OSCAR AND ANNE

This is my dog Oscar. He is a sweet poodle mix that I adopted from a shelter in Cyprus.  He is my greatest distraction during the day while I whittle away in my attic studio. He can’t climb the ladder to get up here, otherwise he would be sleeping at my feet.

I write this note from my attic studio where a cool breeze blows through an open window facing a green pasture with several bails of hay rolled up and basking in the sunshine. Ahhh..  It wasn’t that long ago that I was working in an office, facing a razer-wire fence, reading media reports about the United Nations mission I was working for in Cyprus.  Precede that with a fifteen-year career in package,  detail design and marketing, it has been a long journey from school years to where I am today, enjoying the fruits of my creative labour.  It was after six years working with the UN  that I decided it was finally an opportune moment to begin a long time dream of mine.  Like so many of us, I had been skipping along in a career that enabled a lifestyle but was not quite satisfying my authentic self.  I am an artist after all, and I was spending my energy on work that paid the bills but  not by exploring my creative talents.

In 2008, my husband and I moved back to our beloved home in the beautiful county of Pontiac, Quebec where I settled into this creative journey designing  fashion accessories and home decor products made from wool and cotton textile.  Our 100-year old farm house sits on three green acres on the Luskville plateau with a view of the Ottawa River and  just south of the Gatineau park and nature preserve. In this same year we renovated a few rooms in our home which opened up the attic where  I then moved my machinery and textile collection after a fresh coat of paint.  I now work up on the third level, under these 100-year old trusses, with views to the west and up the long driveway to a stand of trees.   It is heavenly.

The whole idea of shifting gears from corporate to craft was quite the adjustment for me given I was leaving behind a comfortable income to became a one-woman show and to wearing old jeans and t-shirts – the latter change I enjoyed immensely!   With no one other than myself to carry out every task required to run a small business including designer, production sewer, procurement officer, marketing manager, book keeper, workshop mechanic and sales representative – the day is never quite long enough.  Even though things move at a much slower pace, I never seem to have much time to spare, and my brain activity is at an all time high. All this to say,  I am loving it!

The process is now well underway and I am sure the future will bare more satisfying and consistently creative moments. I plan to post my thoughts on running a small business and share my creative ideas with you as my business grows during the years ahead.   I hope you will enjoy reading my musings, both for entertainment and perhaps of value to you if you are on a similar adventure or are considering one. I look forward to hearing from you along the way.

Happy sewing meanwhile!
Anne Bursey
Pontiac, Quebec, Canada

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