Last week, Sumner Pellegrini de Paur interviewed artist, entrepreneur, and recent Mount Allison University graduate Dawn Purchase about her recent purchase of a barn and the over 10 acres of land it sits on in Sackville.
Purchase is a self-taught basket weaver who says she has been interested in entrepreneurship and the idea of starting her own business since high school.
“But when I got to university, I was like, “You know, I think I’m gonna really go into the arts, and I think maybe I’ll do entrepreneurship eventually,” but it wasn’t really something I was like actively pursuing over my degree.”
Over the course of her undergraduate degree, Purchase learned more about what basket weaving looks like around the world, especially in Europe, where willow is farmed to make baskets.
“I love weeping willow trees, but I had never heard of basketry willow, which is a totally different plant. So I started doing all this research. I did an independent study on the practice of willow farming, which was awesome. And then I went down this rabbit hole of, like, are there willow farms in Canada? Is this something people actually make a living out of? It kind of combined a lot of my interests because [of] my interest in art making, but I also always wanted to have a farm,” she says.
Before she knew it, she was in contact with the Community Business Development Corporation (CBDC), a non-profit group that help rural small businesses and local entrepreneurs, who have a loan specifically for entrepreneurs under 30 years old. At first, they told her this would more likely be an agricultural grant, but suggested she make a business template.
“I learned really quickly that there was no way I was going to make money off of planting willow trees, cutting them back every year, getting these branches, and then selling those or making baskets. I wouldn’t make enough money to actually buy a piece of land to do that. So I kind of put it away. That was in third year. But then I did keep looking at land, I was still kind of on the hunt for something. And it wasn’t long until I found the property that I did end up purchasing on Church Street.”
Purchase is the first person in her family who’s ever started a business.
“I was completely just doing this on my own and figuring it out as I went,” she explains. “So I’d already called the CBDC and he said ‘look into agricultural loans, because if you plant a crop, that’s what they do. They help you secure funding knowing that you’re going to harvest that crop and get money.’ And I realized that wasn’t really for me.”
So instead of focusing on planting and harvesting willow, Purchase shifted focus to the barn located on the land she was interested in.
“Then I said ‘Well, I can totally shift my business plan,’ because a barn is a lot more than just willow trees. And I started writing [my business plan] on my free time over my fourth year to fit it in with a barn, like how could I make it profitable? And that took me right into the end of fourth year.”
While Purchase drafted this plan, she was asking for advice about how she could make this profitable. Something she kept hearing was that there is no large venue in Sackville for people to host large gatherings. So Purchase altered her business plan, putting more emphasis on hosting events in the barn and on the farm, putting harvesting willow to the side – but not out of the picture.
In her fourth year, she returned to the CBDC, who helped her finish her proposal to secure her loan so she could buy the barn and farm. Now, she owns the property on Church street and is looking to get her business up and running.
“I still have to get power hooked up, and then hopefully eventually get sewage. It is in really beautiful shape. The exterior needs some TLC, you wouldn’t think it from the outside, but it is in pretty good shape. I’ve been getting all these incredible stories from the neighbors every time I show up to do some work. There’s definitely raccoons and pigeons in there, so things like that. It needs a lot of love but nothing that can’t be fixed.”
When asked about what her hopes and dreams for the space are, Purchase says she hopes it becomes a multifunctional space.
“I think listening to what the community would like is the kind of the direction I’m going in. My dream for it is to serve the community in some kind of way. I still want to plant that willow, though. It’s such a sustainable resource and it’s so unique. There’s only a handful of farms in Canada that do it, and I want to make baskets in there. So I’m hoping that I can pair the two of them really beautifully and have the community come in and us the space and also learn about willow and basket weaving.”
To follow Purchase’s journey and to see her art, check out her Instagram (@dawn_purchase), Youtube, and Tiktok (@dawn_purchase). She will also be at the Traditional Artistry Festival in Dorchester at the Keillor House on August 8 and 9.
