Vaelei is educated as an interior architect and thrives on the unexpected nature of design collaborations. She believes that the relationships created between designer, client, contractors, artists, architects, end users etc are where the real magic happens. "The conversations, the inspirations, the push and the pull...this is all gold. The final outcome is nothing less than the expression of human interaction."In 2015 Vaelei opened the 557 Artist Block which was to be a 1 month pop up Art and Design Gallery. As a result of enthusiastic community support the 557 Artist Block continued for 1.5 years. This beautiful venue served to represent over 40 British Columbian artists and musicians and was the first location of Penticton's now famous, Pecha Kucha Penticton quarterly events. Reknown Canadian musicians such as Rae Spoon, Oliver Swain and Joey Onley were among the featured guests.After the 557 Artist Block closed Vaelei became Executive Director of the Penticton & District Community Arts Council. During her services here Vaelei became a founding committee member on the Penticton Regional Hospital Arts Committee, helped establish the Indigenous Awareness through the Arts Committee (IAAC) and helped to plan and implement the first annual Arts Rising Festival.In this capacity as Arts Administrator Vaelei consults with individual artists and small arts businesses to help develop sustainable and profitable business goals, create meaningful community connections and initiate unique and inspiring creative collaborations. Vaelei's passion and skill for design continues to grow with her partner Peter Wolf. Merging Vaelei's design knowledge with Peter's carpenter skills, Cougar and Wolf designs has created furniture and provided consultations for client's such as St Germain Cafe, Brodo Kitchen and Craft Corner Kitchen.