Home & Garden 2025: Together We Shine On aims for something new in Blyth
BY SHAWN LOUGHLIN
On a quiet block in Blyth, Travis Kell of the Drayton area is carrying out a new approach to living space with Together We Shine On, a communal living project for like-minded seniors looking for companionship and a bit of a hand with their living situation.
Kell’s background is in food and hospitality. He is the proprietor of Kellsons (Kell and Sons) Condiments, which is a full line of small batch, handmade condiments and sauces, many of them mustards. His maple mustard is, by far, his best seller, he says.
He spent time in England earning his sommelier education as well and returned to Canada to ply his trade. He has worked in catering as well, which will also play a role in Together We Shine On.
Kell said that, during the COVID-19 pandemic, he saw how isolation and loneliness plagued so many, especially those in their later years. It was around that time that he dreamed up Together We Shine On, thinking it would be a way for some people of advanced age to spend more time with friends and family and avoid isolation.
Once he found the perfect location, he wanted to convert the house into a spot for three or four people to live, all with their own bedroom, but with communal spaces to eat, lounge and interact with one another, watching movies, playing cards or board games and more. All this with Kell living in the space as well, providing meals, laundry and other services, depending on the package purchased by the tenant.
He found that in the former Scrimgeour home on King Street. When Blyth royalty Don and Lenore charted a path for Seaforth, Kell felt that the home was the perfect location for the pilot project of Together We Shine On with its beautiful yard and many open, accessible spaces.
However, in an interview with The Citizen, Kell said that much still has to be determined. This is still the pilot project, with the first of his tenants still to be chosen, and so much of the future of the project will be determined by the residents themselves. Kell freely admits that he is still learning the ropes of this new venture and that because of how new of a concept it is, there isn’t much of a road map for him to follow. He will be taking somewhat of a wait-and-see approach and learning about his new idea as people hop aboard and take him up on his offer with Together We Shine On.
In contrast to the isolation of the pandemic, part of the inspiration for Together We Shine On came from how close Kell’s family is. He prepares a roast every Sunday for his wife and his sons and the previous generation is always in attendance. Being able to be together at least once a week and watching grandparents be with their grandchildren on a regular basis really inspired Kell. He sees how important it is to everyone involved and for people to not have that would truly be a tragedy, so he began thinking about how he could help bring people together and ensure that loneliness and isolation didn’t take hold. That’s when he arrived at Together We Shine On.
He said he looked all over Huron and Bruce Counties for the perfect home and eventually found it on King Street in Blyth. The former Scrimgeour home was the perfect fit for his vision, Kell said, and much of that had to do with the curated backyard and the backyard-facing sitting area, which is bucolic and quiet.
As for the work on the house, Kell said that much of the structure needed was already in place, with defined bedrooms, open sitting areas and an expansive, finished basement. He has been working extensively since purchasing the house, however, to refresh it with paint and by giving each bedroom its own distinct character. Renovations and improvements have also been made to the bathroom and laundry areas and that work is ongoing. But, really, he said the house has great bones and there hasn’t been any major work necessary to arrive at the finish line.
As a lover of vintage entertainment, he has filled the house with his collection of older tapes and records, as well as DVDs and VHS copies of older movies that are ready to be enjoyed. But he’s also quick to say that while he envisioned this project as being one for seniors, there is nothing stopping someone younger who is looking for companionship from being part of the house, it would just be a matter of being a good fit with the other residents, when that time comes.
And that’s where things sit. Kell is hoping to hear from people who are interested in hearing more and who are open to his unique and new idea. Furthermore, he hopes that the Blyth location is only the beginning. He thinks that if people buy into the concept, that Together We Shine On could be replicated in communities all across the region, each with its own live-in caretaker - the role he will fill in Blyth. However, he’s quick to note that he does not have any medical training and he will be there to serve hospitality needs. He will have personal support workers on call and there are hospitals nearby in Clinton, Wingham and Goderich, but that he is not qualified to administer that kind of care.
He just hopes that this idea and its Blyth location might appeal to a sect of people who, for one reason or another, are currently living on their own and are interested in being around other people who are just like them. Not only will Kell’s project aim to lighten the load of home maintenance, but he hopes it will bring people together and help to foster friendships for those of an age when that can be a bit difficult. And yet, it’s not retirement living, which is an entirely different concept.
If you’re wanting to learn more, you can find Together We Shine On - a new concept in shared mature adult living in Blyth - on Facebook or by e-mail to Kell at togetherweshineon@hotmail.com. ...
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