August days

We are coming to the end of August already. The mornings are just starting to get the crisp fall feeling and I'm starting to focus on creating new routines as the "new year" starts. 

This year is a big one in my family as my son is starting kindergarten. There will be some major shifts in what my daily routines look like and it's bittersweet. I've loved having a little buddy to hang out with, its encouraged me to play and to slow down and enjoy the summer. At the same time, this is the busiest half of the year for a product based business and I've had to get creative on how to fit in running a pottery business while piecing together childcare. There were many late nights spent at the studio. I am pleased with how I managed to get it all done, but I know that it is not sustainable long term, so I look forward to being able to slow down a tiny bit this fall.

We had a blast at the peach festival, my son really enjoyed the midway and we spent several nights down at the park dancing along with the great musicians that came to entertain us. 

We actually managed to get away for a few nights this month camping with friends. We were extremely lucky with the timing of the camping trip as the day we returned home was the day the fire caught in West Kelowna and there was a devastating loss of structures just south of where we happened to be camping. We enjoyed the trip immensely. 

The farmers market that followed the devastating fires was very sombre. I spoke with several people that had been evacuated and didn't know if their house was still standing. It was heavy, and the smoke that hung in the air over the next few days mirrored that feeling. I know I am breathing a little easier now the smoke has cleared, in more ways than one. My heart goes out to those who lost animals or homes due to the forest fires of august. 

I worked on several really cool custom orders in August, one of my favourites being the 3 mugs I made for 3 sisters that had hand painted images of the three sisters mountains located in the Canadian rockies. It has inspired me to work on some one of a kind landscape pots. Those will likely start to come out in September. Most of my focus with my work remained on keeping my market booth full of stock and looking sharp. Firing the kiln as much as I could.

Now as the seasons are starting to shift, I'm starting to add in some fall designs - starting with sunflowers (as you may have seen in my previous post)! I've also been working on some pumpkins too, but they won't be available until September. There are so many ideas that I just haven't had the time to sit down and do yet, but I'm excited about attempting them soon. 

I also had a custom order for soup mugs - something I've wanted to make for awhile but I hadn't had the chance to yet. I made extras to sell at the markets, and they were very well received. It will be something I'll make more of in the fall as soup season is nearly here!

We are -in my opinion- at a peak for ideal produce in the Okanagan. The peaches are still available, there are seemingly hundreds of varieties of tomatoes available, and plenty of summer squash. I've seen some pears and apples available too! My weekly market shop always includes tomatoes, cucumber, strawberries, peaches or nectarines and zucchini.

Thanks for reading through what's been going on in my life and business this month. I'll see you again in September. 

Molly