Cape Breton beacon attracts attention
Lighthouse inspires online apparel company
NEW VICTORIA — A former New Waterford-area resident is hoping an iconic Cape Breton lighthouse will help guide him home 40 years after leaving to pursue a life off-island.
Randall Thompson, a member of Breton Education Centre’s class of 1979 who has lived on Vancouver Island for the past 27 years, has launched an online apparel company that includes a line of Cape Breton Spirit products featuring an artist’s rendition of the Low Point lighthouse in New Victoria that overlooks the mouth of Sydney harbour.
“I’ve always been inspired by the Low Point lighthouse. And I’m not the only one. People love lighthouses,” said Thompson, an author turned entrepreneur who writes under the pen name Randall James and whose works have included a book called Cape Breton Orphan.
“I initially thought the Cape Breton Spirit logo would be iconic Cape Breton images like a lighthouse, lobster or fiddler, so I did a poll and people on our Facebook page responded overwhelmingly in favour of the lighthouse.”
This year, Thompson established his Atlantic Breeze internet-based business. His products include T-shirts, hoodies and baseball caps. The firm’s initial offering features the company’s yellow sailboat logo on various coloured backgrounds.
Thompson was admittedly inspired by the success of East Coast Lifestyle Clothing Inc., a Halifax company that has been selling a popular line of Atlantic Canada-themed apparel since former Acadia University student Alex Maclean founded the enterprise as a class project in 2013.
The seeds of the idea were sown back in 2014, but Thompson put the venture on hold until 2021.
“During the winter, I started to sketch out the Atlantic Breeze image again, then we started a Facebook page and started to present it to Cape Bretoners and everybody seemed to just love it,” he said, adding that a portion of the sales will be donated to the New Waterford Combined Christmas Giving program.
“I was seeing lots of stories about online businesses taking off and it’s nice to see smaller businesses doing well now that online sales are doing so well. It’s a great business to be in now and, hopefully, it continues to be popular after COVID.”
Atlantic Breeze products are all embroidered in Cape Breton, while the V-necked Tshirts are made by Stanfield’s in Truro. Thompson has brought Cape Breton University student Brittany Burke on board as brand manager and chief model.
“I love the meaning behind the brand and its various styles; we strongly believe in supporting local,” said Burke, who takes care of all of the company’s deliveries in the area formerly known as industrial Cape Breton.
Thompson, who also spent time in Calgary working in aircraft repair and as a games developer, said that while Atlantic Breeze has no immediate plans to sell its products in a store, he is looking into the possibility of setting up sales kiosks at events.
As for his repatriation to Cape Breton, Thompson is eyeing a return sometime after the COVID-19 pandemic eases.
“Cape Breton will always be home and, at this point, I’ve had enough of Victoria; I’m ready to move back,” said Thompson.
The first lighthouse was erected at Low Point in 1832 at a cost of 770 pounds. After several adaptations, the lighthouse was completely replaced in 1938. The tower, which is 22 metres tall, became fully automated in 1988. In 2006, it was designated as a National Historic Site under the name of Light Tower, Sydney. The landmark is managed by the Low Point Lighthouse Society.