I. Zibin Profile

Born in 1957, Irene spent the first five years of her life in a Doukhobor village near Grand Forks, British Columbia. Without electricity or running hot water the family used coal oil lamps, and on bath nights trekked to the bathhouse to soak in wooden tubs. Married at seventeen, Irene moved to Winnipeg to live with her husband, a soldier in the Canadian Armed Forces. There she worked as a waitress, bartender and nursery photographer for Cradle Pictures. After their two children were born the family was posted to Lahr, Germany, where Irene and her sister attempted their first business venture: a greeting card company named L.A. Cards. The company sold 6 cards to a store in Osoyoos, British Columbia. Fortunately her next venture - a career in retail banking- was successful. She now resides in Abbotsford, British Columbia, on a street where young men can often be seen furiously pedalling bicycles that are much too small for them. She has three large dogs and two cats. Yes, two of the dogs sleep on the bed, and sometimes the cats do too.