The Newfoundland Issue

Hello friend,

Part of the fun in publishing a newsletter each week is that we learn a thing or two along the way. Mostly, the lessons are about products and businesses and the journeys of the founders we feature. This week, it is about a special place and the gravitational pull that drew six female founders to it. Whether they were from Newfoundland originally and found their way back, or they came “from away,” the allure of Bonavista was so strong that it’s become a hub of creativity and success for the women founders we feature in The Newfoundland Issue. 

We were introduced to the town of Bonavista and nearby Port Rexton by Kate Golding, a British expat who now calls Bonavista home. Her enthusiasm for the place and the incredible women business owners in her midst is so infectious, we decided to dedicate a whole issue to this little corner of the world and some of the amazing women who are putting it on the map. 

Kate is in the business of designing darling prints for wallpaper and fabric. In fact, she collaborated with Valerie Ryan on a pretty blue bird print for a statement wall in her new bakeshop restaurant in Town. She told us about two women, Sonja Mills and Alicia MacDonald who are creating a buzz with their tap room in Port Rexton, serving up dozens of different beers and a popular selection of gluten-free brews. And K. Claire MacDonald, the jewellery designer whose shop and studio sits by the Atlantic, providing endless inspiration for her designs and Karen Dewling who forages flowers and herbs that grow in the wild by the ocean for her skincare line. We hope you enjoy exploring the North Atlantic as much as we have, telling the stories of these exceptional women!

This week’s issue of Genuinely Stellar is sponsored by 1440. We love its unbiased take on the news and world events. Just what we need at a time when news seems to break on the hour. Be sure to click on the link below to learn more about 1440. 

Enjoy! 

 Pretty prints are the hallmark of this surface designer whose inspiration for her wallpaper designs is at her doorstep in Bonavista, Newfoundland.

Two women helped put Port Rexton, Newfoundland on the map with the first craft brewery outside St. John’s. Their gluten-free brews are bringing them notoriety beyond that.

This jewellery designer wants you to have a momento from your visit to the Atlantic Coast with delicate pieces fashioned from the rugged landscape.

When an interior designer decides she wants to open a restaurant, you know it will be the kind of place you want to linger. When she’s serving up elevated traditional baked goods, you may never leave.

This woman entrepreneur bet on plants growing around her to solve her daughter’s painful skin condition. Mother nature and Newfoundland’s bounty was with her every step of the way.

Watch this space for five quick things to make your life a little richer.

If you’ve scratched the US off your list of vacation destinations for 2025 you’re not alone. Why not consider the most charming small towns in Canada for your next getaway.

We chuckled when Maria Shriver posted a spoof of her book cover that said “I am Patrick’s Mother” after his runaway success on The White Lotus. It made us want to give I am Maria, her memoir in poetry a look.

Could cherished retailer The Bay get a second lease on life? If a billionaire woman from BC has her way, it just might.

There is no playbook for when your ex falls ill, but we admire how Rebecca Gayheart has responded to ex-husband Eric Dane’s devastating diagnosis.

How to Survive a Bear Attack is on our reading list this spring. Claire Cameron weaves her personal journey with cancer with a personal investigation into a bear attack she recalls from her childhood.

Do you have a stellar find? Share with us at [email protected]

Did you miss last week’s newsletter? Need a diversion from rainy spring days? Get The April Showers Issue here.