B!G: bigillustrationgroup.com

"Moving here freed me from the "centre of the universe" in Toronto. Now I get work from all over, a lot from the U.S. and in fact a surprising amount locally."

Occupation: Freelance Illustrator - editorial, print, web and textbook illustrations, cover art and packaging design plus animated characters for web and TV.

Where: Big rambling century home in Picton with a studio out back, close to beaches, fields and wide-open spaces.

Carl Wiens in studio

When Carl moved to Prince Edward County he gained lots of room for the kids, a small barn to house his fleet of bicycles and the big airy studio he had dreamed of (beats the basement.)

He smiles to remember when he started as an illustrator how he used to deliver all his completed artwork by hand to clients. Technology soon allowed commissions to be taken, completed and delivered without necessarily ever meeting a client face to face. Carl's first break for freedom was choosing to work freelance. He enjoyed the relative freedom of working from home, but the arrival of his first son made it hard to concentrate in his little basement studio. He and wife Kim considered alternatives to finding bigger, expensive accommodation in the city. Carl's older brother Robert, an established fine artist, had been thriving in Prince Edward County since 1989 so they knew there was life outside the GTA. The couple's wish list included a bigger house, a good community to raise children, access to water and good cycling roads. Carl Wiens illustration

The County scored high on all those points, and after eight years in business, Carl felt he was established enough to keep his clients happy from a distance. They moved to the County.

Shortly after moving to Picton Carl visited New York and made contacts that have provided him with steady work ever since. He did expect life to change when he moved to the County - but he didn't expect his business to increase. He is surprised at the amount of local design work available. Carl now gives work placement jobs to local high school students each semester and works with Sheridan College co-op students, too.

When technology freed Carl to live and work anywhere he chose, the place he chose was Prince Edward County. Why? He counts some of the things he likes about County life: the annual Pumpkinfest; going to auctions where he finds great old books; knocking off work early to take his sons to the beach; having a roomy studio right behind his house; having a barn to keep his bikes in; hundreds of kilometers of great cycling roads; room to breathe and the excellent espresso at Picton's Regent Café.