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Wednesday March 3, 1999 THE OAKVILLE BEAVER D5 ■ M e Business To reach this section call 845-3824 Fax:337-5567 You Dare we say it? Martha Stewart would love this place. And obviously she's not alone. Since opening its doors on Thanksgiving weekend, business has been booming at A Day in the Country. Located on Lakeshore Road just east of Navy Street, this warm, antique-filled shop is bursting with country touches from antique furniture to vintage glassware and garden tools. A browse through the well-stocked interior is likely to turn up anything from a pair of weathered vintage skis and rusted urns to shelves full of gardening books, accessories, and a wonderful assortment of dried flowers. Although A Day in the Country is new to Oakville, it has a well-established reputation on a number of fronts. In addition to retail outlets in Erin and Oakville (and one to open in Toronto in the spring), the company is known for its regular shows on the Life Network and for its hugely popular "event days". Over the years these have included everything from fly­ fishing and woodland photography to designing floral arrangements. In fact, the roots of the company can be traced back to the first event day held just before Christmas of 1989. Company founder Elaine Martin (who admits she has sometimes been dubbed "Canada's Martha Stewart") was a stay-at-home mother of young children who found her­ self casting about for ways to earn money to buy her hus­ band a Christmas gift. Together with a friend, she hit upon the idea of offering a wreath-making workshop at her country property in the Investor Learning Centre offers seminars The non-profit Investor Learning Centre o f Canada (ILC) is offering two non-promotional investment courses for Ontarians confused about their RRSP investments. The two courses, Intelligent Investing Level 1 and Intelligent Investing Level 2, cater to everyone from beginner investors to more experienced individuals. The courses have been developed and reviewed by the Canadian Securities Institute, the national educator of Canada's securities industry. The courses are taught by senior investment professionals, licensed and trained by the ILC, who are bound by a strict code of conduct to keep the seminars completely non- promotional. The Level 1 course costs $165 and includes three books and a stu­ dent binder, covers the basics of investing in six weekly sessions of 2 1/2 hours each. The advanced Level 2 course, recommended for gradu­ ates of Level 1, costs $200 and lasts eight sessions. Level 1 courses all begin at 7:15 p.m. and go from: Feb. 16-March 23rd; March 17-April 21st; April 13- May 18th and May lOth-June 21st. Level 2 courses run from: Feb. 15- April 12th at 7:15 p.m.; March 16- May 4th at 7 p.m.; April 8-May 27 at 7:15 p.m. and May 5-June 23rd at 7:15 p.m. » For more information on course dates, times and locations individu­ als can call toll free 1-888-452-5566 or visit the ILC web site at www.investorlearning.ca Lifestyle change through hypnosis No, they don't dangle a watch in front of your eyes or program you to bark like a dog when a telephone rings. Hypnosis, Hollywood style, is a far cry from the real thing practiced in clinics today as an aid in weight loss or quitting smoking. Susan Chomey, a certified hypnotist, laughs when she thinks of how hypnosis has been popularly portrayed in movies and on television. The simple fact is, says Chomey, hypnosis does not put you in a "trance" and can­ not make you do anything you don't really want to do. What hypnosis is designed to do is work on your subconscious mind. "All hypnosis is self-hyp­ nosis," explains Chomey. "It is one hundred percent safe. You can't stay in a state of hypnosis, as many people have come to believe." Chomey, who is manager of Positive Changes Hypnosis, a recently opened clinic on Maurice Dr., says hypnosis only works well when the client is motivated to make lifestyle changes. "People who aren't moti­ vated know right away. Hypnosis isn't going to make them change if they're really not committed to it." So, if not a dangling watch, how does the whole process work? Chomey outlines the three states of consciousness-- beta which is when you're Susan Chomey and partner through hypnosis. fully awake, delta which means you're asleep and alpha theta which is a relaxed state somewhat akin to being half asleep in front of the tele­ vision set. "Everyone knows what it's like to just be sort of half awake. You're not really watching television, but you're hearing the message get through." Chomey equates it with being able to recite a song or a message from a popular advertisement, even though you haven't consciously paid attention to it. When a client signs up for a weight loss program, for instance, he or she begins by filling out a detailed ques­ tionnaire which helps the hypnotist tailor a program specifically to meet in^ivid- Photo by Barrie Erskine Steve Hill: self-improvement ual needs. "When we're working with people who want to lose weight, our goal is to get them to take on characteris­ tics of naturally thin people," says Chomey. "By working on their subconscious, we try to teach them to make con­ scious decisions such as eat­ ing more fresh fruit and veg­ etables and drinking more water. It's not a diet though. We never tell people what to eat specifically." Clients are seated in small, private rooms where they relax in comfortable recliner chairs and work one-on-one with a hypnotist. Headphones and special glasses are used to help the client achieve the relaxed, alpha theta state. A blinking light in the glasses stimulates the optic nerve and slows down brain waves, according to Chomey, mak­ ing the client more open to positive suggestions.The ses­ sions are taped and clients are then asked to take the tapes home for further reinforce­ ment. In some sessions, clients are given hypo-accel­ erated tapes to listen to. These are double-voice tapes designed to get the message through if part of you is still resisting. "No one can listen to two voices at once," explains Chomey, "so you listen to one and the other goes right into your subconscious to reinforce the message. A further element to the weight loss program involves watching videos on nutrition which also reinforces the positive messages. Chomey says she feels more people are turning to hypnosis for weight loss and smoking because they want a more natural approach which doesn't involve taking med­ ications. While weight loss is by far their most popular program, followed by the stop smoking program, the clinic also offers programs in stress reduction and sports enhancement Chomey stresses that regardless of the program, the more motivated the individ­ ual, the better the results. Fees can range from $500 for the nine-week stop smoking program to $1300 for a lengthy weight-loss program. 4 Elaine Martin of A Day In The Country: special touches Photo by Peter C. McCusker Ford web site boon to shoppers Buyer Connection a first for industry Hockley Valley. Using Christmas card lists, they sent out invitations and were stunned by the response. That may have been the end to the whole business if Martin hadn't received a letter the following spring from one of the participants wanting to know why she wasn't on the mailing list for upcoming events. Voila, a new business was bom. In the nine ensuing years Martin has built her famous event days and the retail spin-off into a $2 million a year business with its own guild, coffee table book and tour guidebook. A Day in the Country is also soon to be featured on the pages of Gardening Life, and as the cover story for the prestigious magazine, Victoria, out of New York. The photo spread in Victoria is expected to include as many as nine pages, and Martin says she's been warned to prepare for a huge response. "I definitely want to have my mail order up and on the internet by then," she told the Beaver. Martin has amassed an impressive resume in her 43 years, including a position as general manager for Harry Rosen and the distinction of being the first president of the West Edmonton Mall Merchants Association by the age of 24. She has also managed to find time for the volunteer and community work which have long been an important part of her life. In fact, Martin received a Governor General's award for her volunteer work as a director of the Girl Guides of Canada. Like Martha, however, she is always looking ahead to her next project. Ultimately, Martin says her long term goal is to hit the $30 million mark and take the company public. don't have to leave town for Day In The Country ^ • ■ By Nancy Alexander SPECIAL TO THE BEAVER J lord o f Canada is expanding its r j website to include a quick and M . convenient on-line shopping fea­ ture called "Buyer Connection." Announced at the 1999 Canadian International Auto Show in Toronto amid the unveiling of the all-new 2000 Ford Focus, Buyer Connection gives customers the ability to "build" and price a new Ford, Mercury or Lincoln vehicle on-line. Ford will be the first automobile company in Canada to offer a compre­ hensive on-line shopping experience when Buyer Connection arrives this spring, notes Bobbie Gaunt, president and C.E.O., Ford Motor Company of Canada, Limited. 'Today's consumer treasures the gift of time," notes Gaunt. "Buyer connec­ tion will offer consumers the ability to shop for a Ford, Lincoln, or Mercury vehicle from wherever and whenever they wish," she said. Dealer quotations, on-line credit applications and monthly payment cal­ culations will be among the conve­ niences found in Buyer Connection, accessible through Ford of Canada's Website at www.ford.ca. Buyer Connection benefits from state-of-the-art configuration technolo­ gy. It permits the extensive range of equipment, options and colour choices for each of Ford of Canada's 20 models to be accessed and arranged while instantly recalculating the price of the vehicle. At the Canadian International Auto Show, Bobbie Gaunt provided a "five" Buyer Connection demonstration. The subject vehicle was a 2000 Ford Focus - the company's all-new small car which arrives this October in three body styles: sporty three door, four-door sedan and versatile station wagon. Within minutes, the demonstration accessed the Buyer Connection page, configured a Twilight Blue Focus three-door hatchback equipped with the ZX3 sport appearance package, produced a credit application and a "quotation." In the fall of 1995, Ford became the first of Canada's Big Three to launch a website. Fourteen months later, the web­ site incorporated the world's first Internet application of T.B.G., or Temporal Annotation Generator. Widely believed to be the precursor to interac­ tive television, the Canadian-made tech­ nology permits users to point-and-click at moving images to access fields of information "behind" the video. Today, www.ford.ca attracts nearly 2,000 visitors a day, each of whom browse the site for an average of eight minutes. Loblaws honoured for produce promotion Both Oakville Loblaws stores on Lakeshore Road West and Trafalgar Road, have been named 1998 Merit Award Winners for promoting Ontario- grown produce. The awards were part of the 12th annual Foodland Ontario Retailer Awards sponsored by the Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs and seven grower associations. More than 240 stores submitted 650 entries including a 3-D mushroom hanging over a huge mushroom dis­ play, a replica of a greenhouse with Ontario greenhouse vegetables and a woodland setting using real tree trunks to promote Ontario maple syrup. Judging factors include impact of display; creativity, effective use of Foodland Point of Sale material, effort, cross-merchandising, location in store, number of displays, balance and design. Local Business Internet . Address Guide m m i i p l a c e www.oakvilleplace.com Elizabeth BILBUA Sales Representative i^H B B IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII r o y a l Lepage ■ I^^H IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Ho** Lrf>«8» Fb* EM* SMh Ua. Mar ebilbija@oakvillespecialist.com KERR C A D IL L A C P O N T IA C B U IC K IN C. Optimum u s e d v e h ic l e s B E S T P R I C E • N O H A S S L E V is it our w ebsite: www.kerrcadillac.com www.brantflorist.com gifts@brantflorist.com fife Oakville Beaver www.metroland.com T O W N E CHEVROLET OLDSMOBILE GEO www.townechev.com G EA R < Now Playing At www.interlog.com/~gear OAKVILLE 3V D www.oavkillehonda.com th».Ingle* « Upscale Social Events fo r SINGLES THE SINGLE GOURMET w w w .thesinglegourm et.com Phone: (905) 827-5912. Toll Free: 1-800-874-5078 cm HOVAi UW Ktt VIRTUALLY OAKVILLE WwV&lvirtuallyoakville.com http://www.investorlearning.ca http://www.ford.ca http://www.ford.ca http://www.oakvilleplace.com mailto:ebilbija@oakvillespecialist.com http://www.kerrcadillac.com http://www.brantflorist.com mailto:gifts@brantflorist.com http://www.metroland.com http://www.townechev.com http://www.interlog.com/~gear http://www.oavkillehonda.com http://www.thesinglegourmet.com