Holdfast Ink

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Holdfast Ink

Fine hand printed goods

05/29/2026

gate is almost done. This was a fun one to carve.

05/25/2026

One of these things is not like the other.... To say that we're a little spun here would be an understatement, but this one made us all laugh. My partner Keith is in charge of screens and he had borne the brunt of all of my health needs and changes around here while working his full time job taking care of those who struggle in our community. (Thank you Keith!) We'll tease him about this one for a bit longer 😉

05/19/2026

Some of you might know that this part of 2026 has been difficult for me health-wise. Things escalated about 12 days ago when I trusted my body enough to know that I wasn't experiencing just any kind of pain. Though I was otherwise fine, I had had a heart attack. I would then go on to have another while surrounded by a team of professionals at the hospital only six blocks from my home. This was only evident from my blood work—so ladies, make sure they watch your numbers too!

I have just returned from 8 days in both Charlotte County and Saint John Regional Hospitals. I couldn't be more grateful to the care teams for saving my life. (Both of heart attacks were considered non-STEMI and not nearly as dangerous as the alternative, but still!) While under their care, it became evident that there was also an infection somewhere in my system. I've had an EKG, CT scan, angiogram, and over fifty blood tests, but we're still not sure. Luckily, the angiogram helped place a stent and now I'm almost good as new.

05/01/2026

On this very last day of Autism Awareness Month, I guess I'll post what has been back of mind for me all month. This is the lanyard I wore at the Halifax buyers' show last month. I chose it because it's worn for accommodations at airports, signalling to the flight staff and that the wearer is autistic and may need more time, less noise or other requirements.

I have a hidden disability, sometimes it's not so hidden. The issue with low support needs is that I never know when my disability is fully masked, when it's suspected or even obvious to those around me.

As a sixty year old woman, I'm very good at the things I'm good at, but pants at just about everything else. I used to be able to mask for days on end, but after COVID I found I was less able, and many times less willing, to mask. Masking takes a very large toll on my energy and I've found that energy is really important when you're running a small business and manufacturing all of your stock.

So I'm writing this to say that I'm happy to talk to anyone who has any questions, but mostly want to explain that my AuDHD shows itself in so many ways. I have excessive sensory sensitivities. Sometimes it's a form of face blindness. If I don't have context clues, I'm at a loss for names and so many times grasping for the place in my brain that's supposed to catalog all of that for me.

Sometimes, it's dyscalculia. Dealing with this as a small business owner is it's very own type of hell. It's a processing disorder that makes learning new things exceedingly difficult. I am capable of learning new things, but there just isn't much space in my head to store the information. Unless it's something I need to do almost daily, it evaporates from my brain and I start from scratch each time.

Mostly I'm asking for grace, every so often the business grows past me and I feel a bit underwater. My health these past few months has been a struggle. If something has fallen through the cracks, please remind me. It's not for a lack of caring. I'm learning to surround myself with people to fill in the gaps, but finding those people is also a skillset I struggle with.

03/08/2026

Doors are opened and we are the first booth you see, you can't miss us!

03/07/2026

Writing this in Halifax, in the shadow of the most drastic cuts to the arts and culture Canada wide I couldn't help but think if this pin, procured 40 years ago during my first visit to the - I'm not a super sentimental person, but that pin has followed me through 18 moves, four of them international. It sits clipped to an ornament that hangs between my kitchen windows above my sink. It's seen better days. It's delaminating and scuffed, but I will be wearing it with pride on my apron at this year's that begins tomorrow. 40 years ago I never imagined that I would be making my living from my art. I am so grateful. I'm also so grateful that my art and products are sold in nearly ten Nova Scotia museums all over the province. I'm gutted that these amazing places will be struggling, that their dedicated staff may not have jobs. This is the cruelest of cuts that yields the smallest overall effect on the budget this government had put forward. Art matters. Culture matters. Tourism drives this province, it brings in visitors from all over the world. These cuts are draconian and unnecessary and I fear it's posturing to put the Premier on the federal stage and make a name for himself at the expense of the very things that make Nova Scotia spectacular. I stand with all of you. New Brunswick stands with all of you. Art matters.

02/28/2026

The countdown has begun in earnest and we are taking this time pre-show to focus on show prep so that I don't lose my mind trying to do everything, everywhere all at once. We don't get or take many breaks here, so I'm looking forward to our time in the big city and I can already taste the soup at

02/08/2026

Sneak peak at new PEI art - every tote, towel, coaster and journal has been switched over to our new Prince Edward Island carve. Pictures have been taken, just need to update the website. What a labour of love! Hope you like it as much as we do.

02/01/2026

Sneak peek... Saint Andrews was the very first location carving I did over five years ago. It and PEI were in desperate need of an update. This kind of change is a massive amount of work for us. Each design is a 15 step process and it needs to happen for every item we print. Coasters, journals, tea towels and totes. That means 300 steps for each location, making 600 steps total. Phew! I'm so glad we're getting closer to the printing, photographing and uploading stages now. We needed this interstitial time between holidays and the gift show to cram it all in. I'm so excited for you to see it all come together. We are opening up Saint Andrews for orders and look forward to my PEI shops getting to see their new art. It's really an upgrade for both locations.

01/27/2026

Last time we attended so many of my shops told me that they didn't know when the event was and were sad they missed it, so I thought I'd do my best to promote it in advance so you can find us there, this time it's a combined event between Craft East & the Gift & Home Market so it's at the Halifax Convention Centre, we're in a corner booth 92. We'd love to see you there!!

Address

12 Maple Ave
Sussex, NB
E4E 2N5

Website

http://holdfastink.com/

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