February 2021

• Cover Story New Year, New Home Trends
• Celebrity Spotlight
• Savvy Seniors By Virginia Brucker
• Meet the New Wine Guy! By Chris Herbert

Cover Story

New Year, New Home Trends

Colours of the Year: Ultimate Gray + Illuminating

Practical and rock-solid but, at the same time, warming and optimistic, the union of PANTONE 17-5104 Ultimate Gray and PANTONE 13-0647 Illuminating is one of strength and positivity. It is a story of colour that encapsulates deeper feelings of thoughtfulness with the promise of something sunny and friendly. A marriage of colour conveying a message of strength and hopefulness that is both enduring and uplifting.

What's your 2021 window covering style?
Woven Wood blinds bring a rustic ambiance that is chic and natural, and both versatile and beautifully made from 100% organic materials, making them environmentally-friendly.

Roller Shades offer a sleek look with clean lines. Perfect for the contemporary home whose window accents should complement the minimalism in the home.

How can the colours of the year tie into your home decor?
There are many ways for Budget Blinds to incorporate the colour of the year into your home. One of the most popular ways in 2021 will be with fabric accents with drapery. Bold patterns with gray and yellow accents are showstoppers for any home. An elegant Roman Shade with either colour above a kitchen sink or on a set of French doors is sure to make your space pop! Lastly, accent pillows in complimenting colours would add a small hint of the 2021 colours of the year without being overpowering to a room or current design. Any of these options are great ways to include a current trend in your current home decor.

www.budgetblinds.com - 250-338-8564 (Vancouver Island) - 604-948-3088 (Mainland)

Celebrity Spotlight: The Fireweed Fellowship

11 Questions for Nico Rhodes

Adapted from a Press Release

The Fireweed Fellowship is the first national accelerator program for Indigenous entrepreneurship in Canada. The program consists of a 10-monthlong, immersive, cohort-style fellowship program combining online educational sessions, selfdirected on-the-land learning and leadership development. Additionally, the program offers peer support, one-on-one coaching, mentorship, pro-bono professional services as well as investmentreadiness prep.

This program is co-created with, and informed by, knowledge keepers, business leaders and an Indigenous program team. Programming will examine alternative economic models and perspectives and will be guided by the inherent wisdom and deep knowing of their ancestors. They will explore the individual and cultural value of entrepreneurship with a decolonial lens, and celebrate the strength of Indigenous world-views. The program includes: Online learning sessions and online gatherings; business planning tools, mentorship; professional coaching; funding and investment plans and introductions; and alumni support.

Although this is a national program, 4 of the entrepreneurs in the cohort hale from or have ties to Vancouver Island.

Nikki Sanchez - Founder and Director: Decolonize Together
Nikki is a community organizer, media maker, decolonial educator, author, wilderness guide, activist, and academic. She is Pipil/Maya on her father’s side and Irish/Scottish Settler Canadian on her mother’s side. Her life has been split between her father’s territories in Central America and Coast Salish and Nuu-chah-nulth territories on Vancouver Island. Nikki’s life work has been dedicated to uniting nations across the Americas towards Indigenous solidarity, anti-racism, cultural revitalization, and land protection. Decolonize Together is a collective of Indigenous and BIPOC women who provide decolonial, antiracism, and anti-oppression education and consultation. They offer workshops. curriculum creation, program development, cultural safety in the workplace training, trauma-informed practices, decolonial coaching, and HR support for organizations of every size and expertise who are committed to creating equitable innovation in their respective fields and wish to create culturally inclusive services. A fun fact about Nikki – she can train eagles to eat out of her hand.

Sage Lacerte - The Sage Initiative (Sus Loo Ltd.)
Sage Lacerte is a Carrier woman from the Lake Babine Nation and a graduate from the University of Victoria where she focused on Gender and Indigenous Studies. Since 2017, Sage has stood as the National Youth Ambassador of the Moose Hide Campaign contributing to their vision of ending violence towards women and children in Canada by focusing on solution-based actions in K-12 and post-secondary institutions. Looking towards the future she developed the Sage Initiative, an impact investment collective for young Indigenous women to gain investment literacy and generate a circular Indigenous economy led by matriarchs.

Leigh Joseph – Founder: Skwálwen Botanicals
Leigh Joseph (ancestral name Styawat), is an ethnobotanist, researcher and entrepreneur from the Squamish First Nation. She contributes to cultural knowledge renewal in connection to traditional plant foods and medicines. As founder of Skwálwen Botanicals, Leigh brings together Indigenous science and self-care rituals, creating skincare experiences grounded in the natural world. Swálwen translates roughly to “heart” or “essence of being” in the Squamish language. This name honours the inspiration behind the business: building connections to the land through working with plants in a way that feeds one’s heart and spirit. Skwálwen has been featured in Elle Canada, Flare, Chatelaine, HuffPost and enRoute Magazine, and is an awardee of the 2020 Indigenous Business of the Year.

Ecko Aleck - Founder and Artist: Sacred Matriarch Productions
Ecko was born into the Nlaka’pamux Nation and raised with the Shishalh nation, she now lives, works and plays on the traditional territories of the Pentlatch, SnawNaw-As and Snuneymuxw First Nations. Sacred Matriarch Productions partners with Indigenous organizations to serve grassroots youth and community projects which offers ancestral knowledge woven into sacred space facilitation and digital media and performance storytelling. Services are offered through 3 pillars: Facilitation (workshops and program design/development/ launch), Production (music, sound, film) and Performance (hip-hop, spoken word, singing). Ecko is a sparkly, star-shape that doesn’t fit the box and is a lover of pandas and pockets.

For more information about the Fireweed Fellowship visit us at fireweedfellowship.com or contact: jjennings@fireweedfellowship.com

Savvy Seniors

Small Ways to Make the World a Better Place

By Virginia Brucker

Like many of you, I have watched the news about the riot in the US capital. And like many of you, I wonder how our neighbours have arrived in such a dark place. “That can’t happen here, Canadians are too polite—we’re too civilized to behave in such a way,” I mused. And then I reflected on a recent post in our newspaper’s Beefs and Bouquets section, thanking a store’s staff for helping and providing ice when an antimasker kicked another shopper in what my grandmother used to call, “the nether regions.” Unkindness, sadly, is found in every community. What can we do, in times like these, to make a difference in the world?

Demoralized by the news and the ongoing pandemic, it’s easy to become pessimistic, to shrug dispiritedly and to give up. Even in these difficult days, we can combat our emotional fatigue by just being kind. Go on, it’s contagious!

• Be a courteous driver.
• Tell someone they’ve done a great job.
• Smile and say hello to passersby when you’re out on a walk.
• Give something to someone without expecting anything in return.
• Share news about good businesses or services.
• Keep in touch with friends who are struggling, mentally or physically.
• Feed the birds or create a bee-friendly garden.
• When baking or making soup, make a bigger batch and drop half of on someone’s doorstep.
• Don’t gossip, and gently discourage others from doing so in your presence.
• Share positive stories— stories of love, and hope, and resilience, with others.
• Mentor someone for free.
• Learn about other religions or cultures.
• Find a safe way to volunteer during the pandemic.
• Donate blood.
• Fill out an organ donor card.
• Sign up for a bone marrow registry.
• Donate to a cause you believe in.
• Write a thank you note to someone who has made a difference in your life.
• Reduce your ecological footprint.
• Unplug your phone and give your family or friends your undivided attention.
• Create and share art.
• Read your kids or grandkids books about people who made a difference.
• Model kindness, patience, and generosity to your children at every opportunity.

“In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love.”
– Mother Teresa

© 2021, Virginia Brucker

Meet the New Wine Guy!

The ABC of British Columbia Wines

By Chris Herbert

This first column of the new year is a Coles Notes version of the ABC’s of British Columbia wines.

Mindful that I could barely scratch the surface, tasting but a smidgin of BC wines, I set out on a journey starting with the “A’s” and Adega Estate Winery’s appealing Cabernet/ Sauvignon. Skipping “B” and “C”, I dove directly into the “D’s” discovering Desert Hills Estate Winery’s’ delightful Malbec. Leapfrogging from the “D’s”, I landed in the “F’s” where Fort Berens Winery’s off-dry Riesling became a new favourite.

Clearly, this un-orderly stratagem had failure written across it in upper case letters. While the English alphabet comprises a mere 26 letters, each one encompasses numerous wineries and wines. I briefly considered assessing only wines that begin with vowels but concluded that even if I incorporated the sometimes vowel “Y”, many BC wines would go unappreciated. Conversely, if I were to consider all 26 letters in order, I may never taste the “Z’s”. Facing a dilemma, I chose to toss all order aside, instead embracing mayhem.

Seeking insight, I opened a bottle of Little Straw Cuvee, a Merlot/Syrah blend, found under ”L”, by the by, an essential in any wine rack. Bounding back to the “B's” and Liam Berti’s Backyard Vineyards, I unearthed Nosey Neighbour, a peppery Merlot dominated Meritage, brilliant alongside lamb.

Always on the look-out for a bolder wine I travelled to the “Q’s” and Quinta Ferreira’s full-bodied Alagria. Decant, before serving. One letter along are the “R’s” and Ricco Bambino’s wild fermented all-natural Cab/Franc Rosé. Retreating a couple of letters, I found myself at the “M’s” and Moraine Winery’s gold medalwinning Pinot Noir. Excellent with a spicy stew. Next to the “M’s” naturally enough are the “N’s” and Niche Wines Pinot Noir Blanc. Gently pressed, it’s tasty alongside roasted veggies, or enjoy it slightly chilled on its own.

Under the “T’s” is Time Wines vibrant Sav/Blanc Semillon White Meritage. Be sure to stop by the “H’s” for Hester Creeks Pinot Gris Viognier. Oh yeah, in the “O’s” for Osoyoos Larose check out their Pe’tales D’osoyoos, a silky-smooth red Meritage. Under the “E’s” for excellent is Enrico Winery’s buttery Confessor-Ortega Reserve. Just up the road from them, under the “A’s” is Averill Creek Vineyard’s brute style sparkling Charme de L’ile.

New Years Eve found us enjoying a mouth-watering takehome meal from Bistro 694 in Qualicum Beach. Searching the “S’s” we paired it with a flute of Stags Hollow Winery’s effervescent Muscat Frizzante. With 2020 now a mere speck in the rear-view mirror, we toasted to brighter times ahead. My 2021 resolution is to shop local, eat local and to give still more BC wines a shot in the arm.