Our story
Our Story – Part 1-7
Noah & Maria Bolinder. March 9, 2022.
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Before we start posting about design, we wanted to take the opportunity to share with you about how we (Maria & Noah) met and why we opened Bolinder Design.
We are real people alive in the world and we want to give you the opportunity to get to know a bit about us. That’s why we are opening this blog with a series called “Our Story.” The series will chart the incredible story of how we met, fell in love, and ended up opening Bolinder Design.
Since it’s a story about both of us, to stay consistent, we write about each other using the third person, but we may use “we” instead of “they” when appropriate, since we are talking about us 😉.
So, lets take you back to the start, when we met for the first time.
In March of 2018, Noah was traveling around Europe with some friends when they landed in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. On his second day in the city, they attended an easter festival where a stranger introduced them to Maria because she spoke good English.
Maria, being the kind person she is, took Noah and his friends to the city’s largest mall, called Lavina, to find them something to eat and then offered to show them around the city another day. Maria loves to read and when she found out that Noah had written a novel, she asked where she could purchase a copy. Noah just so happened to have a copy of the book with him and gave it to her as a gift.
Noah left Ukraine, and neither of us expected to see the other again. Noah lived on the West Coast of Canada on Vancouver Island and Maria was ten time zones away. Little did either of us know that a series of events had been initiated that would change our lives forever.
We are real people alive in the world and we want to give you the opportunity to get to know a bit about us. That’s why we are opening this blog with a series called “Our Story.” The series will chart the incredible story of how we met, fell in love, and ended up opening Bolinder Design.
Since it’s a story about both of us, to stay consistent, we write about each other using the third person, but we may use “we” instead of “they” when appropriate, since we are talking about us 😉.
So, lets take you back to the start, when we met for the first time.
In March of 2018, Noah was traveling around Europe with some friends when they landed in Kyiv, the capital of Ukraine. On his second day in the city, they attended an easter festival where a stranger introduced them to Maria because she spoke good English.
Maria, being the kind person she is, took Noah and his friends to the city’s largest mall, called Lavina, to find them something to eat and then offered to show them around the city another day. Maria loves to read and when she found out that Noah had written a novel, she asked where she could purchase a copy. Noah just so happened to have a copy of the book with him and gave it to her as a gift.
Noah left Ukraine, and neither of us expected to see the other again. Noah lived on the West Coast of Canada on Vancouver Island and Maria was ten time zones away. Little did either of us know that a series of events had been initiated that would change our lives forever.
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After Maria finished reading Noah’s book (it’s called My Promise and you can find it on noahbolinder.com) she reached out to him online to ask him some questions about it. She wasn’t interested in him (honestly), but she really had enjoyed the book which she felt was deep in meaning and mysterious and wanted to ask him a bunch of questions about it.
The two of us started chatting occasionally online, and as the months went on, as Noah followed her on social media, he began to realize that Maria was the real deal. She was a hard worker who genuinely cared for her friends and sacrificed her time to serve others. He began to develop feelings for her.
However, there was a major problem. She was nearly 9,000 kilometres away, literally on the other side of the world!
Noah understood that he had two options.
First, he could forget about her and move on with his life.
Or second, he could try to build a relationship.
The thought of seeing Maria’s future wedding photos online and knowing that he hadn’t done anything to get her put him over the edge. He decided he would try to develop a relationship.
But the question remained…how?
He set up a video call between them and told her that he had become really impressed with her and wanted to know how he could get to know her better.
Unfortunately for him, after reading his book, Maria had committed to not dating anyone for a year. She told him that she wasn’t going to be dating anyone for the next nine months.
That complicated the situation further. However, Noah asked if he could write to her physical letters in the mail, and she agreed.
For nine months, Noah wrote to her twice a month and she never wrote back. Now that the nine months had passed, he needed to make a decision. Would he risk leaving his job in Canada and return to Ukraine to try and convince her to date him? A girl who hadn’t responded to any of his letters?
The two of us started chatting occasionally online, and as the months went on, as Noah followed her on social media, he began to realize that Maria was the real deal. She was a hard worker who genuinely cared for her friends and sacrificed her time to serve others. He began to develop feelings for her.
However, there was a major problem. She was nearly 9,000 kilometres away, literally on the other side of the world!
Noah understood that he had two options.
First, he could forget about her and move on with his life.
Or second, he could try to build a relationship.
The thought of seeing Maria’s future wedding photos online and knowing that he hadn’t done anything to get her put him over the edge. He decided he would try to develop a relationship.
But the question remained…how?
He set up a video call between them and told her that he had become really impressed with her and wanted to know how he could get to know her better.
Unfortunately for him, after reading his book, Maria had committed to not dating anyone for a year. She told him that she wasn’t going to be dating anyone for the next nine months.
That complicated the situation further. However, Noah asked if he could write to her physical letters in the mail, and she agreed.
For nine months, Noah wrote to her twice a month and she never wrote back. Now that the nine months had passed, he needed to make a decision. Would he risk leaving his job in Canada and return to Ukraine to try and convince her to date him? A girl who hadn’t responded to any of his letters?
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Noah entered his boss’ office not knowing if he was about to resign his job. He had made the decision to return to Ukraine so that he could try to convince Maria to date him. He explained to his boss the situation with Maria, how he thought that this was a once in a lifetime opportunity and that the only way he could try to make it work was to return to Ukraine for a period of time.
After Noah’s boss talked with his boss, it was agreed that they would give him three months leave and he wouldn’t have to resign. It was a huge win.
Noah was sitting in a coffee shop on a video call with Maria when he told her that he was thinking of retuning to Ukraine for the summer. A flash of panic appeared in Maria’s eyes, but then she managed a smile. She assured him that it would be exciting if he came to Ukraine.
Maria didn’t know what to do. First of all, she did NOT want to date anyone. She was busy starting her career in design and all of her time was spent at work, learning design at home or serving at church. She was often running off five hours of sleep a day, sometimes even less. The last thing she needed was another guy trying to bother her…there were plenty of them :P.
She decided that she would spare Noah his trouble and write him a letter explaining why he shouldn’t come to Ukraine because she wasn’t interested in dating.
Then, on the weekend that she was going to write the letter, she got sick…really sick. She hardly ever got sick, but this weekend she came down with something hard. Maria spent her day in bed reading the book “Pride and Prejudice” and then decided to watch the movie with Keira Knightley. It was while watching the film that a thought occurred to her. If the character Mr. Darcy, who the protagonist thought was so bad in the book, turned out to actually be really amazing, why couldn’t she give Noah a chance? After all, she didn’t even think that he was bad. Very well, she thought. She would not send the letter. She would wait and see what would transpire.
Within a few weeks, Noah had touched down in Ukraine. The next chapter of the adventure was about to begin.
After Noah’s boss talked with his boss, it was agreed that they would give him three months leave and he wouldn’t have to resign. It was a huge win.
Noah was sitting in a coffee shop on a video call with Maria when he told her that he was thinking of retuning to Ukraine for the summer. A flash of panic appeared in Maria’s eyes, but then she managed a smile. She assured him that it would be exciting if he came to Ukraine.
Maria didn’t know what to do. First of all, she did NOT want to date anyone. She was busy starting her career in design and all of her time was spent at work, learning design at home or serving at church. She was often running off five hours of sleep a day, sometimes even less. The last thing she needed was another guy trying to bother her…there were plenty of them :P.
She decided that she would spare Noah his trouble and write him a letter explaining why he shouldn’t come to Ukraine because she wasn’t interested in dating.
Then, on the weekend that she was going to write the letter, she got sick…really sick. She hardly ever got sick, but this weekend she came down with something hard. Maria spent her day in bed reading the book “Pride and Prejudice” and then decided to watch the movie with Keira Knightley. It was while watching the film that a thought occurred to her. If the character Mr. Darcy, who the protagonist thought was so bad in the book, turned out to actually be really amazing, why couldn’t she give Noah a chance? After all, she didn’t even think that he was bad. Very well, she thought. She would not send the letter. She would wait and see what would transpire.
Within a few weeks, Noah had touched down in Ukraine. The next chapter of the adventure was about to begin.
-4-
When Noah touched down in Kyiv, Ukraine on June 17th, 2019, he knew that he was beginning an epic adventure. Even though he had only met Maria three times on his trip the previous year, he knew that he wanted to marry her. Not only was she beautiful, but she was an extremely talented, dedicated worker who had an incredible heart to serve others.
He had to make her his.
Arriving at Boryspil Airport, he was half expecting Maria to be waiting for him. It wasn’t every day that someone traveled around the world for a visit. However, she was not there. She was at work.
After checking into his Airbnb, Maria wrote to him, congratulating him on his return. He was slightly disappointed that she hadn’t met him at the airport, but he understood that she was really busy.
Having a good sleep, he spent the next day understanding the area he was living in, getting groceries and a SIM card. Ukraine was an interesting place, very different than Canada. People here had a really good sense of style. Most people didn’t speak English and the coffee was tasty, but it came in much smaller portions than he was used to, and he always had to ask for it extra hot or they would make it warm.
In the evening, Maria wrote to him to say that she would be in his area because she needed to stop by a shop to get some supplies for her design work and that they could see each other if he met her there. Of course, Noah jumped on the opportunity and called an uber.
The uber took him to the entrance of a mall downtown and he found Maria sitting on a bench outside. She was on the phone organizing an event she was hosting on the weekend and Noah waited patiently for her to finish her call. When the call was over, she apologized and suggested they go for a walk and perhaps get something to eat.
As they began on their way, Noah realized that something was off. She wasn’t looking at him as they walked, and her body language was reserved. She didn’t seem excited or interested that he was here. Didn’t she understand the reason he had come back? It was then that he realized that his mission was going to be harder than he had anticipated…
He had to make her his.
Arriving at Boryspil Airport, he was half expecting Maria to be waiting for him. It wasn’t every day that someone traveled around the world for a visit. However, she was not there. She was at work.
After checking into his Airbnb, Maria wrote to him, congratulating him on his return. He was slightly disappointed that she hadn’t met him at the airport, but he understood that she was really busy.
Having a good sleep, he spent the next day understanding the area he was living in, getting groceries and a SIM card. Ukraine was an interesting place, very different than Canada. People here had a really good sense of style. Most people didn’t speak English and the coffee was tasty, but it came in much smaller portions than he was used to, and he always had to ask for it extra hot or they would make it warm.
In the evening, Maria wrote to him to say that she would be in his area because she needed to stop by a shop to get some supplies for her design work and that they could see each other if he met her there. Of course, Noah jumped on the opportunity and called an uber.
The uber took him to the entrance of a mall downtown and he found Maria sitting on a bench outside. She was on the phone organizing an event she was hosting on the weekend and Noah waited patiently for her to finish her call. When the call was over, she apologized and suggested they go for a walk and perhaps get something to eat.
As they began on their way, Noah realized that something was off. She wasn’t looking at him as they walked, and her body language was reserved. She didn’t seem excited or interested that he was here. Didn’t she understand the reason he had come back? It was then that he realized that his mission was going to be harder than he had anticipated…
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Maria led Noah to a café in the centre of Kyiv called “Lviv Croissants” where she purchased a sandwich and drink. Due to Noah’s gluten allergy, he wasn’t able to eat anything there, but he got a drink. She led him outside and they found a place to sit on the grass where they talked. After an hour, she took him to a new, glass bridge that had been constructed near the Friendship Arch. As they came to a park on the other side of the bridge, a man was playing a guitar singing Ukrainian songs near a large fountain. Maria asked if they could stop and listen, and they stood there listening to several songs.
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For the first time that evening, Maria’s businesslike demeanor melted away and she began grinning wildly, her body swaying back and forth as she sang the songs. She told Noah how they reminded her of her childhood and how she adored listening to the music. A song would end, and she would ask to stay for the next one, and then another. To Noah, the fact that this random street singer had seemingly enchanted her soul was slightly perplexing and annoying.
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After several songs, she forced herself to get going and told Noah that she should be getting home, and he offered to accompany her. They returned across the bridge and descended deep underground on a fast-moving escalator into the metro station and took the blueline to the second last stop going south called Ipodrom. From there, it was about a ten-minute walk passed several high-rise apartment buildings until we arrived at her building which looked like a massive square block of connected apartments with an inner courtyard. Arriving at her entrance, Maria wished Noah goodnight, and disappeared inside.
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Noah began walking back the metro, a knot forming in his stomach. This girl didn’t seem the least bit interested in him. Had he made a mistake coming back here? All he knew was that he had less than three months to win her heart.
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For the first time that evening, Maria’s businesslike demeanor melted away and she began grinning wildly, her body swaying back and forth as she sang the songs. She told Noah how they reminded her of her childhood and how she adored listening to the music. A song would end, and she would ask to stay for the next one, and then another. To Noah, the fact that this random street singer had seemingly enchanted her soul was slightly perplexing and annoying.
⠀
After several songs, she forced herself to get going and told Noah that she should be getting home, and he offered to accompany her. They returned across the bridge and descended deep underground on a fast-moving escalator into the metro station and took the blueline to the second last stop going south called Ipodrom. From there, it was about a ten-minute walk passed several high-rise apartment buildings until we arrived at her building which looked like a massive square block of connected apartments with an inner courtyard. Arriving at her entrance, Maria wished Noah goodnight, and disappeared inside.
⠀
Noah began walking back the metro, a knot forming in his stomach. This girl didn’t seem the least bit interested in him. Had he made a mistake coming back here? All he knew was that he had less than three months to win her heart.
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Noah began the journey back to Ipodrom station with a flutter of thoughts and emotions running through him. He had just seen the woman he hoped to marry, the woman he had dreamed of seeing for months, which had been thrilling, but his stomach was in a knot at the realization that she may not be even remotely interested in him.
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As Noah exited his metro station and began walking through a park towards his Airbnb, he saw that Maria had messaged him. She said she just realized that they didn’t get anything for Noah to eat and apologized. Noah told her that it was all good and he was just excited to see her and was looking forward to seeing her again soon.
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The next day Noah asked Maria to send him a picture of the type of pencils that she wanted to purchase at the mail but wasn’t able to because the store was closed. He returned to the mall to get them, which gave him an excuse to meet her at her work.
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Noah arrived at her work and walked with her to the metro which they took to Ipodrom station again. They walked to her apartment and there, at the entrance to her building, she said goodbye and disappeared inside once again.
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Still no hug or invitation to come in.
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Once again, Noah walked back to Ipodrom with a sinking feeling in his stomach, wondering what he was going to do. It was then that he realized that he had completely forgotten to give Maria the pencils he had bought for her. Well, he thought, at least I still have a reason to see her tomorrow.
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So began a routine where Noah would show up to Maria’s work at the end of her day to accompany her home. If that was all the time he could get with her, so be it!
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He was willing to play the long game to win her.
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Then, finally, after two weeks, Maria had a day when she was free and she agreed to let Noah take her on a date. It had been a long two weeks of waiting, and Noah hoped that this would finally be the opportunity where she would begin warming up to him.
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As Noah exited his metro station and began walking through a park towards his Airbnb, he saw that Maria had messaged him. She said she just realized that they didn’t get anything for Noah to eat and apologized. Noah told her that it was all good and he was just excited to see her and was looking forward to seeing her again soon.
⠀
The next day Noah asked Maria to send him a picture of the type of pencils that she wanted to purchase at the mail but wasn’t able to because the store was closed. He returned to the mall to get them, which gave him an excuse to meet her at her work.
⠀
Noah arrived at her work and walked with her to the metro which they took to Ipodrom station again. They walked to her apartment and there, at the entrance to her building, she said goodbye and disappeared inside once again.
⠀
Still no hug or invitation to come in.
⠀
Once again, Noah walked back to Ipodrom with a sinking feeling in his stomach, wondering what he was going to do. It was then that he realized that he had completely forgotten to give Maria the pencils he had bought for her. Well, he thought, at least I still have a reason to see her tomorrow.
⠀
So began a routine where Noah would show up to Maria’s work at the end of her day to accompany her home. If that was all the time he could get with her, so be it!
⠀
He was willing to play the long game to win her.
⠀
Then, finally, after two weeks, Maria had a day when she was free and she agreed to let Noah take her on a date. It had been a long two weeks of waiting, and Noah hoped that this would finally be the opportunity where she would begin warming up to him.
-7-
It was the day Noah had been waiting for. After two weeks of walking Maria home from work, she had agreed to go on a date with him. For Noah, it felt like the most significant day of his life.
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It was July 1st, Canada Day, and Noah showed up to her apartment with a bouquet of white and red flowers. They took an uber to Lavina Mall, the place where Maria had taken him on the day they had first met. They got coffee and Noah took her to the food court where they had first sat down together the year before.
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For the next half an hour, he told her the story of why he had returned to Ukraine, to get to know her and how he felt that the only way to make something work between them was if he came back for an extended period of time.
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After telling her the full story of why he had returned to date her, he asked her to tell him her thoughts.
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“Wow,” Maria straightened herself in her chair, blinking her wide eyes. “Well,” she began after a pause, “I have to be honest with you.” She went on to stay that she wasn’t interested in a relationship at this stage in her life. She explained to him that even if ten of the best men in the world were available for her to date right now, even if he was one of them, she wouldn’t want to date them at this moment in her life.
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As she began breaking this news to him, Noah felt like someone had sucker-punched him in the stomach. It seemed like his entire plan for the summer was crashing before his eyes.
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What’s more, she had told him that she was leaving to go to Krakow in Poland the next day with her friend.
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Seriously? He had come around the world to get to know her and now she was leaving the country!
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He had also purchased her a necklace from Tiffany and Co. which he had planned to give to her after she had agreed to date him. Maria got up from the table to get a napkin. Noah had a few seconds to decide what he would do. Would he still give her the necklace in his pocket?
Noah and Maria