run a trail of heroes to commemorate the many veterans, first responders, and law enforcements officers who live with PTSD as a result of serving their country and fellow man.