Tuckamore: The Story Behind Our Name and Vision for our Homestead
“Is Tuckamore your last name?” “What’s a ‘Tuckamore’?”
How do you sum up a feeling? Your vision, hopes, experiences past, present, future, your one day legacy…your everything… into a two word name?
How do you succinctly capture it?
If you know me, you know I agonized over our name and branding like our logo, colours, our philosophy (found at the bottom of our story page, it might make most sense after reading this post!), and font.
I had obsessively been rambling, writing, brainstorming, and essentially driving Lloyd (and anyone who would listen) batty to no end, and had worried that ‘something homestead’ or ‘something house’ was never going to see the light of day.
It was through the everyday, mundane task of folding and putting away laundry that ‘Tuckamore’ came to be. You know when you’re half listening, full folding, and a little bit some place else day-dreaming? That was it.
Me (folding, in our apartment bedroom): “ What about Maple…Maple Hill House…no that’s already in use. Fox Downs Homestead something? No, remember that documentary we watched where the fox were fighting amongst themselves? Was it the fox that ate the cubs in the end? I can’t remember but it’s enough to say no on that one!”
Lloyd (in his man-cave chair): “Yep. That one.”
One of the vision boards I put together while working with our amazing graphic designer, Katherine. I wanted to map out what the seasons would look like at Tuckamore.
Themed, homegrown food, old time feeling decor, fresh cut flowers, community celebrations and gatherings. Katherine was heaven sent. She actually wanted as much as I could give her surrounding our vision and listened and cared for the brand development as though it were her own.
I filled pages with sketches, jotted down words that ‘felt right’ and that signified what the homestead would be to us, to our family, and one day, we hoped, our community.
Our farmhouse build hadn’t been started yet but you know one thing I knew I wanted? A wooden sign at the bottom of the driveway.
I pictured the sign here by this apple tree. This photo was snapped before the house had been completely finished. Spot the construction dumpster?
Almost like one of those bed and breakfast crests, but with Something Homestead or Something House, on it. A sign you could see before you saw the house and know you were home.
‘Tuckamore House’ was a close second name.
I thought I might one day dabble in home design. Ultimately we choose Homestead as it reflected our overall goal of a more intentional, slow fashioned style of living. Tuckamore is our umbrella term we will use for whichever sub directions we decide to take.
It would be months before we broke ground on the farmstead build but I had years of pining, pinning, and planning while we served a decade’s long stint in Newfoundland and Labrador, during Lloyd’s Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) days.
I actually chose our reclaimed hardwood flooring while we lived in Newfoundland, our house plans had been years in the making. Planning the house offered comfort and hope for an eventual one day return home.
Vision board: Autumn at Tuckamore
Lloyd and I both come from a small tight knit community on Cape Breton Island; an island bursting with culture, world renowned scenery, and community spirit. Our Newfoundland days were at times tough. We both missed home, family and friends, and the community we were raised by.
It was in Cape Breton that the seeds of our back to basics journey had been planted years ago. Our friends, family, and community had made us feel as though we belonged so much so that we had no choice but to return someday.
Being away were some of the hardest years for both of us, we were in tough careers (policing, and I was in the social work sector for a brief time), and felt the wear and tear of being under pressure from the demanding responsibilities our lines of work had brought us.
We wanted a logo that felt time worn and hard working but not stuffy or tired. It needed to still be welcoming and warm. The bee is central to our design not only to pay homage to our bee keeping roots but because of all that the bee represents.
A separate post could be filled with characteristics the bee community brings that we hope to emulate: strong work ethic, community mindedness, adaptiveness, sharing of harvest. This list goes on and continues to grow as we work with and learn from these amazing creatures. It’s the pairing of the word ‘Tuckamore’ and the hand sketched drawing of the bee that serve as a medium to tell others our intentions behind our homestead.
One of the hardest bits for me while living away was a homesick heart.
Our solace? Friendship and kindness we found in our Newfoundland communities.
The people were welcoming and offered a firmiliar community spirit we had known in Cape Breton.
The Newfoundlanders knew of similar struggles that islanders can face, changing economies from shrinking populations and the impacts those circumstances have on families and the broader community.
They got us. And accepted us as though we were their own. We were able to volunteer and get active in our church. One of my best friends was a woman a few years (or more) my senior who seemed to always know, without me needing too say it, that what I really needed was some conversation over a hot cup of tea and some sweets.
I grew up going to weekly teas with aunts on my mum’s side (a large extended family). Affectionately known as ‘hen parties’, they shaped my world and I think I have them to thank for always feeling like the oldest young person in the room.
Our type font is a traditional style, I had found Katherine through her online shop. Originally I was looking for custom, personal address stamps, not a graphic designer, but fell in love with her work that felt like it was from another time. Her stamps reminded me of the Harry Potter Hogwarts acceptance letters!
I reached out to Katherine and asked if she would consider designing our logo, she graciously said yes.
Okay.
How did we come to choose ‘Tuckamore’?
We learned of the Tuckamore while living in a smaller northern community in rural Newfoundland.
Tuckamore trees are more so a formation, rather than a type of tree. Positioned on the harsh coastal banks of northern communities, the trees and shrubs need to grown with the wind and tough elements in order to survive.
In doing so, they form little communities and safe havens for one another, and small animals in their surrounding area.
“Despite being weathered by the seasons, Tuckamore are sturdy, resilient, hard working, and proof that we can grow, especially, through adversity if we are able to trust and bend with where the wind is taking us. ”
Our colour scheme. I love that the colours feel neutral and earthy. Calm and welcoming.
The lighter colours are uplifting and airy. They remind me of multi-coloured fresh picked eggs, while the darker colours offer a sense of grounding.
Tuckamore prove that adversity, especially, can shape us. Sometimes we find ourselves in more harsh conditions than we might choose, but growth is possible and sometimes, discomfort brings the most meaningful of growth that will change us for a lifetime.
The Tuckamore remind Lloyd and I of our Cape Breton roots and upbringing as well as our found community of Newfoundland and Labrador.
I still get a bit misty eyed as I type that. It means so much to us to carry this name, it holds our past that’s shaped who we are and guides us to where we want to go in the future.
Our Tuckamore print serves as an anchor in our home.
Flash-forward a few years later in our Halifax apartment, folding laundry trying to think of our name, I look up to see a painting we had taken back with us from Newfoundland. We spotted it while visiting Gros Morne National Park but it was a bit pricey so we decided to wait. Before we left the island to move home, Lloyd surprised me with the print, a beautiful, large scene of the Tuckamore.
Me (still folding): “No, Lloyd, the name’s got to be perfect…it’s…I’VE GOT IT…” Running out of our bedroom, misty eyed, I blurted out, “TUCKAMORE!”
Our vision, 2019, succinctly summed up by our ever talented, Katherine. Thank you, Katherine, for all that you are and for saying yes to helping us bring our Tuckamore vision to life. We are forever grateful.
Thank you so much for taking the time to pop by today!
I hope it is more clear as to why we chose the name Tuckamore and elements like the bee to signify our vision! We hope to prove worthy of the name and look forward to sharing as we continue on with this ever evolving journey.
Hope to see you again soon, -Samantha