Over the past several months I've spent immeasurable hours discovering, uncovering, editing, publishing and showcasing the unique stories of some truly incredible small businesses here in Greater Victoria. Never before have I been surrounded by so much youthful, hopeful and contagious positivity. I can safely say that's certainly rubbed off on me. My radar has become focused like a laser beam; a red-hot laser beam of local-loving intensity. I've entered a new hyper-reality where my neighbourhood is my backyard and my city is my universe. Sure I love certain things about other countries and other towns but nothing holds a candle to this town - my town. At least not as far as I'm concerned. 

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     Inspiration comes to me in many forms. Sometimes through the sounds of the lake lapping at the wharf beneath my childhood, other times it comes like a dream, escaping my words and flailing my grasp the moment I awake. The profoundly sad crescendo of music during a film; the reverential intricacies of the community of life that surrounds me; the unencumbered joy of a child's ways - these just begin to scratch the many surfaces where inspiration comes to find me. My muse is a varied and often thing yet regardless of it's origin, one thing's for certain: inspiration has changed me.

When It's About Me, You and Us

     It used to be all about me. Some of my closest friends (and perhaps even my lovely wife!) would say that it still is and I can't completely disagree with them. I do spend a lot of time and energy focusing on the things that interest me and projects that I'd like to work on. The point is though that it used to be ALL about me - I wouldn't compromise my vision or even consider bringing someone else in to work with me on anything - which makes it incredibly difficult, especially when you play in a band! But those were my passions and I didn't want to share them with anyone. In actuality, I couldn't understand how to share them because sharing would mean giving up control and there was no way my life could deal with such a devastating blow. Not then. In my mind at the time, not ever. But thankfully things have changed.

     Perhaps it's how human life evolves as we transition out beyond our adolescent adulthood (some, like myself, mature much later than others!). Be that as it may, I'm ecstatic to have arrived at this new phase in my personal growth. The prospect of sharing and building towards something that is greater than the sum of its individual parts is incredibly inspiring to me now. Where once I was obsessed with how to make the world notice me, I now constantly work towards showcasing the incredible creative efforts and struggles of others. It's not that it's the right thing to do, it's just that it feels good; far better than consuming myself with my own little world.

When All The World's A Stage

     I worked so hard and was so passionately blind to the words and feelings behind my youthful efforts. As a committed artist, I thought that saving the world could only come from screaming to the heavens, wailing into a microphone in front of a sold-out crowd or banging my fists against our cultural prison walls. From the perspective of time and distance between here and there, I have thankfully since discovered not just the essence of humility but the enormous personal benefits of true collaboration; the long-lost mythical art of fusing mutual passions and values in an concerted, honest effort towards working together to achieve a common goal. Aside from loving and protecting one's family, those common goals are the ones that matter most.

I Welcome You With Open Arms

     And so I reach out to you friends, neighbours and strangers of Greater Victoria. I reach out to you to share your creative passions, your unique stories and your honest human you. I encourage you to consider collaborating with me to help bring our community closer, to stand up for one another and against those who would seek to weaken our collective resolve and to work together to make Victoria even greater. We don't have to march in the streets to be heard, we can share our insights, opinions and concerns right here in the digital sphere. Here, our individual voices can be easily united towards a common goal. Here, we can collaborate from opposite ends of our city, from home offices, beachfront perches and bar-side stools.

     Here we can collaborate.

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     This week I am I proud to welcome Jade Norton into the fold of The Sunday Evening Post, a free weekly newsletter custom-designed towards small business owners and local-lovers in Greater Victoria. Jade is a passionate food lover who has agreed to collaborate with me on the "Foodie Feed" section of The #SEPost. Her debut post this week, "Baguette, Je T'Aime", is an incredible piece that fuses her Parisian passion with local flair and I'm incredibly excited and inspired to have her on board. ANY other local-lovers interested in sharing their unique perspectives in The Sunday Evening Post, anyone interested in COLLABORATION, please contact me in the comment section below, on Twitter, through my Designs 20/20 website, email (connect at thesundayeveningpost.com) or directly by phone (250-507-7819).

     I'll be looking forward to working together with you all.

     I've really come into my own since I moved back home to Greater Victoria in 2008 after a decade spent doggedly pursuing my creative path in Vancouver. When I left I certainly never felt the joy, pride and inspiration I do today about what this great city means, it's deep personality and it's endless future potential. Although we grew apart in my youth we've since come together much more intimately than I could ever have imagined. The truth is that, like so many of you, there is absolutely no other place on earth that I would rather live.

There's No Place Like Home

     There's so much to love about the nearly 100 distinct neighbourhoods that make up the thirteen municipalities of the Capital Regional District we call home. You don't need me to convince you of this by providing cute or quirky little aspects of each; if you live here you most certainly know exactly what I'm talking about. We have enough historic civic landmarks and big-ticket cultural events every year to keep the social calendar full all year long, not to mention the rich and innovative lifestyle being passionately enjoyed by the nearly 370,000 men, women and children who fill my local-loving heart with pride. Surely some of us have our differences from time to time and we're certainly not without our own fair share of socio-economic and civic challenges but all-in-all I think it's pretty fair to say that this town, our town, kicks some serious ass.

Think Locally, Act Locally

     The collective pride we share is inspiringly reflected in the intense local support for independent business, farmers, artisans and the like. We wear our support like a badge of honour and it shows in the unique personalities of the wide selection of locally owned and operated shops, stores, restaurants, bars and markets that nurture our city streets and rural neighbourhoods. In the grand scheme of things, Victoria has really embraced the phrase "think globally, act locally." So much so in fact that I believe we are now on the cutting edge of the hyperlocal movement and consequently on the brink of making our shared Victoria experience even greater.

     Thinking globally really boils down to informing and inspiring action within your our small manageable communities and here, in Greater Victoria, we take those ideas to heart. We're on our way to greatness but there's always room for improvement and that takes sharing the inspiration of our dreams. Whether those ambitions and goals ultimately result in incredible success or failure, the most important aspect of community building and growth, in my modest opinion, is to follow those dreams with intelligent and innovative passion. These are the risks that bear the possibility of our greatest collective reward - a vibrant community that champions and supports its own citizens in the pursuits of their own dreams.

When The Going Gets Tough...

     These have been incredibly tough times for so many, particularly local independent small businesses. One look at any of the "For Lease" signs that adorn the vacant windows of countless shops and offices throughout our neighbourhoods paints a fairly troubling picture. One such small business struggling to stay afloat has developed an innovative way to seek community support to stay in business, but their store is unique in the service and care it gives to families in Greater Victoria and thus it's no wonder that so many passionate local lovers have heard their cry for help and rallied behind them. I sincerely hope they will meet they rapidly approaching deadline and find the subscribers they need. (Please follow this link for more information on how you can help!) Unfortunately, not every business is as lucky to have a caring audience to call upon as are the wonderful young family that owns and operates Tall Tales Books.

     I'm hoping that in the months and years ahead as I bravely forge ahead with my vision for Greater Victoria that more and more locally owned and operated small businesses are also able to identify, build and nurture such powerful and intimate connections to their neighbours. But I'm realistic. I realize we can't always find what we need or want from a local source but I do feel that we're pretty damn lucky to have the unique and vibrant local businesses that are such a large part of what gives our beautiful city its special feel. What I have in mind is a truly unique online and mobile experience for citizens and visitors of our city to enjoy - a way to learn the stories and inspirations behind our incredible local businesses and keep more of the money we earn and spend in our community in our community.

     While I seek the investment I need to help bring my dream to light, I proudly encourage everyone to continue to explore, uncover, share and support our neighbours who are actively and bravely following their own dreams, providing our communities with the products, services and experiences we all need to make our Greater Victoria even greater!

     If you share a strong local love and are interested in being the first to know about the incredible online experience I am developing, please subscribe to my Hyperloco mailing list and be the first to know the whole local story. If you are interested in investment or partnership opportunities for this powerful new start-up idea, please contact me directly (connect at hyperloco.ca)

 

 

 

It was a great pleasure to take Off The Beaten Path down to the original Discovery Coffee in downtown Greater Victoria to speak with one of the local owners, Logan Gray.

I was introduced to Logan through a mutual friend, Shawn Soole (thank you Shawn!) and really enjoyed hearing the story of Discovery Coffee and the passion that has helped make it an incredible local success. You can also enjoy the story by listening to the podcast episode below or by signing up to recieve The Sunday Evening Post every week in which the podcast will be featured.

         With a not-so-subtle tip of the hat to the widely popular Saturday Evening Post of a world gone by, I have elected to create The Sunday Evening Post (and corresponding #SEP "hashtag" for any of you uninitiated Twitter users out there) in an attempt to establish a weekly ritual for sharing an eclectic collection of inspiring stories and insightful links from across the Web. While this unique online presentation is available for everyone to enjoy, it's geared toward local small business owners and supporters who might, like me, struggle to find enough time during the work week to catch up on some of the relevant information being shared across the ever-expanding array of social media platforms.

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