- Words by Sandra Jones Photography by Don Denton
If your mother ever told you that watching television was a waste of time, talk to Julia House, owner of Maison Cookware + Bakeware in Nanaimo.
乌鸦传媒淭he Food Network launched when I was in my early 20s and I started watching Alton Brown乌鸦传媒檚 show Good Eats. He had a scientific perspective on cooking and baking that I loved and the nerd in me thought: 乌鸦传媒業 can do that!乌鸦传媒�,乌鸦传媒� laughs Julia.
Suddenly she began making everything from scratch.
乌鸦传媒淭hat show flipped a switch in my brain. I started by buying a pasta maker and went from there. As my skills grew, so did my need for the right tools.乌鸦传媒�
But those tools weren乌鸦传媒檛 always easy to find.
Julia turned to trusted sources such as Cooks Illustrated magazine when she needed to find a specific kitchen tool, but would then be frustrated when she couldn乌鸦传媒檛 buy it locally.
乌鸦传媒淚乌鸦传媒檇 decide I wanted a carbon steel skillet and could order it online, but shipping cost a fortune. Or I乌鸦传媒檇 just pick up a tool locally and it didn乌鸦传媒檛 work the way it should. I wondered why kitchen stores were not doing the research for me. That was when I thought: 乌鸦传媒極ne day I乌鸦传媒檓 going to have my own kitchen store乌鸦传媒�.乌鸦传媒�
That dream percolated in the back of her consciousness as she worked at several retail jobs, created a food blog and moved from Edmonton to Nanaimo. But it wasn乌鸦传媒檛 until her then-husband quit his overseas job乌鸦传媒攁llowing her to follow her dream乌鸦传媒攖hat she made the leap.
乌鸦传媒淚 knew exactly the kind of store I wanted to create because I had been thinking about it for so many years. I had a list of products I wanted to carry because I had spent hours on the internet doing the research and then testing the products in my own kitchen.乌鸦传媒�
Two months after signing a lease on her retail space, she opened the doors.
乌鸦传媒淲e opened in mid-October and were open seven days a week. We didn乌鸦传媒檛 take a single day off until Christmas,乌鸦传媒� Julia recalls. 乌鸦传媒淏y that time the store was stripped bare and we had no stock left.乌鸦传媒�
Word spread quickly through social media and word-of-mouth.
Julia believes in a singularly simple core philosophy: 乌鸦传媒淎nything we stock has to absolutely follow one rule: If I wouldn乌鸦传媒檛 have it in my own kitchen, I won乌鸦传媒檛 have it in my store,乌鸦传媒� she says.
That point of differentiation results in an exceptionally low return rate of merchandise purchased and an equally high return rate for repeat customers.
乌鸦传媒淥ur customers tell us that they love to see this kind of quality in Nanaimo and that they come to us for our knowledge and our passion. Our staff has incredible product and cooking knowledge and we love to share what we know. We乌鸦传媒檝e been able to build great relationships because of that.乌鸦传媒�
Strong relationships have also been built with the more than 60 manufacturers from which Maison Cookware + Bakeware purchases merchandise.
乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檝e been fortunate in that our store is often selected to carry pre-launch items and we love getting the cool toys months before anyone else.乌鸦传媒�
One of those items was a bread lame used for scoring bread before baking.
乌鸦传媒淭he supplier said he乌鸦传媒檇 turned down other companies but knew we were choosy about what we bring in. We were the first store in the world he agreed to sell his product to.乌鸦传媒�
Store products run the gamut from one-of-a-kind items like a hand-carved ravioli tool made in Japan to a Smart Oven air fryer.
乌鸦传媒淲e can乌鸦传媒檛 keep this brand of air fryer in stock. I use mine every single day and I乌鸦传媒檝e cooked everything from pies to chicken in it. It乌鸦传媒檚 faster and more efficient than my full-size oven.乌鸦传媒�
Julia, who follows the foodie world closely, is quick to anticipate the needs of her customers, but even she can乌鸦传媒檛 anticipate everything.
乌鸦传媒淭he influence of social media is huge and global trends can take off in a day. Two days after we started seeing hot cocoa bombs on the internet, I tried to buy the hemisphere moulds needed to make them. The supplier was already sold out and has still been sold out for nine months.乌鸦传媒�
Of course, also in the category of 乌鸦传媒渦nforeseen circumstances乌鸦传媒� was a global pandemic.
乌鸦传媒淏y some bizarre stroke of luck we had always wanted to have an online store,乌鸦传媒� says Julia. 乌鸦传媒淲e had delayed it for years because it takes a long time to populate all of the items we sell, but we were able to launch it six months before the pandemic.乌鸦传媒�
As a result, the store never completely shut down and instead relied on online sales, curbside pick-up and cross-Canada shipping to fill its orders.
And then a funny thing happened: 乌鸦传媒淎 few people decided to learn how to make bread,乌鸦传媒� jokes Julia. Indeed, the lockdown prompted a widespread interest in cooking and as people experimented with everything from making sourdough to Japanese souffle pancakes, they turned to Maison Cookware + Bakeware.
乌鸦传媒淭here was definitely a shift in the customers I saw during the pandemic. People wanted to support local businesses and were more conscientious about where they were spending their dollars. There are so many small businesses in Nanaimo and we need to keep that vibrancy.乌鸦传媒�
While much has changed over the past six years, Julia乌鸦传媒檚 passion for her business has never waned. 乌鸦传媒淗aving this store is more than I ever dreamed and there is no doubt that it乌鸦传媒檚 the best thing I乌鸦传媒檝e ever done.乌鸦传媒�
Q&A with Julia House
Boulevard: What乌鸦传媒檚 your most-used kitchen tool?
Julia House: Ultimate ladle by GIR. It乌鸦传媒檚 made of silicone so it乌鸦传媒檚 flexible enough to scoop every drop of soup or sauce out of the pot. It also doubles as a measuring cup乌鸦传媒擨 use it all the time.
B: What乌鸦传媒檚 your signature dessert?
JH: Lemon cream tart.
B: And your dinner party go-to?
JH: I often have people over for pizza night because I have a Breville pizza oven.
B: Who is your favourite cookbook author?
JH: Dorie Greenspan, who has co-written books with Julia Child. I乌鸦传媒檓 thrilled she乌鸦传媒檚 started following us on Instagram.
B: Who are your dream dinner guests?
JH: Dorie Greenspan, Ryan Reynolds and Blake Lively (she loves to bake and I think they乌鸦传媒檙e fun) and Zo毛 Fran莽ois, who is a baker and cookbook author with her own show on Magnolia Network.
Story courtesy of , a Black Press Media publication
Like Boulevard Magazine on and follow them on
