Last Week in Renos

Gary found the perfect match for my colour scheme - it's called Scooter!

Bottom shelves complete!  Now to build the towers of shelves & drawers.

Fulka: you have to marvel at the beauty of fate!

Fate is a funny thing... can you even call fate a thing? 


Fate is a ironic, humorous, romantic and knowing reality. Today's gift from fate was brought to me by the universal language of the interweb! 


Many months ago when my life long dreams were finally jumping full step into fruition - it seems so were someone else's. 


Initially when I had finally narrowed down exactly what the shop was going to be, and found Sylvia to serve as the store front, I had to come up with a name for the business... which is easier said than done!


A long time favorite was "Birds of a Feather" - but that was already out there in multiple forms. "Local Yokels" was Bryan's choice;  boy oh boy was he defeated when we found this killer local site already in existence http://www.localyokel.ca  home to a Canadian Maritime collection of earth-friendly small-scale businesses. (*note to self, I must make friends). 


Our friend Lee took the name to the next step with "Locals Only". We thought that perhaps this name was a little too edgy... we didn't want to come off as elitist or anything. I went online and tried out various language converters... for days I typed in adjectives until it hit me - the perfect name of course would be Fulka Art!


Now according to good ol' wiki fulka means:

The English word Folk is derived from a Germanic noun, *fulka meaning "people" or "army". The word became colloquialized (usually in the plural folks) in English in the sense "people", and was considered unelegant by the beginning of the 19th century. It re-entered academic English through the invention of the word folklore in 1846 by the antiquarian William J. Thoms (1803–85) as an Anglo-Saxonism. This word revived folk in a modern sense of "of the common people, whose culture is handed down orally", and opened up a flood of compound formations, e.g. folk art (1921), folk-hero (1899), folk-medicine (1898),folk-tale (1891), folk-song (1847), folk-dance (1912). Folk-music is from 1889; in reference to the branch of modern popular music (associated with Greenwich Village in New York City) here it dates from 1958. It is also regional music.

Fulka Art! It makes sense right? 

Brilliant I thought... then I googled it and nothing came up... at first... but a few weeks later I thought I should check again and this time sure enough I found a "Coming Soon - Fulka" page - a really freakin' awesome page at that! 

It was the graphic of a woodgrain patterned deer that hit me in the gut with  "I don't know you but I already love you!"

But... damn it... now I was back at the drawing board... plus my business counselor added that "fulka" might sound too close to something else (drop an "a" and you get the f-word in a  Nova Scotian accent) it would no doubt be rejected  by the powers that be in the good ol' government offices. 

After a while I realized I had known the name all along. Ever since my prolific dream the night before I found Silver Sue (now that's a story for another day), I began recalling it as the "Flying Cloud" dream. One day I stopped short  with a  "duh!"  and I knew I had my name... Flying Cloud Boutique!

This morning I decided to check back in on the Fulka site and find out just who they were? 

Wow, what  a very nice surprise! 

Here's a snip-it from the Fulka Website and Facebook pages:

Fulka is the stage and recording name of folktronica singer-song writer Ola Kobak from Pretoria, South Africa. 

Fulka have been performing live since the 25th of February 2010 when the band was invited to play their first live show as the opening act for Dear Reader at the Rustic Theatre in Lonehill, JHB. 

Alongside Ola is a very veritable army of talent that includes her husband, well known electro maestro Jacob Israel, layering the drum beats, vintage synthesizers and production; multi- instrumentalist Corné Roodt, playing anything from piano to bass, drums, accordion and banjo; Christian Henn, whom the group describe as a kind of ‘song construction engineer’ and Jean-Louise Nel whom captivates with her backing vocals and viola. 

Other artist featured on the album include progressive trumpeter Marcus Wyatt and Janus van der Merweand Ola’s father, Speedy Kobak, who has been sessioning as a trombone player for many bands including Lucky Dube, Natalie Cole and Johnny Clegg.

Pretty freaking awesome right? The tune "Dancing in our Darkest Days" is definitely now on the soundtrack to my life - absolutely! 

If you're interested to find out what all this fuss is about and want to learn more about Ola and her tribe of musicians then check out http://fulka.co.za and dance your afternoon away to the goodness of her streaming audio!

Oh fate, thank you once again for being wonderful you, always bringing me sunshine, even on the grayest days.

Checking in on Sylvia's Renovations

This last weekend we took a trip to Annapolis to check in on Sylvia's progress and exchange ideas with Gary about the designs for the shelving. 


So far things are looking really great! I just love the combination of recycled and salvaged material; transformed by such a clean design style, it is what I would build if I had the first clue as to how to build! I may have done well in junior high "Wood-shop"  pumping out a spice rack, a loonie shaped piggy bank and a foot stool, but I've always been a little too afraid of power tools to take on any project as detailed as this one on my own... so I'm pretty thankful we found Gary! 


One obstacle for us had been what to do with the floors, but super Gary came up with yet another brilliant solution, one that I think will end up looking absolutely fabulous (but you'll have to wait for the reveal to see for yourself!)


We had a great visit with Gary as he showed off all his hard work and displayed the benefits of his versatile designs. One example being the transformation of the dinette into a double sized bed! Gary has so many tricks up his sleeve...  now I just have to patiently wait for the next four weeks to pass so I can finally revel in Sylvia's complete makeover! 


Until then here are a few pics of what's been done so far...

The view from my counter.

The built in storage also hides the wheels.

Gary showing me how the storage cupboards
on the other side will be deeper.

Gary has plans to build me a display
case made from recycled windows.

Gary had to replace an old leaky vent - bye, bye water!

The previously built in cupboards are pretty rad themselves, with
a little paint they are going to work nicely as display boxes!

In the Spotlight: Veronica MacIsaac

I think one of my favorite things about being an Art and Artisan boutique owner is I finally have an excuse to contact all the Artists I've been following and gushing over for years. One of which is the beautiful and equally talented Veronica MacIsaac and her line Veronica MacIsaac Apparel. 



Gosh, I've known Veronica for nearly a decade now and am so proud of the progress she has made in the fashion world with her incredibly sexy line of tartan clothing and accessories. 


Veronica's designs allow people to literally wear their pride for their Scottish heritage on their sleeve without compromising their style! 

Born into a family of kilt makers, Veronica's Scottish lineage has always played an important roll in her life, so her transition into a fashion designer was a very natural one.


In just a few years Veronica has made quite a stamp on the industry and this year was asked to be a participant in New York's Fashion Week at an event hosted by Mr James Bond himself - Sean Connery - Dressed to Kilt!


Here at Flying Cloud we are absolutely thrilled to have Veronica on board and can't wait to share all her fantastic duds with you all!

Introducing of few of our Artists

This past weekend I attended the Halifax Crafters Society Spring Flight show in Halifax both as a vendor and as a means of recruiting new Artists for the June launch of the mobile boutique.

The response to Flying Cloud was absolutely enthusiastic! I made fantastic connections and even came home with my first batch of inventory - dozens of lovely hand carved wooden spoons and butter knives! 

From cherry and lilac to birch, carver Terron Dodd's pieces are going to look just wonderful showcased in the shop's House Wares section. 

Also newly jumping on board is illustrator and designer Anna Stowe. Anna's hand printed cards and t-shirts reflect a whimsy that I hold close to my heart. 

Our shared love for wild life, in particular an interest in fish, birds, foxes and motorcycles, make her an absolute perfect fit for Flying Cloud - I feel honoured that I get to share her work with everyone! 

Adding to our list of talented artists who create durable pieces for outdoor life is Jerry Walsh and his line Distinctive Garden Accents. 

Working mostly with found materials Jerry makes functional handcrafted treasures including birdhouses and feeders, mail boxes, planters, weather vanes and  garden benches. 

Again Jerry's work tugs at my heart strings; by making use of items reclaimed from nature Jerry creates beautiful objects that not only give back but at the same time compliment surrounding nature. 

I was also lucky enough to connect with James Brown of Steady Brook Saddlery who is coming on as our first leather worker. In addition to his saddles  James also makes belts, purses, and book jackets. A veteran of the arts and craft industry I know James is going to bring a lot of knowledge and experience to the table as I make my way not only as an art boutique owner and promoter but also as a fellow maker. 

These are just a few of the many crafters who have stepped forward to join our list of vendors here at Flying Cloud Boutique. Over the next few weeks I will be sharing more and more about my talented fellow Nova Scotian Artists and Artisans and giving you sneak peeks at some of the items we will be carrying in the mobile shop.

Until then I encourage to take a virtual tour of the Halifax Crafters Society Spring Flight Show and take in a little of what Nova Scotia has to offer.

Moving Right Along

While I've been keeping myself busy prepping for the Halifax Crafter's Spring Flight show this weekend at the Olympic Centre in Halifax http://pistaciapages.blogspot.com/ Gary has been working away on the camper renovations.


It was absolutely thrilling to finally see my sketches coming to life in the form of storage cabinets and built in benches.


It has been strange to be so far away from Silver Sue while the renovations have been going on, but I know she is in very capable hands. With less than six weeks to go until we open I am just bursting with anticipation!

I don't know about you, but this gal can not wait to see what else the talented Mister Webb is going to come up with :)

Welcome to the Family Silver Sue!

Sylvia

On  March 26th, which also marked my sister's 14th birthday (a momentus occasion in itself), we ventured towards the South Shore to pick up the newest member of our family. 


I've haven't had the best track record naming things, my cat became known as Mister Fluff because I couldn't decide which word would best describe him... and I thought it a novel idea that due to his striking resemblance he could be the reincarnation of my first pet Fluffy.


Thank goodness then that Bryan instantly came up with a suitable name, and seeing as it is also the name of my Grammy's baby sister, I thought it was the perfect fit -  Sylvia, or Silver Sue for short.

We left home that Saturday with clear skies and sunshine, however we were greeted in New Canada by a sequence of snow squalls so powerful that they nearly knocked us over. Winter hadn't been kind to the area around Sue, so the boys had to work almost an hour to wiggled her out of her nook in the yard. By the time we were ready to say our goodbyes the weather had turned and the sun started to peak through again, lighting our way back towards the valley.

Bry and I had the good fortune of following behind Silver Sue as she gracefully made the turns of the very familiar #10 highway. Growing up I spent nearly every summer at the other end of the #10 with my Grandparents in Nictaux Falls.  As we chaperoned Sue on her way to her makeover we went down old roads that I had not traveled in over 15 years.  

Certain buildings and streams brought back memories from dreams I'd had since then; bizarre visions and emotions of being confined in a summer camp, and participating in an escape led by a girl with dark ringlets, wearing a blue trimmed white sun dress. False versions of this drive had replaced my memories of the true scenery I'd enjoy'd as a child, so it was an incredibly surreal trek that afternoon as I sorted though the fact and the fiction in my mind.  

Once we safely got Sue to Gary's we started our thorough examination to find out the true extent of damage. Unfortunately Sue's tarp had been missing for some time, so the holes where the new vents were to be installed had been letting in water. Sadly the newly replaced floor that the previous owner had painstakingly installed is now damaged and needs to come out. 


On a positive note, the previous owner had been an electrician, so all of Sue's wiring is new and in working order. Thank goodness, because I hadn't really budgeted for that department.


Sue is going to spend the next 9 weeks or so with Gary as he finds creative ways to transform her into my dream boutique! It was sad to leave Sue so far away in Annapolis while she gets her face lift, but my excitement grows daily as I prep for her arrival here at home, where she will eventually appear all primped and preened and ready to go!