Busy Times

 Things have been pretty hectic recently at The Artists' Mark.

 The Yarn sale on our hand dyed yarn ($15/ skein) is in full swing and while over 100 have been sold, we still have plenty left!

I must say that apart from being obsessed fanatics (you know who you are, heh,heh), knitters are some of the nicest people who come into the shop. And apparently they don't just like yarn. Recently I was concentrating on making new inventory but it hasn't gone all that well since uncaring thoughtless people keep buying it, forcing me to make even more. 

here's what I mean.

All sold!

I still have a few new beauts, however.

I'll be in the studio making more this week so if you're looking for a fantastic deal on hand dyed yarn, knit goods or rock jewelry, come on by.

Just a note: we'll be closed Wednesday afternoon because of an appointment.

Hand Dyed Yarn at Amazing Prices

 Well, we announced our sale late last week and had a very busy opening day. The Knitters were out in force to pickup our world famous Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn which we are selling at $15/ skein. 

And while our inventory went down a bit we still have over 500 skeins left. Here are some examples:

We still have plenty of minis left as well.

But there's more good news! In getting our inventory sorted out, we found another large supply of premium yarn from such names as Fleece Artist, Sugarbush, Holst Garn, Malabrigo, Madeline Tosh, Habu, Shibui and Stolen Stitches Nua.

We are offering these as well for 50% of our cost.

So make plans to take a day trip or get a group together. We'd love to see you and promise you will go away happy with a free gift whether you buy or not.

Calling All Knitters- A Chance of a Lifetime!

 For the last 10 years, we have sold our premium Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn from our little shop in Digby Nova Scotia and shipped it to satisfied customers all over the world.

 

However, since we are getting up in years, we may not be able to keep the shop open past this summer. We have an inventory of over 600 skeins of beautiful hand dyed yarn in different weights and have decided to sell it at 50% off- that's just $15 a skein! Knitting accessories and finished pieces are also available.We are closing the web site so the yarn will only be available from the store although if you want a particular colour, we could send pictures but shipping is very expensive now.

Additionally, most other items in the shop will be discounted so get  a group together and come on by early for the best selection. We will open on April 22.

Don't drop your purls and we hope to see you soon!

Beautiful Hand Dyed Yarn

 Because I'm a rock guy, I sometimes forget that we are famous for our gorgeous hand dyed yarn.

Actually there's a tie in between the yarn and the rocks. When our daughter Lisa, a talented indy dyer visited for the first time she was struck by the beautiful colours of the local rocks and decided to try and capture them in her Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn. That's why all our skeins are named after rocks and minerals. But while the local rock is very hard, our yarn is very, very soft! It is merino wool and comes from a mill in England and we sell it in many weights and blends. Our resident artist and colour expert curates it into complimentary colours to make selection easier but one can buy any skein that strikes their fancy.

In addition to the yarn, we sell accessories and patterns as well as amazing hand knit items- mostly from patterns designed by "The Real Artist" who is usually around to answer questions from her knitting "tribe". And if you visit at the end of July this year, you can meet the dyer herself!

As a non-knitter, I must say a few words about this "unique" group of people. They are all crazy. But crazy in a good way and I love meeting them. I used to be in the golf business and thought golfers were the biggest fanatics in the world. Then I moved to Florida and invested in a sunglass company and started rubbing shoulders with surfers and bass fishermen. I quickly pegged them as being the true fanatics- the hard core of the fanatic universe. But then I met knitters and quickly realized I had found the top of the fanatic mountain- the "ne plus ultra" of the genre. One brief encounter sums it up. A few years back a lady came in from South Carolina and picked out a few skeins. She said that even though she had SABLE, this yarn was too beautiful not to buy. I was unfamiliar with the term SABLE and asked her. She said SABLE was a knitting term and stood for Stash Acquired Beyond Life Expectancy. "I'm 75 and have several hundred skeins of yarn. Do the math!" We should all have such a passion in our lives.

So if you are a user of yarn and want to see some absolutely beautiful material in an absolutely beautiful setting, pencil in a visit to Digby Neck. You will NOT be disappointed!

Winter Hours

 Now that the clocks have changed, we change our hours to reflect it. Unless we are away, we are open every day until 5 unless the weather is really bad. We will close for the winter December 15th but will open the shop for those who call ahead- especially you local knitters. If you want to make sure we are open, call at 902 482-2188 or email me at ptoceanwaves@gmail.com

Also, since our winter winds can get really bad (and since we have already fished one store sign out of the marsh) we will be taking down the large store sign by the road. However, we will still be hanging our "Open" sign so if it is up, come on in!

An Exciting Announcement

 In the five years we have had our shop open on Digby Neck, literally thousands of people have come through the door and many have left with one or more of our pieces. Often, they or their friends contact us later about purchasing items online.

Although there have been no cases of the Covid virus in our area, we were unable to open this summer because of government restrictions and we really missed greeting new guests.

                     Introducing The Seawall Emporium

Our daughter Lisa, has established herself as a world class hand dyer of premium yarns which are sold through her company, Seawall Fibres. We sold thousands of skeins through our shop and since she already had an on-line presence, we decided to piggyback on it.

At the Seawall Emporium, you will find four small shops belonging to artists and craftsmen driven by quality and uniqueness.

At Lisa's store-Seawall Fibres, you will find an extensive and beautiful selection of hand dyed yarn in all weights.

If you are a knitter or know a knitter, you owe it to yourself to check it out!

Then there is Mitchell Brook where Sandra Mitchell offers her selection of premium goods geared to travel and leisure. She often creates what she can't find so you will be sure to find something truly unique such as these beautiful key chains containing gemstones from the Seawall on Digby Neck.

Next, you come to Seawall Art. Vickie Turner is a mixed media abstract artist recognized as a signature member of the Federation of Canadian Artist but she literally creates everything! Since she is also an acclaimed teacher in the field of polymer clay, you will find gorgeous, museum quality jewelry along with fine art, whimsy and, from time to time, the artist's own "secret stash"!

And finally, there's The Lap of Lapidary, where retired geologist Peter Turner turns gemstones into rock jewelry and unique and beautiful stone guitar picks.

So take a step back in time and visit the Seawall Emporium- where there is no need to wear a mask or practice social distancing. Grab a cup of your favourite beverage and visit four unique shops, all from the comfort of your own home.

The Spring of Covid 19

Well, we sure didn't see THAT coming!

Like most of the rest of the world, we have been self isolating. It was a little easier for us because I had my second hip replaced on Feb. 24th and because I had a nasty post op staph infection after #1, I had been told to stay away from people for a while and since I was using a walker, visits to town weren't an issue.

Then we started hearing reports of the effects of the corona virus and it became obvious that this spring would not be "Business as Usual".

On the hip front, things have been going great. Thanks to my loving wife (A.K.A. Nurse Ratchet") I did my rehab faithfully and I hope to be fully cleared to get back to normal activities when I meet with the surgeon by telephone later this week.

That means that I will be able to get back to doing lapidary in my shop!

As per normal here in Nova Scotia, early spring lingers because of the icebergs and cold water temperatures but the weather is slowly improving and Vickie (she with the agate eye) has been able to do a bit of rockhounding. here is her latest find.

This is a great specimen of Bay of Fundy flame agate and I can't wait to cut and polish a face.

But that's not the only thing she has been up to. When you are married to a mixed media artist, you come to realize that, somewhere in your house, there is one of everything! Vickie uses pieces of her art, combined with 50+ years of accumulated "stuff" to create art books and here's her latest.

The little blond in the last pic is the artist herself as a (very) young girl growing up in Norwayand when I look at it I am very jealous of that little boy.

So what happens now?

At some point, life will gradually return to "normal" but what that normal is remains to be seen. The Fundy tides will still come in and go out like clockwork but I suspect many other things will change forever.

Our shop may or may not even open this summer. I doubt we will see many tourists, that's for sure! At the time of this writing, we are still shipping our famous Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn all over the world and I am selling some jewelry through the Seawall Fibres web site. I will probably put more pieces on the site in the near future.

Digby, and Digby Neck will dearly miss the tourists. For many, the reason will be economic and while that will be a factor here as well, what I will miss most of all is meeting all the wonderfully interesting people from all over the world who pass through our doors- many who have become friends.

If you had hoped or planned to visit us this summer, don't cross us off your list. When you come to Digby Neck- the most interesting part of the most beautiful province in the most beautiful country in the world- you won't be disappointed! And I guarantee that you will leave with memories that will last a lifetime (and possibly a piece from our shop!).

Stay safe. Stay healthy. Let's beat this thing and put it in the rear view mirrors of our lives.
And let's count our blessings.

Our Online Shop is Open!

Well, it's taken a while but we're finally ready to go!

For several years, people unable to visit us here have asked if there was a way they could buy some of the product we have featured on this blog. Now there is!

Several years ago, our daughter Lisa, inspired by the amazing local rock, started a venture- Seawall Fibres- to sell her hand dyed yarn. This has become so successful (we ship thousands of skeins of yarn around the world each year) that she made the decision to sell directly via her own dedicated web site. To see the site, go to www.seawallfibres.com
This decision has made it possible for us to offer our rock jewelry and guitar picks directly to you. We're starting with the guitar picks and over the next several weeks, we will be adding select pieces of  rock jewelry- rings, pendants and ear rings.

So take a minute to visit her site and see our beautiful selection of hand made rock guitar picks. And when you see the beautiful yarn, you might even decide to take up knitting!

Back at the Jewelry Bench

Well, we are in the midst of a typical Nova Scotia winter- a bit of snow, a bit of rain, a bit of freezing rain, winds north of 100 KPH and temperatures going up and down like a toilet seat. The perfect time to be in the studio. Vickie is working on a big project for Seawall Fibres and since "where she goes, the cats go" I have plenty of company. here's a shot of the interested spectators:

I decided to finish a couple of very nice "bloodstones"I had kicking around. Bloodstones get their name from bright red patches (usually hematite) that provide a striking contrast to the rest of the stone. The first one is a little "donut" that I hung from a slim, premium black leather cord with a silver clasp. It has a brecciated (or broken) matrix so it's quite unique.

I decided to enhance the second piece by adding Czechoslovakian faceted fire polished glass beads and copper spacers and clasps along with a premium leather cord. In person, it actually glows.

Next we have two pieces that are rare and unique. They are made from mollusk shells that have been riddled by holes created by tube worms to produce intricate and dramatic patterning.

They have been hand set with copper wire and hung from premium leather cords and are something you ain't gonna see every day!

Finally, here's a really nice piece of polished amethyst set on a reddish copper metal plate to enhance the colour and then hung from a blue premium leather cord.

In upcoming sessions I'll be doing several pieces combining stone and leather so stay tuned and if you are in the area, drop by. The sign may be down (tucked away out of the wind) but all the inventory of yarn etc. is still here.

Cheers!

The Beauty of Nova Scotia

It's been a while since I posted because I've been busy in the rock lab and it's also the time of the year when we "batten down the hatches" around here. The store is still open but we will probably bring the large sign in so it doesn't blow away in the next big wind.

The knitters had a very successful show in both Vancouver and Austen Texas but we have received new stock just before the postal strike!

So, the beauty of Nova Scotia. For those of you who have traveled here, you know all about it. You are never more than a few miles from the ocean and even old abandoned houses are amazing! Just google abandoned houses in Nova Scotia to see what I mean. People have been living, and making a living, here for 300 years so history is everywhere you look.

Even the weather is beautiful- especially when it is wild. And trust me it gets pretty wild! Here's what I woke up to a few days ago, when a big storm was heading our way.

Talk about "red skies in the morning"! We were getting pounded just a few hours later.

But there's beauty everywhere, even below ground. Here's a slice of a fossilized tree showing really distinct rings.

And here's a beautiful slice of seam agate.

So if your idea of a great vacation is to wring beauty from nature, this is your place. And if you find your way to my beautiful "neck of the woods"- Digby Neck, stop by and say hi and I'll show you some beautiful treasures of nature.

Knit City- Here We Come

A big part of The Artist's Mark is that we are the only retail outlet for the now world famous Seawall Fibres hand dyed yarn. Each year, daughter Lisa (AKA- The Dyer) and Vickie (AKA- the Designer) head off to Vancouver for an event called Knit City.

Knit City is an event attended by thousands of rabid knitters and over the course of three days we sell several hundred skeins of yarn.

Last year, we introduced a product called the Sock Blank. This is a length of knitted yarn which Vickie "paints" with dye to create a piece of art. Here's one she did last year.

The knitter, however, starts unraveling the "art" and uses it to knit a pair of socks! Hence the name "Sock Blanks". Don't ask me to justify other than to say that knitters are, how can I put this in a nice way, CRAZY!

Last year they sold all they brought so this year Vickie is back at it with a vengeance.

So this year they will be heading west with an even larger selection and after they get back I'm going to sweet talk Vickie into making some for the shop.

This year, however, the big unveiling will be of our new spokesperson- Knut The Knitter! Here is yours truly posing with him.

Knut will be at the booth and we are even going to have a contest for attendees who get their picture taken with him and we have a really nice enamel pin featuring Knut for sale. These will also be available in the shop after the show if there are any left. As you can see, we have tapped in to the Viking heritage evident in the popular Viking Shield Shawl that Vickie recently designed and released.

So if you are in Vancouver on the weekend of September 29th, stop by the booth and get your picture taken. And if you are a local who comes by to buy yarn, you might want to hold off next week because a lot of our stock has already been shipped out there.

And while Vickie has been painting, I've been working on some jewelry pieces that I'll feature in an upcoming blog.

As always, if you get lost and find yourself on Digby Neck, stop by and say hi. The weather is still warm and visitors are telling me that the whale watching is really good!