About Us

Hi!

I’m Jen and I live in Vancouver, BC.

I am a full time physician, a part time honey farmer, and a hobbyist cob sculptor, metal worker, and gardener. The title of this website tips a hat to all of the delicious hot food that comes off our cob ovens however you will find information about all sorts of other projects here too.

My heart swells for all things creative and handmade, and splits down its seam for creations that promote living in simple harmony with the natural world around us. If these creations use reclaimed materials or sustainable, low impact resources… all the better. I hope that by displaying the projects that fill so much of my life, others will be inspired to step outdoors and let the creative fibres of their beings take over. If you learn something new here or find inspiration to start a project of your own, I believe my job is done.

All of the projects outlined on this site are completed in full collaboration with Ryan, also a full time physician, part time bee keeper and devoted cob enthusiast. In addition, he does the vast majority of the wood work, more than 95% of the photography, and all of the heavy lifting. His roots and family are in the four season province of Ontario but he has adapted well to the rain and salt life of coastal BC.

We have been interested in alternative building practices for years, an interest preceded by a long history of gallivanting off in to the far reaches of our extremely Wild West Coast by kayak. Gardening, frienships with animals, and physical labour are also deeply ingrained in us both. We currently have the privelege of using Jen’s family acreage to experiment our projects on. This is a small plot of land in Vancouver BC that is home to a variety of animals from 2 legged, 4 legged, feathered, and finned. It is also the site of our family apiary, re-established after a 50 year hiatus in the spring of 2013 with the new name of EquiFlora Honey Farm.

Our first cob experience centered around a pizza oven which we built together in the summer of 2012. Prior to this, neither of us had seen cob, nor worked with it. To date, we continue to build various cob structures based solely on our own expanding knowledge and the information we acquire from books and the internet. We have attended no workshops nor had the opportunity to learn directly from more experienced builders as of yet. We intend to continue dabbling in cob and other alternative building methods as well as permaculture homesteading practices with the hope of one day soon building a home, barn, and workshop of our own.

As a final thought, the goal of this website is simply to inspire and educate. If a product is mentioned, we paid full price for it, and only draw attention to it because we found it made our lives somehow easier or more enjoyable. The same is true for any companies mentioned, we receive no kickbacks.

We hope you enjoy your visit!