Business Beat – By Aaron Orlando
There’s a new owner and a new brand for our Grizzly Plaza-based jewellery store. Arleigh Garratt has reopened and rebranded the former Spisani Designs as Garnish. The shop will still feature many of the same emerging Canadian designers and is taking on board two local jewellery artists – Kat Cadegan and Julie Jones – who will be renting benches at the shop. Suzanne Spisani’s work will continue to be featured at the store while she studies in Ottawa, as will the other dozen regional artists patrons of the store have become used to. Garratt will also feature her own Frank Jewellery line, which had been featured at Revelstoke’s Art First! Gallery, where it was a hot seller at the co-op. New artists will be arriving soon, including Vancouver-based artist Chantale Walker’s Chantale Jewellery Designs.
“Retail is where I’m going to spend my time,” Garratt explains. The focus will be on creating a consistent, full-service retail experience. She plans to bring in seasonal gift offerings such as scarves, textiles and other wearable art. Garratt is expanding her popular Riviera line, incorporating wood into the traditional silver and gold designs. She’s also based a new line of earrings on brightly-dyed silkworm cocoons.
And for you guys hunting for a last-minute gift, she’ll maintain a registry that will help you fill out your loved one’s collection with matching pieces.
BA Sausages – Imported from the Big Eddy
PHOTO: BA Sausages is run by the Asmundson family. From left: Dad and butcher Barry Asmundson, daughters Claire and Megan, and mom Cheri. Their sausage business has been a hit at the Revelstoke Farm & Craft Market since it launched earlier this year.
You’ve got to try the turkey, feta and spinach smokies – that’s my advice. Butcher Barry Asmundson has struck out on his own after 21 years in the meat department at Cooper’s in Revelstoke. Barry learned the trade from his dad and is now passing on the family skills to his daughters at their “imported from the Big Eddy” operation, BA Sausages. Their menu is a mix of recipes passed down for generations (German Bratwurst, Polish ham sausage) and more modern fare in tune with leaner, heathier lifestyles. Asmundson, who is a bodybuilder, has created a line of leaner turkey sausages that are skin, filler and gluten free. “It’s taken off,” Asmundson says of his booth at the Revelstoke Farm & Craft Market. “People are really going for my poultry products.”
They’ve been at the market since the start of the season and have been drawing steady crowds ever since. Asmundson says an added bonus is being able to work alongside his family on the venture. “I want to show my kids like my father showed me. Pass it on – running your own business and making a product yourself,” Asmundon said. “(My daughters Megan and Claire) like it – they like going down to the market and talking and meeting people. It helps instill the foundation of work for the future – just like my father did to me.” And they also do deliveries on Thursdays. Call them at 250-837-4712.
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Do you have a local business story you’d like to share with the community? Grand openings? New staff? Staff promotions? New products and services? Call Aaron at 250-837-4667.
