How a Google News search ‘accidentally’ turned up gold

The compulsion continues... — The compulsion continues…

I have an urge that takes a firm grip on me when it strikes.

Every now and then I can’t help but browse the current status of human fallibility and foibles by typing the word “accidentally” into Google News. The search trawls stupidity and an insane amount of gun violence but almost always turns up something wonderful.

Five stories in you’ll be absolutely devastated and heart-sick of people who try to justify keeping a weapon lying about with kids around. A toddler shoots his mother, a toddler shoots his baby brother, a toddler shot his friend. Please just stop arming toddlers.

Then there are the series of criminals who make the paper by turning the gun on themselves as they try to break into houses, or rob stores or eat pizza. As you do.

If that was all there was to see I would just end up in a foetal position in the wardrobe crying, but there is always much more heartening stuff. Like people with butter fingers when it comes to technology.

ESPN analyst suffers epic copy and paste fail on Twitter after accidentally posting link to porn website

Yes, I almost always do that when I am cutting and pasting links to porn … Oh, cutting and pasting links to websites? No, not as often I hope.

Or Oops! Brandi Glanville accidentally tweets, then deletes cleavage snap meant for her ‘boyfriend in Utah’

Okay, I have nearly tweeted a search for “Ottawa Hiring” or “James Blunt” but I don’t send pictures to anyone. And no, I have no idea why it is always the Daily Mail. And why are they so skeptical of her ‘boyfriend in Utah’? Does Utah not have boyfriends?

And then there is the beautiful synchronicity of happenstance. Or irony or whatever. Stuff like this just makes me delight in humanity.

Training exercise in Sydney harbour accidentally sparks real bomb scare

The first sentence is my favourite:

“A bomb scare on a ferry in Sydney was sparked by a badly organised terrorism training exercise, Australian officials have confirmed.”

See? Delightful.

I’m sure it was not at all delightful if you were hoping to get over the Sydney Harbour Bridge in that two-hour period where it was shut down because the suspicious package that management brought it to help staff identify a suspicious package was identified as a suspicious package or as they called it a “training device, which was not recognized as a typical training device by staff”.

Imagine them not recognizing two bottles full of wires and nails as a “training device”?

Christ I love that story.

And continuing in the files of officiousness-caused-chaos hundreds of fish fell prey to the elements after a gate that was supposed to be kept shut was opened during a council inspection. The carp and roach were sluiced out onto a mud flat where they flapped about in the throes of death while staff and passers by desperately waded in to rescue 500 of them.
Hundreds of fish dead after bungling council workers accidentally released them from lake

When a worker does something like that they get called bungling. Bungling is also a very worthy word to type into a Google news search.

Bungling dentist removes all of woman’s upper teeth by mistake

Whoopsie.

But my favourite “accidentally” story today is based on that old adage about how you should never ever yell “Tasty panties” at your mum. What? There’s no old adage that says that? There really ought to be.

Men Catcall Their Mothers Accidentally In Everlast’s Amazing Video About Street Harassment

Boxing supplier Everlast got a tough-bird-in-a-tracksuit to narrate as the mothers of serial street harassers were given a “mini-makeover” to lift and separate them from dowdy mum-ness.
Godspeed to Julio as he deals with the fall-out of calling his mum a “piggy”.

January 23, 2015 0

A song to dampen the echoes of the past

(This was first published in the lowdownonline.com in October 2014)

By Oona Woods

Twenty years ago Carol Anne Goodman fled on foot — driven by a powerful instinct to protect her unborn daughter.

A few years later, her beloved aunt was murdered by a Montreal serial killer.

Goodman’s instinct to protect women from violence is still running strong.

Currently filming a video on her farm for her song Lost and Found, she hopes to raise money and awareness for missing and murdered Aboriginal women.

“I just felt so strongly that I wanted to get this music out there,” explains Goodman.

Her daughter — now 19 — has just left home to live in Ottawa. Keenly aware that Aboriginal woman are almost four times more likely to experience violence, it is the reason she’s compelled to act.

Continue reading “A song to dampen the echoes of the past” →

January 20, 2015 0

Gluten Vs Gluten-Free – An in-depth analysis

I rest my case

jjUk1v6 — The buns on the left have had all the fun sucked out of them.

January 16, 2015 0

Whitewater rafting in the heart of Ottawa

Published on: June 26, 2014Last Updated: June 27, 2014 1:13 PM EST

By Oona Woods

Whitewater rafting in the heart of Ottawa (with video)

I used to have a terrible fear of whitewater sports but didn’t think twice about climbing aboard a bright blue raft to join Dave Stibbe on a new rafting adventure down the Ottawa River.

As our group pushed off from the banks of Britannia Beach on a recent sunny day, he promises of a non-flip trip was soothing music to my ears.

Stibbe of Wilderness Tours Ottawa City Adventures, which officially opens Saturday, is bringing whitewater rafting to the heart of the capital. The two-and-a-half hour trip takes in the Deschênes, Remic and Little Chaudière rapids and includes body surfing, hanging off a bridge and cliff jumping by Seagull Island. My adventure took place during a soft opening while Stibbe and his team were ironing out any minor details. One thing that didn’t need any improvement was the sheer privilege of viewing the river from the water. Not many of us can attest to running rapids unless you are a whitewater paddler.

Joe Kowalski, owner of the venerable Wilderness Tours, says he brushed off the idea of urban rafting 25 years ago because he felt the river rolling through the city wasn’t exciting enough for high adventure rafting. But fast forward to today and with operating partner Stibbe, the duo decided it was worth navigating the course of red tape with the City of Ottawa for two years to bring the rafting experience to Ottawa’s landscape.

Wilderness Tours Ottawa City Adventures officially launches June 28. The three-hour trip leaves from the Britannia Beach area and takes in the sights and sounds along the Ottawa River past historic landmarks and down three rapids. Rafters are invited to paddle along with experience guides or relax and enjoy the ride.David Jackson / ExploreDavidJackson.com

But hang on, why isn’t this considered high adventure? Just this spring two lives have been lost and each year there are numerous requests for assistance from boaters caught up along this stretch of the river, particularly around the rapids.

Stibbe says it’s a matter of understanding the water, currents and rapids. This section of the Ottawa River rates between two and three out of five on the scale that measures rapids. He says the danger lies near the shore and in the site of the old Hydro ruins on the Quebec side. Guides can also steer the boat toward calmer or more turbulent waters depending on the level of fear versus adrenalin in the boat.

“We have extensive training and industry-leading safety protocols and can read the water,” says Stibbe. “That’s why I promise a no-flip trip. In these rafts it’s basically like driving a Mack Truck down a dirt road.”

Kowalski says taking on the Ottawa River without knowledge is like getting into a plane with someone who doesn’t know how to fly.

I had tried to tackle my fear of fast swirling water years ago with a course at Wilderness Tours and it worked wonders. On this trip, I was keen to appreciate a moderate journey down the picturesque Ottawa River. I wondered if this is what Champlain saw when he viewed the river four centuries ago. Dressed in helmets and lifejackets, we were invited to paddle along or just kick back and enjoy the pretty views. There was plenty of time for instruction before being drawn into the first set of rapids. The river is a kilometre wide in some areas and the sheer amount of space while floating down the centre, is breathtaking.

Stibbe’s tour offers a snapshot of Ottawa’s colourful past, its flora and fauna, the history of logging and some celebrity house-spotting. With electronic devices safely stored away in a waterproof barrel, social media is put on the back burner as the rafters soaked in the elements for the duration of the trip.

The Parliament Buildings frame the final vistas and as we bump up against the shore by Lemieux Island the no-flip trip does seem to have everything going for it, an experience for tourists, a new perspective for city dwellers and a face full of waves for the kids if they sit in the front.

Wilderness Tours Ottawa City Adventure

What: Rafting trips depart four times daily: 9 a.m., noon, 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., from Britannia Beach at Ron Kolbus Centre. Rafts are taken out at Lemieux Island with a return trip to Britannia by shuttle bus. All ages (six to 65 and over), rafters must weigh at least 50 pounds.

Price: $49 for adults and $39 for children, six to 13.

Info: You need to register at least 45 minutes prior to your departure time. http://www.ottawacityadventures.com, 1-844-688-7238.

January 16, 2015 0

Strike a pose

Round up of Yoga Studios in Ottawa – Published in the Ottawa Citizen

Published on: May 15, 2014Last Updated: May 23, 2014 2:03 PM EST

Julie McCarthy is a yoga instructor at Upward Dog in the Byward Market.Julie Oliver / Ottawa Citizen

Whether you want to build strength, relax or get in touch with your spiritual side, there is a yoga class tailored just for you — no matter your age, fitness level or shape. Here is a snapshot of different classes offered at Ottawa studios.

By Oona Woods

Mountaingoat Yoga

Location: Unit 5, 3350 Fallowfield Rd., Barrhaven

Contact: 613-823-3949, contact@mountaingoatyoga.com, mountaingoatyoga.com

Class taken: Yin

Drop-in fee: $16

Open since: 2003

Decor: Stained wood-click flooring, warm yellow walls, bountiful bolsters, faux candles flickering, lots of mats, blocks and straps.

Studios: A range of classes, including meditation, Pilates and Yin, along with a zero to 5K running/yoga combo class and teacher training.

Store: Small selection of clothes.

Best bit: Free hair bands in the bathroom.

Unbest bit: Located in a strip mall and startling thermostat that sounds like a sonic boom when it kicks in the first time. No one seemed alarmed so they must be used to it.

Clientele: Moms, athletes and yogis (man with ponytail and tattoos spotted in second row).

Attendance: Around 15 with space to spare.

Serious yogi scale: Mid-range. Teacher down to earth.

Overheard: “I’m on a cleanse. So is my whole family.”

“Did you know the name Jesus occurs in the Koran more than Mohammed?”

“This place is blessed.”

Bonus: Instructor puts an eye bag on you during savassana, which is a heart-warming gesture.

Instructor nuggets: “Drink lots of water. Feel grateful. You’re amazing.”

Blue Bamboo Yoga

Location: 11-B 6081 Hazeldean Rd., Stittsville.

Contact: 613-435-9447, bluebambooyoga.com

Class taken: Hip opener Hatha

Drop-in price: $21.18 — apparently cheaper if you pre-register online. Also website says $35 for introductory unlimited month of yoga (sadly not mentioned when I was filling out my first-timer form).

Open since: 2008

Decor: Nice, big, bright lobby with leather sofas for post-yoga milling. Slate floor and beige walls with Buddha statues and decorative touches in recesses. Studios are painted deep brown with sizable Om symbols, featuring industrial overheads lightened with the most beautiful, softly swaying large paper lanterns at varying heights.

Studios: Two spaces, one very long with a handful of spinning bikes stationed at one end; the other much smaller. Classes include Hatha, gentle yoga, flow along with the unlikely spin and yoga combo class.

Store: Yoga mats, towels, deluxe eye pillows, local artisan products.

Best bit: Hanging paper lanterns.

Unbest bit: In the smaller Sky Studio, 10 people in a square face one another, which means you may get up close and really personal with someone. Loud clunking sound of the heating system made me flinch when it goes off. Seems like I’ve experienced this again in another strip mall yoga class.

Clientele: Mature mommies, moms and babies, bearded men, active seniors.

Attendance: 10 people in small room put the class at capacity

Serious yogi scale: Quite high for a place with exercise bikes.

Overheard: “Bye, Margaret, see you next time.”

“Have you been to the Jazz Café? You have to go.”

“Oh, I remember when my kids used to do that. Now they hate the cold.”

Bonus: Free post-yoga apple spice herbal tea.

Instructor nuggets: “People say when you lean forward in Proud Warrior, you are concerned about the future. When you lean backward, it is because you are thinking about the past. Try to stay centred in the present.”

Spahara

Location: 150 Robertson Rd., Bells Corners

Contact: 613-726-6399, info@spahara.com, spahara.com/services/yoga/

Class taken: Hard Hatha (yes that’s a thing, when the instructor gets you doing headstands it’s a thing)

Drop-in price: $10

Open since: January 2014

Decor: While the charming spa is tastefully decorated, the yoga room is a basic, no frills space with yellow walls and a shelving unit.

Studios: Just one smaller room inside the spa.

Store: Yes, but for hair dryers, flat irons, hair accessories and Mariah Carey nail polish (see Spa).

Best bit: Price is right.

Unbest bit: There is nowhere to place your belongings unless you pile them about the studio or leave them out front.

Attendance: Four people, but room can hold at least 10.

Serious yogi scale: Modest

Clientele: Mostly female, locals and government workers.

Overheard: “I can’t do Tuesday and Thursday. That’s when I have boot camp.”

“No, I don’t have injuries. I’m just feeling really stiff.”

“This is a better deal than $60 a week for a chiropractor.”

Bonus: Instructor pushes your shoulders down and pulls neck gently in savasana.

Instructor nuggets: “Wherever you are is perfect. It’s where you are meant to be because that’s where you are. So that’s why it is perfect.”

“I’m not judging you, so don’t judge yourself.”

Pure Yoga

Location: 279 Richmond Rd., Westboro

Contact: 613-680-7873, pureyogaottawa.com

Class taken: Hot power

Drop-in price: $15. Currently, there is a one-month introductory offer of $40.

Open since: 2011

Decor: Trendy hip space meets functional basement baths. Walls surrounding reception area are painted a refreshing turquoise with darker hues in the hot room.

Studios: One oversized heated class with mirrors along one wall. Classes vary through the week, but focus is on hot yoga with different flavours and accompaniment. On Sundays, they have live music in studio.

Store: A nice selection of clothes, leggings and mats.

Best bit: Super sticky mats to rent for $2 that suction to your body and weld you into place.

Unbest bit: Gah! The mirrors! When you are in a room full of hot 20-somethings wearing not much and you are a rocking “hot mess” rather than “hot-ness,” you don’t want to have that image bounced into the assembled brains.

Attendance: Seemed like hundreds of people. Floor is stamped with Pure Yoga (TM) symbol so you know where to line your mat up.

Clientele: Young, fit, strong, muscly, bendy gorgeous people. 10:1 ratio of females to males. But website states all kinds of people are welcome.

Serious yogi scale: They know their clients and dominate social media (@pyo) with all the best bits of the practice, but serious yogis may question the missing yogic limbs. Tremendous fun.

Overheard: “Oh, that’s so cute.”

“Does she do gymnastics?”

“Yes, you will need water.”

Instructor nugget: “Lift your right arm toward the ceiling. I’m giving you all an air high five because THAT was awesome.”

Santosha

Location: 346 Richmond Rd., Westboro

Contact: 613-235-5378, info@santoshayoga.com, www2.santoshayoga.com/about/

Class taken: Hatha

Drop-in price: $17 ($12 for first-timers)

Open since: Billed as one of Ottawa’s original yoga studios, open since 1994.

Decor: Bright and airy sacred space on second floor across corridor from another yoga studio.

Studios: One huge mellow room, no mirrors apart from little circles on ethically-sourced ethnic scarves.

Store: Natural clothes, mats, books on theory.

Best bit: There is teacher training, so an assistant is on hand to help with postures and modifications throughout the class.

Unbest bit: Having a teacher in training can be distracting.

Clientele: Mostly female in their mid-20s and 30s.

Attendance: Seven people in a bright, spacious room surrounded by windows.

Serious yogi scale: Off the charts. Serene, thin women with big scarves, chanting Sanskrit at the start and end of class. Bells ding at the end of meditation time.

Overheard: “Do you have a student discount?”

Instructor nugget: “Allow your heart to broaden against your back.”

Pranashanti

Location: 52 Armstrong St., Hintonburg

Contact: 613-761-9642, info@PranaShanti.com, pranashanti.com

Class taken: Kundalini — the class most likely to have you rolling on the floor with legs near ears sucking breath in over your rolled-up tongue. Coincidentally also the class most likely to make you feel you may be on a candid camera show called Look What I Can Make People Do! Instructor and regulars wear all white. Poses are a mash-up of standard yoga with mantras combined with moves directly out of a dance sequence with all the men in Jane Russell’s Gentlemen Prefer Blondes number. It always ends with a song about sunshine and happiness.

Drop-in price: $18 with option to pay additional $37 for a month of unlimited classes

Open since: 2008

Decor: Urban yoga oasis. There is an industrial edge with wooden warehouse doors and exposed ductwork blended in with woven baskets, dark floors and smooth comfy chairs.

Studios: There are four studios, including intimate Hatha room, heated hot yoga room upstairs and two large studios downstairs. There’s also an RMT massage room and personal sauna room. Studio hosts more than 80 classes in different styles a week, including mighty popular Hatha teacher Greg Kaps.

Store: Everything yogic, including books on anatomy and teacher training, meditation audio and sheepskin rugs.

Best bit: Sometimes the massage therapist Jesse gives five-minute chair massage samples after class.

Unbest bit: As with most studios, the classes start and finish at the same times, so there is a period of extended, albeit polite, jostling in the foyer.

Bonus: Pleasant and welcoming staff on front desk.

Clientele: In Kundalini class, everyone wears white, looks serene.

Serious yogi scale: Very, very high.

Instructor nugget: “Have you ever done Kundalini before? Because if you haven’t, I will explain things differently.”

Upward Dog

Location: 251 Dalhousie St.

Contact: 613-241-YOGA, Upwarddogyoga.ca

Class taken: Hot Power Core with Julie McCarthy, hot room and hot teacher doing Vinyasa flow with bonus Yin bits.

Drop-in price: $17 for 90-minute class ($12 for 60-minute class).

Open since: 2002

Decor: Large, second-floor studios in warm yoga yellow with standard issue industrial piping (website explains high ceilings allow space for body’s astral energy field).

Studios: Three large studios staging 50 classes per week in with Hot Power, Hatha and Yin classes. Also teaching training and personal development centre.

Store: Few yogic bits and bobs and ethically sourced clothing.

Best bit: Sun streaming in huge windows in second-floor studio.

Unbest bit: Parking can be tough at times.

Clientele: Highest ratio of men to women at 50:50. Most manly studio so far.

Attendance: 14 people fit into large upstairs studio if you don’t travel too far off your area, slight danger of accidentally brushing hands.

Serious yogi scale: Very, very high.

Overheard: “Yes, I recognize the irony in rushing to a yoga class.”

“What was that seven-minute ab sequence again?”

“I’ll meet you downstairs and we’ll go for coffee.”

Instructor nugget: “Don’t you dare focus on what your neighbour is doing.”

Astanga Yoga Ottawa

Location: 200 1/2 Bank St.

Contact: 613-722-6860, astangaottawa@yahoo.ca astangaottawa.com

Class taken: Drop-in lunchtime Astanga. Primary series-lite because no one can manage a whole primary series over lunch.

Drop-in price: $16

Open since: Owners started practising in the 1970s.

Decor: Boho shabby chic. Upstairs corridor with bells on the door and draped scarves leads to inner yoga sanctum. Studio is only open only for classes. No full-time receptionist.

Studios: One large, second-floor room with polished hardwood floors, warm beige walls and windows looking over Bank Street’s bustle.

Store: Not that I saw.

Best bit: Decadently doing yoga at lunch while people line up at food trucks, buses roll by and commerce continues without you.

Unbest bit: Checking the 15 urgent messages that came in on your smartphone while it was turned off for class.

Bonus: You remembered to turn off smartphone during class.

Clientele: This is a set sequence, so almost everyone in the class knew what they were doing. Varied group, including students, office workers and creative types but most with very high levels of fitness.

Serious yogi scale: High. They even skip practice on Moon Days.

Attendance: Eight for a one-hour lunch class.

Overheard: “I can’t find my card.”

Instructor nugget: “See if you can keep this sense of peace with you as you go about the rest of your day.”

Goodlife Queensview

Location: 2655 Queensview Dr.

Contact: 613-820-9531 http://www.goodlifefitness.com/locations/ontario/ottawa/050

Class taken: Yoga with Amber

Drop-in price: $15, day pass with privileges to all the club’s facilities.

Open since: 2002

Decor: Corporate gym, row of treadmills overlooking dance studio, mirrors and motivational slogans.

Studios: Huge room roughly the size of a football field.

Store: Power drinks, energy shots, headbands.

Best bit: Amber brings modified exercise balls that provide a twist on standard yoga.

Unbest bit: Squeaky shoes in nearby squash court and grunting males can be distracting.

Clientele: Most diverse yoga participants: seniors, athletes and beginners.

Attendance: Around 40 people

Serious yogi scale: Low

January 16, 2015 0

Off-the-wall yoga

By Oona Woods
Ottawa yoga studios go off the wall

Adi Shesha

Locations: The Glebe Studio, 99 4th Ave., 613-798-9642;

The Wellington Studio, 1338 Wellington West, 613-798-9642

Fee: First time drop-in $8; regular drop-in $16; $50 one month unlimited introductory offer

Website: Adishesha.com

I have taken those hot yoga classes where you find yourself in cobra position desperately sucking the supply of fresh cool air off the floor, like a person in a burning building. I’ve also done restorative yoga, which involves armloads of props such as straps, blocks and bolsters, to arrange, but ultimately, you just have a nice quiet lie down for an hour.

But I had never tried to take yoga to another plane: Vertical.

The first wall yoga class I went to was at the Adi Shesha studio in Wellington West led by Shelagh Haynes. It was a mix of hanging postures and release work with balls. There were only three of us in the class and she caught me eyeing the wall skeptically.

“It’ll hold you,” Shelagh said evaporating my excuse.

Using straps and hooks to modify yoga poses has been going on since the 1930s, but this sturdy version was developed by a very cool old gentleman named Kedric Wolfe in the 1980s, in California, of course.

Wolfe explains on YouTube that he hurt his foot on a protruding hook while doing a headstand and proceeded to invent a flat surface system. It is now known as the Great Wall of Yoga. He ends the video by rolling in a big fast circle in lotus position exclaiming “Whee!” and you get the impression it might have been hard to get him to focus long enough to tape that segment.

Back in class, we each had a trapeze-like swing and straps mounted on the Great Wall of Yoga. The swing went around our pelvis and we flipped upside down in a child’s pose against the wall followed by a suspended downward dog.

Having proved conclusively in the past that I cannot follow instruction involving spatial awareness (I was a nightmare in step-aerobics), I was mildly concerned I would somersault my head into the wall before swan diving onto my back. But there is a great amount of trust involved in this class — you have to trust the instructor, your own body, and, of course, the wall.

What distracted me at first was I had felt this sensation before. It took a minute or two of dangling, but then I remembered it was when I was in a car accident that was more comedy than tragedy. My friend lost control in bad winter weather and the rental car plowed through a field building before flipping over and coming to rest on its roof. The sensation of gravity against a strap was exactly the same feeling as hanging upside down from my seatbelt, minus the fear of imminent explosions.

I went to a second class with Basia Going, owner of Adi Shesha studio. There were 13 people of different levels and abilities, which still left room for more along the walls.

Basia kept up a cheerful banter explaining that turning upside down throws new light on old patterns of behaviour.

My new favourite thing to do is lie in a kind of traction savasana (corpse pose). It was complicated to get into, necessitating sliding away from the wall on a blanket, but the end result is a kind of suspended bliss. I may have to be stopped in the future from commandeering low hanging swings at children’s playgrounds all over Ottawa.

On leaving the class, I have to admit problems that had been bothering me earlier in the day didn’t feel as overwhelming. Maybe it was reversing the pull of gravity or literally turning that frown upside down.

But hanging out at Adi Shesha is definitely a more advisable way to experience that transformation than upside down in a vehicle.

January 16, 2015 0

Wakefield artist creates wonders from wood

Denis Tremblay is known around the village of Wakefield as a real character. The owner of Boiserie Du Ruisseau /Wakefield Wood Works, makes unique furniture from reclaimed barn board, tin and many other objects.

Denis Tremblay’s workshop in Wakefield might look like chaos, but make no mistake: He is a master of turning old barn board into rustic furniture and accessories. As he bustles around in his well-worn hat, his mind is constantly dreaming up new creations from natural materials. Surrounded by slab tables, farm machinery and iron chains, his two-storey artisan space is both workshop and showroom, with stock spilling out into his yard located just off Riverside Drive, the main street in the picturesque village.

“It was always my passion,” he explains. “I’ve always had an interest for old wood because it’s fascinating how it’s carved by the sun and carved by the weather. It makes me shiver.”

There is a whiff of steampunk in his work as he fashions a stained glass lamp stand from well-used metal machinery. However, nature is at the core of most of his handmade designs combining functionality and sculpture.

Weathered boards, tin and even animal bones found in a nearby forest floor are used in his work. A vanity featuring a hinged wooden rain barrel and glass bowl sink is priced at $720, while a rustic side table is $230 and a beautifully gnarled wooden branch combined with slate and a ceramic bowl is $960.

Not everything is made of wood, this table is made from old railway plates. Denis Tremblay operates Boiserie Du Ruisseau /Wakefield Wood Works. He makes unique furniture from reclaimed barn board and other found materials. His home, rambling workshop and studio are all in one. (Pat McGrath / Ottawa Citizen) — Not everything is made of wood, this table is made from old railway plates. Denis Tremblay operates Boiserie Du Ruisseau /Wakefield Wood Works. He makes unique furniture from reclaimed barn board and other found materials. His home, rambling workshop and studio are all in one.Pat McGrath / Ottawa Citizen

Well-worn railway spikes are reworked into drawer knobs, antlers become the base for a candelabra, while his attractive oversized barn doors with ironwork detail would look smashing in a restaurant.

“I have my own style,” he explains. “I have visions that come into my head. I touch the wood and start to compose. I get the feeling, ‘This one goes there, this one is not so good and I will set this aside.’ It’s like magic.”

Much of the recycled material he works with are brought to him from dilapidated barns in the surrounding Wakefield area, which is dotted with farms, older homesteads and new construction.

“We have lots of barns everywhere and all kinds of antiques and farm equipment that I integrate into my pieces — legs from a wheelbarrow, farm equipment. This is an old chariot coffee table,” he gestures amid the chaos.

Tremblay points to an old wooden canoe and explains it can be cut up and used to make two bookcases and a coffee table; an old-fashioned Coca-Cola cooler from a store could be refashioned into a kitchen island. He is proud of giving discarded objects a second life.

“I’m a green guy, and I try to reclaim everything. We only use new wood if we can’t avoid it. I use only natural products — the best in the world — like linseed oil, waxes, milk paint. I use all the pigments — earth pigments and we make our own colours, which is all food safe.”

Tremblay, a cabinetmaker by trade for 20 years, began working on his whimsical creations five years ago. He learned his craft from his father who was also a carpenter. He had no formal education and taught himself the tricks of the trade. Now his teenage son Samuel works with him over the summer — in exchange for a truck.

“I’m trying to get the young one interested.”

Wakefield Wood Works is often a hive of activity; at any given time three or four other men are standing by to help with unloading wood or provide muscle for Tremblay’s latest scheme. In one corner of the yard, there are 20 birchbark logs that can be used as candles or even self-contained barbecues. In another corner, dock floaters are for sale. His latest passion is building solar-powered boats from recycled materials.

He admits to a fondness for the old TV series The Beachcombers, and not unlike the patrons of Molly’s Reach, he has had some action adventure in his life. His story made the front page of a local paper three years ago when his gas-powered boat exploded into a ball of fire. Police determined the cause was arson, but have it listed as a random incident. He says the explosion spurred his desire to avoid gasoline-powered crafts in the future.

Tremblay relocated to Wakefield from Blue Sea Lake, Que., 10 years ago and is firmly established as a local character in his village. He is a whirling dervish with endless chimeric creations spilling from his mind, but he is also keen to take on commissions. He says he won’t shy away from any challenge a customer might bring him.
“I won’t build a plane, but I will think about it,” he laughs.
Perhaps even a solar-powered one.