This past January I closed my brick-and-mortar boutique.
Faced with the prospect of new landlords, lovely people, but inevitably suggesting rent/heat hikes, or the alternative, a quasi-colonization of my beloved shop, the decision to close the store was the only course of action this very independent minded person could make.
As the dust gradually settles, I feel much better about the situation! After all, people are in business to make money, and even though I’m certain the store could have remained open as long as the status quo remained intact, it wasn’t in the cards. Unfortunately I wasn’t in any position to aid the landlords in their goals, nor they in mine. Moving on, I wish them well!
The business of Wall Flower Studio sprung up at home, so it now scales back to its roots! This is an exciting prospect.
I’ll continue to offer my products through various online e-commerce sites, offer lessons in online marketing, helping and setting up social media sites for other small businesses, and have enough time and energy to focus on garden design, photography, this blog, and that bloody book I’ve been putting off writing for the past few years!
Except for our basement, currently looking like a contender for that show Hoarders, with everything now home from the shop, I’ve actually enjoyed sorting and organizing, de-cluttering, (planning that garage sale in May), and having time to cook proper meals for my wonderful husband, much to his delight and both of our amazement!
This time at home has been a period of reflection about the evolution of the business over the past four years.
Yes, there were ups and downs, small personal triumphs and many frustrations that at the time seemed cataclysmic, i.e. flooding, mountains of ice/caution tape in front of the shop, driving in snow storms, moving the physical location of the store, and even a car accident, to name but a few.
However, ninety-nine percent of it was the most rewarding activity of my life so far, and with that in mind, I’ll always look back with a full heart towards that store.
Lavender Harvest
Corporate-types won’t likely understand this, but to have had the opportunity to fully engage with one’s true entrepreneurial spirit, and believe me, Wall Flower Studio began on a threadbare shoestring, I feel enormous gratitude and pride to have taken the risk to open a retail storefront. I had the pleasure of meeting many like minds and pursued my passion, even within the context of a small enterprise, which is what many might have judged Wall Flower Studio to be.
I think that’s something to write home about, even if I’m the only one who reads it! 😉
Upon reflection and turning a new page, closing the store doesn’t suggest the failure that I first feared it would. The only way to fail is to never try in the first place. I’d like to celebrate by declaring this isn’t the end of Wall Flower Studio, it’s a new path!
With that in mind, a big thank you goes to family, friends, and each lovely customer who supported this former shopkeeper’s independent spirit on Minden’s Main Street! It truly was my pleasure.
– Karen
perennial mums
Sharing a smattering of perennials still clinging to life in our October garden.
With the frost coming soon, and with winter’s impending arrival, the garden will soon be put to bed, the last of the leaves will be raked, (oak trees shed leaves a little later), so the time has come to look back at all that was accomplished this year, and to anticipate & plan new projects for next spring.
In the meantime, I’ve harvested many seeds, (still yet to be packed and labelled), steeped rosehips, lavender, and arnica flowers, (among others) in oils for our botanical apothecary products, and have collected an assortment of herbs for our small batch vinegar & spice rubs. A busy time of year for everyone! Gathering for the winter is what fall is all about. Now it’s time to offer gratitude, and just enjoy the garden for what it offered me this past year
~ Happy gardening!
Hardy phlox
Lovely light purple asters
A very late blooming Sweet William
The last bee I’ll likely see this year, on the sedum
Hydrangea, both white and pink
Wall Flower Studio is offering two distinctly different upcoming workshops!
Based on ancient Japanese art, the literal translation of Kokedama is ‘moss ball’.
Kokedama is essentially any plant wrapped in moss and doesn’t require a container. The moss is the container!
Once created, Kokedama can sit anywhere or be hung from string.
Perfect for small spaces, as a table decoration, on the a windowsill, or hanging above one, this living art will enliven any living/office space.
Join Karen on Sunday October 22 to make and take home your very own Kokedama!
All supplies provided! Fee: $30.00
2. Papier-mâché Animal Workshop
Interested in learning the art of Papier-mâché?
Join Karen for a fun-filled adventure & learn how to create your own 3D animal sculpture! (*There are 2 spots left)
It’s fun, messy, and it’s a 3 date class… One to build, one to cover with papier-mâché, and one to paint.
Dates: Sunday Oct. 29th + Sunday Nov. 5th + Sunday Nov. 12th. (2-4 p.m.)
Fee: $90.00 .. break it down to only 30 bucks per week. A great price for a fun class.
Come create, and don’t forget to bring along your inner child!
Please r.s.v.p. for either (or both) workshop(s) to: 705.286.6999 – sloanartgallery(at)gmail(dot)com (or) at Wall Flower Studio on Facebook.
Wall Flower Studio is located at 102 Bobcaygeon Rd. – Minden Ontario. (Directly across from the CIBC) – Please see map here on our website. Thank you!
The beautiful Chelone lyonii ‘Hot Lips’ also goes by the common name of pink turtlehead. It blooms from July straight through to October, so it’s a terrific addition to any garden.
Chelone comes from the Greek word meaning tortoise because each blossom obviously resembles, without too much imagination, a turtle’s head.
A great perennial for late summer colour that doesn’t much like excessive heat, it will tolerate full sun if its feet are kept cool. The flowers are primarily pollinated by bees, but the Ruby-throated Hummingbirds will often visit them as well. The foliage of this plant is known to be bitter so it’s avoided by Deer and other herbivores. In my own experience the deer have yet to touch the Chelone, so this species is something to cheer about by any rural gardener!
Lucky to have this plant in my garden due to a lovely share from another local gardener, in the six or so years since it’s established, the plant has multiplied from one single flowering stem into more than a dozen. With its strong stems, the clump doesn’t flop over after a rainstorm.
It’s worth noting that there’s a white flowering species called Chelone glabra that I’d like to get my hands on! A host plant for the endangered Baltimore Checkerspot butterfly, and like their pink cousin they too will thrive in damp locations and shady glades.
It’s my hope to collect many seeds this year. I’ll be able to offer them online at my Etsy shop. The pollinators did their jobs well, seed heads are forming, and with a little luck the mild weather we’re currently experiencing means they’ll ripen before the first hard frost. Then I can get my hands on some! Culture/Info:
Propagation Methods: By dividing the root-ball or from seed.Thanks for visiting. Happy Autumn! : )
wallflowerstudiogarden.com 