About Susan Thorpe

A ceramics artist for over 25 years, Susan Thorpe of Calgary works with a wide range of ceramic materials and techniques. This artist has shared her knowledge as an instructor at Mount Royal College, as Clinician for the Calgary Board of Education, and as Ceramic Technician for the City of Calgary. We learn that:

Thorpe graduated with a Bachelor of Visual Arts from the University of Western Ontario, London, with additional studies at the Banff Centre for the Arts, the Australian National University, distance learning, Red Deer College, and Alberta College of Art and Design. Thorpe’s work can be found in the collections of the Seagram Museum, Waterloo, and the Gardiner Museum, Toronto. (Biographical information courtesy of Susan Thorpe).
         
Susan Thorpe explains the appeal of clay, her technique, and eco-political approach, stating that:

Clay is a powerful material. It can imitate the texture of almost any other substance.

I work from a solid block of pure white porcelain using a variety of looped cutting wires to remove facet after facet of material. Constant vigilance is required to recognize when each facet has left the best possible craggy texture. Only then are the jagged mountain peaks, the rugged planes and undulating ridges revealed. Inner cavities are hollowed out.

It is ironic that I am using local Albertan clay, eroded from the nearby Rocky Mountains, to explore the physical nature of those same mountains.

Each mountain, while visually delicate and sensually appealing, is a functional box representing an ecological problem facing Alberta. Issues such as air, water, and soil pollution caused by oil production, light pollution from large cities, and wildlife endangerment, are represented by non-ceramic materials such as gold leaf, acrylic resin and bone. The mountain snowcaps function as lids and metaphorically function to contain the disaster.

About Virginia Layton

Virginia Layton has maintained a lifelong interest in the arts, and is now responding to requests from her many grandchildren to help them develop their own creative pursuits. A long-time resident of Glenwood in the southwest corner of Alberta, Virginia draws upon the grandeur of local mountains such as The Chief as inspiration for her paintings. She also captures the vivid colours of her garden flowers above the Belly River. Virginia Layton reveals her immense pleasure in the natural world around her, as she lets us in on the role of art throughout her life, stating that:

I was born and raised in Cardston, AB. I liked school and loved nature and walking to school. When weather permitted I chose a path through the trees, across Lee’s Creek on a footbridge and up the hill to the school. I still remember the birds singing in the spring and in the late fall breaking off the icicles that hung under the ice to suck on as I walked home.

Art classes were taught in elementary and high school, and I was artist for the Cardston High School newspaper. I sometimes drew pictures of movie stars for my friends. My mother made quilts, and I enjoyed arranging the colors for the blocks.

After marriage I was busy raising six children. My hobbies were riding horses, sewing, cooking, and painting. Whenever I could, I took art classes from various artists, sewed dresses for my two daughters and t-shirts for my four sons, which helped fill my need to be creative. When weaving was popular, I learned to use the wool from our sheep for spinning, dyeing, and weaving. After my children were raised, I got the empty nest syndrome, so I took courses from the Lethbridge Community College and earned a certificate in Design. I then went to the University of Lethbridge for a degree in Fine Arts and graduated with distinction.  

 One of the enjoyable opportunities I have had was teaching a class for several summers called “Nature Water Colors” at an Elder Hostel Program at the Great Canadian Barn Dance. Here I was able to meet and teach people from all over the United States.

I have been blessed with thirty-two grandchildren, who all get a homemade quilt from me when they graduate from high school. On the occasion of their marriage, I make them a wedding quilt, and am now sewing baby quilts for my great grandchildren as well as painting. I am blessed with a wonderful family and great friends, for which I am very thankful.

Your Invitation

You are invited to meet these two personable, talented artists the evening of May 9, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Essentia. This is a free event, and light refreshments will be served throughout the evening. Please note: If you are unable to attend this Opening Night event, we hope you will bring friends and family to Essentia on another day in May or early June. Essentia is open from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday to Saturday, and from 11:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays. The “Peaks and Petals” Exhibit will run until June 6, 2013.

The post “Peaks and Petals” Art Exhibit at Essentia, May 9 through June 6 appeared first on .

Essentia Calgary is honored to display the works of British-born artist, Simon Wroot during the month of April.  This is the first time that Simon Wroot’s exhibit, “Remnants of Community”, has been shown in Calgary, although the exhibit was featured in many rural Alberta villages and towns as part of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling Exhibition Program (TREX).

You are invited to view Wroot’s exhibit of miniature metal churches in layers of bronze, copper, nickel, steel, and sterling silver, on the evening of April 4, 2013, 6:00 to 8:30 p.m. at Essentia, 1113 Kensington Road NW. Wroot’s delightful miniatures will be accompanied by interpretive information on the pioneer churches and the communities that formed around them.

More about the artist…

A resident of Calgary since 1987, Simon Wroot is highly knowledgeable about photography, woodworking, stained glass, and more recently, precious metals. Simon Wroot has studied at the Alberta College of Art and Design, the Lewton-Brain/Fontans Centre, and Red Deer College.

Simon Wroot started teaching the Craft Business Training Program for the Alberta Craft Council in 1996, presenting in both Alberta and the Yukon. In 1997, he joined the Craft Council’s Board of Directors, becoming Board Chair two years later. As Alberta’s Director of the Canadian Crafts Federation, Wroot was on the organizing committees of both CraftYear2007 and the 2009 project in Cheongju, Korea. He eventually held terms as Secretary, Vice President, and President, and is currently Past President.

In addition to his other artistic endeavours, Simon Wroot has developed several successful, popular lines of jewellery, reproducing the simple and elegant images of Canada’s prehistoric rock art, hand-cutting the intricate knotwork of the ancient Celts, and creating animal designs from 7^th and 8^th Century manuscripts and Gospels. Significantly, Wroot was also commissioned to create the presentation tiara for the World’s Irish Dance Competitions.

More about the “Remnants of Community” Exhibit…

“Remnants of Community” consists of a series of 15 framed, miniature metal portraits of rural Alberta churches. Artist Simon Wroot explains that:

The people who settled Alberta came from communities where the church was the centre, the heart, the most important and often the largest building. Their first priority in this new land was for food and shelter for their families. Their second was for a place to gather, to worship, a place to become the heart of their settlement; to make it a community. They filled these Houses of Worship with the energy of their faith, their hopes and dreams for the future for their families and the community.

Then came droughts, dust bowls, grasshoppers, depressions. There were also good times, plentiful times, hopeful times, but they didn’t last. Many of the small communities ceased to exist – so churches were abandoned and slowly disintegrated, they were moved or dismantled, sold as houses or store.

Those remaining Houses are the remnants of communities; remnants of the structure, remnants of the energy of the pioneers, remnants of their hopes and dreams. These little buildings are not just wood, glass, stucco, concrete, but are a powerful presence in the countryside. This project fulfills my need to tell these stories, to bring these remnants of lives, communities, and dreams to life again.

We hope you will exercise your sense of community this April 4 and join us at Essentia, 1113 Kensington Road NW, from 6:00 to 8:30 p.m.  Meet the artist and explore Alberta’s heritage. Light refreshments will be served.

The post Simon Wroot,“Remnants of Community” Exhibit, Essentia Calgary, April 2013 appeared first on .

Even though Mother Nature hasn’t told the snowflakes yet, technically its Spring–the perfect time to start thinking about making things bloom.  Aside from being a homespun way to get your herbs that ensures quality control, planting an indoor herb garden fosters sustainable eating habits, and eliminates the waste that occurs when you throw out herbs that go bad in your fridge.  Because you only pick what you’ll eat, herbs are always super-fresh, sometimes literally growing lush on the vine, mere minutes before popping on the plate.  Even though you’re a New Yorker, graced with high-rises and brick walls as your skyline–that doesn’t mean you can’t get a daily glimpse of green in your own home.

Here’s what you’d need to get started planting an easy-peasy herb garden:

• Potting soil (preferable organic)
• Containers: large enough that they allow your plant to grow & with holes on the bottom to drain: these can be store bought clay pots or recycled finds from your kitchen, such as plastic cups, jars or containers.
• Seeds or small herb plants: start simple, with the finest quality seeds and seedlings you can find: if using already grown herbs, seek out plants from your local farmer’s market, where they are locally grown in small quantities.  Avoid purchasing from large chain stores, where plants are mass produced.

Location.  Location.  Location.  Where will your garden grow?

Choose a window that gets plentiful amounts of sunlight (6-8 hours), with a shelf or ledge large enough to accommodate a small plate under each pot.

Which herbs will you choose?

Personalize your garden: Be creative.  Think about what’s in your cupboard now and what you like to get fresh in the market.  Basil in your tomato sauce, chives in your salads, peppermint in your tea, it’s wise to choose herbs that you will readily be using.  Also, it makes sense to group herbs together with similar sunlight and water requirements.

Recycle beforehand: start saving plastic containers that might also double as planters, such as egg cartons and plastic yogurt cups (washed thoroughly, of course).  Tin cans are cool-looking, but even with holes drilled in the bottom, tend to rust–and you don’t want traces of toxins in your food.

How will you nurture them?

Even though you will make your own fabulous growing choices, for the purpose of this story, let’s start with Basil, Peppermint, & Chives–each one edible, and it requires minimum care and feeding.

Basil: their are different varieties of basil.  Whichever you choose, basil can get dry easily, so in addition to watering you may want to spray their leaves with a mist (any spray bottle will suffice).  Basil’s like lots of sunshine and a nutrient rich soil.  Either add compost, or toss in bits of your own dry herbs or coffee grinds to help keep moisture in.

Peppermint: a healthy peppermint plant can grow with the enthusiasm of a wild weed, so avoid it choking your other plants and give it plenty of breathing room.   It also loves lots of water, so keep soil wet and drained.  Clip the ends of the vives when plant becomes too long.

Chives: you can opt for regular chives or those with a subtle but delectable garlic flavor.  Usually Chives enjoy sunlight, however partial shade is advisable in especially hot summers.  Chives can become bushy and flower.  Be sure to trim 2-3 inches when the ends of the plant becomes dry or the flowers appear wilted.

*Be intuitive with your plants.  Press a finger to the soil and see whether it’s dry, before watering.  Be mindful not to overwater them.  If using seeds, plant in early spring and keep soil warm and dark until seeds sprout.

*Remember, you want your garden to thrive.   Give plants ample space, so as they flourish their lush stalks won’t smother each other.

Natural ways to keep the pests away:

Organic garden or simply a pest-free alternative to chemicals–an easy green way to keep teeny bugs at bay is to mix half water and half vinegar with two diced cloves of garlic in a 12-20 oz spray bottle (for larger quantities add more garlic).  Spray plants as needed.  Or simply add a few drops of tea tree oil to a water spray (approx.. 3-4 drops per 16 ounces.

Most importantly, have fun with your garden: talk to your plants.  Serenade them with music.  Sing to them before they get droopy.  And be thoughtful: ask their opinions about how they like to be eaten.  While they may not answer you back, they will bring a little more spring in your step, an your kitchen!

The post Planting an Herb Garden for the City-Dweller! appeared first on .

Meditation, it’s a word which conjures up a lot of different things to different people. To many, particularly those who do not partake in the practice, it can seem silly, one of those alternative things that only “new agey” yoga people do. To others, it might seem like a means to procrastinate, to avoid being productive in our hectic and busy lives, but for those who do practice a daily ritual of meditation, they are aware of the many rewards and riches a quiet mind provides.

The value of meditation is enormous, exponential and experiential. In other words, its true capacity for healing can only be felt, measured and understood by practicing it on a fairly regular basis.

A simple meditation each day, which can be as brief as 15-20 minutes will not only do wonders towards how you cope and deal with the rest of your day, but positively change the course for how the rest of your life will play out and unfold.

The benefits of meditation have been proven quite extensively and range from things such as: stress reduction, better blood circulation, increased focus and memory, an aid for depression and anxiety, lowering blood pressure, enhancing the immune system, increasing serotonin levels and providing a much greater understanding of ourselves.

According to The New York Times:

Researchers report that those who mediated for about 30 minutes a day for eight weeks had measurable changes in gray-matter density in parts of the brain associated with memory, sense of self, empathy and stress.

A new Harvard Medical School Report states that:

Long term practitioners of relaxation methods such as yoga and meditation had far more active “disease fighting genes” compared to those who practiced no form of relaxation.  The Harvard study also showed that after two months of daily practice, the participants had profound changes in the body: The genes that help fight inflammation, kill diseased cells, and protect the body from cancer all began to switch on.

Another wonderful thing about meditation is, it’s free!  No gym membership is required, you can do it anywhere at any time and it has absolutely nothing but positive side effects!

If you are new to mediation, The Conscious Life has some great easy to follow steps on how to mediate for beginners.

Yes, it is one more thing to add to your already long list of “to do” and yet another thing people are trying to convince you of as being “good for the soul” but the facts are in and the truth is, it will make the rest of your “to do” list a heck of a lot easier to get through!

Namaste all…

The post Meditation Matters, It Really Does… appeared first on .

As the spring slowly approaches (man this winter just won’t end) gardening enthusiasts are getting their seeds in order and starting to plan their 2013 vegetable gardens. My wife is a big vegetable gardener and I’m happy to say that most of the summer and fall, even into the beginnings of winter my family is served fresh veggies from our organic backyard garden. We haven’t really jumped in to greenhouse gardening as yet.

We do have a fairly large backyard and thus a fairly large garden. It’s fun for my wife and kids and is obviously much cheaper than your supermarket fare, as well as much healthier. I must say everything even tastes better just knowing that we grow our very own veggies! I encourage anyone with the capacity to get out there and try your hand at  growing an organic veggie garden. Even if you live in a high rise in a big urban center  talk to the owner about rooftop gardening, if that isn’t an option then there are usually garden clubs or plots of land where you pay a very small fee to have your very own growing space….now that’s cool!

I’m usually a little bit bummed when our last cucumber or tomato (omg those are my absolute favorite) are gone for the year and we must resort to supermarket goods.  But alas, I came across this killer article from treehugger.com on underground greenhouses that you can actually grow in cold climates and year round.

How awesome is this?  Super awesome!!  Greenhouse gardening is something we’ve wanted to do for a long time.

These underground greenhouses are simply called underground greenhouses, clever huh,  as well as Walipini – meaning ‘place of warmth.’ These utilize nature’s natural resources that provides a warm enough space for gardening year round even in colder climates.  What you want to do is dig down 6 to 8 feet and make it as long as you want.  During the day the underground greenhouse collects all the solar energy it needs from the sun.  A plastic sheet is used for the roof which needs to be angled properly to collect the right amount of sunlight.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Another fantastic piece of news about these underground greenhouses is that, according to the treehugger article, one can be built for as little as $300.  Now that is a great price that you will make back in your first year of growing all of your veggies yourself.

The post Greenhouse Gardening even in Winter…Underground! appeared first on .

(“Finn” by Whitelight Photography)

The month of March is going to the dogs at Essentia, starting with our ADOPT-a-DOG event!

On March 14, from 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., a special Dog Adoption Event will take place at Essentia Calgary, when Fur-Ever Rescue volunteers bring small breed, adoptable dogs to the Essentia showroom in Kensington. (Aficionados of larger dogs will be able to peruse a portfolio of large dogs available for adoption at the Cochrane & Area Humane Society).

During the March 14 ADOPT-a-DOG, you will no doubt enjoy watching artist, A. S. (Alice) Helwig, trying to capture Fur-Ever’s lively charges on canvas. Dog portraits by Tammy White and Terry Peterson of Whitelight Photography will also be on display.

Maybe you do not want to share your bed with your canine friend(s). In that case, you might want to check out Essentia’s luxurious, healthy dog beds. Essentia’s Kingston natural dog beds in small, medium, and large will be available for purchase during the evening of March 14.

Dog portraits will be on display March 7 to April 4, 2013, at Essentia, 1113 Kensington Road NW in Calgary.

(“Barkley” by A. S. Helwig)

About A. S. (Alice) Helwig–

Born in Lethbridge, Alberta, A. S. Helwig has been painting in acrylics since she was 14 years old. Helwig studied at Medicine Hat College, the University of Lethbridge, and the Banff Centre for the Arts. Helwig has held numerous solo and group exhibitions, and in 2010, participated in the 13th Annual ISAP (International Society of Acrylic Painters) Show in California.

Alice Helwig uses techniques such as collage, texturing, glazing, and underpainting to depict the Prairie landscape. Helwig’s imagery is spiritual and dreamlike, revealing themes of alienation, awe, personal epiphanies, and prayerfulness. Helwig also paints exceptional dog portraits, some of which will be on display at Essentia throughout March.

A. S. Helwig currently resides in Calgary, Alberta, painting at Helwig’s Studio and teaching at various venues around town. She even has her own TV show called Canvas, which airs on Shaw Channel Ten. Her work is represented by Mountain Galleries in Jasper, Banff, and Whistler, Alicat Galleries in Bragg Creek, and Blue Rock Gallery in Black Diamond. You can catch up with what Alice is doing on her blog.

(“Sophie” by A. S. Helwig)

About Whitelight Photography—

In their self-description, Whitelight photographers, Tammy White and Terry Peterson, explain that:

Tammy and Terry have been taking photos together for over a dozen years. Both studied photography and were enamored with the creative and technical challenges of capturing images. When they weren’t working at their respective jobs in teaching and engineering, they travelled and fell in love with the landscapes and wildlife of Canada and the world. On a cloudy day on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland, they spent hours photographing the Callanish Stones as the clouds moved and danced behind the standing stones. In Africa, they captured lions roaming the Serengeti and photographed the astoundingly colorful birds that surrounded them on a boat ride down the Nile. In the West Kootenay region of British Columbia, they photographed a grizzly making a trek down a riverbed in search of food. In Southern Alberta, they were enchanted by the strange glow of the morning light on the hoodoos in Writing on Stone Provincial Park. There were so many reasons to be in love with the camera and the bliss it provided. They captured moments on film that otherwise would have lived only as wisps in their memories.When they opened the doors of Whitelight Photography in 2001, they set out to help others capture their memories. With a studio and the means to do all their own processing and printing, they started doing weddings, portraiture and commercial work. In 2010, when they added a small but incredibly photogenic member to their family, they added dog portraiture to their list of services. Many of the photos taken of dogs were inspired by their love of Finn. [Ed. note: top photo]

(“Molly2″ by Whitelight Photography)

Tammy and Terry recently photographed a number of dogs with the Dog Adoption Event in mind. As you view the photos and their accompanying stories during the evening of March 14, maybe you will be inspired to select your own forever friend from a rescue organization.

About Fur-Ever Rescue—

Fur-Ever Rescue has kindly agreed to bring along several dogs for you to fall in love with and possibly adopt on March 14. Fur-Ever Rescue is a newer shelter that caters primarily to smaller dogs. Fur-Ever will help you find a little darling, be it a Poodle, Pomeranian, Shih-Tzu, Spaniel, or Terrier. For a sneak preview of some of the adorable dogs Fur-Ever Rescue has to offer (a few of which will be available for adoption during Essentia’s Dog Adoption Event), you may wish to visit this site.

Please join us at Essentia March 14, 6:00 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., to meet the artist, photographers, and possibly, your new best friend at our adopt-a-dog event. Refreshments will be served—and no, they will not all be dog cookies!

(“Molly” by Whitelight Photography)

The post Fall in Love…ADOPT-a-DOG Event at Essentia Calgary! appeared first on .

Home build using recycled shipping containers

What if I told you that your next home might be made from recycled materials? It would be great right? What if it were made of used shipping containers, would you want it? If you think of a home as a box, a shipping container makes a great home. Containers range in size but are made from corrugated steel and are extremely strong, I guess this is why shipping container homes are becoming so popular.

These extremely efficient brutes travel around the world carrying the goods that allows businesses to prosper. Once they go from one location to another, they’re retired.

With over three hundred million containers around shipping yards across the world, Yes I said three hundred million! These potential building blocks are simply being thrown away like plastic water bottles.

More and more designers and architects are starting to realize the market is starting to sway in favor of eco -friendly structures and designs. Having a home or building LEED certified will actually add value and credibility.

With the average forty -foot shipping container being 320sqft, you only need six containers to have a 3 bedroom 2 bathroom home.  You can insulate it with denim and cover it with stucco just like any other house. The nice thing about shipping container homes are the speed at which they can be constructed; with the average one going up seven times as fast a traditional wood framed home.

With new companies popping up everyday that recondition containers into homes and mobile offices, one has to wonder when the government will hop on-board and have container homes ready when natural disasters victims, like Hurricane Katrina.

The post Shipping Container Homes: Your Next Home May Have Seen The World! appeared first on .

“How about a homeopathic approach?” I thought.  With so many natural ways of healing our body, I didn’t want to do any further damage by neglecting these and jumping straight to an “easy fix” option with conventional medicine. Don’t get me wrong, conventional medicine can be extremely useful, but it’s not always necessary, and in the long term can sometimes do more damage than good.

SO.  I set about setting up a anti-inflammatory lifestyle that is easy to stick to and provides relief from inflammation!

Step 1:  Adopt an Anti-Inflammatory Diet

• Eat foods loaded with natural anti-inflammatories by using herbs and spices like Turmeric, Ginger, Mint, Parsley, Oregano, Cloves, Thyme, Chili pepper, Licorice and Lemongrass.
• Make sure that your diet is high in omega-3 fatty acids by eating Salmon, Mackerel, Sardines and other cold-water fish like Tuna, Cod, Trout, and Snapper. YUM.
• Don’t skimp on the fruit! Stock up on anti-oxidant rich Berries (blueberries, cranberries, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries and MORE BLUEBERRIES) as well as Papaya and Pineapple <- these guys contain all kinds beneficial enzymes.
• Nosh on the nuts.  Almonds, Walnuts, and Hazelnuts are particularly good for fighting inflammation.

Foods to avoid: sugars, vegetable oils, processed dairy, additive, and foods with high sodium contents.  Avoid processed foods like the plague!!!!

Step 2: Minimize Stress and get lots of Sleep.

• Our favorite naturopathic MD, Dr. Erika Enos , has some great tips on alleviating stress and maximizing our sleep dedicated hours!

Step 3: Move it!  Incorporate exercise into your daily routine.

• Those new to exercise can find some helpful tips on how to start exercising here.
  
• Try some low-impact strengthening workouts like yoga, pilates, tai chi, or ballroom dancing!
• Make a daily habit of walking/playing with your pets and kids! Your dogs will thank you and you’ll build a great relationship with your kids in the process.   (that is unless you accidentally walk the kids instead of the dog.  Avoid this.)

Step 4:  Clean your environment with Green Products.

• Fill up (and beautify) your house with air-purifying plants!
  
• Toxic chemicals could be contributing to your inflammation, use chemical-free products like Method and Seventh Generation.

Of course, inflammation is usually a symptom of a deeper issue.   The tips above will help you alleviate inflammation and swelling, but it’s important to identify the root cause and treat it, rather than just the symptom, to live a truly healthy lifestyle!

The post Anti-Inflammatory Lifestyle – 4 Tips to Decrease Inflammation! appeared first on .

This is a question that many “green-conscious” women have asked for the past few years. At least, I hope. Coming from a high-end retail background, the fashion industry can be a toxic workplace. That doesn’t mean it has to be though, as more fashion houses take on Eco Fashion.

Luxury fashion actually has a historical past. Gucci stemmed from a small leather goods shop in Florence, Italy. They took extreme pride in their craft, and still do, with the main focus being quality of product.

Recently, they took a big first step in welcoming new materials for their iconic sunglasses. Instead of using plastic, they used biodegradable liquid wood, which repurposes otherwise unusable dried-out or spongy wood. As good of a step it is, they could do a lot more, such as offering faux leather options, like their very own subsidiary: Stella McCartney.

As a devoted vegetarian and eco-activist, Stella McCartney exclusively designs environmentally friendly luxury fashion. Her designs always evoke a 1970s mentality, a notion probably from her father, Beatles member, Paul McCartney. Year after year, Stella makes clothes that women actually WANT to wear: clean lines, fun prints, and quality with function.

Although her latest collection did not show at London Fashion Week, her Pre-Fall 2013 Lookbook involved: jumpsuits, tailored overcoats, piping, prints on prints, pops of tangerine, and an ode to the classic beauty. These are women who wear the clothes; the clothes do not wear them.

She doesn’t stop there though. Stella also designs a line for Adidas appropriately called Stella McCartney for Adidas. She combines environmentally friendly fashion and function once more, only this time in athletic apparel + accessories. The athletic world was in great need of this for quite some time. Adidas took charge with the huge success of other fashion forward thinking brands, such as: Lululemon, Underarmour, and Nike.

I hope with the advance of technology, more designers and fashion houses take the environment more into consideration. It is quite obvious that it can be very successful for the brand.

Here’s to the new frontier, and may we be open to the idea of others.

The post The Fashion vs Environment Paradox. Eco Fashion Takes a Stand! appeared first on .

I love making personal discoveries, especially ones that I intuitively know are universal in nature. I recently finished an acting class with the esteemed Andrew McIlroy, a graduate of the National Theatre School of Canada, and without a doubt, one of Vancouver’s most respected instructors.

Now acting, as a profession or even pastime for that matter, may not be as universal as the discovery that I made, so bear with me as I try to relay this unearthing in such a way that it makes sense.

The switch happened for me in the last week of class with three affirmations: one, the sole responsibility of the actor is to tell the story; two, the path to excellence requires an exponentially increasing amount of work and finally; work is not a hardship when you enjoy it.

During my solitary walk home from class I was reflecting on how far I had come in pursuit of my craft. I realized that despite having accumulated a body of work that I was happy with, I wasn’t where I thought I would be ten years ago. Looking back at the class that I just left I pieced together the reason why and I discovered that my goal was external. It was like I wanted to win an Academy Award instead of becoming an actor capable of winning one.

How is this universal? It’s universal in the sense that everything I require for happiness is in this bag of bones that I cart around with me every where I go. It’s like my job. I sell mattresses and it’s not important to me that I sell the most mattresses in the company. What’s important is that that I truly believe in the story that is Essentia. I believe that people’s lives are made better by having one of our mattresses.  It’s that joy that makes the difference.

One day I may enjoy the laurels of my peers and if not, I am quite content in being the best that I can be.

The post The Academy Award of Life! appeared first on .