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What was the nicest thing you saw during the pandemic?
"Local craft stores switching to online delivery, making it easier for everyone to keep their hands busy and their minds occupied."
When word got out that masks could help slow the spread of COVID-19, Halifax's crafters rose to the task. And local craft shops were there for them every step of the way.
"I didn't think there was any possibility that we could do so well. But then, people were relentless in their pursuit of crafting," says Chris Pasquet, owner of fabric-and-sewing store Patch Halifax on Robie Street.
Although Patch closed its doors in mid-March and Pasquet laid off her only employee, soon she had to bring her back.
"I remember laying Elliot off, and then days later, I had to call Elliot and be like, 'I need you back.' Because immediately we started getting online orders like crazy," she says. "More than we'd ever had."
Patch transitioned into warehouse mode with curbside pickup, and messages began pouring in via social media, email and phone.
People "wanted to sew and they wanted to be making things, and I think they wanted to feel connected to something," Pasquet says. "Not necessarily to Patch, but just doing something with their hands and using their spare time in a way that made them feel good. And it just happened that we had the thing that they wanted."
Mimi Fautley, owner of The Loop on Barrington Street, says although the store lost its tourist traffic—which accounts for up to 40 percent of sales during the warmer months—the knitting shop adapted quickly, fulfilling the city's need to create with its hands by opening a web store in mid-March. "That went like gangbusters at first," says Fautley, "it was really good."
The digital crafting sphere provdided convenience and some serious inspiration. "The whole knitting and handwork revival is fueled by the internet and social media," says Fautley, "the fact that you're constantly exposed to other people's projects and inspiration in a way that didn't usually used to happen."
And those pandemic projects from amateurs and experts alike helped keep the virtual doors open and the lights on. "People are less apprehensive about taking on something that once seemed enormous—like a blanket or a sweater," says Fautley. "Because they're just like, 'What else am I going to do?'"
It was Jennifer Kpolu’s twentieth birthday and she wanted a pixie haircut. She went from salon to salon but only got bad news.
“They were either fully booked or they just didn’t know how to cut Black hair,” she says. After several dead ends, she found a salon at Park Lane Mall that agreed to cut her hair. “By the time he was done, the hair was, it was far from the hairstyle that I wanted,” she says even after showing him a picture of what she wanted.
“I accepted my fate that day because I felt like it was Black hair and nobody really knows how to cut it,” she says, but now, two years later things may be changing in her favour.
That’s because what will be known as this generation’s first Black hair school in Canada is in the works here in Halifax. The last time a school like this was opened was 77 years ago in 1943 when Viola Desmond started The Desmond School of Beauty Culture. She'd opened the school for Black women who weren’t allowed to attend white-only beauty schools at the time.
Hairstylist and owner of Styles by SD Ltd. Samantha Dixon Slawter is the founder of this hair school, which will be called Crown of Beauty Institute and Association, and she says she's been working towards this for 30 years.
“It’s necessary. And Black beauty culture needs to be recognized,” she says.
Dixon Slawter grew up in a family of hairstylists and says she had always known the significance of Black beauty. “To me, Black beauty was it. We knew the importance of it,” she says.
She says a woman who trained under Viola Desmond trained her in the use of Marcel curling irons and piqued her interest in the history of Black beauty in Nova Scotia. “So, one of my aims is to actually have Black beauty culture acknowledged as a course of study in Nova Scotia.”
Dixon Slawter says after she got her hairdressing license through an apprenticeship 35 years ago, people were no longer allowed to get their license that way. And for 30 years, she had requested for apprenticeship training to be reintroduced. “So that for one, Black people can train their own stylists and even for me, as a salon owner, I want to train my own stylists and I was unable to,” she says.
But it's since changed again now and hairstylists can get their licenses through apprenticeship. “But that’s not good enough for us. They’re still not training you on Black hair care,” she says. “There’s no school that can train you on Black hair.” Most cosmetology diploma programs take two years and combine in-class learning with hours spent training—but very little focus is put on Black hair.
At Dixon Slawter’s Crown of Beauty Institute and Association, it will be all about learning how to care for and style Black hair in two streams: Apprenticeship and a private career college.
Dixon Slawter says now that her applications for the school are in, she’s hopeful they will get approved. “We see a future, we do see promise in having the application in,” she says. “This is the first time they’ve offered an apprenticeship to study Black hair care.” And although the school will just start in Nova Scotia, she hopes that soon, it will be the same throughout the country.
She and her aunt, Natherine Willis, one of the first Black hairdressers with a master instructor’s license in hairdressing will be doing the teaching.
The school will start with a small size of seven students. “We want to start off small so we can get people trained efficiently and effectively,” she says. Desmond's school was also small, graduating only 15 students each year.
Dixon Slawter's website says her salon is about hair as a texture, not a colour. “When you talk about hairdressing, you should be able to know hair textures,” she says. “Hair is not just a colour. Meaning it’s not just Black and white. Hair is a texture.”
Knowing that, she says hairdressing in Nova Scotia has a long way to go with being inclusive and her school will work toward making this happen.
Seven years ago, Marianne Thomson and Lauren Wambolt launched their online store Alexa Pope, making waves in the Halifax fashion scene with a minimalistic and chic aesthetic. Later, the store would get an IRL footprint at 1477 Lower Water Street, eventually expanding in 2019 to serve even more looks inside its airy space.
Along the way, Alexa Pope never lost its fashion-forward focus, offering more looks pulled from your IG feed than almost any other shop downtown.
The journey to becoming successful entrepreneurs for Thomson and Wambolt was not an easy path. Putting in long nights and investing hundreds of their own dollars in their business finally paid off when they were able to build success for themselves, appealing to fashion go-getters with a passion for chasing the next hot trend. ("We've worked for oil companies doing dispatch at night, we worked for lawn-care companies. These were jobs we got that were great that we could use to work around our schedule so we could give our all to Alexa Pope," Thomson told The Coast last year.)
But now, after all these years of owning and operating one of Halifax’s trendiest retailers on Lower Water Street, Thomson and Wambolt announced July 31st via their public Instagram that they would be closing.
“It has been a tough few months for everyone but we feel like this is the right choice for us to make,” the pair wrote on their business Instagram.
Their post has been followed with support, with many commenters saying how much they will miss the two fashion moguls.
Although this is the end of that Alexa Pope store, it's not the end for Thomson and Wambolt: “We are ready for the next chapter in our lives and believe when one door closes, another will open,” They wrote on their Instagram.
The shop is currently having a warehouse sale online until all of its inventory is gone—so it’s now or never when it comes to snagging some Alexa Pope merchandise.
You're planning a weekend road trip. Maybe it's somewhere you go every summer, or maybe it's a whole new Nova Scotian adventure you're inspired to take because of the COVID-19 travel restrictions. This province has countless popular tourist destinations that are usually packed to the brim with come-from-aways. But they won't come this year, so it's the perfect opportunity to check it out.
While you're there, take a look around. Where are the locals having lunch? What's that cute, kitschy shop on the corner with the stuffed lobster in the window? What happens if you take the road less travelled? Here are some recommendations for just about any area of the province. You might find yourself a new favourite spot, and it'll be one the tourists don't know about.
If you're whale watching in Digby, check out Roof Hound Brewing Co. (2580 Ridge Road, Digby), for outside-the-box brews like the Keltic Devil porter and the Big Stink IPA. Owner Les Barr was a contestant on Season 3 of MasterChef Canada, and whips up some yummy eats. If you're a bit further up the Valley, they've also got a Kingston location.
If you're headed to Cape Split for the view, hit up nearby I Scream (9838 Main Street) in Canning afterwards for a sweet cone to make it all worthwhile. Or skip the hike and just get the ice cream, we don't make the rules.
If you're checking out the 17 acres of beauty that is the Annapolis Royal Historic Gardens, make sure you have lunch at The Crow's Nest AKA Shore Road Seafood (3931 Shore Road, Hillsburn) for the best and freshest seafood you can find.
If you're spending a day at The Ovens, check out family-owned Rose Bay General Store (3452 Highway 332) just 10 minutes down the road. It's the general store of your dreams, with local meat and produce, homemade sweets and even a pretty decent wine selection. They've also got a cute bistro where you can grab a sandwich or pizza on your way to Sand Dollar Beach next door.
If you're thinking of digging for treasure at Oak Island, treat yourself to a day where you're the real gem at Sensea Nordic Spa (40 Sensea Road, Chester). Dip into their pools that overlook the nearby lake or relax in a sauna to watch your stress melt away.
If you're driving the Cabot Trail, check out Charlene's Restaurant (9657 Highway 105) in Whycocomagh. It's only doing take-out for now, but there's no better way to eat some fish and chips than while watching the sunset over the mountains.
If you spend a day at Ingonish beach, be sure to stop at The Dancing Moose Café (42691 Cabot Trail Road, Birch Plain) on your way back. Their Dutch pancakes aren't your typical Nova Scotian fare but you can forego seafood for one night, right?
And if you're chasing literal waterfalls, Mary Ann Falls, located inside the Highlands National Park is the spot for both a picturesque hike and a plunge under the water.
If you're headed to Shubenacadie Wildlife Park (149 Creighton Road) you can make your afternoon a bit more daring by venturing to the mouth of the Shubenacadie River, where tidal bore rafting abounds.
If you're picking up goodies at Masstown Market (10622 Trunk 2, Debert), head to nearby Great Village Antiques (8728 Highway 2) to redecorate your whole apartment with vintage paintings, clocks and other housewares.
Planning a stay on the north shore, where beaches are plentiful and the water is warm(er)? Spend a night inside one of seven train cabooses at the Tatamagouche Train Station (21 Station Road), and sip an afternoon away at Tata Brew Co. (235 Main Street). You can even head to the old Earltown General Store (5556 Highway 311) for homemade sweets, jams and jellies.