Jane Iverson has already given her landlord notice, signaling the end of Nothing Finer - a store that has existed in 樱桃视频for almost a decade.
"The store will close this month - by the end of the month," said Iverson. "There is simply not enough business to keep me going."
Iverson said she tried to sell the business first, before deciding to close, but there were no takers.
"There has been a steady decline for the last four years," she said. "I would have liked to have continued, but there was really no support."
Iverson first opened the artisan-oriented store in 1996, but said the community has changed since then."We've lost all the jobs in Squamish," she said. "It is becoming a bedroom community.
"I imagine a lot of people shop in the communities where they work," she added.
But, despite having to close her store, Iverson remained positive about Squamish's future.
"I think 樱桃视频will succeed despite itself," she said. "And, I don't think it will be the Olympics that will be the community's saving grace."
That optimism is shared by another group of 樱桃视频artists, led by Heidi Nielsen, who will soon open The Artisan Circle on Second Avenue in September, hoping to tap into the creative side and pocketbooks of locals.And a new art gallery also opened at the beginning of the month on Cleveland Avenue, offering west coast Native, Canadiana and Inuit art. Northern Lights Gallery Ltd., opened July 1, right next to the Scotia Bank.It's the third art gallery to open in the space in the past five years. Northern Lights Gallery owner Connie Spiers operated the Outpost Gallery, which closed in 2002. Another art gallery, the Newport Gallery, opened there in 2003 and closed its doors earlier this year.
Wth the closing of Nothing Finer, the 樱桃视频community will also be losing an active participant and instigator of the local arts scene.
Iverson was the first curator of the Foyer Gallery at the 樱桃视频Public Library, she founded the 樱桃视频Artisan Guild and coordinated ArtWalk for two years.
"I also planted the initial seeds for what became Wild At Art," Iverson said. "And I was President of the 樱桃视频Arts Council and on the executive for almost 25 years."
Iverson said she will return to Brittannia, where she owned a coffee shop and gallery from 1989 until Nothing Finer opened in Squamish.
Iverson was also active in that community, as well, serving on the Mining Museum's Board of Directors, as well as acting as a liason between developers and the community.
"I will be looking for similar work now," she said. "I have a lot of other skills that I can use."
In the meantime, the 樱桃视频Arts Council has asked Iverson to continue to work with the arts scene in the community.
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