Chewmarks

09/21/2025

Hocus Pocus Hyperfocus: The ADHD Oracle Game Launching on Kickstarter: Oct 6th, 2025

11/24/2021

Last week I got to see some of my favourite faces. I got to tell the creator of this fabulous t-shirt and design that every time I see it in my drawer it makes me smile. Then I think, is this a sharing stories day?

Those days usually mean comfort, community, family and... creativity of some sort. Today was one of those days.

However, I'm still me. There was no clever post planned. I had no easy to access template ready to pop a selfie in. I had already forgotten to take one about 10 times. had a meeting with me later and said, "here let me!" took a screen shot or snap or something and sent it to me with a "where's the best place for this".

She made it easy for me to do this thing. So I could pass this smile on to and let them know, I think of them.

With the encouragement and support of I am sneaking out from behind the monitor to show you a little more of my face.

As always, I draw great solace and inspiration from poetry. Especially that of and perhaps one day my s**t will be together and it'll all make sense... Today is not that day.

05/27/2021

I did a thing! You probably didn't know about it...
because I committed to it months and months and months ago. It was future Brandy's thing to take care of.

But months turned to weeks, then days, then ... P**f. It was done.

Nothing left but the adrenal and cortisol, excitement (& shame).

Oh right, the thing! I did a brief showcase for the Accessibility Cafe this morning! Hi if you're here because of it.

I wasn't going to do it. I felt (feel) like my struggles are not as ... Much? Real? Hard? Tangible? as others. But asked and assured me, that I was welcome. That I belonged. That I had things worthy of sharing. One moment I believe that. The next I don't.

These are just a tiny few ways being an ADHD woman diagnosed in adulthood affects me and my business.

I have been squashing down all sorts of "me" so no one will find out my dirty little secret. Why? Because an excited Brandy was diagnosed in 2018. She felt like she had found the golden ticket. She started telling people her exciting news! Finally, she could fix things! Reach all the crazy goals and build all the beautiful dreams. Until... people started responding. You can't. You must be wrong. So what. Yeah so. Excuses, excuses. Medication is bad. ADHD doesn't exist. Have you tried... trying? Yep. And so much more.

So, I took my diagnosis and all the things that it gave me (positive & negative) and packed it up in a box and tucked it away from sight. If no one sees it they can't judge me for it, right? Wrong!

By hiding my diagnosis, I didn't STOP having ADHD. I didn't rewrite my history, my hardwiring, or my software. I simply tried to drywall over it and slap on some primer and paint. Hoping you'd not find the skeleton.

Well, folks. No more! It's going to take time but I'm getting out the sledgehammer and breaking down that wall. If for no other reason than, other openly neurodivergent folks, especially women, have helped me have the courage and capacity to work with my brain, instead of against it. 🤓😏🎉

02/15/2021

Exactly 1 month ago to the day, a friend messaged me and said something like, "btw if you want to do some super-time-crunchy-work (mostly for fun) the last weekend in January let me know."

31 days (and probably as many hours of missed sleep) we've launched!

Denial & Yearning: A Trashy Le***an Romance Novel Game was created as part of Kickstarter's Zine Quest 3!

The challenge: Launch a two-week project for a single-colour unbound, folded, stapled, or saddle-stitched RPG zine on A5 or smaller paper.

If you are a lover of trashy romance novels and q***r themes, this game is for you! If not, please share it with someone who does. Or someone who may know someone who does. Or in general. 🥰

A storytelling game for two about love, le****ns, and literature. It's complete trash. That's why you'll adore it.

02/03/2021

Yeeeeeah, I know February is the shortest month. But it's going to feel long as hell waiting for this.

I guess I could spend some of that time burning things down.
What else am I going to do? Nothing?

01/05/2021

I am really quite giddy to share this. Swoop Media's new site is LIVE!

Last year was a wild ride. It was ... for a lack of words "a lot".

Having said that, it was also when I got to work with my dear friend, amazing virtual coworker, and all-around fabulous human Laura Hanek. We worked on brand strategy, messaging, brand identity, and her website. (Make no mistake though, if it's an elegant illustration it was ALL her.)

In the best way possible, the site came together in a true collaboration. Critical to its success was having Laura's visual style infused prominently and seamlessly into the brand identity. So we switched up the traditional process and set out on a messy collective iteration journey. It was not seamless, but it was beautiful. We got stuck. We took as many steps backwards as forward.

I am delighted with how things came into being. I am infinitely grateful for having Laura in my life and her trust in mixing business with pleasure, no easy feat.

Besides how often do you get to have your client produce custom illustrations for your content? ;)

(I'll save the rest of my ponderings for the case study. 😅)

I can FINALLY stop holding my breath and announce my brand new website! Give it a visit, I would really appreciate it!

https://www.swoopmedia.ca/

It finally feels like I now have the perfect pair of jeans on with this new visual identity!

Of course this could not have been possible without the wonderful Brandy Wright at Chewmarks. Not only did she build this beautiful site, but also helped me work through what my brand really was. Listened to my ramblings of my dreams and put it into words that I really resonate with. I cannot thank her enough!

07/15/2020

Hard conversations are tricky and emotional. I've been sitting on this post for months. I've been sitting on this idea for years.



The words aren't just catching copywriting; I genuinely hate mentioning it. I could get into all the reasons why, but it ultimately comes down to the fact no one likes to hear this sort of feedback about their business name.



Why? Because our businesses are our babies. They are the offspring of our passions, our values, our identities. They are often so woven into who we are we struggle to separate them.



No one will tell you your name sucks.



To your face.



It's not malicious; everyone tries to keep the metaphorical peace, trying to keep-on, keeping-on.



The issue with that is that a sucky name (a weak name) might not stand up to the test of time. If it's too generic or similar to other businesses, you'll spend considerable time, energy, and money desperately trying to set yourself apart like the dozens of descriptive names in my last hometown. (I moved recently, and I can perform the same exercise in my new town with the word "Limestone").


Many great businesses with many great offerings, lost, because when I tried to google them, or even ask a friend, I couldn't always find them. Over time they may surface. Someone might know the owner, connect me directly, but often valuable traction is lost because they were just too similar to their digital neighbours.



This is just one example of Marty Neumeier's naming criteria, differentiation. Would you like me to discuss others? Any specific one?






@ Kingston, Ontario

07/10/2020

Serendipity has a way of finding you when you least expect it and need it most.
A little isolated pre-covid as a and new parent (okay... a lot isolated). I was doing my digging to integrate into my new community online. I found an event was hosting with and thought, "This looks super cool. I should go." I was wait-listed.
Then I wasn't. I hadn't slept much the night before (re: a couple of hours), but I also hasn't been to a networking event in over a month. I pulled my socks up, got my some caffeine in my system, and made it.
It was one of the most beneficial workshops I've been to. It was also the last in person event on March 13th before things got a little different.
And here I am. Here we are. You never know what choice will lead you where, until you arrive.
.bouvier

07/07/2020

While it may not look like how any of us expected, I am grateful to part of the first cohort for the Rural Mentorship program.

Take a peek at the other brands and the beautiful humans behind them.

Queen's University and Kingston Economic Development Corporation announced today the names of nine rural, women-led businesses that will make up the first cohort of the Rural Mentorship Program.

The three-month Rural Mentorship Program is part of the WE CAN Project at Queen's University, supported with over $3-million in funding from the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario (FedDev Ontario) through the Women Entrepreneurship Strategy (WES).

The program will be delivered by Kingston Economic Development Corporation and led by Claire Bouvier, Small Business Advisor at Kingston Economic Development Corporation.

Designed to provide one-on-one mentorship for rural women entrepreneurs in the Kingston region, the program is tailored to address their specific business goals to help them build and expand their rural enterprises.

Participating companies in the first Rural Mentorship cohort are:

Afiya Beauty (Quinte West) – produces holistic health and clean beauty products for a variety of skin types.

Chewmarks (Kingston Region) – meets the branding needs of tenacious entrepreneurs who need clarity and direction in their business.

Evolution Group Inc. (Gananoque) – provides executive coaching and training to support leaders and teams to build winning organizations.

Handy Fairies (Amherst Island) – provides comprehensive, high quality, and reliable cleaning solutions in the Kingston region.

Haymaker’s Coffee Co. (Wolfe Island) – roasts single origin, microlot coffee in their barn on Wolfe Island.

House of Three (Inverary) – provides a full range of architectural design services for custom homes, small commercial buildings, tenant fit-ups and renovations.

Parks Creek Retreat (Roslin) - a four season getaway with luxury amenities in a beautifully natural setting. Specializes in private getaways, corporate retreats, wellness retreats, intimate weddings and elopements.

Ready to Root (Kingston Region) empowering adventure seekers with convenience kits for intimacy on-the-go.

Skippers Takeout & Catering (Kingston Region) – provides food services for takeout, delivery and catering.

“Helping more women become entrepreneurs is both the right thing to do for our society, and the smart thing to do for our economy," said The Honourable Mélanie Joly, Minister of Economic Development and Official Languages and Minister responsible for the Federal Economic Development Agency for Southern Ontario. "Yet women entrepreneurs face unique challenges, and we’re here to support them. With the support of FedDev Ontario, the WE-CAN Project will help more of them succeed through important mentorship and networking opportunities, and I look forward to seeing the difference it makes for women entrepreneurs across Ontario.”

The next intake for the WE-CAN Rural Mentorship Program is fall 2020.

To learn more about the Rural Mentorship Program, visit https://www.kingstonecdev.com/we-can.