Have you ever met someone that is just so passionate about a particular subject that it is almost infectious? Like their enthusiasm is contagious and you can’t help but become equally as excited in the topic as they are? That is exactly what Nathalie is like.

Nathalie is the owner of Chez Fromage Etc in Fenwick, located on Canboro Road. They offer over 75 varieties of the best cheese in town, from Quebec and around the world. They also carry a wide array of fresh cheese accompaniments such as crackers, teas, antipasto, fresh bread, bagels, and so on.

Originally from Quebec, Nathalie has a huge passion for cheese and the culture that surrounds it, and she is very enthusiastic in sharing that passion with her customers. After chatting with her for two hours, I feel like I am now a “Cheese Connoisseur”.

Her cheese is delicious, her personality and enthusiasm is infectious and her store is absolutely adorable!

Check out Chez Fromage on the internet at http://www.chezfromage.ca

There are many great businesses, shops, and retail stores in Fonthill and Pelham area. Some are mom-and-pop type shops, and others are larger franchises. Some are tucked away in the cutest of spots, and some are larger and more prevalent. Located on the Highway 20, the main road into town, Fonthill Paint and Decorating is a landmark in Pelham. I had the pleasure of meeting and hanging out with owner Chris Baxter for his Portrait of Pelham session.

Chris and his team are in the process of finalizing the plans for a major re-construction of Fonthill Paint and Decorating. They are building a brand-new facility, on their current property, which will truly be a monument in Fonthill. I am not allowed to share much, but let me just tell you that it will be absolutely amazing!

Fonthill Paint and Decorating has been owned by Chris’s father, for over 20 years, and Chris and his wife, Paula, have owned it for 3 years now. Their focus is on customer service, which I can truly attest for; Allison and I purchased all of our paint for our home-renovation at Fonthill Paint and Decorating, back in November, and we were thrilled with the experience they provided for us.

Chris was born and raised in our beautiful town of Fonthill, and has always had a passion for the paint and decorating industry. Chris now resides here, with his wife Paula, and his sons Ethan and Christian.

If you’re new to Fonthill – definitely check out Fonthill Paint and Decorating (also known as “Benjamin Moore”), and if you are in Fonthill, keep your eyes peeled for some major changes over at the store. This is an exciting time!

Agape Valley is a 140 acre property located right here in Pelham. It is owned and managed by Niagara Shorthills Christian Ministries, an autonomous, evangelical, faith ministry. They host day camps in the summer time, pavilion rentals, school tours of the sugar bush, hayrides, and, of course, their infamous “Maple Syrup Days”.

Tim and Gaye Hartwick are two of the amazing people behind Agape Valley and all of the wonderful events that take place there. They also own Personal Touch Home Improvements, CoverAll Siding, Windows and Aluminum Products and Hartwick Contracting (holy smokes, and I thought that I was busy!). They are two true givers in the community who care a great amount about Pelham’s youth and the betterment of society.

I met up with them, and even though their schedules are hectic, they took the time to sit with me, talk about their role in the community, and tell me all about the Agape Valley sugarbush. They even took me over to Agape Valley for a tour, and let me just say that I was completely blown away! What an amazing place, and it is a great way to spend your weekend, enjoying their pancakes and maple syrup! They also have an extremely successful camp that they run in the summertime, that has a waiting list longer than you can image. What wonderful people, and what wonderful things they do for the community!

It is my honour to introduce to you, Tim and Gaye Hartwick. This portrait was taken in front of their favourite Maple tree, at Agape Valley Sugarbush. If you’d ike to see a couple of more portraits, please visit www.bcapblog.com.

Thanks, and see you next week

Bryan

They say that via the six degrees of separation, we are all only six people away from every other person on this planet. It’s pretty amazing when you really stop to think about it.

I think that in the small community of Pelham, however, that rule is more like one degree of separation, or two degrees at most.

Ron Kore and I met up on Saturday for his Portraits of Pelham session, and we discovered that he went to school with my Dad and my Uncle. What a small world!

Ron is the owner of the Sobey’s, here, in Fonthill. He took it over in November, after showing great success through his other positions through Loblaws. Ron is the definition of a true leader in a small-town community. He has been a Pelhamite for over 20 years, and has been a strong member of the community for a long time. Quick aside: I was notified on the weekend, that there is an actual term for “member of the Pelham community”. I made up the word “Pelhaminian”, where as I was told that “Pelhamite” is an actual coined term. Cool! Learn something new every day!

As giant as Sobey’s is, Ron runs his grocery store like a small-business; like a “Mom-and-Pop shop”. It isn’t uncommon to find Ron roaming the aisles, cleaning up, organizing items on the shelf, and greeting and talking with his customers. Ron truly believes that the success of his store is determined by the people who work there, and he strives to provide his customers with a constant positive experience. He has built an incredible team at Sobey’s and every employee is praised for their hard work and dedication.

I hope that you enjoy this portrait that I created of Ron. We are going to be working together on some upcoming projects that Sobey’s has in store, so all you Pelhamites, keep your eyes peeled around the walls of Sobey’s for some more portraits like this!

Enjoy

Bryan

Fonthill is home to many amazing individuals and some very successful businesses. Forestgreen Creations, founded by owner Todd Barber, is one of Fonthill’s many success stories.

Forestgreen Creations has been creating and designing unique homes, buildings and landscapes since it was founded in 1987. Todd started the business at the age of 17 by doing landscape construction and design. In an effort to develop his skills further, Todd hung up the tools and left Niagara to study Architectural Technology. Since graduating, he has expanded his operations to include home renovations, interior design and currently provides complete residential and commercial design, including project management. In the fall of 2004, he moved Forestgreen Creations to the old Fonthill post office building, located in the heart of Fonthill which was housing an antique shop. After extensive renovations, they converted it from it’s old antique store to their new state-of-the-art design studio.

If you are a Pelhaminian, one of Todd’s projects that you have undoubtedly come across in your everyday travels is the Fonthill bandshell gazebo or MyPlace Restaurant.

Todd has spent his life exploring nature, architecture, landscape and design, and it truly shows in his work. You really can’t help but be amazed by the unique design and concepts that Todd is able to come up with, project after project. Every project that Todd works on comes to life with awe-inspiring beauty and character.

Alongside running Forestgreen Crations, here in Fonthill, and managing 8 employees, Todd is a loving husband, and a caring father. He is also the Pelham Business Association president.

Todd and I met up at one of his newest projects in Fonthill, and created some portraits for him. If you’d like to see some of the other portraits that we created, please visit my blog.

Until next week – enjoy!

One of the things that I hoped to discover and create through Portraits of Pelham is not only to document some of the influential members of the Pelham community, but also to recognize and capture some unique and very special individuals.

Jim Ryan is the owner of Ryan’s Auto Body in Fonthill, located just down the hill on Highway 20. Jim is an extremely dedicated and hard working man, and runs a very honest and genuine business here in Pelham. His expertise has benefited hundreds of Pelhaminians (there’s that word again) and his kindness has touched even more.

One of the reasons that I was lead to Jim, and why I wanted to create a portrait and tell his story wasn’t necessarily for his great auto-body shop, but instead, for his fascinating collection of memorabilia.

When you walk in Ryan’s Auto Body, you are immediately taken on a journey to the past. A journey through your childhood. A journey through the west, where the cowboys lived. A journey through the classical cars of the 60’s and 70’s. A journey through the most popular board games of the 80’s. And, most importantly, you are taken on a journey through Jim’s past.

Every piece that Jim has has a story to it. I was intrigued and overwhelmed with joy, laughter and happiness, as Jim re-told some of his stories to me. One story about a baseball glove that he has from his little-league baseball team that he was on when he was 8, along with the accompanied group-portrait that he still has. Or of the Bentley’s 50th anniversary table-tennis game from the 50’s. I spent over an hour talking with Jim, hearing his stories, and being mesmerized by his collectibles and items.

Jim is a wise man and an even greater storyteller. Next time you have to have your vehicle looked at, visit Jim, and ask him to tell you about some of his stories. You’ll be delighted that you did.

I hope that you enjoy this week’s Portraits of Pelham. Please feel free to see more images from Jim’s portrait session, on my blog.

Bryan

Fonthill is home to a great number of phenomenal restaurants. The Wildflower Restaurant and Market is a landmark to Fonthill; it sits on Highway 20, immediately as you enter the town.

The Wildflower Restaurant and Market features a bistro dine-in restaurant and a specialty take-out food market. The restaurant and market both focus on sustainable and organic foods, and the chefs use locally grown fruits, vegetables and supplies when possible.

The restaurant has a great look and feel to it – with comfortable seating, modern, but elegant decor and a wonderful ambiance.

The catering side of the Wildflower is also flourishing; they’re gearing up for one of their busiest wedding seasons yet. They also cater (and host) bridal showers, baby showers, anniversaries, funerals, baptisms, and more. The Wildflower really is your one-stop-shop for all food, organically-related.

Chef Wolfgang Sterr is the mastermind behind the Wildflower, and in sitting down to talk with him, you can really see his passion for creating a restaurant that not only serves delicious and flavourful food, but also one that keeps the environment close to heart.

Wolfgang was recently awarded the Climate Action Niagara Eco Action Award of Excellence by the Welland/Pelham Chamber of Commerce, to recognize his commitment to the environment. The Wildflower was recognized for initiatives such as composting all food waste, recycling, controlling hydro and water consumption, using rain barrels, buying local products as well as planting an organic garden for use at the restaurant.

After having eaten at the Wildflower, all I can say is that you will not be disappointed. You will be comfortable, welcomed, and best of all – you can rest assured that you are “being green” and making the world a
better place.

Be sure to check out Wildflower’s website, at www.WildFlowerRestaurant.com.

I hope that you enjoy this image that I created for Wolfgang, and if you’d like to see more, be sure to check out my photography blog, www.bcapblog.com.

I am a firm believer in sharing the gifts and the talents that you have. There are so many photographers who photograph exclusively for “business purposes” and lose track of what photography really is. Photography, to me, is magic; to be able to create an image that stops time dead in it’s tracks and records that specific moment forever is just miraculous to me. I am happy to be able to share my gift and my talent and use photography to better the community. And that’s why I started “Portraits of Pelham”.

Two other great Pelhaminians (I just made that up – I think it sounds good) who are using their talents for the betterment of the community are the genius’s behind MyPelham.com – Cathy Berkhout-Bossee and Melissa Wells. As you may know, I have teamed up with MyPelham.com to help spread the word about “Portraits of Pelham”.

MyPelham.com is an online resource for Pelhaminians (I really think this word could catch on) to keep up-to-date on all the latest news, events and specials happening in Pelham. There is also a business directory, an article-database of articles written by fellow Pelhaminian’s and an Area Map for those of you who may be new to the community. If you are a Pelhaminian, head on over to MyPelham.com and check it out. Be sure to subscribe to their newsletter, too, as they send out weekly updates on “What’s Happening” in Pelham.

This week’s “Portraits of Pelham” feature is in the final process, so be sure to check back soon to meet Wolfgang Sterr – the owner and chef at Wildflower Restaurant and Market.

That’s all for now – have a great Monday!

Bryan

There are so many times that we get caught up in Reality TV, or Hollywood’s latest and greatest, and the “rockstars” of the world, that we forget to acknowledge and really appreciate the talent that we have in our own backyard.

Mark Lalama is a local musician, here, in Pelham, and he has been gifted with an incredible talent for the art of music. It is no wonder that he has seen such success.

Mark grew up in Welland, and comes from a very talented and musical family. His father was into the music scene, and so Mark and his three brothers were raised to have a great appreciation for music and the arts. Mark and his brothers have played many gigs together and have been in countless bands as they grew up.

Mark left the Niagara region for post-secondary education, where he attended York Unveristy, and graduated with a bachelor of fine arts, majoring in music. He has since played in many bands, has travelled all over the world, has recorded and produced for countless artists, and has even produced music for some very well-known TV shows and cartoons. One specific TV show that gives Mark a great amount of fame is CTV’s hit show “Canadian Idol”. Mark was the pianist and trainer for all of the singers and artists for the 6 seasons that it was on television. That’s right – Mark is a TV star! Right in our own backyard!

Mark moved back to Pelham 12 years ago with his wife, and they purchased a beautiful vintage home on 9-acres of property. Mark has completely renovated and overhauled their three-car garage into the musician’s dream of a recording studio. As a techy myself, I was in total lala land!

Mark has an incredibly positive outlook on life and relates everything back to music. He says that “everything learned in music can be applied to life”.

If you would like to see some more images of Mark, I have posted them over on my blog, at www.bcapblog.com.

One of my favourite things about being an artist is having the opportunity to connect with other creatives who use art in a completely different medium than a camera and a lens. Monique Mulder-Wallace is a local pottery artist, here in Fonthill, and I had the pleasure to meet with her for a “Portrait of Pelham” photograph. The portrait that I created for, above, was taken in her basement, pottery “den”, as she worked away on a piece for me.

Monique grew up in Oakville, and has always had a passion for pottery. As a little girl, she would spend her spare time practicing and perfecting the art of pottery. She has taught pottery classes all around the area while continuing to hone her own style. When Monique, her husband, her son and her daughter moved to Fonthill 7-years ago, she pursued a different path with regards to pottery. Instead of spending the majority of her time in the classroom, teaching the art, she decided to go full-time as a pottery artist, and create and sell unique pieces to the local community.

Monique has since had her work displayed in galleries all around Ontario, and also has pieces decorating the shelves of “Reign Equestrian” and “Athletics and Butterflies Boutique”, right here, in Fonthill. Monique has also participated in the Pelham Art Festival, and plans to participate again this year.

Monique lives in a truly creative environment – her husband plays the guitar and paints beautiful, one-of-a-kind watercolour paintings, her son plays the guitar, piano and trumpet in the school and local band, and her daughter has her own line of jewellery, called “Fly Away Home Jewellery” and also plays piano and flute. It is no wonder that Monique is able to continually re-inspire herself to create the most beautiful pieces of pottery art!

You can view more images that I created for Monique on my blog, at http://www.bcapblog.com.

For inquiries into acquiring a hand-made, custom piece by Monique, you can phone her at (905) 892-9990.

Enjoy!

Bryan