{"id":85658,"date":"2020-05-21T11:38:17","date_gmt":"2020-05-21T15:38:17","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/huntsville.dopperonline.ca\/?p=85658"},"modified":"2020-05-21T14:26:14","modified_gmt":"2020-05-21T18:26:14","slug":"opening-a-business-during-a-pandemic","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/doppleronline.ca\/huntsville\/opening-a-business-during-a-pandemic\/","title":{"rendered":"Opening a business during a pandemic"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Starting a new business can be a challenging and daunting experience on its own, but throw in a global pandemic that shuts the world down and brings an economy to its knees and it creates a new and unique situation.<\/p>\n

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That was exactly the scenario for Cheryl Wilson, who had originally planned to celebrate the opening of her new store, The Friendly Fox, on Huntsville\u2019s Main Street on March 13, 2020.<\/p>\n

However, COVID-19 made that impossible.<\/p>\n

While the virus may have delayed the store’s opening, it did provide a silver lining for Wilson: her daughter, Jewel Keeter, a.k.a. singer-songwriter Stevie Jewel<\/a><\/span> of Nashville fame, was quarantined on the Canadian side of the border and has been able to assist Wilson and her sister Vanessa Jones in the development of the store.<\/p>\n

While Keeter said she had always been part of the creation of the store, she hadn\u2019t intended to be this involved. “At this particular time I am here because of COVID,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

“In January I was in Nashville and at that time we had no idea what this [COVID-19] was going to turn into. I came back in mid-February and had a trip planned to go back to the U.S. in March, which was cancelled.”<\/p>\n

Wilson and her daughters make a formidable team when it comes to creating a unique store.<\/p>\n

Wilson is the owner of multiple businesses including Muskoka Millwrighting and Machining (MMM), Jones and her husband own and operate Up North Games, and Keeter brings her social media talents to the table, as well as her expertise in purchasing.<\/p>\n

The creation of The Friendly Fox sprang from Wilson\u2019s desire to showcase the artistic side of MMM which is an industrial business of metal design and implementation, Keeter said. They’d had the idea for the store for a few years, but the timing was never right.<\/p>\n

But then the ideal storefront location became available, and Wilson began to set up.<\/p>\n

Keeter said if someone has an idea in mind, MMM can make it come to life. The spiral staircase in the store is a good example, one that highlights the uniqueness of the metal work. “Each step has its own design and the railing features dragonflies,” Keeter said.<\/p>\n

In addition to the metal work, they wanted to include unique items from across Canada, with a special focus on local talent.<\/p>\n

They have brought in bath teas from British Columbia and bracelets by Matilida August from Nova Scotia, Keeter said, as well as Serendipity Candles from Collingwood and local craftspeople like Muskoka Twig and Baggy Pants.<\/p>\n\n\t\t