'Forget not that the earth delights to feel your bare feet and the winds long to play with your hair'. ~ Kahlil Gibran ~

I grew up a bare foot child on sandy beaches and in the thorny bushveldt of South Africa. I had a little garden as a child and spent much of my days outdoors. When it was rainy or cold I made things with my hands. I made dolls of fabric craps,crocheted hats and invented games with my siblings. We had no television.

After graduating from college in Fine Arts as a painter and print maker I decided to travel. I met a Canadian along the way who became my life partner and I now live in this beautiful Northern country. Our home here in the mountainous Kootenay region of British Columbia is very different from the land of my birth but having the earth beneath my feet and being surrounded by nature has always been essential to my happiness.

We grow a lot of our own vegetables, berries and herbs and much of our grains and other dry food we buy from the bulk food section of our local natural food stores. I invented these Kootsac bags in 2008 as an alternative to the throwaway plastic bags that kept coming home with our food. My preference has always been to work with natural fibers but ripstop nylon turned out to be the best material for the purpose and I am still using the original bags I first made years ago. I also offer them in natural silk for bulk food and organic cotton for produce.