In the downtown core of Dawson Creek sits a little shop that serves as a safe space for book nerds, yarn aficionados, the queer community, and those who are just wondering.
They also serve coffee and treats.
Faking Sanity is a used bookstore/yarn store/coffee shop that is sometimes referred to by certain folks as “the gay store” or “that lesbian store.”
Which is hilarious to the owners, Cindy Dechief and Lou Lachance.
“Right from the beginning, people assumed we were a couple, which we’ve never been,” said Cindy.
“We’re not even lesbians,” said Lou with a laugh.
Cindy identifies as bisexual and uses she/her pronouns, while Lou identifies as a non-binary transperson, uses they/them pronouns and figures pansexual is likely the modern equivalent to their orientation.
The duo are not only co-owners of Faking Sanity, but also the founders of Peace Region Fibre Fest, because as they said during a sit-down in the shop after hours, all of their big decisions seem to happen on a whim – from buying a business to buying the whole building they’re currently set up in.
Cindy and Lou are both avid fibre artists, finding yarn as a medium and the process of knitting to be the ideal outlet for their creativity.
“Knitting is very different than a lot of people think,” said Cindy.
“There’s been a big movement of knitting as cultural change, like knitting the resistance hats when things are bad in the States and like knitting the emotional support chickens, or the purple hats for shaken baby syndrome. People are using it as an awareness tool; I think that has really helped get knitting out into a new group of people that weren’t really interested before.”
This is especially true in the age of the internet. Once upon a time, you would have to find someone to teach you to knit or crochet or quilt or embroider; nowadays, you can find tutorials everywhere on YouTube.
“You don’t need to have your grandma that knows how to knit teach you,” said Cindy.
“Now you can access all this information and designs from anywhere.”
The shop takes care to stock mostly natural fibre yarns because, as Lou says, they believe in community over competition and offer yarns that can’t be found at other stores. Lou said both they and Cindy prefer the feel of natural wool or wool blended with silk, mohair, or nylon for strength when it comes to hard-wearing items, like socks.
“There is so much variety in natural fibres,” said Lou. “Want a drapey fabric for an elegant shawl? Try silk or bamboo.
“Want a naturally fire-resistant material for baby items? Choose a 100% natural wool, which is self-extinguishing, and doesn’t melt to a baby’s skin like a lot of synthetic fibres would.
“Want something super warm? Wool is insulating and warm, even when wet.
“Want something even warmer? Yak and cashmere are both more than four times warmer than wool.
“Want something with natural SPF? Spin up some yarn out of pearl fibre.
Something naturally cooling? Try cotton, bamboo, linen or even peppermint fibre yarns.”
Lou likes to add some whimsy to their patterns, creating wearables with dinosaurs and a mix of colours, including a northern lights cowl.
“Geeky and gay is how I would describe it,” Lou laughed.
Cindy has designed several shawl patterns and made more hats than she could ever hope to wear.
“At one point, I probably had enough hats for a hat a day through the winter,” she said.
Rise of yarn
The novelty of such an analog artform saw a rise in recent years, as people search for ways to fuel their creativity while stepping back from the abundance of technology that surrounds us everywhere we go.
Part of this may be why fibre festivals that showcase the materials any maker could want are popping up in major centres, like Surrey and Edmonton, but also in smaller communities, like 100 Mile House and Millarville.
It was during their attendance at the Great Northwest Fibre Fest in Prince George that Lou and Cindy thought there was an appetite for such an event in the Peace Region.
“It was very different, because they were catering towards the seniors community,” Cindy said. “They even had a seniors choir singing songs with yarn-y lyrics… it was cute, but not really our thing.”
On the four-hour drive back to Dawson Creek, they worked through the logistics of starting a fibre showcase that was more their thing and what it would take to get an event like that up and running. Peace Fibre Fest was born.
“It’s just how we do things,” Cindy laughed.
Peace Fibre Fest sees hundreds of fibre enthusiasts wander through the Dawson Creek Curling Club the last Sunday of April every year; some are looking at hand-spun, hand-dyed wools from alpacas, llama, camels, and sheep, while others are there to find hand crafted yarn bowls, needles, hooks, and stitch markers.
It’s also an opportunity to try a fibre art you’ve never tried before. There are always classes with local artists teaching macrame, felting, crochet, and other techniques.
And if you missed out on that, they hold Knit Nights every Thursday at the shop for people to bring in their projects and work in the company of like-minded crafters.
A store with pride
One of the first things that will draw your eye as you walk into the shop is the Pride swag display just past the coffee counter. They have everything from stickers and earrings to mugs and pins featuring any flag you want, and if they don’t have it, they’ll track it down.
“[The younger generation will] come in and they’re like, do you have a flag for like the one… I didn’t know what it was,” Lou started.
“Abrosexual,” Cindy supplied.
“Yes, that!,” Lou said, continuing. “We don’t have the flag yet, but explain what it is to me, and I’ll check and see if I can get the flag kind of thing.”
“It is really interesting that the Pride community has changed a lot,” Cindy said.
Cindy and Lou helped bring Pride to Dawson Creek by organizing the first Pride Walk five years ago. It has since grown into a surprisingly large event for such a small town.
“We’ve had kids who came to us and said, ‘I need a safe space to come out’,” said Lou. “They say ‘I want somebody who’s not going to be mad at me for this and my family’s not supportive.’”
Lou began living as their authentic self several years ago, and though they were worried about how people would react, it hasn’t hurt their business in any real way.
“Occasionally, we’ve still got a little kid going, so are you a boy or a girl? And you know what? We don’t have a problem with that,” said Lou.
“Sometimes the parents are embarrassed…I take a cue from them if they want me to answer, and I just say, well, why do you think I have to be one or the other, or does it matter?”
“It’s nice to have conversations,” said Cindy.
“And maybe that kid won’t be afraid to be queer and start their own business someday,” said Lou.
The most important thing about Faking Sanity for Lou and Cindy is that it is a safe space for everyone — and they do mean everyone.
“A lot of people come in because they know we’re a safe space,” said Cindy.
“We have lots of people in the LGBT community, and some that are both, and some that have issues with the other. But we try to make it a safe space for everybody.”
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