Armstrong, British Columbia
Hi, I'm Mary Jane Howie.
I help good ideas grow.
I am an engineer who builds websites, grows a lot of vegetables, and plays bluegrass most weeks of the year. This page is the short version.
Things I am building
Work
Four projects, all of them websites, all of them started because I wanted the thing to exist.
Acorn Websites
My web design and SEO company. Fast, plain websites for small businesses in the North Okanagan.
Home for the Harvest
A gardening site and YouTube channel, running since 2015. Mostly about how to grow the thing you are trying to grow.
Armstrong Local
A directory of the businesses and events in my own small town.
Play Bluegrass Music
Tunes, chords, and notes for people picking up a bluegrass instrument.
The longer version
About me
I trained as a civil engineer at UBC and spent the first part of my career at Shell Canada. Then I started writing about gardening, learned how search engines work, and never went back.
Today I run Acorn Websites out of a home office in Armstrong. I build websites for small businesses, and I keep a handful of my own sites going on the side. The engineering habit stuck: I like measuring things, and I like a site that loads before you notice it loading.
Away from the desk there are four kids, a large vegetable garden, and a mandolin. I sing harmony when someone lets me.
Around town
- Garden director, Armstrong Elementary School PAC
- Web manager, Armstrong and District Garden Club
- Web admin, North Okanagan Minor Hockey Association
- Website, Vernon Performing Arts Festival Society
Say hello
Get in touch
Email is the best way to reach me. I read everything, and I answer most of it.
Looking to hire me for a website? That conversation happens over at Acorn Websites.