BlacknotFarm

I love my farm and farm life. I believe in the beauty of nature, reusing and repurposing and being resourceful with a little elbow grease. Blacknot Farm was established as an outlet for my creative drive to learn new skills and try innovative techniques to bring something original and meaningful into the world.

My first graphic arts job was developing film when I was 13 years old. After graduating from a Technical school with a Commercial Art diploma I worked as a screen print artist for 5 years. I achieved my Bachelor of Education, majoring in history and minoring in drama and then taught Graphic Arts to grade 6-12 students for close to 20 years. During this period I continued to do freelance design work. I was also yearbook advisor at the school. My other design work for the school included tickets, pamphlets, photography, brochures, newsletters, reports, posters, banners, signs, logos, maps, and creative prop and set design.

I have always been creative and a maker. Over the years my family and friends came to prefer my handmade gifts over purchased ones and started requesting specific things. I love working with clay, fabric, cement, wood and natural items or anything that’s just lying around that I can see beauty in. This results in an abundance of pretties, and while friends and family are still happy to receive them, we decided that I should start offering my pretties to the general public as well.

I applied for my first craft show in December of 2014, hosted my own in May of 2015 and attended Scattered Seeds Craft Market later that year. In April 2016 I was part of the Scattered Seeds Pop-Up Market at the Winnipeg Home and Garden show where I did very well and made many contacts. By July of 2016 I had 3 local customers buying my products to sell at their retail locations as well as an Etsy site and many requests to attend craft shows.

In August of 2016 one of my creations went viral for a retail customer. In less than 5 days over ten thousand orders were placed for my originally designed hardworking wine socks. With some very quick organization, a lot of hard work and help from friends and family all of the orders were filled. In 2017 my teaching career was put on hold and my small business expanded.

I produce things I want to see in the world. Things of beauty or things that make me smile. If I do not have the skill to make what I wish, I learn. When learning I draw on all my previous skills and experience to explore the new method or technique. My greatest skill is my ability to learn.

The socks I originally designed were at first printed by hand on my kitchen table. With their popularity and increasing demand I sought help from a local Winnipeg printer that I worked at over 25 years ago. I discovered a local rural printer who uses Canadian paper to print the tags for my socks. Each pair is still carefully inspected and packaged on the farm.

I have several friends and family members that assist me with various repetitive non-design tasks. I also have hired a bookkeeper. I greatly value all their help and unending support.

My products price ranges from $2 for a printed Gimli beach stones to several hundred for detailed wood burning on a barn board canvas. Blacknot Farm is an actual place, idyllically set on forty acres of mature trees and gardens, featuring a rustic turn-of-the-century barn and my country home, studio and display shop. I love this work and I hope you do too. Enjoy!