Small Ritual Coffee Society

For the month of Semptember 2010, we’re displaying the creative works of Gabrielle Greig. Join us for Gabrielle’s spotlight focus from 7:00-10:00pm on Saturday September 18th to learn more about the stories and process behind her art.

Gabrielle’s artist statement:

I was born and raised near Vienna, Austria, where I started my first formal art training in oil painting.

Over time, I became acquainted with and experienced in a variety of mediums. After moving to Canada, it took about 12 years before I was able to finally pursue my life long dream of establishing myself as an artist and taking time to paint.

I love to experiment. In my paintings, you will find a variety of styles and techniques, most of which will show my commitment to bold, vibrant colors and textures.

Experience with several local art groups led to a preference for acrylics: I find this to be the most accommodating medium for experimentation. I paint many different subjects but repeatedly find myself drawn to forest and garden scenes and foreign landscapes. Some of my inspiration comes from European travel and experience.

As long as I can remember I have been fascinated by the prospect that with every fresh canvas the Artist has opportunity to produce a new and unique creation.

I also work as a professional face-painter and balloon artist, known as “Mrs. Picasso”and “Balloonia the Clown” specializing in face and body painting for both private and coroporate events.

I am a member of Arts West and the South Delta Artist’s Guild and offer private Arts classes from Kindergarten to Grade 6.

Creating art is therapy for life. I hope you enjoy my art.

“Artist Biography.” Gabrielle Greig. http://www.mrspicasso.com/ggpaintings.htm.

Latte Lady

It appears September has hit, the only warning a very wet and stormy day on August thirty-first.  It feels unreal now, although I do have vague recollections of “Back to School” signs in store windows.

Small Ritual sits across from a school, and soon we will hear the regimented music of children’s games at lunch-time.  Simultaneously, parents in search of a morning coffee will stroll their strollers in.

On Monday morning, a woman came in with her two little boys.  After excitedly picking out a juice box (“tiger please!!!”) the boys tore off to the kid’s room.  I commented to their mother how sweet her little boy was.  She thanked me, then informed me that it was her son who wanted to come to Small Ritual in the first place.

“I wasn’t even thinking about coffee, but he asked if we could go to that coffee shop!”

How cute can kids be?!!?

This week also saw my first meeting with Word Whips, part of the Pandora Collective’s program to help people tap into their creativity in a relaxed, friendly atmosphere.  We were provided with three prompts: a question, an object, and a photograph.  All three produced a couple pages of decent writing out of me!  I’d strongly encourage anyone interested to check it out.  People of all different levels of writing are encouraged to attend, and sharing is totally optional.  It’s held the first Thursday of the month, so you have plenty of time to find that pen and paper…no excuses!

Conveniently Word Whips meets on the same night as Small Ritual’s Open Mic night.  Who knows, maybe one day some spoken words will make it through the mic.

Join us this Saturday, September 4th, for an evening of music with Ben Reynolds at Small Ritual Coffee Society. Ben is launching a solo career after national success with the pop/rock band Sweetsalt.  Sweetsalt won “Best Pop Album” in 2002 at the Canadian Independent Music Awards with their 2nd album  Radio Soldier.  Among his influences, Ben counts U2, Counting Crows, BNL, Tonic, Vertical Horizon, The Beatles, Martin Sexton, Radiohead, etc…

Ben currently calls Nashville home and is ready to release his first solo record. In his own words:

Now in the middle of my fifth year in Tennessee I’m about to release my very first solo record. To tell you the truth, it’s a little scary. I take comfort in the fact that I have labored to produce this work. I love these songs. I love these recordings. I love getting to work and write with such talented people, and if all else fails I’m proud of this record. I hope you’ll like it too. Like anything worth doing, these songs were born out of struggle. I hope they speak to you.

“Bio.” Ben Reynolds. http://www.benreynoldsmusic.com/.

Latte Lady

It feels like it has been a very long time since I wrote an entry,  although that’s not entirely true.  Many Mondays ago I had the day off, and decided it would be a good day to write.  I grabbed my notebook and writing exercise book and headed up to Small Rich.

As I sat at the bar I realized I was the only person without a laptop in the entire row of about four or five.  It was a little awkward at first (a pen and paper-how archaic!) but it was easy to get into the flow of things, and before I knew it I felt like a romantic poet, completely inspired by my surroundings and scribbling word after word.  Of course I was using a pen and not a keyboard so my three pages seemed a lot longer.

Weeks later, my pages look totally nonsensical.  Absolutely not relevant to any of the things that have happened in the meantime.  Still, great to have felt inspired.

So you may be wondering where I was and what I’ve been doing that I’ve been able to neglect my self-proclaimed duty for so long, and I’ll tell you in a word; summer.  We had a few weeks of good weather in which I had the opportunity to take some fantastic trips in and around the area.  Even though I tried to stop in and keep track of goings-on in the shop, it can be hard to stay focused.  Apologies.

We have had some events, though not entirely positive.

Event #1: The Break-in.

Some misguided soul decided that a non-profit coffee shop was the next target in a string of local break-ins.  No doubt you’ve come across the article in the newspaper.  Though Small Ritual suffered and have taken new security measures, it’s sad to me that at the end of the night we now have a necessity to lock out members of the community in which we want so badly to serve.  I’m sure karma will catch up with these individuals, and in the meantime Small Ritual will move forward.

Event #2: The Water-Boil

It’s all over the news that for the past week or so residents and businesses of White Rock have found it necessary to boil our water.  Small traces of E. coli have been found in the water supply and while no-one has been reported sick Epcor has decreed the water-boil a precautionary measure while they work to solve the problem.  While it has proven to be a very difficult task for myself at home to remember NOT to brush my teeth with smarmy water, Small Ritual has access to already boiling water right behind the counter.  So, it has only been a slight inconvenience.

Otherwise things seem to be going well.  I was privileged to work with Rory on his last shift at Small Rich.  He is rightfully excited to begin his new chapter, and while dutifully scrubbing at a soup pot turned to me and said “I don’t have to do this again!”  which made me very glad I didn’t do it for him hee hee.

Dan is still away on his honeymoon.  I’ve heard from those who attended that his wedding was sweet, everything a wedding should be.  Good music, too, which is only rightfully so now that Dan is our music booking manager!

Now I smell my dinner cooking in the oven, and so I must go.  Please forgive my procrastination and check in again.

Here’s the story from the Peace Arch News:

By Hannah Sutherland – Peace Arch News
Published: August 13, 2010 3:00 PM
Updated: August 14, 2010 11:29 AM

A non-profit, faith-based business that was broken into overnight Thursday is now forced to come up with hundreds of dollars to repair damage and replace stolen equipment.

Small Ritual Coffee Society employee Rory Hislop said he came to the shop, at 1237 Johnston Rd., at 7:30 a.m. Friday to find the front door had been pried open.

Hundreds of dollars worth of gift cards had been taken from the till, and the store’s point-of-sale (POS) system was gone.

While the gift cards have since been recovered – Hislop said they were turned in to police by someone who found them lying on the ground – without the terminal, the shop is unable to continue regular operations.

“We are working on getting a replacement,” Hislop said, noting it will cost around $1,000. “It’s a costly thing to replace and it’s not covered by our insurance.

“We’re trying to figure out how to pay for it because we’re non-profit.”

Hislop is hopeful the society – which was started by The Church at Southpoint – will receive donations to cover the cost of a new terminal.

The setback could have an impact on the shop’s ability to support other causes, he said, noting Small Ritual donates tips to a different charity every month. August tips are allocated for A Rocha, a Christian nature conservation program.

“It’s so unfortunate that someone would steal from a largely faith-based coffee shop… that is here to help the community,” Hislop said. “Every month we’re struggling ourself, but we’re still donating lots of money every month to local charities.”

Small Ritual isn’t the only business to have its POS terminal stolen this week.

The Roadhouse Bake Shoppe, 1763 King George Blvd., had its terminal stolen in an Aug. 8 break-in. The terminal was recovered soon after by Abbotsford Police, who say they are investigating possible links to other fraud-related incidents in the Fraser Valley.

Hislop said Small Ritual plans to have a new terminal by Saturday.

“We’re trying to get it all together for tomorrow. We have a huge music concert tomorrow night.”

Hislop said two musicians are scheduled to perform at the shop Aug. 14 in a show that is expected to stand out from its regular weekly concerts.

“This one’s going to be quite the night. All the staff are very excited.”

Hislop said the store will be open tomorrow regardless of a new terminal. Without one, however, customers will have to pay cash-only.

Donations for Small Ritual can be made to The Church at South Point, 778-549-6306, office@southpoint.ca or southpoint.ca

Donations can also be made directly to the coffee shop, but tax receipts can only be given for donations made to the church.

Latte Lady

Even when empty, the shop is never exactly quiet.  But as I sweep the floor here on my own among the sounds of music and various equipment, I can hear something else too.  Change is never completely silent.

The changes at Small Rich for the next couple months are extremely palpable.  Kim is expecting her first baby, Dan is expecting his first marriage, and a various number of our young staff are expecting their first year at University.  A lot of firsts.  Unfortunately, the journeys being embarked upon don’t always align with Small Ritual’s journey, and so we’re hiring.

After a few nail-biting interviews, one of our (very) regulars has been hired.  Tamara has been a long-tenured Small Ritual-er.  She’s capable and fun, and I look forward to having her on board.

Changes, changes.

At times I feel stagnant, a little sad that I’ve finished school and have no plans for marriage or babies in the near future.  The air around here is electric with excitement and potential.  It’s a great vibe.  Maybe I’ll finally join yoga.

From August 7th to September 6th 2010, we’re displaying the creative works of Maxine Wolodko. Join us for Maxine’s spotlight focus from 7:00-10:00pm on Saturday August 7th to learn more about the stories and process behind her art.

Maxine’s artist statement:

With my paintings, I seek to capture the simple, beautiful moments I witness in everyday life. A walk through my neighbourhood, a drive in the country, or more distant travel provides me with ample inspiration for painting. Painting is my way of fully appreciating these ordinary moments before they can slip away and be forgotten.

Being outdoors stimulates ideas. I am most drawn to scenes/situations where nature has been composed, utilized, adorned or embellished in some way. I can’t get enough of farms, fences, gardens and old buildings. By recording the way things look, I also strive to capture the feeling of the moment.

“About.” Maxine Wolodko. http://www.wolodko.ca/aboutartist.html.

Latte Lady

With the arrival of the summer heat (finally!) it’s not hard to understand the shift customers make from a regular latte to an iced latte.  There are, however, a couple distinctions that sometimes get overlooked when people are ordering and we are making a drink that has been largely ignored during the winter months.

An iced latte is simply a regular latte poured over ice, stirred, and served.  You can customize it just like your usual latte, non-fat, vanilla flavours, etc.

Smoothies are fruit flavours blended with ice.  Pretty straight-forward (and great when you add some whipped cream on top).

And now…The Frappucino.

Spell it however you may, and pronounce it however you may, the origin and pronunciation of this drink never seems clear.  Online stories are plentiful, some websites stating it is derived from an Italian drink, others basing it off a french iced coffee.

From multiple sources,  but ultimately quoted from Wikipedia, I learned that the frap was supposedly invented at a Massachusette’s coffee shop called “The Coffee Connection.”  Starbucks purchased the shop in 1994 and began marketing the sweet caffiene smoothie chain-wide.   Today it seems every coffee shop has its own special recipe, including ours.

On the Small Ritual board, our Frappe’s are labelled simply as a “frappe.”  But the question is…how do you pronounce it?  A short-lived, in-shop survey conducted by none other than myself proved only that perfectly literate people who will read “Mocha Frapp-eh” off a piece of paper in my hand nonetheless state they would pronounce it “Mocha Frap” at the register.

Why?  What is it about that “e” that seems to appeal to the imitation french accent inside all of us?

I’ve come to the conclusion that that’s just what it is: appeal.  You don’t really need a reason to order a frappe other than you feel like a treat.  So pronounce it like a treat.  If pronouncing that mysterious unaccented “e” satisfies a part of your brain you can’t even comprehend, then do it!

The Church at Southpoint is hosting a garage sale in support of Small Ritual Coffee on Saturday, July 24 between 9AM and 2PM at Morgan Elementary (3366 156A Street, Surrey).  If you would like to donate items to the garage sale, please drop them off at the school on Friday, July 23 between 6 and 8PM. Given our limited space, we kindly request that no large furniture be donated.

If you have any questions about donations or times please call Janice at 604 542 0050.

On July 17th, Small Ritual Coffee is celebrating the 31st annual Tour De White Rock: “from world class cycling races to the ever-popular block party and children’s bike parade, residents, visitors and families of all ages are sure to enjoy the fun and excitement of White Rock’s 31th annual Tour de White Rock taking place July 16 – 18, 2010.” Small Ritual Coffee will be at the centre of the action on Johnston and providing face-painting, free drink samples, and children’s entertainment (a clown and a magician). The fun starts at 10:30am and goes all day.

Some highlights:

• 10:30 am: Block party begins. Food and cold drink sold under tent
• 11:00 am: World Renowned Street Magician – Owen Lean
• 11:30 am: One hour of free face-painting
• 1:30 pm: World Renowned Street Magician – Owen Lean – and another hour of free face painting
• 2:30 pm: End of Block Party
• 3:30pm: Butterfly the Clown making free balloon animals
• 4:00pm: Maximum Collision Criterium short circuit speed race
• 7:30 pm: Live music presented by Small Ritual Coffee
• All day: Delicious coffee, summer drinks, baked goods, lunch inside Small Ritual Coffee, and free samples of our new summer drink

Come out  and enjoy!