Greetings!:
Can you say "Deja Vu?"
As the lockdown continues into February, our beloved little "Shop on the corner", remains closed to the public.
We are available for curbside pick up so if you saw something before the holidays or need our help selecting a gift (Valentine's Day is coming up HINT HINT) for someone, please reach out via email, telephone (613-546-7967), FB or Instagram and we will be happy to assist you. WE are COUNTING the days until our doors are once again open and we can see all of our family and friends here at the store once more.
This year more than ever we need to continue to check in on our friends and family to make sure that they are coping. Having said that, it's equally important to check in with your own self to make sure that you are coping. Self-care is not a selfish act; it's actually an act of kindness that we need to give ourselves. We cannot help others if we cannot help ourselves. Don't be afraid to reach out for some coping help whether or not that is the ear and shoulder of a close friend or someone in a more professional capacity. We are each on our own journey so only we can know the signs that our cup is full. Schedule in some time for just yourself to do what you like to do. Sometimes that is a challenge in itself. Do it and do not allow yourself to feel guilty about it as that is not helpful! Whether it's watching a movie ( I just watched "The Dig" on Netflix and thought it was an excellent film), going for a walk, reading a chapter in a book, playing an instrument, doing some art/craft, writing in a journal etc... just do it and feel happy for a few moments. The rest of the world will be there when you come back. If you see someone else is not weathering the storm well or haven't heard from someone in a while, reach out just to say, "Hi".
I looked up the "National Awareness Month" calendar for February and discovered that there are over 50 different awarenesses that are promoted during this month. That's a lot! The top super relevant are Black History/Heritage month (in Canada), and Women's History month. Without getting too political, it's hard to believe that we are still fighting racism and inequality in this day and age, however, recent current events have shown what a long road we need to travel. Similarly, celebrating women in history is so important because women too have come so far but we still have far to go to establish equality in the world, the workplace and to have full control over our own decisions. Some of the other awarenesses that I am thinking of looking into this month are: Spiritual Wellness month, Chocolate lovers Month and ... National Craft month. For me, personally, I think that chocolate and crafting will definitely lead to spiritual wellness! I'll let you know...Crafting has always been such a huge part of my life. From to embroidery, to cross stitch, to needlepoint, mixed media, drawing and painting I am never far from some craft supply and I am constantly looking for things to try! My love of crafting brought me to Cornerstone and to Kingston where I have met so many wonderful artisans and friends.
For Kingstonians, February has annually meant "Feb Fest", an event filled with outdoor activities, skating in the square and Beaver Tails! We look forward to it's return next year! In the mean time we are going to do some fun things on our FB & Instagram pages to cheer you up! Everyone needs some cheering up so we will begin with... "Motivational Mondays". We all need some cheering up or pumping up so on Monday we will try to bring you some inspiration! A story, a quote, a funny - what ever it takes! Tuesday is our Kingston City Zentanglers group where I post a Tuesday Tangle. Join up and join in! Our little group is growing and people are beginning to feel comfortable posting some of their own pieces! (That's exciting for me!) I'll share some of my work and if you like what we do please feel free to join the group! We love Zentangle and what it means, but we also keep it on the lighter side. Thursdays will be our "Gift-Away" post. The idea is that there will be a prize to be won that the winner in turn, will gift to someone else of their choosing. A sort of passing it forward act of generosity and kindness. The winners will be announced on "Winning Wednesdays". We will post the first name of the person who did the winning and the person who became the recipient of the winners act of love & kindness ( We'll include a photo too if you have it and have permission to sen to us to post). Think of it as the virtual "paying for the next guy's in line cup of coffee!" We are starting off this just in time for Valentine's Day! Then Sundays will be "Superstar Sundays" where we will randomly choose an artist from the store, tell you a little about them and show an image of their work. We think you will find it interesting to find out a little more about these amazing and talented people, who show their work here at Cornerstone. With time, these will be linked to our new upcoming blog for a more in-depth looksie!
Family day weekend is fast approaching, and while some of us may feel we are spending too much time with family, there are others who feel they have not spent enough time with their family. I feel like the latter. I have not physically seen my sister since October and though we talk almost every evening it's not the same. I don't get those hugs from my big sis that say I love you (bunchies) and everything will be ok. I highly recommend that you spend some time with your family (safely of course) and be grateful that we have Zoom, FaceTime & Skype to see those whom we can't in person. Life is short and as my friend Joseph says, live life with no regrets.
Work is progressing again on the on-line store. We will be starting out with curb-side pick up options only. We can still ship however, we will need to supply you on the phone with shipping quotes, similarly to how we do it now. As we get our feet wet in the e-commerce world, we will add shipping for Canada then the US. E-commerce is not for the faint of heart and is not as easy as the "1-2-3 and you're selling on line", that some companies make it seem...especially when retailing items as special as ours are!
We don't have an in-store featured artist this month so we are looking forward to March when we can share who the next one will be! We are normally a part of the CupCake events for animals this month too but we are not this year. Lets not forget our pets during this time as they can feel all the stress from us! I have read that pet adoption rates are up! Pets are a lifetime commitment so please make sure that you will still love them and spend time with them when lockdown is over. I suspect that if you are working from home and seeing your pets more they are probably happier for it! My kitties follow me from room to room when I have a day off!
Hang in there with us and let's be there for each other. Be kind, be loving to all and check us out on our website, FB, Instagram and Pinterest!
Stay well & safe,
From our heart to yours,
Penny & the staff at Cornerstone
