Welcome to [EDIT]ION Volume 70! We're so happy you're here! Your free, monthly digital publication is packed with stories, thoughts and opinions that will inspire you in between issues of the original, award-winning print magazine. 

Cover Story: The Return of the Rothesay Yule by James Mullinger
Cover artwork by Lindsay Vautour

Also in this issue:

• The Vagabond Studios by Jennifer Wood
• Jennifer Wood meets author Heather Kernahan
• Urban Legends from Saint Andrews by Cortney Ellis
• World-Class Photographer Denis Duquette: A new and exclusive film from Edit Media
• Column: Colleen Landry's Adventures - Oromocto River, New Brunswick

The event of the season is back! Brought to you by The Maritime Edit with presenting sponsor CAA Atlantic, the Rothesay Yule is the kick-off to the season and a must attend fundraising event.

Hosted both indoors and outdoors, indulge in a cosy marketplace of shopping and soak up the festive spirit; complete with live festive music, skating, magic shows, petting zoo, complimentary treats and, of course, a special visit and family photo with Santa captured by Enchanted Hill.

Conceived by Pamela Mullinger, the Rothesay Yule is proudly raising funds for the Saint John Regional Hospital Foundation.

This year the money raised will go directly to the Transforming Health Care Fund at the University of New Brunswick that is providing education and professional development opportunities to nurses and students. Your donation to the Transforming Health Care Fund will help retain and attract the healthcare leaders our hospital needs today and in the future.

The Vagabond Studios - Celebrating a Triumphant First Year on Saint John’s Union Street
by Jennifer Wood

Rebecca Lavallee, founder of Saint John’s The Vagabond Studios (formerly Sara + Ellie), is in love with the creative process. The world traveler has visited over thirty countries to date, and the places she visits and the people she meets inform her work and her creations, which range from custom, affordable jewellery, leather goods, candles, and room sprays. The [EDIT] team adores her work; they have taken a special shine to her custom room sprays, which are unique and last an incredibly long time. Rebecca started selling her goods on the renowned craft site, Etsy before opening a temporary location at Saint John’s Container Village. Local support of her business was immediate, and Lavallee was soon able to open a permanent location in the core of the Saint John business community.

[EDIT]ION recently met with Rebecca to learn more about her rise in the fickle world of custom crafts and goods, her passion for learning new mediums and how she has enjoyed her first year in her permanent location. 

[EDIT]ION: Can you tell us about the genesis of your business?

REBECCA LAVALLEE: I opened in June of 2022 in Saint John’s Container Village at Area 506. The shop did so well that following just one season I was able to open a permanent location at 241 Union Street, in the Uptown area of Saint John. We are celebrating our first year at this location this month.

[EDIT]ION: What is your background in the arts and entrepreneurship?
REBECCA: I started silversmithing in 2016 as a hobby and quickly realized I was in love with the creative process. I love sourcing materials, designing, and constructing each piece. I then started to learn all I could about silversmithing and discovered leather smithing. I eventually started making candles and room sprays. I am so drawn to various mediums of art and design; I can't commit myself to just one. I am self-taught and I continue to explore different elements of these mediums and try and incorporate this into my work. I'm hoping to soon offer workshops and I will be hosting local events and pop ups, so keep an eye out for that.

[EDIT]ION How is your ecommerce business doing?
REBECCA: Prior to opening at the Container Village, I sold online through Etsy and did very well through their website. In late spring of 2022, I paused the Etsy arm of my business so that I could focus on maintaining inventory levels at the Container Village. I also wanted to establish new wholesale accounts with inventory. I have since re-opened my Etsy shop, while I work on my stand alone website.

[EDIT]ION: Can you tell us about your clients?
REBECCA: When I was located at the Container Village, I realized locals (Saint Johners and other New Brunswickers) were the majority of my customers. I didn't seem to be as big of a hit with the Cruise Ship customers... and I'm completely ok with that. I appreciate the "local" support; it has allowed me to open my shop on Union Street. While most of my customers are (relatively) local, I have clients that have purchased candles or room sprays, and they later request to order more. I receive these messages from all over the Maritimes, as well as other provinces and States. It’s a great feeling.

[EDIT]ION: Will you be present at upcoming Christmas Markets?
REBECCA: I will be at the Holly Jolly Holiday Market in November (presented by Etsy NB) on Nov 25 + 26 in Fredericton at the Curry Centre UNB Campus.
I will also be at the Halifax Holiday Maker Market (presented by Maker Market NS) on Dec 8 + 9 at Pier 22 Pavilion in Halifax. I'm honoured to be a part of their events.

The Vagabond Studios is located at 241 Union Street, Saint John.  They are open from 11am to 5pm Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays.

thevagabondstudios.com

Jennifer Wood meets Heather Kernahan, author of UNSTUCKABLE: Never Be Stuck In Business Again

Truro, Nova Scotia native Heather Kernahan is a global business leader who has been featured in Fast Company, Fortune, Thrive Global, Biz Women, and Ad Week. The gifted public speaker and tech – savvy leader attended Saint Mary’s University and the Nova Scota Community College before launching her career in technology in Toronto. She later received her master’s in business administration in Sus­tainable Enterprise from Dominican University of California. Kernahan recently penned her first book UNSTUCKABLE, a guide for business leaders to tackle issues with advice from industry leading tech professionals. The book draws on Kernahan’s two decades of leading start-ups, scale-ups, and tech empires into her game-changing UNSTUCK model.

“In the Fall of 2020, I was doing a lot of listening and talking with partners, clients, team, friends and family. The word that came up repeatedly was Stuck,” Kernahan tells [EDIT]ION. “People were already stuck, worried about getting stuck, thinking about how their team was stuck. It made me think about the industry that I’ve spent my career in – technology – and how the culture means that tech always keeps moving forward, it doesn’t get stuck. Years earlier I had developed a blueprint for myself that captured the insights of how the tech industry worked and I used it to help keep me always moving forward. It was time to turn that blueprint into a book and UNSTUCKABLE: Never be stuck in business again got underway.”

UNSTUCKABLE is informed by the mindset strategies of the world's most brilliant leaders, the UNSTUCK model empowers readers to move skillfully through uncertainty to accessible solutions and sustainable success. Packed with quick tips, memorable tools, and innovative exercises for business leaders and their teams, UNSTUCKABLE teaches readers to keep their eyes on long-term vision and goals, while taking intentional steps forward.

In addition to promoting UNSTUCKABLE, Kernahan currently serves as the CEO of Hotwire Global, an award-winning global tech communications and marketing consultancy who have worked with companies such as Meta, Adobe, Pinter­est, LinkedIn, and Honeywell. She was named one of the San Francisco Business Times 100 Most Influential Women and North America Innovator of the Year by Provoke Media. She serves on the board of ICCO, is a Trustee of IPR, and is past Board Chair of the PR Council.

Kernahan is also a sought-after speaker on business-leadership topics and has taken the stage at Fortune Global Forum discussing Innovation on the Fast Track, at the NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center as a keynote and workshop facil­itator on unlocking authentic leadership, and at Chief discussing High Stakes Leadership. She is a strategic adviser and has been a mentor to leaders, entrepreneurs, and start-ups through work with NASDAQ Entrepreneurial Center, Company Ventures—NYC’s foremost venture community, Scotians Global Advisors, Cleantech Open, Women’s Startup Lab and the LAGRANT Foundation. She is a venture capitalist and LP with Women Who Invest and Portfolia.

Heather is passionately involved in the areas of inclusion; belonging, and education is important to her. She has been part of the launch team of the Say Gap, a program developed by the PRCouncil to train women and other underrepresented leaders to speak on stage and be interviewed by the press. She co-founded The 10, a group of women in leadership who are working to have more women leaders write and publish their first business books, as well, she serves on the Citizen’s Bond Oversight Committee for the College of Marin.

UNSTUCKABLE is available for purchase on Amazon this Thursday, November 2nd HERE. It is also available at Chapters/Indigo and Bookmanager Show Local as well as on Audible, Google Play and Apple Books.

unstuckable.me

THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT -
URBAN LEGENDS FROM SAINT ANDREWS
by Cortney Ellis

Roy Fournier began working as a bellhop at the Algonquin Resort during the spring of 2023. Located in St. Andrews NB, the resort was built in 1889 by an American businessman and is an icon of the Maritimes. Aside from being recognized for its timeless elegance and famous guests that include Princess Diana and Theodore Roosevelt, the Algonquin has long been rumoured to be haunted.  Originally from Alberta, Fournier wasn’t familiar with the resort’s history and certainly didn’t consider himself a believer of the paranormal, until one of his first shifts.

“It was the beginning of the season, and the resort was quiet. I was wandering outside and started to whistle. Then I heard the same whistle, but it wasn’t coming from me. I changed my tune, and “they” changed their tune to copy me. It couldn’t have been an echo as I was out in the open and the sound was coming from above.”

After taking part in ghost tours at the resort, Fournier realized it likely had been the spirit of the Watchman he encountered, a former worker who died from smoke inhalation during the resort’s fire in 1914. The Watchman is one of the Algonquin’s many long-term residents, including, a bellman who plays the locked lobby piano at 3 a.m., a rambunctious boy with a red ball, and of course, the resort’s most famous ghost, the abandoned bride, who died of a broken heart in the early 1900s.  

“The rumour is if you are a man staying in the room she passed away in, you’ll have the worst night of your life.” 

The spirits are said to be most active when the resort is bustling with guests, and with the resort popular all year round, the world famous ghost tours offered by the team at the Algonquin Resort are always a thrill. 

World Class Photographer Denis Duquette:
An exclusive film by Edit Media

With an innate talent for capturing authentic moments and a relentless commitment to his work, Denis Duquette, born in Moncton, New Brunswick, has established himself as a renowned portrait, commercial, editorial, hair and beauty photographer with a roster of clients that includes Lululemon, Cavendish Farms and Rogers.

To add to his brand, the entrepreneur recently co-founded Uproar, a video-production company co-led by gifted cinematographer and editor Austin Doiron. With the help of a team of seven, they have produced marketing material for Atlantic Lottery, Usva Spa and Joico Canada, to name a few. Duquette has achieved this level of success thanks, in large part, to a supportive community of family and friends, including his parents and his wife, Sarah, who requested only one thing from him when he was establishing his business: a Saturday-night date.

Duquette’s work with [EDIT] is extensive and began with the genesis of the magazine. He has photographed four covers, including those featuring internationally celebrated chef Matty Matheson (Volume 8), actor Amybeth McNulty (Anne with an E, Volume 10) and Dr. Chadwick Williams (Volume 14). For the last-mentioned cover, he won a top prize at the Atlantic Journalism Awards in 2021. Duquette’s rise to become a celebrated photographer and cofounder of Uproar is as impressive as his portfolio. Standing at a towering six feet six inches, he was a gifted athlete growing up who showed remarkable promise in basketball: he received scholarship offers to universities in exchange for a place on their courts. “I turned them down so that I could attend Mount Allison, which was closer to home.” Duquette tells [EDIT] from his expansive studio in the heart of Moncton.

With the support of arts and photography professor Thaddeus Holownia, Duquette worked on his photography whenever he could, developing film in the university’s darkroom until the wee hours of the morning. His career began to take off while he was working at Ivan’s Camera in Moncton. There, he was immersed in the world of film production at a time when digital photography was getting started. He dedicated himself to learning all he could. While working at Ivan’s and attending university, Duquette took whatever business came his way. He captured everything from weddings to birthday parties and, with his other commitments, he was eventually stretched too thin.

He left Mount Allison just short of obtaining a bachelor’s degree: his talent was garnering industry clout, and word of mouth was spreading quickly. He hasn’t looked back and has since become one of the most respected and hardest working photographers in Canada. A true artist, a master of the medium and, crucially, one of the nicest and most thoughtful people you are ever likely to meet.

COLLEEN LANDRY'S ADVENTURES:
OROMOCTO RIVER, NB

Fingers crossed my husband doesn’t read this because I’m about to make popular his best-kept secret and favourite place—the Oromocto River—42 kilometres of meandering water that connects to the mouth of the Saint John River in New Brunswick. It’s a boater’s paradise but one that doesn’t have a lot of traffic. That’s about to change.

You don’t have to be a boater to enjoy the river. Pull up an Adirondack chair at the Grimross Oromocto Beer Garden that sits above the marina. Kicking back with a cold IPA while staring at the crystal water should be a social prescription from your family doctor. There’s also a park beside the Grimross stand for the kiddies and picnic tables scattered about—bring a lunch and spend the afternoon. It’s equivalent to a week of meditation. 

If, however, you are a boater, the Oromocto Boat Club is the bomb. It offers top-notch services and facilities for boaters—3 800-feet of docking spaces which can accommodate more than 100 boats, gas pump, laundry facilities, washrooms and more. Once we launch our boat from the wide slip, we putt through the no-wake zone docks where people are soaking up the sun. We give them the boaters’ wave and motor down the river where we spot wildlife such as herons, bald eagles and the elusive human being on a kayak or standup paddleboard rented from Second Nature Outdoors, located just beyond the marina.

Often, the river is so calm, the reflection of the trees on the shoreline looks like a mirage—water-skiers live for that. The river is so narrow that a wide turn on the skis can almost land you in the weeds along the shore. When not skiing, it’s fun to float, sip and chill—another social prescription. Oromocto River is absolute paradise but you didn’t hear it from me. Shhhh.

oromoctowatershed.ca

Art Director: Lindsay Vautour
Senior Editor: Jennifer Wood
Publishing Director: Pamela Mullinger
Editor: James Mullinger

For all advertising enquiries, email Pamela: pamela@maritimeedit.com