About Us   This is me, I'm Stephen. Born in Toronto, my parents moved to the west coast when I was fifteen, but it took me a while to finally settle here. I studied psychology at McGill for a couple of years, decided it wasn't for me and I went to England to study film-making for two years. When I came back to Canada I was hopelessly unprepared for the task of looking for work in films and ended up working at a theatre school in Winnipeg thanks to an old friend. Finally got my big break and worked on a feature film in Winnipeg doing continuity. There was only one other person doing that job in Canada in those days so the producer told me I'd have lots of work if I followed them back to Toronto. Trouble was...I hated the work and decided to head for British Columbia and turn myself into a country boy. Started making pots, got ridiculously hooked, moved to the potter's paradise of Hornby Island, and after thirty-three years I'm still here, making pots and lovin' it. This is Robyn, my good friend and wife. Robyn spent much of her life as a dancer, most notably with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet. We met in 1991 when she was visiting her father who happened to live right next door to me on Hornby. Newcomers to the island are sometimes latched onto quite quickly so I tried not to waste any time. I invited her to play tennis...and she said no. Then I lent her my bicycle, and she seemed to soften up a little. Before you know it, we were eating muffins at the Ringside Market and somehow I convinced her to move in. She works at the Cardboard House Bakery during the summer and helps run things around here the rest of the time. What's our place like? We are situated on 8 acres of woodland forest, just a fifteen minute walk from the lovely Grassy Point beach. Our house and pottery studio share a beautiful peaceful meadow near the middle of the property.The meadow is a magnet for local deer, dragonflies, swallows, and a whole host of other creatures. The original design of our house was drawn up with the idea of facilitating the house's division into two completely separate sections. So the rental suite is entirely self-contained and acts as if it were a separate house. Previously, in the converted studio cottage, our guests had only 576 square feet of space. In the new Suite, guests now have the use of 840 square feet--45% more! The upstairs bedroom has one queen bed and one twin bed with enough room for one more on the floor if needed in a pinch. The downstairs bedroom has two twins. The kitchenette comes equipped with everything you should need including a full-size refrigerator, a microwave, an electric stew pot, a toaster oven, a blender, a coffee maker and more. Have a good look at the photo gallery to get a better idea of what the Suite is like. Outside the Suite, you have your own completely private area with a picnic table and chairs. There is no smoking in the Suite, and pets are not permitted. A major plus about our place is that the water is excellent, without any of the sulphury, rotten-eggs taste that is so common on the island. What about sheets and towels? Because of the shortage of water on Hornby it is customary for renters to bring their own sheets and towels to save us the need to do large loads of laundry. If this is an impossibility (for instance, if flying into Vancouver and renting a car) we will gladly supply sheets and towels for an additional $50. Do we welcome children? Absolutely. Most of our guests bring their kids along. The meadow offers a nice, safe location for the kids to play. Stephen is happy to let them watch him if he happens to be making any pottery. And included for all our guests who would like to try some pottery (children and adults) are two 90-minute pottery sessions as well as materials and kiln firing for two pots per person. This option is entirely up to you—there's no need to feel obligated. If you have any specific questions, we can be reached at: stephenarthurs@gmail.com