My name is Nicole McIsaac. I am a born and raised Islander. I have been working with the Island Traditions Store since 2011, when I graduated from Holland College with a degree in Wood Manufacturing and Cabinetmaking. My love of working with my hands led me to the Island Traditions Store where my grandmother, Ann McRae McIsaac, taught me all the skills involved in basketry, from going to the woods to pick out a tree to weaving and all the steps in-between.
I have been creating baskets of all different shapes and sizes since and love to teach the Workshops, where I also get the opportunity to pass on this timeless tradition.
I am currently the store manager, so look for me when you come visit our store and we will have a grand chat about all thing’s baskets!!
David Millar is a seasoned craftsman specialing in fine finish carpentry. MillarCrafts has been creating various woodworking projects for over 30 years. The items have ranged from fiddles and mandolins made from esquisite cuts of maple, to multiple smaller projects made from the remnants.
David is a cabinet maker by trade and is well known in the area for being inovative and often rising to the challenge of “Do you think you could make me a ……?.” He first started making an assortment of things for the local high school’s annual craft fair.
The items included shelves, fancy mirros, quilt racks all made from oak, and the staple of old fashioned game boards for cribbage, crokinole, table hockey, Chinese checkers, chess/checkers & backgammon. Epoxy art.
The Farmer’s Wife of PEI produces all natural, super moisturizing, Castile style soaps and high quality boutique candles, all with the goodness of Canadian Soy. Perfect for anyone with allergies or those sensitive to “overdone” commercial products. Handmade has never been Soy good!
Check out my full product line at www.thefarmerswifepei.com
My name is Donna Grant and my journey with basket weaving began in my sister, Frances’s, basement in Tignish. Eventually, I worked at home with my husband, Greg. My sister Ann and I started gathering materials in the woods, marshlands, or on beaches. We collected sweetgrass, bark, spruce root, shells, and seagrass.
We loved going into the woods to cut an ash tree and bring it home to split, chip, and pound. It was a family event with lots of laughs. I love working with my two sister’s Ann and Annette and my great niece Nicole working together to make ash baskets. With the hope of keeping this traditional art alive.