Bonspiel Creation

I'm holed up on Saltspring Island in my parents' big cozy house, surrounded by over 100 kinds of bamboo (my dad's hobby and business) and 5 acres of forest.  I moved here temporarily on New Year's Eve (which I missed completely due to moving exhaustion--passed out at 9 pm with a glass of white wine in my hand).  My parents are enjoying their retirement down in Palm Springs, running daily marathons, swimming 40 lengths of the pool, doing an hour a day of yoga, hiking up whatever hills they can find in the desert, and collapsing into bed at 9 every night (is there a pattern emerging here?).  So they graciously gave me this opportunity to live rent-free in their house and take care of their wild birds, goldfish in an indoor pond, and many tropical houseplants.  I'm burnng up their firewood, I'm grinding their pepper, I'm borrowing my dad's tools without his permission--it's great!

     Tact prevents me from going into the details of my situation last year--suffice it to say that my living arrangement had grown beyond my ability to maintain my financial equilibrium, and I was becoming increasinly stressed out and unhappy.  My future was starting to look grim, perhaps involving streets and me living on them.  So I created a new future.  This house was waiting for me all along, offering overhead-free solace and a spiritual crash pad.  And my amazing friends and acquaintances in the art and craft community in Victoria sold my stuff in their shops for me, gave me emotional  and practical support, and told me about an opportunity to live in a super cool live/work loft in Chinatown. 

      I am renting the loft starting March 1.  I'm so excited.   It's the top floor on the right.   It's got three huge windows overlooking Government Street, where all the parades go, so I can have parade watching parties.  It has a tiny narrow doorway on the street leading up  ridiculously narrow pink wooden stairs that go on and on; moving up will be hell.  I wil buy people  who help me move will get not only pizza but RRSP's.

     The bathroom has no bathtub or sink! (what kind of bathroom doesn't have a sink?)   And the kitchen has no cupboards or counters, but it does have a big white enameled country-style sink with drainboard and a gas stove (I love cooking on a gas stove--haven't had one for maybe twenty years!)

    I will be right in the middle of my people, getting better  entangled in their lives and making up a new one of my own.  Apparently I have one of the few ovens in Chinatown so I'll be hosting roasted foods night and letting people come bake cookies if they have the urge to (isn't that nice of me?). 

Speaking of pork buns, my loft is right over a Chinese bakery which is ironic since I'm eating low-carb these days.  But I'm an old hand at not only  not giving into temptation, but not even being tempted at all (when it comes to food).  Those almond cookies might nail me now and then, and that's okay.  They're so good dipped in coffee.

     These changes have affected my business.  For one thing, I lost my support team, Diana and Melissa, so I am once again completely on my own with production.  That means I am producing less.  Which leads me to value the products more.  Which means no more wholesale, at least not until the fall when I've re-established my team and upped production.  The only stores you will be able to find my items at are Floating Gold Iceberg on lower Pandora and Regalia boutique in Fan Tan alley.  (Shout out to my bitches).

      For another thing, I will be opening my studio as a shop, (by appointment) so if you're in Victoria you can come and fondle  everything I have in stock, all the stuff in my Etsy shop, as well as new things in progress, and the bargain bin, which is starting to overflow with oddities again.

     The last thing I can foresee changing with Bonspiel is that I will have more money available to re-invest in the business: that means higher end product, more selection and variety.  I intend to gradually make a shift over to producing clothing.  I want to make mainly dresses, skirts and jackets.  My clothing style tends toward the classic and slightly prim, tailored pieces that aren't really in style, but will never go out either. 

     So that's the scoop!  My mood and life are perfectly matched to this point in the seasons--sometimes cold, even frosty; sometimes sunny, but always getting brighter and greener.  Cheers to the future!

--Ellen