On Wednesdays and Saturdays during the summer there is a Farmer’s Market on Hornby Island. Near the community hall there is an area of forest reserved for this. Some produce-sellers, but mostly artists and craftspeople can leave their semi-permanent display shelves set up amongst the trees. For returning holiday makers it is a not-to-be-missed event and of course for the sellers this means that there are new potential customers every week.
On the evening we arrived on Hornby Island we were lucky enough to be invited for dinner with one of our ‘raiders’ Renee Van Halm and her partner Pietro. They have been building an elegant home and studio on property on the north side of the island. Easy steps down to the beach after a delicious dinner allowed us to see Texada Island, the sunset and a heron flying by. They and their four other guests gave us some pointers on what to do on a brief visit to the island.
So, the next day Alan and I made sure that we visited the market. What a delightful thing to do on a rather cloudy day. The trees provide shade on a hot day and some shelter if it’s drizzly. We met wood-workers, basket-makers, toy-makers, plant, vegetable and fruit sellers, and several potters, all of whom live on Hornby all or part of the year.
I was happy to find Susan Cain, a fabric sculptor. A charming red bird of hers is in flight in front of me as I type. We bought some cards of ‘Junk-yard Byrds: digitally recycled refuse & found materials from the Hornby Island depot’ by Stevi. Irresistible!
I had known that potter Gailan Ngan was spending the summer on the island so was happy to find her with her wares under the trees. Her wobbly cups are a popular item. She and her sister are helping their father, Wayne Ngan, sort his huge inventory of pots and paintings for a future show.
And I haven’t seen Rachelle Chinnery since she moved to Hornby to live. I had to wait a while to chat with her as she was busy with customers. They were purchasing her sinuous white cups, bowls, vases and handle-less jugs to add to their collections.
Rachelle was looking forward to an extended kayak trip in northern BC coastal waters towards Bella Bella, with her husband Doug.
Back at the central Co-op to find coffee and a little lunch we found potter Neil Wilson manning the Island Potters shop there. He and his wife Norma own the shop and sell the work of other local potters on consignment.
Norma took pottery lessons from my colleague June MacDonald at Place des Arts some years ago and I met Neil when he was a regular Port Moody Arts Centre drop-inner. He and their daughter Michelle have been making delightful little clay houses for some years now, but Michelle has now moved on to building little wooden caravans for holiday-makers to live in.
Because the weather was cloudy and cooler for the first time in many weeks we did not swim in the ocean but relaxed on the beach at Tribune Bay and ended our day with a stroll along the fabulous eroded sandstone rocks at Fords Cove. We enjoyed an excellent seafood supper back at the Thatch pub.
