My Story

My name is Nicole Laidler, and I love words. 

I was born in Manchester, England. My family emigrated to London, Ontario when I was four years old when my father accepted a job at the University of Western Ontario. My first months in Canada were spent on the shores of Lake Huron living in a tiny yellow cottage as we waited for our home to be finished. I will never forget the rusty swing set in the sand dunes or the taste of my first Ontario peach.

As a professor of economics, my father was able to take sabbatical leave. Growing up, I was blessed to live and attend school in Konstanz, Germany as well as Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.

An only child, I spent hours writing poetry - but music was my first love. Words expressed my private thoughts and feelings; music was how I connected with others.

I taught myself to play the recorder in Grade 2, and eventually convinced my parents I needed a teacher. I was handed an oboe in high school and fell in love with the double-reed. After studying music for three years at McGill University it was time to explore the world. I set out with my boyfriend, our instruments, a tent, and two bicycles for a trip across Europe. We rode from London to Athens, crossing the Massif Central mountain range and filling our water bottles with red wine along the Côtes du Rhône.

After a winter in Crete our savings had run out. Heading home, we arrived in Assisi, Italy during Easter week, gave busking a try and never looked back. For the next five years we performed at festivals and for private events in Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Austria, France, and England.

Not wanting to build my future in Europe, I returned to London – alone – with plans to attend the University of Ottawa for a degree in arts administration.

A walk with my parents’ dog would once again change the course of my life when I met a boxer called Caesar and his equally charming owner. I stayed in London, completing an honors degree in Arts Administrative Studies at the University of Western Ontario.

I learned that I could crunch numbers as well as any budding accountant, but missed having a creative outlet. On a whim, I applied for the Masters in Journalism program – the shortest MA I could find. I wrote for anyone who would take my words, created a small portfolio, and was accepted. 

The listening-skills I developed as a musician, my natural curiosity, and my desire to connect with others had finally found a home and I embraced my new vocation as a journalist and copywriter. I launched my business, Spilled Ink Writing & Wordsmithing, in 2004 and have never looked back. 

Life took an unexpected turn in 2016 when I began a new adventure as a single-mother to my son and our 120 lb. Newfoundland dog. Three years later, a stranger from Paris caught my eye on a dating site. I had caught his, too. Despite the distance - and a global pandemic - we proved that love has no boundaries and we are writing the next chapter of our lives, together.

Today, I continue to use my life-long love of words to help my clients build their success, whether they are sharing personal or professional stories, explaining complicated ideas, or serving others through their products and services.   

• Honour the truth
• Respect the individual

• Passion for learning
  
• Integrity