Local News
Local gifted crafter Stacey Hochman Corden making her mark via virtual word of mouth
By REBECA KUROPATWA
With so many sad instances of people getting into dire straits since Covid-19 emerged in our community, it’s nice to know that some individuals are finding creative ways to not only stay afloat, but even succeed.
Growing up in the Winnipeg Jewish community, Stacey Hochman Corden (35) attended the Hebrew-bilingual program at Centennial School from kindergarten to Grade 6.When she moved with her dad, Larry, to the town of Birds Hill, when she was in Grade 9, Stacey continued her learning at a nearby public school. Living in a smaller community and away from her Winnipeg friends, Stacey honed her creative side.
Later, she studied Business at Red River College, but from a young age, Stacey says, “I always knew I wanted to be home with kids one day. But, I also had a love for business and have always felt it it’s important to have education anyways.”
After finishing college, Stacey worked for the government for several years. She met her husband in 2009, and they were married in 2012. For their wedding, Stacey created all of their wedding décor.
“I’ve always been super crafty,” she says. “After I had my second son in 2014, my family was encouraging me to sell the things I was making…just different things…And I remember thinking, ‘Who would buy anything I make? That’s crazy.’
“But, I thought, I’ll try. I didn’t know a lot about the handmade community, locally, at the time, or even what it was like online. So, I started on Etsy.com (a website platform for small businesses), and then I discovered the community locally.
“There’s a Facebook page, Handmade Winnipeg. And, I would post in there, things I would make. It just kind of evolved and, from there, I got regular customers, word of mouth. I was meeting tons of people and going to craft fairs.”
At that time Stacey was busy making wood signs, mugs, digital invitations, and vinyl work. Next up, she decided she wanted to start creating bows.
As her business grew, she reached the point where she has to make a decision. “I could no longer do everything, as the bows just skyrocketed,” Stacey explains. “As I had gotten into the handmade community across Canada with the bows, I decided to just focus on hair bows – and scrunchies, too.
“I wanted to add more products. I was having a really hard time finding fun, trendy shoes from a small shop in Canada. So, I started designing shoes and getting them manufactured, and bringing them in this spring. So,
we expanded to that.
“I’ve also fallen in love with sewing again. So, I added beanies too. And, in January, I will also be adding cotton bamboo cardigans, because I’m obsessed with that fabric.”
Things have been going so well that Stacey and her family converted their dining room into a sewing room.
“I told my husband, ‘We’re not entertaining right now, so why not?’ Cotton bamboo is this really sought-after fabric right now, especially in the handmade online community. It’s eco-friendly and super soft, one of the softest things.
“My daughter wears a lot of cotton bamboo clothing, because she just loves the feel of it on her skin. It’s antibacterial, eco-friendly, hypoallergenic, and a natural UV protector. It also repels moisture from the skin, keeping you cool in the summer and warm in the winter. It’s just a wonderful fabric that I’m clearly obsessed with!
“What’s important to me is that my daughter wants to wear it. I will be making cardigans for moms too, because moms are already obsessed with matching their kids.”
Stacey sews most of the items herself, or with the help of her mother-in-law, who sews the scrunchies, while her husband also helps with the back office work.
Beanies were launched just a month a half ago, and the cardigans will be launching in the new year.
For now, all of Stacey’s products are housed in her basement.
“I’m such a homebody…My daughter will be going into kindergarten next year, and I had my boys home with me,” she said. “I’ve been doing this for years with the three kids at home.
“I’m hoping we will not outgrow our house, but, if we had to, I’d get a retail space. If that was the next step, I’d absolutely do that.”
Hochman does all her business these days online, on her website and via Facebook.
For more information, visit Little Lovies Closet at littleloviescloset.com.
Local News
Join the Sewing Circle at Chesed Shel Emes
Local News
Talented Winnipeg composer Sara Kreindler teams up with her mother Reena Kreindler to create new satirical show to premiere here in May
By BERNIE BELLAN It’s been many years since I’ve heard from Sara Kreindler. Sara’s name first appeared in The Jewish Post & News in 2002 when a satirical musical titled “A Touch of Class” was reviewed by the late Arnold Ross. That particular production featured songs from popular Broadway shows that touched upon themes such as “greed, poverty, oppression, and social unrest.”
When she appeared in that show, Ross noted, Kreindler had just recently returned to Winnipeg from England, where she had obtained a doctorate in Social Psychology from Oxford University.
While at Oxford, Kreindler found time to compose a satirical musical titled “Charity,” which played to rave reviews there, and was performed five times.
Continuing in the theme of writing satirical musicals, Sara has now teamed up with her mother, Reena, to write a new musical titled “A Perfect Man,” which is set to run at the Gargoyle Theatre from May 6-17.
According to a press release we received, “A Perfect Man” is “a satirical musical, set on a fictional analogue of ‘The Bachelor’.
“The story follows an anthropologist who arrives to research TV’s hottest reality-dating show — only to discover she’s been made a contestant, and the bachelor is her high school crush. Past and present collide against an exuberant pastiche score that uses vintage musical styles to highlight modern absurdities.”
“Praised as ‘a musician [who] can make biofuels funny’ (CBC), Sara is known for whip-smart satire on a panoply of topics. Her digital musical, ‘Larry Saves the Canadian Healthcare System, created during her former life as an academic, has garnered over 84,000 YouTube views. Naturally, she had a field day with the subject of reality dating.
“The topic just begs for campy zaniness, which I think we all need in these times — but also for a more cerebral critique of what these shows say about the culture that spawned them,” says Kreindler. And thanks to the romance context, the satire is woven into a deeper, more personal story. “It’s satire with a heart.”
Here is some more information about Sara Kreindler, taken from a 2009 article I wrote about her:
“Born in Israel, Sara’s precocious talent was nurtured by her mother, Reena, whose own particular talent is literary, not musical. According to Reena, however, Sara was singing from the time she was a baby, and she began to study piano at the age of four.
“As a young girl, Sara began writing her own songs and poems, along with the “occasional musical”, notes Reena. Yet, Sara’s rare talent put her at odds with the typical interests of other children her own age, on top of which she attended a school to which she was exposed to a fair degree of antisemtism.
“As a result, Sara says, being bullied was a common aspect of her childhood. On one occasion, when she was nine, she notes, Sara fought back against one particular bully by reciting the following little ditty:
“I write so many epigrams to you that all the people laugh.
I’m tired of writing epigrams.
I want to write your epitaph!”
“Sara went on to compose a musical titled ‘Flutesong’ while she was a student at Vincent Massey Collegiate, she says. After doing her undergraduate work at the University of Manitoba, majoring in Psychology, Sara won a Rhodes Scholarship to attend Oxford University.
“Sara eventually earned a doctorate in Social Psychology and returned to Winnipeg, where she began teaching at the University of Manitoba, but she said she didn’t enjoy the “mass production” style of teaching upwards of 300 students at a time, so she switched careers and began doing health research for the Winnipeg Regional Health Authority.”
All the while Sara has been continuing to compose and perform her own songs, often teaming up with her mother, as she has for “A Perfect Man.”
Showtimes and ticket information for The Perfect Man are available at:
http://www.thegargoyletheatre.com/upcoming-events/the-perfect-man
Local News
Rabbi Kliel Rose to leave Congregation Etz Chayim for new post in Ottawa
The following email from Congregation Etz Chayim Executive Director Morissa Granove was sent to members of the congregation on Friday, April 10:
“Dear Members and Friends,
“As we know, Rabbi Kliel recently spent a weekend with Kehilllat Beth Israel where he has since been offered a position. After much thought and consideration, he has made the decision to sign a contract in Ottawa. He will continue to lead our congregation through Yom Kippur.
“This news marks a significant ending for our Etz Chayim community, and at the same time with change comes opportunity. Congregation Etz Chayim will soon embark on our own Rabbinical search with excitement as we look for our perfect candidates and explore the new possibilities that will help us to continue to shape a strong future for our synagogue and members.”
Kliel Rose took up the position of rabbi at Etz Chayim in August, 2018.
In an article announcing his appointment to the position in the June 6, 2018 issue of The Jewish Post & News, Myron Love wrote:
The congregation has been without a permanent rabbi since last summer when Rabbi Larry Lander chose to retire – after ten years here – and relocate to Toronto.
Kliel Rose is already a well-seasoned rabbi. He was ordained in 2004 by the Jewish Theological Seminary in New York.
He previously served as spiritual leader at the West End Synagogue in Nashville and Temple Enamu-El in Miami Beach. His current posting is Beth Shalom Synagogue in Edmonton.
Following the example of his parents, Kliel Rose has been active in interfaith dialogue and human rights work for which he was honoured in 2014 with the Human Rights Hero Award by Truah: The Rabbibic Call for Human Rights.
He has also participated in the Kellogg Management Education for Jewish Leaders program at Northwestern University and was most recently chosen to be among 20 rabbis from different denominations chosen to train in the Clergy leadership Incubator – a two-year program, under the leadership of Ranni Sidney Schwarz, intended to educate younger rabbis in innovative thinking, change management and institutional transformation.
In Edmonton, Rose also served as Jewish chaplain at the University of Alberta and took the lead on a program called “Faith and Inclusion”, whose mandate was to support individuals with cognitive and physical learning challenges to feel more welcome within various faith communities.