About Us (Old)

About Us

We are two "dreamers" who are passionate about theatre and the Stratford Festival as well as good food and wine, art, dance, literature, music, opera, travelling, health and healing, animals, Paris and Latin America!

We speak French and a little Spanish too.

Jack is the resident artist and one of his mediums is painting in acrylics. Hence our name "Acrylic Dreams." Many of his paintings are displayed and are available for purchase. (Ask to see his portfolio).

In 1987 we moved from Toronto to 66 Bay Street, Stratford and created Acrylic Dreams. In 2023 we are celebrating our 36th year welcoming guests from around the globe.

When you visit a place it is always nicer to get an insider's view. Let us be your insider's guides to Stratford.

In our former lives we worked in the hospitality and service industries with several years experience in the restaurant, catering and airlines that we bring to running our Stratford B&B.

Jack is the head chef extraordinaire and his breakfast creations are works of art and healthy and delicious! Whenever possible using locally sourced ingredients, many from our own gardens.

Karen was a flight attendant for 6 years and was born with a travel bug.

Together, we also were activity directors at Rancho Rio Caliente, a health spa just outside Guadalajara, Mexico for several winters during the 1980ies and 1990ies. We lead all levels of hikes in the mountains every morning, and taught Yoga, Tai Chi, pool classes and organized evening lectures and special events for the 80 to 120 mainly Ameriecan and Canadian guests, and we made it a point to show the Oscar nominated documentary, the Stratford story once a week.

We both graduated with honours from the Yoga Instructors program at Sheridan College in Oakville, Ontario in 1991 and Jack taught yoga to the members of the Birmingham Conservatory of the Stratford Shakespeare Festival and Karen taught many members of the Stratford Festival at a downtown Yoga studio.

Karen has also been a practicing Certified Reflexologist since 1997 and the recipient of the Stratford Gazette's Reader's Choice Award for Best Reflexologist.

In 2007 she became a Certified Chair Massage Practitioner from the Toronto based Relax to the Max Chair Massage School. She offers onsite hands on relaxation chair massage and blissful reflexology treatments to soothe and nourish your body mind and soul and to enhance your experience at Acrylic Dreams!

Eleven years ago, Puccini, a ginger cat adopted us in Puerto Morelos, Mexico and he made the journey to Canada to live with us in our private main floor quarters at the rear of our home. if you are a cat lover he may make an appearance by special request.