Mearnie Summers

 "Over the years I've taught dancing and the uses of chainsaws. I've hauled cows and bulldozers on my barges to remote places, built docks, called square dances, even played professional baseball to put myself through university. Now I fashion rustic tables and benches out of arbutus and red cedar. Wonderful the way arbutus branches seem to flow. My Dad used to say, "One lives the most who touches life the most." Yes, touching life!"

from Salt Spring Island: the People, the Place, Chu'an Publishing, 2004.

Mearnie creates benches, walking sticks, chairs, tables, coffee tables, bookcases, headboards, and other rustic furniture. Each piece is specially crafted to reflect the rhythm and flow of the wood she finds in the forests and on the beaches of Salt Spring Island.

furniture by Mearnie Summers, upholstery by Caffyn Kelley

You are welcome to come by and see what Mearnie has available. She also takes special orders.

Mearnie Summers was a renowned athlete in her teens and twenties. She played for many championship teams including the Eilers (Basketball) and Western Mutual (Softball). She played professional softball for the Chicago Bluebirds. Mearnie also coached many sports and dance teams. She taught sports, dance, and movement education in Vancouver for 22 years, at elementary, high school and university. She was a professional square dance caller who is remembered fondly by Vancouver dancers for the years she called huge outdoor dances at Vancouver's Stanley Park. Mearnie has sailed since the 1960's, traveling as far away as Tahiti. She was the first woman to sail solo around Vancouver Island (in a 24-foot boat, 1968).

In 1980 she bought and ran a general store at Surge Narrows B.C. She also operated barges and built floats while living in Indian Arm. Her 130-acre property there, Thwaytes Landing, is now a park -- thanks to a large donation from Mearnie! (Fundraising for Thwaytes Landing continues via The Land Conservancy.)

Mearnie and Caffyn have lived together since 1986. They are active in GLOSSI (Gays and Lesbians of Salt Spring Island) and the Japanese Garden Society.

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