cj's in the news

Sunday June 14th, 2009

The sweet scent of baked goods greets those entering CJ's Cafe in Bronte. Its warm atmosphere and changing artwork means that each visit brings a different experience. The cafe has been open for three years and owner CJ Martin greets every customer with her friendly charm.

CJ Martin has spent the majority of her life in Oakville. Though she is involved in areas of poetry and artistry, she does not consider herself to have a career as a poet or an artist but rather as a business entrepreneur.

"My career is more business and community involvement. Before I opened my cafe I worked for The Oakville Arts Council for three years," she said. "Through this I was able to see where the needs are such as performing space and displaying art space."

After working for non-profit sectors for a number of years, CJ wanted to do something else.

"I just had this vision of having my own cafe where people could display their art and perform," she said.

CJ's Cafe in Bronte differs from the usual Tim Hortons and Starbucks because of CJ's ability to incorporate major media of the arts such as poetry, art and music.

"Because I worked for The Oakville Arts Council, I knew a lot of people who knew other musicians and artists," she said. "I was originally approaching people and booking them, but now a lot of people find out about my place through others. As of right now I am booked with artists until February 2010."

With regards to opening a second cafe, CJ said that the one thing she never wants to do is become a franchise.

"The whole value of the place I have is that it feels like the real thing - it's not just another corporate chain in the world," she said. "I wouldn't open a second CJ's but I would work with people who want to open a cafe, who are similar to myself and collaborate with them. I think it would make more sense and be more authentic."

With her energetic spirit, CJ is currently working on two other projects that involve the environment.

"Right now there is a committee that has just formed to show environmental films on a monthly basis-every fourth Thursday," she said. "It's called Halton Green Screens and it's to raise environmental awareness through showing films about environmental issues."

Others involved in Halton Green Screens are Amy Collard, Jeff Knoll, Nolan Machan and Blake Poland.

"There is already another Green Screens in Toronto so [the committee] already knew which movies they wanted to show," she said. "What we hope is to get a couple hundred people to come to each screening and also to give people a chance to have a discussion afterwards so that we can raise more awareness."

"I just had this vision of having my own cafe where people could display their art and perform."

The second project CJ is working on is developing a piece of land near her cafe into an environmentally friendly area.

"The property has been purchased and I will be involved in the planning and development of it. We are looking at green rooms, green technology, and just making it into an environmentally green site," she said.

CJ credits her environmental consciousness to the time she spent at university.

"At university, everyone was talking about being environmentally conscious. I got involved with volunteering and different organizations," she said.

Between her cafe and projects on the side, CJ says that she hopes to accomplish transcendence, bliss and world peace. To work toward this, there are two artists she has been gravitating towards whom she would like to pay tribute to.

"Most people have heard of the name Picasso but not every has heard of Wassily Kandansky or Franz Marc," she said. "Some time over the next ten years, I would like to write either a novel or a book of poems that brings more consciousness to them."

MORE INFORMATION
CJ's Cafe in Bronte This is a link to CJ's home page.

Halton Green Screens
This is a link to one of CJ's current environmental projects.

Click here for pictures from CJ's Cafe in Bronte where CJ herself and artists Lyn Estall and Lesha Kokosky are setting up their artwork.

PHOTO BY FARRAH RICHARDSON
CJ Martin displaying the current artwork in her cafe.

 

 

 

Estall debuts new line at CJ's in Bronte

Arts & Entertainment

Apr 23, 2009

Lyn Estall is probably best known for her cat paintings and her well-known and internationally distributed TC & Friends cat calendars and stationary line.

She has also painted may public murals, including at OTMH, and has won awards for her encaustics and environmental art.

Her paintings and sculptures are in collections around the world.

For those who have followed Estall’s artistic career over the years, it will come as no surprise that she is now turning her highly creative hand to jewelry, as she is always trying something new.

But when asked “why jewelry?” the answer is surprisingly practical.

“My husband is retiring soon and I suppose this is my ‘feeble’ attempt at downsizing. I have always been prolific and earrings are easier to house than sculptures and large paintings, and I still get to play with colour and natural elements like stones and metal. Earrings are like mini-sculptures – art-for-ears! ”

Her spring/summer line is largely comprised of combinations of semi-precious stone – amethyst and jade, turquoise, aquamarine, carnelian plus lots of fresh water pears, quarts and crystal and art-glass etc.

Estall will be serving wine and cheese for a fun night for people to try on her new work, in her new "mini-shop" located within CJ’s Café in Bronte.

Owner CJ Martin and Estall have known each other for around 10 years, first through the Visual Word group for poets and painters, then as friends and fellow artists.

“I have three gallery spaces within the Café,” explains Martin. “The front is for paintings, the back is usually photography, and I wanted the section in the middle to not be art for the walls, but to be art you can wear or give as a fun gift. And who better than the highly creative Estall to do that?

Everything she does is fun and creative!”
CJ’s Café in Bronte is located at 2416 Lakeshore Road West, just east of Bronte Road. There is a map on www.cjscafeinbronte.com

CJ's Cafe Celebrates third anniversary

By Farrah Richardson -Arts & Entertainment

Apr 02, 2009

CJ Martin has had a busy three years establishing the community hotspot CJ’s Café in Bronte.
Over the last three years, the Café has hosted over 100 free Sunday concerts featuring local musicians, over 50 month-long visual art shows featuring local artists, more than a dozen free literary gatherings; classes in painting and djembe drumming, and started bringing music to Bronte on Holiday Mondays.

In the year ahead, CJ already has lined up more arts and culture events to add to the already busy program, including full-day outdoor concerts for every Holiday Monday and Canada Day, hosted by various local music personalities.

In addition, there will be six full Saturdays of retro-rock put on by Roger Lapworth of the Retro Rock Lounge and two afternoons featuring a full Big Band with local bandleader Don Singular Memory Lane Orchestra.

The Café has raised approximately $10,000 cash for local charities through ticketed concerts with top-level Canadian performers, primarily benefitting the Oakville Arts Council and the Oakville and District Humane Society.

The Café has also given thousands of dollars in in-kind support to local charities who need auction items for their fundraisers.

At the same time, Martin has also been consistently moving forward with improvements to environmental responsibility, including reducing energy use by 10% per year, reducing food wastage to almost zero, and switching to organic and fair trade coffees, espresso and teas.

On the eve of her third anniversary in Bronte, Martin again wants to focus outward on a community need.

On Monday April 13, which is the Easter Holiday Monday, coffee will be free all day long with a donation to help the Jalalabad school for girls in Afghanistan. The school is a key project of several of her customers, who belong to the group Canadians in Support of Afghan Women.

Beverly Le Francois, an Oakville resident, is one of the many volunteers who created an organization designed to help the children of Afghanistan.

“I was one of the founders of Canadians in Support of Afghan Woman in 1999 and I have been working with other volunteers to raise money to send to Afghanistan so that girls can go to school,” said Le Francois.

CJ has known Bev Le Francois for over 10 years, and has supported CSAW’s efforts by sponsoring the salary of a teacher for the last few years.

In Afghanistan, an education often means life or death. There is no longer a functioning education system. Children gather in tents and desperately try to learn to read and write. Often these tents are destroyed due to massive sand storms. Resources and supplies are scarce, funding is limited, and females suffer the most.

Canadians in Support of Afghan Women “dared to dream” and successfully built a school outside of Jalalabad. “A retired engineer from Calgary provided half of the money and the rest came from fundraisers here in Oakville. We were able to take $100,000 and build a school in three months. There are 10 rooms, bathrooms, and a lunch room and the school will also be used as a community centre,” she said.

Now that the school has been built, there are much needed school supplies that Le Francois is hoping to ship to Afghanistan as soon as possible. “We need to raise $23,000 in order to give supplies to the school. CJ’s Café in Bronte is helping us fundraise,” she said. “The children in Afghanistan want so much to be educated. They know it is their only hope. They are just trying to survive out there. The community where the school is located agrees that the only thing that will change the circumstances is to educate the children. ” she said.

“As a woman in Canada who owns my own home, owns my own business and contributes actively to my community,” says CJ, “the best way I can think of to celebrate is to share with others who don’t have the same freedoms as I do right now, to help them move forward in their lives. So to celebrate my anniversary on Monday April 13, anyone who buys a coffee that day will have the money channeled into a donation box. They can either donate the value of their coffee or make a larger donation and get a tax receipt from CSAW. Donations will be accepted all week leading up to the 13th, and on the 13th I won’t take any money for coffees – it all goes into the donation box. And everyone who comes can also enjoy the award-winning folk duo John and Sheila Ludgate, who will join in the celebration with a free concert from noon to 2PM.”

“Girls are in school again in Afghansitan,” says Bev, “but not in the numbers that they used to be because of the Taliban and the fear,” she said. “What’s happening in Afghanistan will be a slow evolution.”

To find out more about CJ’s Café in Bronte go www.cjscafeinbronte.com, and to find out more about the school visit www.canadiansupportafghanwomen.ca

Art show

Arts & Entertainment

Apr 03, 2009

The photography of Derik Hawley and the paintings of Heather Sinnott will be shown in an exhibition called Bypassing the Mind and the Logic in Pictures in April at CJ’s Café, 2416 Lakeshore Rd. W. An opening will be held April 7 from 6:30 to 8 p. m.

Hawley began taking photographs three years ago while visiting Vienna.

His master’s thesis “Logic in Pictures” was published online by the University of Waterloo.

Sinnott is a Brampton-based artist who has been painting over 10 years and is now emerging professionally into the industry. She is a graduate of Sheridan College and Bishop’s University Honours BFA program and attended York University for post grad studies in design.

For details, visit www.cjscafeinbronte.com .

March 12th, 2009

CJ Martin promotes environmental activism
By Farrah Richardson

The sweet scent of baked goods greets those entering CJ’s Café in Bronte. Its warm atmosphere and changing artwork means that each visit brings a different experience. The café has been open for three years and owner CJ Martin greets every customer with her friendly charm.

CJ Martin has spent the majority of her life in Oakville. Though she is involved in areas of poetry and artistry, she does not consider herself to have a career as a poet or an artist but rather as a business entrepreneur.

“My career is more business and community involvement. Before I opened my café, I worked for The Oakville Arts Council for three years,” she said. “Through this I was able to see where the needs are such as performing space and displaying art space.”

After working for non-profit sectors for a number of years, CJ wanted to do something else.

“I just had this vision of having my own café where people could display their art and perform,” she said.

CJ’s Café in Bronte differs from the usual Tim Hortons and Starbucks because of CJ’s ability to incorporate major media of the arts such as poetry, art and music.

“Because I worked for The Oakville Arts Council, I knew a lot of people who knew other musicians and artists,” she said. “I was originally approaching people and booking them, but now a lot of people find out about my place through others. As of right now I am booked with artists until February 2010.”

With regards to opening a second café, CJ said that the one thing she never wants to do is become a franchise.

“The whole value of the place I have is that it feels like the real thing - it’s not just another corporate chain in the world,” she said. “I wouldn’t open a second CJ’s but I would work with people who want to open a café, who are similar to myself and collaborate with them. I think it would make more sense and be more authentic.”

With her energetic spirit, CJ is currently working on two other projects that involve the environment.

“Right now there is a committee that has just formed to show environmental films on a monthly basis-every fourth Thursday,” she said. “It’s called Halton Green Screens and it’s to raise environmental awareness through showing films about environmental issues.”

Others involved in Halton Green Screens are Amy Collard, Jeff Knoll, Nolan Machan and Blake Poland.

“There is already another Green Screens in Toronto so [the committee] already knew which movies they wanted to show,” she said. “What we hope is to get a couple hundred people to come to each screening and also to give people a chance to have a discussion afterwards so that we can raise more awareness.”

“I just had this vision of having my own café where people could display their art and perform.”

The second project CJ is working on is developing a piece of land near her café into an environmentally friendly area.

“The property has been purchased and I will be involved in the planning and development of it. We are looking at green rooms, green technology, and just making it into an environmentally green site,” she said.

CJ credits her environmental consciousness to the time she spent at university.

“At university, everyone was talking about being environmentally conscious. I got involved with volunteering and different organizations,” she said.

Between her café and projects on the side, CJ says that she hopes to accomplish transcendence, bliss and world peace. To work toward this, there are two artists she has been gravitating towards whom she would like to pay tribute to.

“Most people have heard of the name Picasso but not every has heard of Wassily Kandansky or Franz Marc,” she said. “Some time over the next ten years, I would like to write either a novel or a book of poems that brings more consciousness to them.”

February 26, 2009

CJ's cafe in Bronte supports environmental activism
By Farrah Richardson

In the coffee world, places such as Tim Hortons and Starbucks are household names. CJ’s Café, which opened three years ago in Bronte offers a different vision of the coffee shop. With its artwork on the wall, it strives to maintain its support for local artists, as well as being environmentally conscious.

“At CJ’s Café, local artists can come and put some of their work on display,” said Fitz McGoey, manager of CJ’s Café. “We also have live music every Sunday as well as during the week. This Friday we are featuring Dusty Bohdan.”

CJ Martin, owner of CJ’s Café, is a poet, writer and artist. She is heavily involved in the community and a percentage of the proceeds from events at her café are donated to local charities and her sponsors. CJ Martin is also one of five involved in Halton Green Screens, a series of films shown at Encore Cinema in Oakville to promote environmental awareness.

“I like how involved she is with the environment and supporting artists. She does her part to try and reduce garbage and energy use at the café."

CJ’s Café in Bronte differs from other coffee shops as it provides organic beverages and coffee that is free trade. There are also menu items suited for vegetarians, vegans and health food junkies, plus a catering menu for business functions and parties.

“We serve organic coffee, organic salads, wraps, sandwiches and breakfast,” said McGoey. “We also provide catering and take-out options.”

McGoey said that he started working at CJ’s Café in Bronte because of the environmental activism that owner CJ Martin is involved in.

“I like how involved she is with the environment and supporting artists. She does her part to try and reduce garbage and energy use at the café,” said McGoey.

CJ’s offers a 10 cent discount to those who choose to use a travel mug.

“One of the ways we try to reduce garbage is by recycling, giving the 10 cent discount to people who use travel mugs, and by using china to serve customers who will be sitting in the café,” said McGoey.

CJ’s Café in Bronte is opened Monday to Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 8:30 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. It is located at 2416 Lakeshore Rd West.

For more, information you can visit its website at www.cjscafeinbronte.com or call 905- 465- 0411

Guitarist at CJ’s

Arts & Entertainment

Feb 25, 2009

Musician Dusty Bohdan takes the stage at CJ’s Café in Bronte, 2416 Lakeshore Rd W. on Friday, Feb. 27 at 8 p. m.

Bohdan was a member of Jeff Healey’s band in the mid-’80s. His solo guitar playing has been featured on many radio programs.

Tickets cost $20 and include food, coffee and a cash bar.

Proceeds go to the Oakville Arts Council.

Tickets are available at CJ’s Café or by calling 905-465-0411.

At the café

Feb 06, 2009

IN BRONTE: Printmaker Kristian Nesbitt and photographer Joanna Muckle opened their exhibit at CJ’s Café in Bronte Tuesday night. Here Nesbitt stands beside his piece Untitled while Muckle holds Antelope Canyon. Nesbitt's show is a overview of his work from the last two years after graduating from Georgian College. Muckle's work is a sample of her lifelong passion for photography. CJ’s Café in Bronte is located at 2416 Lakeshore Rd. W. For information, visit www.cjscafeinbronte.com or call 905-465-0411.

Art show in Bronte

Arts & Entertainment

Jan 16, 2009

The work of Peter Marangi and Heidi Rohde will fill the front and back galleries of CJ’s Café in Bronte until Feb. 3.

Peter Marangi is an illustrator/artist who’s been intrigued with the arts since childhood. He has done work for clients like the Vatican, Oxford University, Microsoft, C. A. W. and many others.

Heidi Rohde is a Burlington artist who taught visual arts for many years and now enjoys painting full-time, as well as teaching workshops and courses in pastel. Her subject matter includes still life and animals, but she has been concentrating on the beauty of the Niagara Escarpment close to her Burlington home, striving to capture the colours, textures and forms of this unique environment..

CJ’s Café in Bronte is located at 2416 Lakeshore Rd. W. For information, go to www.cjscafeinbronte.com or call 905-465-0411.

Art in all shapes and sizes Photo Gallery

Jan 09, 2009

Peter Marangi’s daughters Marianna and Eva, created Popsicle stick people to sell at the opening of their father's and Heidi Rhode's show. The show is at CJ’s Café in Bronte until Feb. 3. CJ’s Café in Bronte is located at 2416 Lakeshore Rd. W. For information, go to www.cjscafeinbronte.com or call 905-465-0411.

The beat goes on Photo Gallery

Jan 09, 2009

HANDS-ON STYLE: Djembe instructor Kevork Guerguerian, with first time Djembe player and CJ’s Café patron Teri Renaud, left, demonstrates the drumming techniques he teaches at his Tuesday classes at the Bronte café. Guerguerian teaches traditional African rhythms in six-week programs throughout the year. The first begins on Jan. 13. Students can borrow a djembe during the lesson. For information, visit www.handsofrhythm.com .

New art show opens at local café Arts & Entertainment

Jan 07, 2009

The work of Peter Marangi and Heidi Rohde will fill the front and back galleries of CJ’s Café in Bronte until Feb. 3.

Peter Marangi is an illustrator/artist who’s been intrigued with the arts since childhood. He has done work for clients like the Vatican, Oxford University, Microsoft, C. A. W. and many others.

Heidi Rohde is a Burlington artist who taught visual arts for many years and now enjoys painting full-time, as well as teaching workshops and courses in pastel. Her subject matter includes still life and animals, but she has been concentrating on the beauty of the Niagara Escarpment close to her Burlington home, striving to capture the colours, textures and forms of this unique environment.

CJ’s Café in Bronte is located at 2416 Lakeshore Rd. W.

For information, go to www.cjscafeinbronte.com or call 905-465-0411.

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