This is Our Town: Derek and Lauren

Here’s the latest edition of This is Our Town. This time we meet the owners of San Juan Canvas…

Derek Steere and Lauren Cohen bought SJ Canvas in April 2009 after having moved to the island about a year before. They had come from Carmel, CA, another small town on the coast, where they were both teachers at the High School there. They also opened a business doing some home remodeling and planned to do the same thing here.

They moved here and opened Treehouse Remodeling, however that was around the time of the 2008 economy crash and business was very slow.

That’s when they heard that Patrick and Andra Pillsbury, owners of SJ Canvas since 2006, were selling so they jumped on it and for a while they ran both businesses, doing canvas all year, and remodeling and cabinetry jobs in the winters. After a few seasons, the winters started to get really busy at the canvas shop so they had to make a choice and they dissolved Treehouse Remodeling.

Just a few of the bags created from leftover fabrics – Tim Dustrude photo

San Juan Canvas was originally started in 1972 by Peter and Susan Risser who owned it until 2006. They do marine canvas primarily, as well as sail repair and recutting, cushions, awnings, and various different bags as an offshoot with all of the leftover fabrics.

Their favorite part of living here: Small town life and a change of the seasons – both weather seasons and busy/relaxed seasons.

You can see more This Is Our Town entries at www.ThisIsOurTown.com.

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