Welcome to Suite City Woman (SCW)! I’m Roxanne, maker, restorer, re-imagineer, small business owner and miniaturist.

SCW started as a site where I supported and featured all things LeCaShe (pronounced Le-Ca-shay), an acronym I created which stands for Local economy, Craftspeople and artist, and Second-hand economy. I believed and still do, that you can make incredibly creative spaces by supporting some or all the LeCaShe principles.

In 2019 I started my company @hollisnewtoncanada and was about to do an official launch in the Spring of 2020 when the world went into lock down.

I was unable to return to @burkcraft where I had been restoring antique and vintage furniture with Berkley and Pam as my senseis. Together they have over 80 years in the upholstery and furniture restoration trade.

That first weekend of the lockdown I started making my first miniatures since childhood. It was initially a pivot to keep myself busy and it quickly become a new passion.  And then added bonus is that other people liked them too. So fast forward a few years and I’m working the miniatures while incorporating the principles of LeCaShe.

As far as Hollis Newton goes, the store is still open online and there are some beautifully reimaged pieces there that I’m absolutely proud of.

The Russell Chair, upholstered by SCW for Hollis Newton

About the title “SCW”. I’m a lover of  R&B, rock & roll, jazz, soul, hip-hop, reggae, soca, calypso, African beats…you name it. Music plays a big role in my life and there’s bound to be tunes spinning in the background or streaming in my headphones as I work my way through a project. Little wonder, it’s to music that I found my blog title, a play on words from the song “Sweet City Woman”, a hit by Canadian rock band, The Stampeders in 1971.