Somehow it hit me last week ... Pufferbellies is 25 years old!! I've spent a lot of the last week working on a new website, and that involved looking through so many old photos and newspaper and magazine articles. So hard to believe I've been carving and painting up a storm for 25 years already! Pufferbellies started out with my sister Bonnie Petersen and I talking back and forth from Nova Scotia to England (where Bonnie lived at the time.) We had fun right from the beginning! We started out with just 3-4 different items and now I can't even tell you how many different items I've made over the years, but it has to be in the thousands! We started out sharing a booth with my friend, Cynthia Walker, at Christmas at the Forum, & went on from there to be in many shows and stores, mostly in Atlantic Canada but also in Ontario, BC & New England. |
Bonnie isn't involved in Pufferbellies anymore, except as moral support and occasionally lending a hand; she's gone on to other things. But I appreciate having Pufferbellies every day. I feel so lucky having a job that I love so much! I feel very grateful to my Dad for starting me off in this adventure, and to Bonnie for helping me start Pufferbellies, which has become such a wonderful part of my life. And to all of the huge number of customers who have made it possible to keep things going over 25 long-and-fun years, and to the wonderful stores who sell my work. Seems so appropriate to be launching a new website right now to celebrate 25 years of carving and painting and enjoying my life.