Wayward Girls Studio was founded by Jason Helm. Having a choice between continuing education at the Ontario Academy of Art (now OCAD) or entering Funeral Service Education, he took the pragmatic path and ending up apprenticing his Funeral Directing License at a former home for unwed mothers in Scarborough, ON. Leaving his chosen profession and exploring opportunities and experiences across the country, South America, Europe and Eastern Africa a corporate position landed him in central Ontario. There he started putting the pieces of the original cooperative studio into place. Relationships with knowledgeable locals expanded his knowledge of wild foraging, introduced him to fur trapping and whole system ecology while working with locally sourced materials made into finished form. An autodidact, Jason expanded his passions and their applications in garment making, leather craft, practical accessories and old world workmanship. Jason now shares his knowledge and skills with the desire to help others learn skills of interest, share ideas and access to creativity through partnerships, sharing processes publicly and offering workshops.

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