Icon houses: Reviving a Lost Canadian Folk Art
While our shop has grown to include vintage domestic goods and things that we consider fun and quirky, it all started with a love of folk art and Eastern Catholicism.
When I (Sean) was a kid, I remember my dad getting me a book on Canadian folk furniture which had a small section on the contributions of the Ukrainian settlers. It was on these pages that I first learned of the Icon House. A small but beautiful thing made by the settlers to preserve a piece of the old country and the old religion, both of which were being quickly eroded by the new world. I had never seen one of these shelves but the idea stuck with me.
As I grew and developed a passion for Eastern European, particularly Ukrainian, traditions, these old photographs remained imbedded in my memory until one day I decided to try to recreate the old pattern. From there, this project has evolved and each example has taken on a new meaning and complexity and even style. Each has become an expression of that old folk art, represented to the modern world.
I try to maintain the simplicity of materials and methods employed by the pioneers but I am also having fun exploring and finding my own way to create beautiful and durable products which can be daily reminders of our history and of the Divine, dwelling among us and in our midst.