Friday 13 December 2013

A year with big changes.

Yes, it is hard to believe, but it is THAT time again! At this time of the year, we all look back on the past months.  How many of us say "just seems like yesterday"!

Well, in April of 2013, we had no idea yet, how much work would be laying ahead of us.

In May, we decided to move our business, to a location right next to the highway.  On July 1, that big adventure started and has not yet stopped.

We have shown you pictures of Before and After.  What a difference indeed!  A few previous owners have come to see, how after so many "car repair" places, this could turn out to become a Garden center.

And then at the beginning of December, we opened with our first Artisan Christmas market.  And what did you think ?!  Temperatures of minus 40.  Of all days, mother nature could not have picked another weekend. Really !!??

On Friday evening, it was very cold and we thought that no one would come out.  BUT slowly people came in and the parking lot was filled up constantly.
All these brave vendors who despite the colder temperatures towards the end of the evening, still kept a positive spirit. 

And THEN came Saturday morning !  
A beautiful sunny and cold morning.  
(how are these temperatures even possible !)
27 tables with many different items that were for sale.
People were able to shop for unique gifts, and got seduced by the delicious smell of our Belgian waffles.

And after been gone for a little while, we had the honor of welcoming 
The Madrigal singers back in our greenhouse.  
WHAT A TREAT !!
If you were not yet in a Christmas spirit, we bet after this you were.

So while i am writing this blog, it has been snowing for 2 days and more is still to come.  Sometimes the question does come up "Could we have not picked a warmer place to move to?!)
I am sure we could have, but after 15 years of living in Barrhead, we are happy to call this place our home.

As we close, most likely the last blog of the year 2013, we absolutely want to THANK YOU all for your support and friendship.  We look forward preparing our business for spring and hope to offer you many different items.

We wish you all a very merry Christmas 
and 
a happy 2014 !







Tuesday 29 October 2013

Let's talk milk paint !

I went back to school.  Not really school like SCHOOL, but I went to a
                    retailer training for the
      Miss Mustard Seed milk paint.
We have carried this beautiful paint in our store for several months already, but I did not paint a lot with it. 
The reason being was that I was not too familiar with the 
1 part of this and equal parts of that. As my husband would agree, I am a "free spirited cook" who never NEEDS to measure (but actually better should) !!

BUT after this work shop, I can tell you that this milk paint is WONDERFUL and actually very easy to work with.
Every package has a color tag on the front. (this is 1 of the newer colors and there are more to come in soon). 
A great all NATURAL product.  
Hemp oil can offer a "natural" finish on unpainted wood, help distress where needed or can simply be the topcoat of your project.
Want to make your project look old, aged, antique or simply give it a nice topcoat, these waxes will do the work for you.
And if you want to get started right a way, we have this guide available for you.  BECAUSE we know, once you get to know this paint you SIMPLY want to get painting.
Or, if you are interested in taking a work shop, we will set up classes for January 2014.

When you come to our new store and you can not find me, I will most likely be in my "little atelier" painting signs.  

A NEW project that we are doing so we can showcase the milk paints and chalk paints that we carry in our store.

LOTS of things on the go at our new store.  Days are just way too short!

Just as a last note, we so much appreciate the positive comments on our new store.  
We look forward seeing you at 
            Our Christmas store 
                           and 
      the Artisan Christmas market 
                                        (December 6 and 7.)

Till next time ! 


Tuesday 22 October 2013

Well HELLO there !

We started on July 1 2013 and we are almost ready to open our
NEW store at the new location.

Blood, sweat and tears (to add a dramatic touch) have been spend on this project.
Like so many others changes, when you are almost there, you look back with a feeling of "holy smokes, how did we get this far?!".

But enough said, let's SHOW you what has happened.  It has been a while!

Work has started on the front of the building.  Siding will be put up this week and it is going to look NICE!
(yes it will...!)

During the summer, we have been working hard to get the greenhouse closed in.
It looks so different from the other location.
 The outside was going to be white metal, but as luck would have it, green plates came in. (funny how that sometimes goes)
 After a trip through Canada, our 2 Belgian adventurers have returned for a little while.  They will be in for a surprise when Canadian winter starts.
 And of course we have our CHRISTMAS STORE 
            ready to open soon.
 We have painted almost every piece of furniture in our store to show you
what you can all do with chalk paint and milk paint.
CHALK PAINT: We have all colors available in 2 sizes.
MILK PAINT: We carry all colors (even the brand new ones)
A new addition are our distressed signs.  
Made with our preferred paints: van Gogh and Miss Mustard seed
We don't want to give away too many Christmas surprises that you will find in our store.  
  BUT we can tell you this already,
          THERE WILL BE CHOCOLATE !!!!!

To end this post, we would like to present 
                      a new idea to you.
THE ARTISAN CHRISTMAS MARKET

We have set out a great, paved area in our greenhouse, perfect to have a market.  If you are a home based business or you would like to sell your crafts at our Christmas market, give us a call (780-674-2844) or stop by the store.

Well HELLO there, were the perfect words to start this post.  It was time to say hello and to show you that we are almost ready.  

We look forward seeing you 
      at our new store !



Wednesday 2 October 2013

A Taste of Barrhead

After cleaning up, resting a little, we can look back on another successful event in Barrhead.

The Taste of Barrhead is organized by the Barrhead & District Chamber of Commerce.

A BIG THANK YOU to all the participating vendors and all the
volunteers who did an amazing job !

The traditional forks and spoons made a warm welcome to all visitors.

Let's have a look and enjoy all the different countries. !
Switserland
 Australia
 Belgium
Italy
 Japan
India
Colombia
 Philippines
 Lebanon
United Nations
Holland
Polynesia
 Norway
Germany
 Canada
 Metis Nations
 Poland
Ireland
France
Nepal
U.S.A.
Ukraine

ENTERTAINMENT: 

FACE PAINTER & BALLOON ARTISTS
PORTAGE COLLEGE: 
SAUSAGE MAKING DEMONSTRATION
The Ukraine dance group
 THE BACK IN TIME BAND
and certainly not to forget JOJO !!!

OUR GREAT HELPERS !!


JUST A VIEW FROM ABOVE:




On behalf of the organizing committee, 
WE HOPE EVERYONE HAD A GREAT DAY !!
Dennis Donkers (Barrhead bakery)
Inge De Herdt (De Herdt Gardens)
Elaine Dickie (Barrhead Library)