Artist, Agritourism entrepreneur, Director of Business Operations, Apple Hill Lavender Farm
Melissa Schooley is an award-winning potter and artist from Norfolk County, Ontario. She is a graduate of the esteemed Emily Carr University of Art and Design in Vancouver where she received her Bachelor’s Degree of Fine Arts. She opened up her own studio, The Raging Bowl, and began her career as a fulltime potter in 2005. In 2013, Melissa partnered with her parents to help the establish Apple Hill Lavender, an agri-tourism destination. She has since left her pottery career to become involved with the family farm full-time.
Having participated in trade shows throughout Canada, as well as New York and Philadelphia, she has been invited as a guest lecturer to speak on both her creative skills and business knowledge to audiences across the province through Guild and Association events, colleges and to a global audience through Podcasts.
As Director of Business Operations at Apple Hill Lavender, Melissa is heavily involved in product development and marketing and has been responsible for getting Apple Hill Lavender’s products in stores throughout Canada from coast, to coast, to coast. She is currently pursuing an education as a Herbalist and has diversified the range of crops grown at Apple Hill Lavender to include a number of medicinal plants and is working with Health Canada to register a series of therapeutic products.