- Words by Sean Mcintyre Photographs by Don Denton
When Terry Raven stands at her canvas and prepares to paint, she likes to begin with a single, modest starting point. She draws from an idea, object or colour that inspires her to experiment and she sees where the ensuing visual reactions will lead.
鈥淚 put something on the canvas and what follows is reaction after reaction to what goes on it next,鈥� she explains. 鈥淪o when the piece of artwork is done it is as big a surprise to me as it is to anyone who sees it.鈥�
Terry鈥檚 approach produces impressively arresting paintings that rely on colour and form to carry viewers on a journey into the imagination, an experience which is not soon forgotten.
Gazing at one of Terry鈥檚 painting鈥檚 is very similar to walking into the other of her life鈥檚 great passions, Duncan鈥檚 . Terry moved to the store鈥檚 current site in the 800-block of Canada Avenue nearly two decades ago. The 鈥渘ew鈥� site represented a natural evolution of Terry鈥檚 brilliant and spontaneous idea to open a kitchenware store soon after her move to Vancouver Island from Calgary in the early 鈥�80s. Terry says the decision was really made because she needed some cookware for her new home and couldn鈥檛 find a decent shop anywhere nearby.
Starting a housewares store dedicated to high-quality and fresh design in the Cowichan Valley nearly 40 years ago was one of those 鈥渋deas鈥� that has inspired her to experiment through the ensuing years.
鈥淚 used the fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants method, because that鈥檚 what you do when you have no clue what you鈥檙e doing,鈥� she says. 鈥淵ou learn to figure it out.鈥�
A look inside the fully restored and repurposed, century-old, brick-clad industrial building that once housed enormous generators used to produce hydro-electric power is an invitation to feast on layers of colour, shapes and texture. Terry鈥檚 retail displays are a work of art.
Unlike the works she creates on canvas鈥攚hich are permanent鈥攖he popularity of the store鈥檚 artfully arranged contents leaves Terry and her staff of six continually challenged to reassess and rebalance their display work. Just imagine someone grabbing your secret ingredient as soon as you鈥檝e discovered the perfect dish, stealing the most memorable verse of your poetic masterpiece, or removing the most vivid colour from your precious tableau. Success can be frustrating.
鈥淚t鈥檚 constant because you do your 鈥榩ainting鈥� and then someone takes the main thing from the display and buys it,鈥� Terry says. 鈥淎nd now you have to do it all over again. We complain, but it鈥檚 a good problem. It creates the opportunity to do it all over, and that鈥檚 what we love to do.
鈥淏eauty is really important to us, and people respond to it. It doesn鈥檛 matter if it鈥檚 a young person, an old person, or someone who is in no way artistic, people respond to beauty and it makes them feel good.鈥�
Before unleashing her entrepreneurial zeal on the Cowichan Valley, Terry spent much of her twenties studying and teaching art in southern Alberta. Among the lessons imprinted on her in those formative years was the importance of telling a story. When looking at a piece of art, she says, the eye should take a trip. The viewer should enter in one area of the painting and be led around the canvas to an eventual end point. As with most everything else in life, art should be a journey.
Framed within high ceilings, towering windows and utilitarian brick walls, Pots & Paraphernalia is Terry鈥檚 artistic masterwork that has taken her nearly a lifetime to execute. Shopping here is about so much more than picking up a garlic press, dishware or a fluffy new duvet; stepping inside is akin to setting off on an adventure. One鈥檚 attention is subtly carried through the store from one display to the next. Here, a kitchen hutch with tea towels placed just so reveals shelves of gourmet food products. Nearby, a river of colourful fabric flows from mounds of pillows and luxurious bedding originating out of sight from the shop鈥檚 second floor.
Because the displays are so natural and pleasing to the eye, the casual shopper may fail to appreciate just how much work goes into each painstaking detail of the shop鈥檚 presentation. The products are Terry鈥檚 raw materials, but she selects from an impressive collection of countertops, desks and cabinets to make her work look its best. In a kind of mysterious alchemy that has allowed her business to take root, expand and thrive, Terry and her staff are a testament to the complicated marriage between art and business, between beauty and the bottom line.
鈥淧eople ask why it鈥檚 so successful, but I just like arranging stuff; that鈥檚 just my thing,鈥� Terry says. 鈥淎ll I really wanted to do is arrange materials and create stories and colours. The business end flowed naturally from that interest.鈥�
Terry鈥檚 artistic approach to marketing and merchandising has earned her shop some prestigious acclaim. In 2018, the International Housewares Association named Pots & Paraphernalia Canada鈥檚 national champion at the Global Innovation Awards. That recognition placed the store among a select group of 27 housewares businesses hand-picked from 26 countries. Other winners included major department stores like the United Kingdom鈥檚 famed Harrod鈥檚 and Japan鈥檚 hip Tokyu Hands. The honours, presented at the International Home & Housewares Show in Chicago, were awarded based largely on store layout and design, visual merchandising, displays and the storeowners鈥� overall mission statement and vision, as well as customer service and staff training.
A guiding voice behind Terry鈥檚 philosophy offers the words of William Morris, the 19th-century British textile artist, designer and poet who decreed that anything inside one鈥檚 home ought to be either beautiful or functional.
In a world where the lowest cost is given highest importance and durability has become an afterthought, it would be interesting to hear Morris鈥� thoughts as he perused the aisles of a big box store or clicked through an e-commerce platform. Would he recognize anything familiar in modern consumerism or simply lower his head in resigned dismay? Fortunately, if he chose to visit the Cowichan Valley, he鈥檇 meet a kindred spirit in Terry Raven and her ever-changing tapestry of housewares, each in and of themselves small artistic wonders. The encounter would no doubt brighten his day and perhaps elicit a knowing smile when she tells him, 鈥淚 try to get the beautiful version of the functional stuff.鈥�
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
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