Thumbs-Up From NBC
January 8, 2010
Bowen Island as seen from the Queen of Capilano
We’re not exactly in the middle of the Olympics arena, we are a 30 minute jaunt by water taxi, or a 20-minute ride on the car ferry. Here’s what they had to say about us:
Healthy and sustainable are the watch words at the Eco-Shed. This free standing cottage, with room for two, is a model of green building techniques.
We really appreciate the love, NBC, but for the record, we can’t guarantee our famous jumbo-sized berry-packed breakfast muffins are exactly “healthy.” Delicious, yes. Healthy? Well, that depends on how you look at it.
Thumbs Up from Granville Magazine!
September 18, 2009
Granville Online—the popular blog of Vancouver’s leading green-living magazine—finds much to like just inside our front gate in a new review just posted.
“This tiny gem, perched atop the side of an island floating in the middle of Howe Sound, has European charm in a stunning natural setting. But that’s not what hooked us: the Eco-Shed, besides being quaint, offered an eco-friendly retreat—with passive solar heating, reclaimed materials and a roof that feeds a rainwater cistern for the edible organic garden that surrounds it.
”
Paula Gradsal wrote the review after spending a weekend here over the summer. There’s even a nifty slideshow from Granville Online Editor Hilary Henegar that offers a peek inside our legendary continental-breakfast basket!
Come and see what the buzz is all about. Our off-season rates kick in at the end of the month, and the wood stove is ready to roar.
“The Most Comfortable Bed on the Island”
May 26, 2009
We recently hosted the delightful Monique Trottier (self-portrait at left) and her partner. By day, Monique co-owns a Vancouver-based internet consulting firm; and by evening she is a perfumist and blogger who writes about Canadian literature and the publishing biz. Last summer, Monique reviewed my memoir Almost Green, which tells the colorful story of how I built The Eco-Shed. And last night, she “reviewed” the suite on So Misguided, her blog.
“Having read the book, I knew that I wasn’t going to sleep over in some drafty garden shed,” she writes. “But I had no concept of how lovely the eco-shed really is.”
Check out the piece and her photos, one of which features “the most comfortable beds on the island.”
And by the way, we invite future or past guests to share and ‘tag’ their photos with “eco-shed” as Monique has done, so that we can check them out and perhaps add them to our group pool on Flickr.
My Eco-Shed’s Secret Double Life
May 20, 2009
Fun fact: When guests are not enjoying themselves inside The Eco-Shed, I use the space as a writing studio. It’s a perfect place to be productive because it is so calm and peaceful. Of course, I’m not the only one with a garden creative retreat. A thriving subculture of home-office workers is thriving over in the United Kingdom and elsewhere; they call themselves (are you ready for this?) “sheddies.”
Recently, Alex Johnson—chief shed officer for shedworking.co.uk—contacted me and told me that my studio was up for a Shed of the Year Award. Provided you feel we’re worthy of this esteemed title, hop over the pond and give us your vote!
