Let me introduce myself: I'm Janet Davis, an artist and entrepreneur living and working on the North side of Bonavista Bay, on the island of Newfoundland in Eastern Canada. There are many challenges to running a business here in my small rural hometown, and there are many wonderful benefits too. This blog is where I share some of those challenges and triumphs, and share what it's like to live in this part of the world.
Looking to visit Norton’s Cove Studio this week? Here’s when you can expect to find me here! You can also call or text me to make an appointment to visit anytime. The number is 536-2533. (My studio number and cell number are now the same!) Monday sees an early closing time for the studio because I’ll be busy serving supper to a private party at the Café, and on Friday, we’ll be setting up at the Gardiner Centre (The ex: Battery Hotel) in town for theCraft & Gift Wholesale Show. Otherwise, I’ll be here printing and packaging new cards, mini-prints, and bookmarks!
Open Studio will be going ahead as usual! I hope to see you here!
Last week’s open studio turned into a bit of an art therapy session- some bonding happened, and not just ink to paper! This week, I’m hoping to see even more beautiful people sharing my creative space, and expect to be printing more cards & mini-prints myself, while Duke will be making some rope mats. How about you?
Visitation (moving marble) oil on linen 96″ x 156″ Tara Bryan 2010 As seen at Norton’s Cove Café Update: this piece has been donated by its owner to The Rooms Provincial Art Bank.
Looking to visit Norton’s Cove Studio this week? Here’s when you can expect to find me here! You can also call the studio or text me to make an appointment to visit anytime.
Today we’ll start our new Open Studio sessions! Everyone with an interest in being creative is welcome to come hang at Norton’s Cove Studio every Wednesday night. Whether you’re a knitter or a woodworker or a painter, come along! I’ll be printing cards this evening in black ink. What will you be working on?
Locals will notice something missing soon- Tara Bryan’s large painting which shines all night long in the big windows of the Café has been donated to The Rooms Provincial Art Bank by it’s owner, and they will be picking it up next week. So now I need a big piece of artwork to hang in its place! Challenge!
I wonder how many people have had their photos taken in front of this painting over the last couple of years? I am very thankful to Tara & her husband George for letting us display this fabulous piece at the Café. And now it’s time for it to make new friends elsewhere!
I’ll be printing in the studio this week, and I’d love to see some of your smiling faces here for a visit! Bring your coffee and stay for a cuffer! I’m usually here around 10-6, but if you want to be sure of when we’re open you can contact meanytime.
I have decided to make an attempt to sell the Café building in the hopes that someone younger than me and ready to take on a new business will set up a new restaurant there. Me and the Mr. aren’t getting any younger, and we’re dreaming of sailing during our summers instead of running three businesses! So you might see Norton’s Cove Café listed on Craig Loder’s real estate network. We fully intend to operate the business until it is sold though, and I don’t expect a sale to happen overnight. So, until that special someone comes along, we’ll be going ahead with business as usual. Opening dates and all that jazz is listed on our website and is as up-to-date as possible, as always.
Our annual Feast of Saint Valentinewill be going ahead next week, with tickets still available in store or in the online shop. The menu is available for pre-order, and the Lower Deck will be open for those who’d like to show up before their reservation begins and/or stay for a while longer after it ends! Get up and have a dance or just cozy up with your valentine
I’ll be printing in the studio today, and I’d love to see some of your smiling faces here for a visit! Bring your coffee and stay for a cuffer!
I’ll be starting the day with RED cards, mini-prints, and bookmarks, and then work my way through to RED-YELLOW, ORANGE, RED-BLUE, BLUE, BLUE-GREEN, GREEN, BLACK, GREY, AND METALLIC ink colours to complete what I like to call PRINTAPALOOZA: a full run of ink colours with all Norton’s Cove card, mini-print, and bookmark designs. It’ll take me most of February to get it all done, with all my other tasks thrown in the mix!
This image was inspired by some wonderful friends who have adopted this as their life’s motto. It is not meant to be offensive- quite the opposite. It is an answer to the question: what will ‘they’ think? We have one life to live, and we need to do what makes us happy, even if it means pushing the boundaries of what society expects of us. I used a rose as a symbol of love and the idea of always having time to stop and smell the roses.
We had an appointment in Gander today for a recall concerning faulty headlights on our vehicle. So after dropping off the truck, we had a couple of hours to kill.
I had heard that some interesting improvements had been made at the Gander airport, where I haven’t been for quite some years, and Duke was willing, so we went for a visit.
This is the new giftshop, Gander Goods, at the airport. What a beautiful shop!The Gander Goods store has a ton of fine craft and wonderful things made right here in Newfoundland, including my cards and minis! I absolutely love the design of the store- very bright and appealing, with lovely friendly staff too!This is the International lounge at the airport, which had always been closed to the general public. It is now open, with a welcoming entryway, museum displays of relics from the history of the airport, an era appropriate playlist, and a bar. I am thoroughly impressed! Hats off to whoever is behind the refurbishment of YQX.
This week in the studio, you’ll find my assistant, Madison, ready to help you 11am-6pm.
Madison and I are trying to get a little printing done, but it’s going pretty slowly with me being so off kilter.
I’m still recovering from a COVID-19 infection, and really not feeling up to doing much work in the studio or at home. 5 minutes of trivial tasks wear me out, and I am going to the studio to do bits of work when a burst of energy hits me, but those bursts aren’t lasting long. Health guidelines tell me I shouldn’t be contagious now, two weeks after my first symptoms, but I do not feel recovered at all.
I’m so sorry for letting my guard against COVID down. This couldn’t have hit me at a worse time of year, and I’m trying my best to not feel sorry for myself as I’m missing out on so much that I was looking forward to. While my studio side of the business is open year-round, this is the time of year when I have the most foot-traffic, and any degree of success really depends on the next couple of weeks: the busiest of the year; I can’t help but worry about how this illness is going to affect my bottom line. Ah, the joys of entrepreneurship!
I will try not to worry too much, to try to aid in my recovery, and thank my staff for being able to carry on without much input from me right now.
It’s a beautiful day in Norton’s Cove. I have a new helper at the studio, Madison Winter, who is a pleasure to spend time with- such positivity! As you can see, I have been playing with the panorama feature on my phone’s camera- it would be kinda cool if the walls were curved, but problematic for hanging flat artwork! We’d love to see you here in the cove!
Dried flowers from a bouquet sent to me from friends in Alberta on the occasion of my 20th business anniversary are placed in my old shop shelves to remind me of the milestone. I’ve been dealing with a real inner struggle about whether my 20 years in business is something to celebrate or something to feel really dismal about. I love what I do, what I’ve created here (with the help of lots of other people), and what we offer. But it has not been a financial success by any measure, and it’s still a gut wrenching struggle from day to day, season to season. I know I’m lucky in many ways, but man, would it be nice to not be worried about money! But I’m a risk-taker, and instead of planning to sell my business and take the pressure off, I go back to work on my business plan. Looking for what I’ve done right and what I’ve done wrong and what I can do to overcome all the weaknesses. I have learned a lot in the past 20 years, and hope to put that to good use to make life better. There it is- that’s what the milestone is, learning.
The studio is open for summer hours:
Sunday
10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Monday
Closed
Tuesday
Closed
Wednesday
10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Thursday
10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Friday
10:00 am – 6:00 pm
Saturday
10:00 am – 6:00 pm
And now, off to put new stock in the shelves, tidy up my office (a messy office leads to all kinds of bad vibes!) and order up a bite to eat from my favourite restaurant… And after I close up the studio for the day, I’m off to The REACH (my other job) to hang a new exhibition that opens tomorrow! There is an opening reception for Tracy Blackwood’s AMASS at the Art Gallery at The REACH on Canada Day from 3 to 6pm. I hope to see some of my loyal readers there!
The View from Norton's Cove 