Mr. Cannon, 37, mentioned he knew early on that Ms. James, 30, “was somebody I may see myself with.” On Nov. 7, which they contemplate their anniversary, he despatched Ms. James a textual content asking her to be his girlfriend after leaving her residence. She didn’t reply.
“I let him sweat slightly,” mentioned Ms. James, who wished him to ask in individual. “I felt slightly bizarre about it,” mentioned Mr. Cannon with amusing. He was nervous however was assured of their connection. They grew to become official — in individual — later that day.
In 2017, they moved in collectively on the Decrease East Aspect. Every Sunday, they took lengthy walks or bike rides, explored artwork galleries, or tried a brand new restaurant, a convention they might preserve within the years following.
In 2016, Ms. James’s workload elevated as a newly employed promoting gross sales affiliate at Condé Nast. By 2018, she was promoted to advertising and marketing supervisor. Mr. Cannon continued to give attention to his artwork whereas working in retail. Over the following few years, the couple mentioned their skilled ambitions created a ways. “We weren’t the identical as we had been the earlier years,” Mr. Cannon mentioned, so that they relied “on these Sundays to remain related.”
Ms. James, who grew up in Washington, D.C., is the company technique and strategic partnerships director at Condé Nast. She has a bachelor’s diploma in promoting and advertising and marketing communications from the Trend Institute of Expertise. Mr. Cannon, who’s from Racine, Wis., moved to New York in 2009 to pursue artwork.
When the pandemic halted work at his retail job, Mr. Cannon started exploring extra alternatives within the artwork world. At night time, he turned the lounge of their cramped residence into his artwork studio. That work grew to become a part of a gaggle exhibition known as “A Gathering,” held in April 2021 on the now-closed Housing gallery on the Decrease East Aspect.
