The Saturna project started off as a way to have a few old product designers continue to create and do so responsibly and with a higher purpose.  Saturna is meant to be the ethical brand of the future, a new type of company called a CCC or Community Contribution Corporation that is purpose-built to contribute to the community and environment.  We invested in cork sandal sampling at two small factories while at the same time attempting to put together wooden sandals ourselves in my mom’s garage.

 

And it was 2020-  the world got a little crazy.  Most of our projects got cancelled due to the Covid restrictions and everyone had to stay close to home.  But here in Vancouver the outside kept us safe, and it kept us all sane.  

 

We could still see Saturna Island from the shores of our favorite beach.  Not too many people are allowed to visit the islands now.  Saturna is still there-  just a little out of reach.

 

Stuck at home, we re-thought how we approach making things. We decided to scale back and started with very small projects, finding things at home and doing experiments in the kitchen like elementary school kids would do. And that’s how we made our soap collection.

 

We discovered we don’t need too many things, we can work at being more efficient.   And we can make almost anything with our hands, laptops, and a few simple tools.  We can be creative as one can be.

 

Saturna Island continues to be what it always has been for us-

it’s an idea and an ideal, a declaration and a dream.  It’s a gulf island that we love and it’s the ethical brand of the future that exists mostly in our heads.