Bruce Balfour was always the quiet one. When he did speak, he'd say he could hear music: in the fiddleheads as they began to unfurl; in the undulating currents of the river; in the sun as it gently carressed the pebbles of his footpaths. He could hear the heartbeat of the forest.
As Bruce Balfour grew older, he longed to join the chorus, but his stucatto call didn't mirror the depth and subtlety of sounds that surrounded him. His was not the solemn cry of the loon, nor the melodic song of the whippoorwill. But he had an idea: in a shoppe window, Bruce spotted a beautiful old lilac button-accordion with the word 'Acadie' scrolled on the front, a nod to Canada's musical roots. He felt its colour set off the blue of his feathers nicely; the quirky warble of the music it produced: just perfect.
These days, Bruce is never without his accordion, playing all that he hears. No two melodies are alike; all are completely unknown, yet hauntingly familiar.
Le Canot Rouge donates 10% of gross sales to animal welfare causes in support of needy woof-purr-oink-whinnie-moo-baa-chirp-eek-bleet-grunt-hiss-glubs.
Le Canot Rouge prints exclusively on process chlorine-free, Forest Stewardship Council certified, 100% post-consumer recycled fibre paper. The manufacturer purchases enough Green-e certified Renewable Energy Certificates to match 100% of the electricity used in its operations.
