Although the air is so cold right now that it takes your breath away, all of us at Volume can happily take a moment–a brief one–to breathe and reflect upon a most wild and exciting year. 

With it brought new creative work and challenges, a new level of patience as so many ‘firsts' were experienced, and the beautiful memory of this project’s process–the creation of a very first cookbook that hopes to offer much more than recipes, but act as an tool to help serve each other and our communities well.

Completing a project like VOLUME was intense at the least of times; but I like intense. There is so much to remember and grow from for the next time I plan to write and produce a book in less than one year! There were several moments when we felt as if we were doing things backwards or putting the carriage before the horse, and that was just the nature of the beast. Putting a cookbook together that offered two recipe quantities in one was something never done before and there was much trial and testing to determine the right page layout and verbiage. Not realizing the many layers of editing proved to be the biggest hurdle of all. Many points of waiting proved painful but were essential at the time. Being driven by a deadline was hard, and yet it was one I had put into place and did not want to stray from.

What I cherish so much about this project was the opportunity to collaborate with others who had amazing talents so different than mine, and seeing what we could do when we put all of our skills together. Wow! We felt like stars seeing our project come to life in front of our eyes. For me, that all really rang true when we started the photo shoots. Thrilling, creative times like that certainly fuelled the passion for what our book was growing to be. We had a strong vision and much hope–it was like we had found a secret recipe and couldn’t wait to share it with the world!

 In true Manitoban form, we had a huge welcome mat laid out at our book launch and we are so thrilled by the response and support within our first six weeks of publication. Only 2 months after its release, it is amazing to hear the stories of readers as they try recipes and share them with their own communities. As many look through the photographs they are reminded of what camp meant to them and how it shaped who they have become. We are thrilled to be a part of many communities already.