The Beava Blog
Inaugural Post!
Behind the Design: the Beava Divas.
Let's preface this with the name of our audacious enterprise. When Jessica and I were discussing our prospective brand, we knew we wanted to embrace our Canadian-ness. It is 2026, and our downstairs neighbour's place is in utter disarray -- politically. Both of us agree with our P.M., Mark Carney, that the world order and relationships are changing.
Just as we were as "elbows up" as we could reasonably be given our respective budgets, we hoped to steer away from American suppliers, etc., at least until this multi-year tantrum ends. We figured we'd have some Canadiana type products as well.
So began my "insert phrase into Google and see how much it's used" endeavour, and we chose "Beava Tales". "Beava" to rhyme with "Diva" (an old nickname of mine), and an "IYKYK" reference to "Beaver Tails", the delicious pastry we'd like to think is ours. "Tales" because we have stories to tell, as will our clothes.
Of course, as women, Jessica and I um, have, "beavers", so I decided we would be represented by two silly looking beavers. I hadn't thought of "us" as the logo until I finished. So here is a breakdown of our beavers...
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Jessica is vertically privileged. I am more attuned to gravity.
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Fur colours: Jessica is white; I am ethnically Chinese. I didn't want to make a yellow beaver, so I chose a darker version of the colour I turn when I tan. Apparently, according to my daughter, my skin turns a "McDonalds chick nuggie" colour. So, the taller beava is of a pinker hue.
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The black newsboy caps. Funnily enough, April has gotten more hand-me-downs (literally) from Jessica than anyone else in her lifetime. She has enthusiastically taken a few black and one grey newsboy cap because apparently Jessica's noggin was too big for them. During the winter, when we were walking Kya, best doggo ever, I noticed that we were "twinning" in our awesome hats pretty much every time the weather was cold. I figured the beavas should rock those trademark caps.
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My eyelashes are alleged. Barely discernible. I mean, I have armpit hair growth longer than my eyelashes. It's tragic. Jessica has pretty long ones. When we met in law school, if we had ever ended up stranded on a desert island with only one cosmetic each, hers would have been mascara. Mine would have been liquid eyeliner. My winged eyeliner had been legendary in my high school.
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Jessica doesn't smile "with teeth". April smiles a lot "with teeth".
I have to say, as I have been "dressing up" the logo for upcoming events (Pride, Canada Day), I have gotten quite attached to our little beavas. I think they are ridiculous, but accurately depict their real life counterparts.
"TALK TO ME, MOOSE!"
Ah, the 80s. As problematic as many 80s films have become in hindsight, one of the most iconic films, Top Gun, got a sequel. Jessica owns a navy T-shirt that says, "Talk to me Goose" and said, "We should make a shirt like that." Here is how the conversation pretty much went (minimally amended in the retelling):
Jessica: We should make a shirt like that.
April: Um, copyright? Plus you already own a shirt like that.
Jessica: Well, I like shirts with words and quotations...'
April: You don't think Tom Cruise would sue the shit out of us?
Jessica: It's too bad there isn't a Canadian version or something.
April: Hold that thought.
LATER
April shows Jessica the draft: "Talk to me, Moose" (yes, with the bloody comma), with a red maple leaf with a navy blue outline.
Jessica: I love that -- especially because it's almost a shout-out to the RCAF.
April: Errrr...yeah. Totally. Um, how again?
Jessica: Those are the RCAF colours -- maybe we should make it look like the RCAF logo.
April: You're shitting me, right? (remembers Jessica was not in her Intellectual Law class)
Jessica: I can't see the RCAF suing us.
April: They COULD. I mean, like if we used the Salvation Army logo they would totally sue because of our... political stances, especially LGBTQIA+.
Jessica: How about using the CF18? *sends pictures, points out ones she likes.
April: We can't use colour schemes of any military. (Yes, April is such a buzzkill.)
Jessica: I meant the silhouette. It would totally be recognizable.
AFTER APRIL COOKS FOR A WHILE.
Jessica: Looks great.
April: You see what I did with the sleeves? You become a Canadian flag! (*craving approval)
Jessica: Yes! Too back I hate tight collars.
April: For Christsake.
